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Messages - kansas_troll_patrol

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: camping/tent stuff question
« on: February 10, 2021, 12:29:20 PM »
I just got a small RV for my family.  This is new for us and I'm excited & nervous.  I would love any tips or ideas from fellow local RVers.  I think our first weekend or two will be somewhere local.  I'm sure we'll learn a lot then.


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Yes, the combination of the UDS and controller allow me to run my drum for ~30 hours without refilling the fuel.  Even the other day when it was in the 20s, the drum was never more than 4 degrees from the target temp.  I've been very happy.


KTP, did you cook that in the smoker you built?

3
Flat was decent, burnt ends were on point (pun intended)  I'm not sure why, but I just can't get a smoke ring.  I have thin blue smoke throughout the cook, just never a ring. The flavor is there, so whatever, but I would love to see that deep ring.





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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: goEMAW.com bbq, smoking, grilling, etc. thread!
« on: December 06, 2020, 10:16:05 PM »
Tried smoking some salmon on the UDS for the first time this weekend.  Served it with some garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed brussels sprouts & crusty bread.  I didn't think to get pictures of the other food, but here is the salmon.

Packed in the dry brine. It was just a combination of salt, brown sugar & pepper. I left it in this for about 14 hours.


Here it is after a good nights rest.  Pulled out a TON of moisture.


I gave it a good bath in cold water to clean off the brine.  After I let it sit for about 2.5 hours with a fan to help form pellicle.


On the UDS at 225 degrees with a mix of mostly pecan and a bit of apple wood.


Rubbed on an apricot glaze with about 45 minutes left in the smoke.


I was really happy with the final product.


Flaky and delicious.  Next time I'll probably pull back a bit on the amount of salt in the brine.  That or make sure it's spread more evenly.  There were a few spots that were a bit of a salt bomb.  But for a first attempt, all was good.

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Does anyone have any good salmon advice?  I'm wanting to use it in dishes after I smoke it.  I'm thinking mac & cheese, bruschetta, tacos, salads, eggs, etc....

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you can forget for a little while but better remember it again because you’re going to need to refill the lump

Just an update, in combination with my smartfire controller my UDS ran for 36 hours without being refilled, touched or adjusted.  I didn't fill the basket up entirely.   I really just wanted to see how long I could run it without refilling.  There was another storm rolling in and I decided to clean up before it started. I'm sure that a ceramic smoker is amazing.  but I have a ton of cooking space and very little invested in this smoker.  Another plus is that I've taking it camping, to my parents for cooks. I would never travel with a ceramic.  I'm not arguing against a ceramic, but I sure am arguing for a properly built UDS.

7




How was the queso? Is there a line where it can have too much smoke?

I'm sure there is, but I've not found it yet.  I left the queso on for about 2.5 hours with oak and some peach wood.  It wasn't a real heavy smoke.

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I don't sauce much myself.  I always have it available for anyone who wants it.  I'm not a big Rays guy.  I've really been enjoying Stubs lately.  They have a nice lineup.

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I've been rolling a lot of smoke lately.

20lbs brisket


No smoke ring, but it had a great bark and passed the pull test.


Random rack of baby backs with my best glaze yet.


Queso ready to go on the smoker


Small pork butt


Something beautiful about to happen


Queso is ready


Delightful



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I ended up buying a smartfire controller.  I've used it a few times and so far I'm really pleased. I did a test run with it because I wanted to see how long I could run the smoker at 225 with one basket of charcoal.  At 30 hours I shut it off.  Once it reached temp, it never got more than 7 degrees off temp.  I was really happy.

Today I smoked a chicken.  I'm not sure why I ever did beer can chicken, but I doubt I go back.  I think I'll spatchcock moving forward.


11
I've been looking for a bbq controller since my old propane smoker died.  I knew going charcoal that a controller was in my future.  I just do too many overnight cooks to babysit.  I've been researching for a it and am heavily considering the smartfire controller.

https://smartfirebbq.com/products/smartfire-controller-super-summer-pack

I like that it comes with 3 temp probes when other controllers in a similar price point often have only one. I had considered the Flame Boss 400, but i really hate that the controller and fan are one unit.  I assume that the fan in these will fail more often than anything else, and don't want to have to pay for a full unit price if that happens with the flameboss.

Has anyone used the Smartfire?  I know the DigiQ is popular around here, but the price is just a bit to high for me to consider them.

12
what did they look like when you cut into them?

Not inspiring enough to take a picture. They were okay.  My first round of beef ribs were much better.

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I ran some dino bones through the UDS today.  They were good.  The more I experiment with this smoker the happier I am. I have less than $100 invested in it.  It has more rackspace than most and holds it's temps like a champ.  Yesterday it ran at 275  from 9am until 11pm when I went to bed.  I woke up today at 630 and ran out to check it.  It was at 225.  Best decision ever.



