sub333

Hello,

I bought a nice-looking side of salmon earlier today which I'm going to cure and then smoke with apple/oak dust.

It's just over 1kg in weight, but it is rather long, and I think it may be too long when I hang it from the lid of my ProQ smoker.

Apologies if this is a daft question, but would it matter if I cut it in half and hung both pieces from the lid?

Or is there any benefit to keeping it whole?

Also, in Tim Hayward's excellent book Food DIY, he recommends a 24-hour smoke (so, setting the ProQ Cold Smoke Generator up and letting it run through twice).

That seems a lot longer than other smoking times I've seen (usually 10-12hrs) - any thoughts?

Thanks very much!

On 2/14/2018 at 8:25 AM, Smokin Monkey said:

Brisket Chilli WoodSmoke 2016

Made Beef Brisket Chilli at the 3rd Annual Smokers Weekend.

Beef Brisket left over (about 1.5 Kg)
2 Tins Chopped Tomatoes
2 Tins Red Kidney Beans
2 White Oinions
2 Red Chillies
Beef Stock

Cubed the cold left over Brisket
Chopped the onions
All into a Dutch Oven
Cooked next to hot coals for 2 hours.
I added stock from my corned beef if it starts to get to dry, but good beef stock will do.

Corned Beef being cooked earlier in the day, stock used from this cooking process for the Chili

Corned Beef Recipe

Finished Brisket Chilli

On the table ready to be served at the Saturday Feast at the 3rd Annual Smokers Weekend.

Back to The Smokin Monkey Cook Book

I made brisket chilli this evening. It was really good! 

I based it on the recipe above, and added a few things: garlic, fresh thyme, chilli powder, chipotle Tabasco and a tin of black beans. I'd overcooked the brisket a bit, but this recipe put the moisture back in, and I was very happy with it. Will definitely be cooking this again 🙂

9 minutes ago, sotv said:

I use mine to make Pulled Pork Cannelloni very nice (most supermarkets sell dried cannelloni tubes and just fill them and cook. Equally Lasagne works just as well.

Excellent, thank you

On 8/25/2019 at 11:23 AM, sub333 said:

Going to be a scorcher today. Got a 3kg pork butt on the go, with hickory and cherry wood (and a few beers while I keep an eye on things) 🙂

Turned out really well. Took about 8hrs, left to rest, then served in rolls with dill pickle and jalapeños, and some Asian coleslaw. Just the job on a hot day! 

Plenty of leftovers, too – any suggestions what to do with it?

Going to be a scorcher today. Got a 3kg pork butt on the go, with hickory and cherry wood (and a few beers while I keep an eye on things) 🙂

3 hours ago, Justin said:

Very good execution . Well done. Looks nice. 

and most importantly, the missus liked it!
I have a stack of sauce left over, so will probably freeze it in small quantities so I have it when I need it.

Very pleased with the result. A hint of smoke, and the flavourful braising liquid did the trick. When I put the meat right over the coals, the flames leapt up, so got a bit more char than I was expecting, but overall, very happy. Here's a pic. 

Thank you @Justin for the recipe 🙂

1 hour ago, Justin said:

Put it all 8n together mix  with a spoon and then reduce.  Homemade bbq sauce. 

Thanks, Justin.

On 8/9/2019 at 10:34 AM, Justin said:

Fancy pants recipe Beer Braised Beef short ribs? Mesquite smoke works well.

 

Braising liquid first 

1 tbs olive oil, 1 large onion roughly chopped, 6 garlic cloves, i jalapeno pepper roughly chopped with seeds, 2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 ground black pepper, 3 bottles of larger and a bay leaf. 

This isfor 2.5 kg of short ribs.

 

Sauce 240 ml tomato ketchup  2 tbsp black treacle, tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce (optional) 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp aslt, 1/2 tsp black pepper

 

Individually cut ribs

 

Heat a stockpot medium heat, add onion garlic, chilli and cook for 5 mins until onion is tender, , stirring occasionally, add oregano, cumin seeds, salt pepper and cook for 30 secs., stirring continuously. Pour in larger and add bay leaf, place ribs in the braising liquid meaty side down and just enough water to cover, bring to boil over high heat and then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1/2 hours until ribs are barely tender when pierced with tip of a knife. Transfer ribs to a cooling tray. Remove and discard and bones that fall off, reserve the liquid, cover the cooled ribs for about 2 hours until chilled.

Strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve into a large bowl and leave to stand for 10 mins, skim the fat off the surface of the liquid, rinse the pan any pour strained liquid back into the cleaned pan and bring to boil over high heat, lower and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours until reduced to 175ml.

prepare bbq 180 to 230 

Brush cooled ribs with oil and season evenly with salt and pepper, smoke with lid closed with mesquite chips or pellets etc for 25 mins until  the met starts to crisp up around the edges. 

Brush ribs generously with sauce and move ribs over direct heat with lid closed for about 5 mins turning occasionally until sauce is glazed on eat, move and serve warm with remaining sauce, 

It is important to let ribs cool first before smoking so they take longer heat up and absorb more smoke.

