Grill/smoker discussion...

posted by Spock

One word of cation for any pellet grill...............Check the max temp.  Most of those off the shelf pellets grills dont get hot enough to cook a good steak medium rare

Reverse sear or nothing.

posted by justincredible

I ordered a jerky rack for my Chimp a few days ago and it was just delivered. Should be great for wings and ribs. Not sure I'll use if much for jerky.

I ended up buying the Camp Chef I mentioned before (couldn’t pass up the deal). Bought a London broil and cut it as thin as I could by hand, smoked it at 165-185ish for 3 or so hours and it turned out legit, better than most I’ve bought before. Made a pork butt last week and my wife liked it more than I’ve ever done on my lump charcoal smoker. So far so good.

Not worried about max temp as I have a Weber Genesis nearby if I need to sear anything. I’m also a fan of the reverse sear. Anyone sous vide? I don’t have one but always been curious about it.

Sous vide is great for a lot of things. We have one, but haven't used it in a while.

Reverse sear is the only way I cook steak anymore. It's actually pretty good for burgers as well.

I have sous vide. Don't use it too much. It does make the perfect steak. I will sous vide it then usually go right to cast iron to get a nice crust on the outside. Also makes perfect asparagus. 

Cold smoked cheese over the weekend. 

posted by TedSheckler

I have sous vide. Don't use it too much. It does make the perfect steak. I will sous vide it then usually go right to cast iron to get a nice crust on the outside. Also makes perfect asparagus. 

I used to sous vide steak until I did reverse sear for the first time. Way less work for better results. If you haven't tried it, I'd highly recommend.

Oh yea.  I reverse sear all the time.  I reverse sear my sous vide steaks either on a grill or cast iron skillet

posted by TedSheckler

Oh yea.  I reverse sear all the time.  I reverse sear my sous vide steaks either on a grill or cast iron skillet

Skillet? Isn't that where you're supposed to reheat pizza?

Cast iron is awesome to cook in.  I cook  all sorts of stuff in it.  I use it on the smoker, on the stove, in the oven.  Just need to take care of them and keep them oiled.

posted by TedSheckler

Cast iron is awesome to cook in.  I cook  all sorts of stuff in it.  I use it on the smoker, on the stove, in the oven.  Just need to take care of them and keep them oiled.

Seared scallops in the cast iron Friday night --  delightful

posted by TedSheckler

Cold smoked cheese over the weekend. 

How does that work? Do you just light chips in that tube and that’s cold enough to just get smoke flavor? Was it good?

Anyone smoke anything good lately? I made more jerky but made it too spicy and it’s a bit much to eat (I’m good with spicy too, put some crazy hot sauce from the Internet on it). 

posted by iclfan2

How does that work? Do you just light chips in that tube and that’s cold enough to just get smoke flavor? Was it good?

Anyone smoke anything good lately? I made more jerky but made it too spicy and it’s a bit much to eat (I’m good with spicy too, put some crazy hot sauce from the Internet on it). 

There are pellets in the tube.  Light them with a torch, let it burn for about 10 minutes and blow it out.  Normal smoke tube routine.  I have a smoke box attachment on my smoker.  I did not run the smoker, only the fan.  Smoked the cheese for two hours.  Then wrapped in butcher paper and put it in the fridge for a day.  then you vacuum seal the cheese and let it age for two weeks.  Otherwise it is just too much of a smoky flavor.  We are them on Easter and it turned out amazing.  You have to do it on a cool day.  You need to keep the smoker under 80°.  That's why you just use a smoke tube.  

Over the weekend, I purchased a Bradley 4 rack smoker from a neighbor that rarely used it. It seems in pretty good shape. 

Anyone used one? Looking on their website and forums, seems like it is a pretty easy to use and operate. I was thinking of smoking some ribs and chicken during the week. 

Made jerky for the first time 

Looks good. Have a recipe you can share?

Looks good, what cut did you use, looks like you got it pretty thin. I love jerky off the smoker, usually just eyeball some Worcestershire, hot sauce, soy and some seasonings (garlic powder, pepper, crushed red pepper).

Justin, I’ve been meaning to make this recipe and it includes some good tips for making jerky.

https://heygrillhey.com/dr-pepper-jalapeno-beef-jerky/

I used two 3.5 pound eye of round. I cut them pretty thin and tried to keep them the same thickness but didn’t do very well. Next time I will put the meat in the freezer so it’s almost frozen and cut them a little thicker and evenly and then cut into smaller pieces after the cook. 

That being said it turned out way better than I expected. My recipe was garlic powder, paprika, kosher salt, pepper. I then put them in a ziplock overnight with 1/2 bottle of teriyaki in each bag. I also added soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce sauce to each bag. Next time I plan on adding some hot sauce or jalapeños. I marinated about 16 hours. 

Cooked at 160 degrees on smoke setting and added a smoke tube in the smoker. The thinner pieces took about 4 hours, some of the thicker ones took 6. 

Sounds good!