doing anything different this bbq season?


 
Bob, are you grinding your own meat? I started over a year ago, and burgers taste 100x better.
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G,
That's my next move, if I can find my grinder again, it's been awhile since I used it
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Waiting on chuck roasts to go on sale again too.
Thanks for the advice!
 
I'd like to do more ribs this year.

And I'd like to do a brisket that doesn't turn out dry. Maybe I'll try a high heat approach.

I agree with the Cumin. I had too much one time and I can still taste it. I've cut way back on how much I use.
 
Im going to force myself to eat more Pork. I love beef but pork not so much but I guess I should learn to like it if I am going to know how well my ribs and butt have turned out.
 
First - congrats and best of luck, Dave from Denver.

For me, I also want to make pastrami and do a bit of cold smoking - bacon and smoked salmon, make some turkey breast, and fool with other things I haven't done before.
 
Bacon isn't typically cold smoked but you certainly can. Definitely do your own pastrami. You can really make it great and tweak it to your liking.

Me, I need to get a kettle and smoker for the Oklahoma house. Too long without.
 
I'm with Joe. The last couple of years have been all about getting back to the basics.

I do want to cook a boneless leg of lamb from Costco with greek seasonings to make it taste like Gyro meat...

Going to use "Wham" rub on a lot of stuff. My brother got me a pound bag of it.

A big focus of mine has been to make my ribs taste great and build as you eat an entire rack. This is a little different than competition where one rib is all you get. I was making them a little too rich... They were good, but I was worn out after a half slab. Simple flavors to compliment the meat.

More pork steaks, chuck roast, country ribs, brisket, wings.

Get an old red weber kettle.

Drink more beer.
 
I do want to cook a boneless leg of lamb from Costco with greek seasonings to make it taste like Gyro meat...
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I love lamb leg. You won't quite get it likr gyro meat, but you will if you do this.
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
I temp in the thickest part of the chicken.
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Are you talking the thickest part of the chicken as in breast? thigh? Or the thickest part of whatever pieces you're cooking?

Red meat? Red at the bone? around the joint?

The thickest part is whatever I'm cooking, but almost always the joint between the leg and the thigh (I don't poke my thermometer into chicken breasts unless I need to, as they are dry enough already).

And the red is in the thigh and leg. It's typically at the bone.

Thanks!
 
I got a OTG 22" this year, so I'm working on perfecting that, and switching to lump charcoal exclusively instead of using briquettes on long cooks.
 
I'm going to tackle making a great brisket and finding the perfect chicken rub for smoke-roasted chicken.

I'm going to buy a SJS or OTG to do more charcoal grilling--lots of varied stuff from Raichlen and Backyard BBQ books.

For potluck at work next month I'm doing a balinese roast pork that is butterflied and stuffed with a spicy lemongrass filling and smoked or rotisserie grilled.

Just got punked on my steal of a red kettle OTG from craig's list.
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And the red is in the thigh and leg. It's typically at the bone.
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Not uncommon and it has nothing to do with done. If you are confident in your Thermapen and are taking the temp at the thickest part (I also recommend pushing the therm in and getting a reading near the bone - but without the therm tip touching it) and your reading is 160 or higher, the chicken is safe, irrespective of color at or around the bone. 160 is good for breast but, though safe, is not so good for thighs/legs in terms of palatability so higher is in order. Still, at-the-bone or -joint red can be present even though the chicken is quite safe to consume. It's not uncommon with commercial chicken hybrids.
 
Brisket - can't believe I still haven't done one after Q'ing for so many years!

And beef back ribs - haven't done them since I was using a horizontal. Mostly because good ones are hard to find, always trimmed too heavy around these parts. Talked with Treuth's in MD going to place an order the Friday before my next trip to VA and pick some up on the way back. They prep ribs every Monday and counterman told me the all go in a few days. Going to see if I can get a heavier cut than you typically see around here. Otherwise pick up some at Restaurant Depot.

I do cook lamb pretty frequently (just finished the left overs from the rotiserie Easter leg), but haven't smoked a shoulder on the WSM, so that's one I need to do. Really want to do a triple shoulder cook - beef, lamb, pork. Maybe for my son's graduation party.

Then there's that vintage Enterprise 4Qt Press that needs to get some exercise
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Good stock of tri-tips in the freezer, so all set on that front!
 
After 3 years of focusing on bbq instead of home brewing, I'm actually switching my focus back to home brewing.

