Smokin' Butts

[Papa Zook]

I know this has nothing whatsoever to do with trikes, but FOOD, cooking and grilling is one of the most popular subjects of all on several totally non-food related forums I belong to. Everyone seems to enjoy the discussion. Why? Because we all have to eat and we all love good healthy, tasty food. I love to grill and Ive started getting into smoking Boston Butts and grilling ribs, chicken and fish. I am trying to stick to the healthier choices but I do occasionally love me some smoked Boston Butt, and if you trim the fat it really isnt all that unhealthy.

Ive got a basic Brinkman Smoke-N-Pit Charcoal Smoker/Grill (see below) like you get at Lowes or Wally World, nothing fancy. I have been grilling and smoking on it for about 3 years now and have done all the popular mods to get it cooking like a pro. More on that later. Ive found that buying chicken, ribs or pork chops on sale or in family packs and grilling enough to last several meals really helps with the food budget and its mighty fine eating as well. My family never minds eating left overs from the smoker.

Id like to start this thread to share ideas on smoking techniques, rubs, brining meats, sauce recipes, grilling fish and chicken, vegetables, etc. If you are a serious grill master, please join me in sharing some of your grilling and smoking secretes.




Zook

[Nana]

No big secrets to share about smoking and grilling...... but I want to come for dinner!!!!! Sounds wonderful

[Big_Steve]

Cool forum. I myself have a Brinkman Gourmet water smoker. But I don't use it anymore now that I have a "Smokenator" accessory for my Weber grill.

My favorite is pulled beef. I make it from Chuck roast. (I won't sit up all night cooking a brisket.) I top it with a Texas style BBQ sauce. But the family prefers pulled Pork.

[Blondie Gal]

I'm with Nana! When and where? (You KNOW we'll show up!)

[Gorilla]

Zook's cooking at TT4

[Greydog]

Who's Ya Daddy? Cajun Seasoning

Hey Zook!! Try this stuff!! My friend from Lake Charles LA. brought me two boxes back the last time he was there. Best seasoning I ever used. It's good as a rub or as a sprinkle on seasoning with everything from popcorn to seafood. In the summer we here in West Virginia drink what we call a "Redeye", made from about a 70/30% mix of beer and tomato juice respectively. I sprinkle Who's Ya Daddy Cajun Seasoning in my Redeye and it's super good.....not too hot but enough kick and spices to wake up the flavor in just about anything you can grill or smoke!!

[bdn56]

Nana and Blondie can pick me up on the way down Zook.

We have been trying to eat a little healthier this summer. I gained 25lbs since my last surgery so I need to take off a pound or 2 or 3 or 4 etc.

I have a recipe for ribs that will blow you away. Can you believe, NO BBQ sauce?

I love BBQ sauce on everything but this recipe I'm using now, um um.

Let me know when and where?

Don't tell anyone, I use a gas grill

[Papa Zook]

Preparing Your Smoker

The last Boston Butt I smoked was about two months ago. Ive done a few over the years but have never had consistent results because I wasn't that serious about it. This last time I was serious and I did my homework via the internet of course. I read every blog, website and forum I could find on the subject of smoking butts and watched about a dozen YouTube videos. There are some really good ones and some are just down right hilarious.

The most valuable information of all was the Brinkman Smoker mods. One reason I had pretty much given up on smoking butts was the work involved. The stock Brinkman would never stay hot for over a couple of hours, so I was constantly adding coals, fanning them and generally being completely aggravated with the whole process. I had no idea that with just a couple of simple mods, my ECB (el-cheapo-brinkman as they are commonly referred to on BBQ sites) could become a seriously good smoker and require almost no work at all to achieve a great result!

The first mod was to raise the firebox charcoal grate about three inches. The stock grate sits about an inch off the bottom of the box and as the charcoal burns, the ashes drop through, choking out any air flow and puts out the remaining charcoal. As this happens, the temperature drops and any new charcoal added to the top never gets up to temperature. What a PITA! Check out the firebox mod I got off YouTube. It really works great. One small bag of charcoal (med for multiple butts) is usually all you will need and you will never have to touch it. Just set the dampers, close the lid and keep it closed. Remember...If you're lookin', you're not cookin'! So keep the lid closed and occasionally take a look at the temperature gauge on the lid. Check out the mod video below. BTW these mods work just as well on the CharBroil Brand and other similar smoker/grills. If you own one, give these a shot and you'll be glad yo did!

Next post I will talk about another simple but important mod to the smoke stack. After that, we get on with the meat prep and the cooking! Get ready to salivate!!

This is what we want our end result to look like!
Cant you just taste it now?

Zook

[Papa Zook]

Smoke Stack Mod

The other mod I made to my Brinkman Smoker/Grill was to extend the bottom of the smoke stack down about 8 inches by adding a piece of thin aluminum flashing rolled up and secured to the part of the stack that sticks down into the cooking chamber. You can either secure it with a stainless hose clap or just roll a piece up into a tube and push it up into the stack, depending on the design of your smoker. This is very quick and easy mod that greatly improves the way the smoker draws the smoke and heat directly across the meat instead of straight up and out of the smoking chamber. This also helps eliminate hot spots and keeps everything in the smoker cooking faster and more evenly. I do recommend that you rotate your butts at least once because the one closest to the firebox will cook faster if you dont. See the smoke stack mod & a different firebox mod I found on YouTube here:

[skuuter]

Preparing Your Smoker

The last Boston Butt I smoked was about two months ago. Ive done a few over the years but have never had consistent results because I wasn't that serious about it. This last time I was serious and I did my homework via the internet of course. I read every blog, website and forum I could find on the subject of smoking butts and watched about a dozen YouTube videos. There are some really good ones and some are just down right hilarious.

The most valuable information of all was the Brinkman Smoker mods. One reason I had pretty much given up on smoking butts was the work involved. The stock Brinkman would never stay hot for over a couple of hours, so I was constantly adding coals, fanning them and generally being completely aggravated with the whole process. I had no idea that with just a couple of simple mods, my ECB (el-cheapo-brinkman as they are commonly referred to on BBQ sites) could become a seriously good smoker and require almost no work at all to achieve a great result!

The first mod was to raise the firebox charcoal grate about three inches. The stock grate sits about an inch off the bottom of the box and as the charcoal burns, the ashes drop through, choking out any air flow and puts out the remaining charcoal. As this happens, the temperature drops and any new charcoal added to the top never gets up to temperature. What a PITA! Check out the firebox mod I got off YouTube. It really works great. One small bag of charcoal (med for multiple butts) is usually all you will need and you will never have to touch it. Just set the dampers, close the lid and keep it closed. Remember...If you're lookin', you're not cookin'! So keep the lid closed and occasionally take a look at the temperature gauge on the lid. Check out the mod video below.

YouTube - Brinkmann Smoker Firebox Mod

Next post I will talk about another simple but important mod to the smoke stack. After that, we get on with the meat prep and the cooking! Get ready to salivate!!

This is what we want our end result to look like!
Cant you just taste it now?

Zook

WOW, that Pic looks good.....and I just had Oral Surgery...shouldn't have came to a "eatin' thread".....

[BIG AL]

Preparing Your Smoker

What you really need is a UDS that stands for Ugly drum smoker Google it, Iv also seen them on you tube they keep constant temps for 10-12 hours and they are easy to make