Hi Justin, am reducing the sauce now. Once that's done, do you add the ketchup, treacle etc to the reduced sauce so it's all in the same pan? 

Thanks, everyone.

Will report back 😀

@Justin

I like the sound of that!

My missus says other meats I've done have been 'too smoky', so this might be ideal for her.

Quick question: on my ProQ Frontier, should I add a stacker (or two), and smoke the ribs with a bit of distance between them and the heat for first part, then put them right on the grille above the coals?

Also, for such a short cooking time (ie less than an hour), can I get away with much less charcoal than normally, or do I still need a fair bit to get the heat up?

Seems a waste to fill the basket with charcoal for such a short cook (or can I use them again?)

Going to have a crack at short ribs for the first time this weekend.

Was planning oak and hickory mix, but minimal rub - probably just salt and pepper.

Welcome! 

Well, that was embarrassing.

I got Farenheit muddled up with Centigrade yesterday 😳🤬😥

Set the beef for 122˚ and I wondered why it was miles away after three hours.

Once I realised, the internal temp of the beef was 72˚C, so let it rest to allow any juices that were left to do their thing, then quick sear over the coals.

The end product was very tasty, and still had a little moisture in, but was WAY more overcooked that I would have liked. Very frustrating, but a lesson learned!

20 minutes ago, Wade said:

Do not worry about a few small smoke leaks in the bullet smokers (unless it is billowing out of the door). Leaks are more an issue with cheap offset smokers.

Thanks, Wade, good to know. Smoke leaks out of my ProQ Frontier, but only a little. When I read some of these posts I wondered if I needed to sort the seals out on the doors, but from what you've said, no need.

Looks delicious 🙂

11 hours ago, sotv said:

Gooutdoors currently doing 8kg bags of Weber Briquettes for £7.82 delivered using code Summer15 either click & collect if store nearby or currently offering Free Standard Delivery on all orders (No minimum value) if in no rush

Pretty good deal for these Briquettes

That's a really good deal – thanks for letting us know.

Just ordered 32kg for £31, and free delivery, too 😀

Is there a consensus on the best rubs for specific meats? Am reverse-searing a cote de boeuf this weekend, and am keen to keep it simple, so was just planning to use salt and coarsely ground black pepper. 

So far, I've used Bad Byron's Butt Rub as an all-purpose rub on a few different meats, and while I think it's fine, I want to narrow down the key ingredients depending on the meat I'm cooking. 

But it would be good to hear from others if you think that beef lends itself to a particular ingredient, and pork another etc 

Welcome, Rob! 

42 minutes ago, hoogl said:

You should try the cold grate method. Though the first Cowboy/Côte de Boeuf  I did I smoked over oak then reverse seared on the coals caveman style. It's worth a try at least once. 

Can you do that with briquettes? I thought you couldn't, because of what they're made of - I have lump, too, which is OK for 'dirty' BBQing, isn't it?

9 hours ago, hoogl said:

I prefer to reverse sear it as it allows me to rest before searing then I can tuck straight in

Yep, good point. I'll do it that way 😋

Cote de boeuf/beef rib on the bone is by far my favourite cut of meat. 

I reverse-seared one on the ProQ a few weeks ago and was very happy with the result, but is it better than searing it first and cooking it slowly? 

If I'm cooking indoors, I would sear it then finish in oven, but on a smoker, could you sear it over the coals then smoke it? 

Again, thanks for any tips. 

1 hour ago, Ugly Drum Dave said:

Gridiron looks like a great online option. 

If you don’t want to bulk buy and want some where local http://www.bobsfamilybutchers.co.uk/ is a great option for you as it is 20mins from Berko. They supply a lot of the BBQ comp teams so quality is great.

Ha, just seen their location - Hilltop in Hatfield. I was a student there and we were warned NEVER to go into The Harrier pub. I'd get chills heading back there! 😄

1 hour ago, sotv said:

Ordered from gridironmeat a big piece of gammon and osso bucco, last weekend. Really pleased with the quality of the meat and prepared to how I asked over the the phone, first.

They're currently offering 4kg of ribs for £20 which is pretty good value for unfrozen ribs.Free delivery over £45 and they gave me a 10% code to use with my order. Delivery on Thursdays and Fridays.

Just had a look at their site, looks really good. Will give them a try – could you share the code with me?

24 minutes ago, Ugly Drum Dave said:

You won’t go wrong with either.

I usually go with 3-2-1 fo St Louis  3hrs smoked at 225f spritzed with apple juice every 45 mins then 2 hrs wrapped  then finally last 45 - 60 mins naked  but mopped with bbq sauce towards the end.

It is worth buying good quality ribs and avoid the supermarket if possible. I have moved from Morrison’s to Costco but have recently got ribs from Bob’s Family Butchers. wow definitely worth the effort and little extra cost.

Thanks very much! Yes, am going to order some ribs online (and probably a pork butt while I'm at it).