That being said, I want to focus on rubs/sauces/marinades when it comes to the meat this summer. My wife feels I have been going overboard on flavoring so I'll be looking more at "less is better". I have several recipes I want to try for sauces. Plenty to keep me occupied.
 
Originally posted by r benash:
Brisket - can't believe I still haven't done one after Q'ing for so many years!
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Do it! I did my first brisket earlier this year and now after three I can't believe I took tis long to try it out.

And beef back ribs - haven't done them since I was using a horizontal. Mostly because good ones are hard to find, always trimmed too heavy around these parts.
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That was another first for me this year. The ones I found were pretty heavily trimmed but good nonetheless. I cooked them on my kettle using Raichlen's suggestions for Gaucho Beef Ribs. They came out pretty good.

I've also been fooling around with gas. I had a gas grill from way back, but it was too hot for most things (Coleman Powerhouse - whoda thunk...
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) I roasted some fresh ears of corn on it from time to time, but it seemed not too useful for much else. I decided to get a decent gasser and found a Weber Genesis Silver A. I fitted it with a cast iron grate that was on hand and started using that for stuff like potato slices, onions, summer squash and eggplant. I'm exploring what I can do on gas vs. charcoal. And back to the charcoal front, I've found that the cast iron grate I fitted to my gasser is just about a perfect fit on a 22 1/2" kettle. I've been using it there to get better grill marks on anything I cook using direct method on charcoal. That grate has a high pitch (bars/inch) and sits about 3/4" from top too bottom so it produces great markings:

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Also on the charcoal front, I've been using lump for the first time this year.

I also added a rotisserie to my arsenal. It fits both of my gassers. I would have preferred a rotisserie for a kettle, but for $5 on CL I grabbed it. I'm going to see if I can make a ring to fit my kettles that will work with the motor and skewer I have.

So there are quite a few new things I've tried this summer.
 
Originally posted by Pinny B.:
...There's a couple other small things I have trouble with that I want to work on, like figuring out the right amount of smoke wood to use, and proper usage of my thermometer (for some reason, my thermapen says the chicken is at 180, but it's still red inside)...
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Let your tastebuds be your guide to the amount of smoke wood, but remember that a wood chunk's moisture level AND species will both play a role in the amount of smoke produced. For instance, store-bought (generally kiln-dryed and/or old) cherry chunks with no bark won't smoke for very long, and the flavor will be very mild....MUCH milder than the green peach chunks that I used to smoke pork butts the other day. For comparison, the year-old+ peach I still had is somewhere in between the two, and you have to take all that into account when deciding how much to use.

The other thing is, the classic nutwoods, hickory and oak, are very dense and even if well seasoned, the smoke will last a lot longer than a fruitwood of the same age. I won't pick up ANY wood that the bark has already fell off of, though. You have to use a lot more of it, and the flavor isn't as good. To sum it up, trial and error, and less is more...unless smoking pork shoulder.
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Regarding your chicken though, assuming your issue is around the thigh joint, disjointing should help.

Speaking of chicken, probably the biggest thing I'm doing differently this year is smoking chicken low/slow with water in the pan. I went over a year before I even tried it.
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It makes a big difference, but my recent first attempt with Chris Lilly's loaf pan chicken in the kettle was a REAL eye-opener. I guess my grandmother would've told me that you don't need to butterfly, brine, or stick a bird on a beer can for moist chicken. Just cook it in it's own juices with some added.
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...but other than indirectly grilled wings on the kettle, I'll wait til cooler temps before getting back to grilled chicken and the pursuit of crisp skin. With my smoked chicken, I just want TENDER skin.

One other thing is that thankfully, I'm still learnin' about cookin' barbecue. As "forgiving" as it's highly touted, we all know that not all pans of pulled pork are created equal. I guess that's why they have championship BBQ, but anyway...
After my 16 hr cook the other day, I'm really looking at the effect of long resting times and thinking I've been using the cooler to overcook, not just keep hot. I'll probably be starting cooks a little closer to serving time, and will be monitoring IT of the meat even while holding before pulling. I did most certainly find out that even if you stretch out the stall, all the fat and connective tissue is NOT gonna be gone unless you start to overcook (like holding in a hot cooler too long.) Boy, am I eating crow, but I also had some of the best bbq ever for Sunday dinner yesterday!
 
I like this thread a lot!
So I dug it up so NEW members can baste in the warmth...

I haven't done brisket in years, so that is my "something different" for this warmer "BBQ season".
I also have something up my sleeve that may be a bit different but I still need to work on it before I "tip my hat" :p

So, in Pinny's words, "Anyone else doing anything different or new this spring/summer?"
 
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