E d Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Hi I live a few miles from Cambridge and have been interested in smoking food ever since the other half bought me a pint of smoked prawns in a lovely Essex pub many years ago. I have to admit that my only attempt at smoking prawns (on a weird stainless steel table top smoker I think we still have in the loft) yielded little nuggets of fishy bitumen. A few years later I got a Brinkmann which despite attempted modifications fluctuated temperatures wildly and leaked smoke everywhere. That was replaced by a Landmann gas smoker. This is much more thermally consistent but the flavour is not as good, in my opinion as a charcoal smoker. I still have this but haven't used it for a couple of years. And finally, I have just bought the Aldi Kamado oven which should be arriving in a week or so. I have to say, I've had moderate success over the years and never really produced a really 'wow' pulled pork or succulent fall-off-the-bone rib. They've always been very good but not quite how I see them on YouTube smokers' videos. I'm really going to try hard this year to achieve proper results so happy to take any advice going! Cheers Ed 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Once again Ed, welcome to the Forum. We Have a BBQ/Tailgate weekend in two weeks time in East Anglia pop down they are great Weekends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Hi and welcome to the group. I hope the new bit of kit works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 17 hours ago, E d said: I have to admit that my only attempt at smoking prawns (on a weird stainless steel table top smoker I think we still have in the loft) yielded little nuggets of fishy bitumen. LOL - We have all been there Ed. It is all part our journey into smoking Quote And finally, I have just bought the Aldi Kamado oven which should be arriving in a week or so. I have to say, I've had moderate success over the years and never really produced a really 'wow' pulled pork or succulent fall-off-the-bone rib. They've always been very good but not quite how I see them on YouTube smokers' videos. I'm really going to try hard this year to achieve proper results so happy to take any advice going! I find that pulled pork is one of the most difficult things to produce in a way that I like it. Even when cooked to the perfect texture, on its own I find it a fairly bland meat that needs something else to bring out the flavour. In BBQ competitions this is done my adding a sauce however I usually flavour mine using the juices from cooked Ribs. When I cook ribs I save the juices and, if I have enough, I freeze them until I am ready to do more pork. Yes, you give the pulled pork a good flavour start by using a good rub and then it needs a long cook - ~ 8-10 hours at 110 C. I cook mine until it reaches an internal temperature of ~90 C and foil it after the first 3 hours to keep it moist. For the last hour or so the foil is removed to help firm up the bark. If you then let it rest in foil for a couple of hours it will slowly cool down until it reaches a temperature where you can pull it without requiring treatment in A&E for first degree burns. Now for the enhancement of the flavour... When you have previously cooked ribs any trimmings that come off the St Louis style trim you cook alongside the main ribs. At the end, save the rib juices and pull and shred all of the meat off the cartilage from the trimmings. Both of these can then be frozen for later use. Once the pulled pork is about to be shredded, reheat a couple of generous handfuls of the shredded rib meat and a half cup of the rib juices (to a temperature of 75 C) and then mix these in with the pulled pork. After tasting it like this you will never order pulled pork in a restaurant again ! This is the way that I would prepare it commercially when I supplied it for private events. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 (edited) Pulled pork: I agree is over rated but is ok with a good strong salsa. Like the pacific pork i did from the weber book at the national last year. Pineapple chillies and fish sauce. Edited April 30, 2019 by Justin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raptor72 Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 50 minutes ago, Justin said: Pulled pork: I agree is over rated but is ok with a good strong salsa. Like the pacific pork i did from the weber book at the national last year. Pineapple chillies and fish sauce. Yeah that version sounds great . Usually I’m not overly enthusiastic about brisket and pulled pork . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E d Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 10 hours ago, Wade said: LOL - We have all been there Ed. It is all part our journey into smoking I find that pulled pork is one of the most difficult things to produce in a way that I like it. Even when cooked to the perfect texture, on its own I find it a fairly bland meat that needs something else to bring out the flavour. In BBQ competitions this is done my adding a sauce however I usually flavour mine using the juices from cooked Ribs. When I cook ribs I save the juices and, if I have enough, I freeze them until I am ready to do more pork. Yes, you give the pulled pork a good flavour start by using a good rub and then it needs a long cook - ~ 8-10 hours at 110 C. I cook mine until it reaches an internal temperature of ~90 C and foil it after the first 3 hours to keep it moist. For the last hour or so the foil is removed to help firm up the bark. If you then let it rest in foil for a couple of hours it will slowly cool down until it reaches a temperature where you can pull it without requiring treatment in A&E for first degree burns. Now for the enhancement of the flavour... When you have previously cooked ribs any trimmings that come off the St Louis style trim you cook alongside the main ribs. At the end, save the rib juices and pull and shred all of the meat off the cartilage from the trimmings. Both of these can then be frozen for later use. Once the pulled pork is about to be shredded, reheat a couple of generous handfuls of the shredded rib meat and a half cup of the rib juices (to a temperature of 75 C) and then mix these in with the pulled pork. After tasting it like this you will never order pulled pork in a restaurant again ! This is the way that I would prepare it commercially when I supplied it for private events. Thanks for the very detailed tips Wade, I shall give this a try with my first attempt. What about sourcing the meat? Are local butchers always a better bet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E d Posted April 30, 2019 Author Share Posted April 30, 2019 10 hours ago, Raptor72 said: Yeah that version sounds great . Usually I’m not overly enthusiastic about brisket and pulled pork . And I thought they were the 2 main smoker's staples - shows what I know. I've watched too many American cook-offs on Netflix I think! 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoogl Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 Hi @E d, I was just saying in another new post I'm looking for updates on the Aldi Kamado as I'm considering it also. Plus 👋 form a fellow Newbie to forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 12 hours ago, E d said: And I thought they were the 2 main smoker's staples - shows what I know. I've watched too many American cook-offs on Netflix I think! 😊 The four main smokers staples that are judged at the KCBS BBQ competitions are - Chicken, Ribs. Brisket and "Pulled" Pork. The Chicken, Ribs and Brisket I love judging however the pork I am not a great fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E d Posted May 1, 2019 Author Share Posted May 1, 2019 19 hours ago, hoogl said: Hi @E d, I was just saying in another new post I'm looking for updates on the Aldi Kamado as I'm considering it also. Plus 👋 form a fellow Newbie to forum. Hi to you hoogl I'll certainly keep everyone updated with my results, however 'successful' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.