Recent content by Chris Nielsen

Thanks everyone for the advice. I thought I would post the results for everyone's benefit. I decided to go ahead and start them at 1 AM, due to the fact that it's better to keep them warm and reheat them than try to rush them to completion in the oven. They started at 1 AM with 15 lit coals...

Thanks Pat, the more I think about it the more I think you're absolutely right. Maybe I'll just start with fewer lit coals. Better to cook to tender and reheat than under-cook.

ya that's an idea, depending on how long they take at first. I don't want them to sit in a cooler for 6 hours before putting them back on. If I get 20 people sick I'll never hear the end of it. And yes, he does have too many mouths for 6# of pork, but I'm doing a whole turkey too. Does anyone...

that's my fear. I should add that I do have the option of taking them off the smoker at noon if they look like they wont make it and put them in a 350 oven for an hour or so to finish. I don't love that idea, but it's an option.

I agreed to smoke some meat for a friend who is throwing a birthday party and I told him to get two boston butts, but what he actually got were two "boneless boston butt roasts" These are much smaller than what I am used to smoking for pulled pork. They are 2.5 and 3.5 pounds and I usually smoke...

This weekend when I fired up the WSM, I put 6 whole beets (tops removed, with about an inch of stem left) and stuck them on for about 3.5 hours, until they were heated through but not mushy. When I pulled them off, I stuck them in a bowl and covered with foil so that the skin would loosen a...

what I have done with my butts is started them around midnight, and then when I wake up in the morning I put whatever else I am smoking on (chicken, ribs or turkey). Whenever the butts are done, I pull them off and double wrap them in foil and stick them in a thick styrofoam cooler (courtesy...

First off, the best meat in the world is the meat that you have on hand. Don't be afraid to buy meat and freeze it if that's what gets BBQ on your plate. There's no question that freezing and thawing meat causes changes to the cell walls and other microscopic properties. Does this result in...

I did two 5lb butts over the weekend and they took about 10 hours. The only other time I did butts they were a bit larger and took about 12-13 hours. If you get some big ones, like an 8-9 lb range I would expect 14-16. Both in my own limited experience and from reading, there's a lot of wiggle...

If I understand correctly, the shoulder is the entire section, consisting of the butt and the picnic ham. The butt is generally more revered for pulled pork, and is certainly more popular, but there are plenty of folks who prefer the ham end for BBQ. If you're looking for a sure-fire bet, do...

I think given the shape of the WSM it probably doesn't matter, but it can't hurt and I myself do it, just in case. As Ken mentioned, if you're going to have one vent open on the bottom, make it the front one and you've got yourself a two-fer.

I know it's not in the price range you listed, but the best Balsamic I have ever had is from Villa Manodori. I got a bottle in Sienna, Italy, when I was there. You can get it on Amazon for an arm and a leg. http://www.amazon.com/product/dp/B0017WSH82 As for lower cost options, my go-to...

Depends on the size of your WSM and the size of the butts. I have a 22" and I can fit 3 medium butts on one grate (6-7 lb butts). If you can, I would make 3 butts, since they go faster than you think and make for great leftovers. I've never coiled ribs but again, if your WSM is the 22" I would...

As nice as the food looks, it's your cutting board that caught my eye. Great finish on that.

While I got my first WSM only a month ago, I have used it every weekend since and have cooks planned for *at least* the next 3 weekends. It's hard to decide what to cook. I want to try some turkey, but MAN those ribs last weekend were good and I want more of them, and one can never have enough...