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k_t_p, TY.  I'm new to pellet smoker and used a 20lb bag of Competition Blend Hardwood Pellets last year, which was good but would like to try recommended flavors.

One of my favorite things about smoking is trying out different combinations.  Choosing when/if to wrap, types of wood, temp, water pan vs no water pan.  There are so many things to mess with.  One great piece of advice I saw in an Aaron Franklin video was to only change one thing per cook.  That way you can identify if you like that change or not.

15
I tried out Jack Stacks rub yesterday on this chicken.  I ran it at ~315 degrees for 3 hours on cherry.  First time using cherry from a locally sourced tree my uncle had taken down.  It was fun. 



Well? How did it turn out?

Could you tell us what your favorite smoke flavor is for chicken, beef, ribs, and salmon.

I've yet to smoke salmon.  It's on my list, just hasn't happened.  As far as other meats I typically use mostly hickory mixed with some sort of fruit wood. 

16
I tried out Jack Stacks rub yesterday on this chicken.  I ran it at ~315 degrees for 3 hours on cherry.  First time using cherry from a locally sourced tree my uncle had taken down.  It was fun. 


17
Cold smoked pepper jack cheese with wild ramps. Can't wait to try it after a few weeks!

I need a bit more process explanation here...

-Ramps mixed into melted pepper jack?  Or did you make your own cheese?
-Any melting salts or anything to do that without the cheese breaking?
-What is your cold smoke set up?


I have more questions, but I think it would be easiest if you just wrote out the instructions.  Thanks in advance, looks awesome.



He's so right. Please tell us.

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Gotta love that smoke ring

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Working from home isn't bad.  I could get used to this.  This is a jalapeno bacon weave.  Inside is country sausage, scrambled eggs, diced onion, jalapenos, cheese, green peppers, & mushrooms.  Smoked at 285 with hickory for 3 hours.











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It's a chicken leg rack.  They sell them on Amazon, or if you're in mhk the Backyard Kitchen has them.  I like it because you don't have to roll the chicken.  Also, if you don't mess up in the broiler like I did, you don't need to wrap the tops because the get shielded by the bottom fatter part of the drum. 

I used the opportunity while working at home to fire up the drum.  I'm still surprised how steady this smoker is.  Once it hits a temp, it just sits there.  I did throw these in the oven on broil to crisp up the skin at the end.  I should have wrapped the tops in foil.  They turned out really good.  They had a clean bite, nice smoky flavor and crisp skin.  I think I'm gonna throw some sausage and ribs on the smoker on Friday.  I'm sure at some point my wife will tell me I'm smoking too much, but that hasn't happened yet.


Looks great! What's the rack you're using?

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Why on Earth would your wife say that?!  :drool:

Because I had lined up a menu for the the next week that included a smoked item every day.  Tomorrow it's cold smoked deviled eggs.

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I used the opportunity while working at home to fire up the drum.  I'm still surprised how steady this smoker is.  Once it hits a temp, it just sits there.  I did throw these in the oven on broil to crisp up the skin at the end.  I should have wrapped the tops in foil.  They turned out really good.  They had a clean bite, nice smoky flavor and crisp skin.  I think I'm gonna throw some sausage and ribs on the smoker on Friday.  I'm sure at some point my wife will tell me I'm smoking too much, but that hasn't happened yet.


23
I got them from Herman's Meat Market in Topeka.  After I got to thinking though that I might be able to pick them up at Call Hall and save myself a trip to Topeka.  Has anyone had luck buying meat from the university?

OMG

Where'd you get those bad boys?

That looks great!
Are you from Topeka.  Herman's is great but expensive.  BTY, tasty looking ribs.

I suppose I'm still from Topeka.  I moved to MHK in 2010 and have lived here since.  We bought a home in 2013.  But I don't know how long I have to be here before I'm from MHK.

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I got them from Herman's Meat Market in Topeka.  After I got to thinking though that I might be able to pick them up at Call Hall and save myself a trip to Topeka.  Has anyone had luck buying meat from the university?

OMG

Where'd you get those bad boys?

That looks great!

25
I smoked beef ribs on Sunday.  It was windy but I was really happy with the performance of my UDS.  Once I hit 275 it just held steady for ~12 hours.  Ribs were only on for about 6 of those, but I wanted to test the smoker and see how long I could push it.  I'm still considering getting a bbq controller.  But with it running so solid right now, I don't feel rushed to do it.  One reason I'm still considering it though is that I've read that a controller will increase the amount of time you can cook without increasing fuel.  I guess the efficiency of it helps. Has anyone experienced this?

Smoked at 275 for ~6hrs.  Salt and pepper rub and spritzed with apple juice at 4 hours



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