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Brad.... When trying to time your briskets, you need to pay close attention to the thickness of the meat...especially the flat portion. At 10 lbs., I am willing to bet your brisket was relatively thin. I have had many of them cook in 45 min.-1hr./lb. All of these were pretty thin pieces of...

Thank you, Steve!! I have been trying to hammer this point home for many years. In 25 years of cooking, I have never ever paid one single penny for smoking wood. There is so much free wood around, I can't possibly use all that is available to me. Just yesterday, a buddy of mine felled a...

Jim... Go nuts! I would plan on 1 lb. per person. That means 8 lbs. of finished meat. That equates to 16 lbs. of raw meat. 2 butts should do you well. Cook the butts on top and I would then fill the bottom grate with your kielbasa. Let those butts keep the sausage basted. Not sure on the...

Keri... I used to be a regular at the location in Oakbrook....actually watched it being built. A company I consulted for was located about a block away and I was there every other week. Very nice and very good food. I have also eaten at the location on Milwaukee Ave. several times before...

Joe.... Huge BBQ myth! Feel free to insert fork and twist! I get a kick out of the chefs that tell you this and then immediately start poking their thermo's into the meat to check for doneness! Meat is comprised of milions of INDIVIDUAL cells, each containing water. When you pierce with a...

Ed... I started using these last year and I now do exactly the same thing! No more chimney! I got some on clearance as well, but I will gladly pay full price which works out to 24 for under $3.00 or 12 1/5 cents a piece...cheaper than the evening news!

David.... Here is how I use that stuff..... I use it on preparing strip loin steaks. These steaks can be very uneven in the tenderness area...even if graded choice. So, cover with olive oil, then sprinkle meat tenderizer and finally some garlic powder. Then, add a bit more oil and seal with...

Hey, Bruce! Funny how things work...I can never get my ribs done in less than 6 hrs.! LOL You went for over 3 hrs. with temps less than 200?...I think you said 182? at 3pm. That's very low for a long time. Quite honestly, I am surprised they finished in 6 hrs.! How much do your individual...

Peter... You are correct in trying to keep anything near the edge. Actually oyu want ot try and keep everything inside the diameter of the water pan. That is easy to do when racking, a little more challenging if rolling. Racking is easier because when you cut a slab in half it measures about...

Martin... The smokering stops forming after the meat reaches between 120-140?. So any wood added when the meat is above 140? is giving you flavor but no more smokering formation. Garrett... I think your answer is simply adding more wood! Perhaps in the second hour add a few more chunks. OR...

Larry.... Overnight is plenty. The marinade is already inside the meat so you could actually cook it immediately. Most times at contests, the butt is injected and must be cooked immediately to be able to turn-in on time.

That's the sprirt!!!

Joe... I would say flavor is the main objective. You can do a heavy flavor by injecting a jerk marinade but many on the MIM circuit use it to add a bit of sweetness to the pork. If using a heavy flavor, be careful so you don't overdo it. No impact on the cooking time and you will get a very...

Spyro, good points! I think the important thing to grasp here is that you should sear the meat at some point. My only question on searing at the end, how do you control the final temp? How do you know when to blast with 500? heat and then how long. Seems to me you run a risk of way over...

Larry.... VERY common! If you were to attend an MIM contest you will find that almost every team injects their shoulders. Insert needle and while pumping, slowly withdraw the needle. Do this many times throughout the butt. It will puff up like a basketball.

Peter, welcome to the board!! I really can't add much to what Keri and Doug have already said. When I do this many ribs, I make sure to use a full chimney of coals. I use the MM for everything I cook and a full chimney of coals will get that temp up very quick. I add all my meats as soon as...

Many joints also use steam tables to tenderize. Then they throw on the gril and sauce just before serving. Lots of ways to get them tender and then crisp them up over high heat.

Brandon.... Doug is right on! I have the Brinkmann pan and I still need to rotate. This is even with my entire setup inside the diameter of the pan. The outermost pieces will always dry faster. You will also notice that the top and bottom tray will dry quicker, so need to be rotated.

Brian.... There are several ways to accomplish this task. Russ is correct in that most of the smokehouses use the cold smoking process for their fish. Tony is also correct in that you can do it in a much shorter period of time and get great results. Here is the process a buddy of mine...

Chris..... You really have to watch your time with these smaller butts. The connective tissue and fat still need to render and that takes time....no matter what the size. I think planning on 2 1/2 hrs/lb is a wise decision. I would even add a few hours...after all......it is much easier to...