Dwain Pannell
TVWBB Hall of Fame
Mid week, I pulled a couple small 2 - 3 lb chuck roasts from the freezer and placed them in the fridge to thaw for this weekend's family gathering in honor of the Dallas game. I've had an idea lately to cook pulled beef sliders inspired by one of Chris' articles. I noticed plenty of others doing this so it's not as unique a post as I originally thought last weekend when I planned this. I guess great minds think alike ...or I'm a copy cat -- not sure which.
Last night, I cut the roasts in half to make the 4 chunks Chris described. Instead of the rub he used, I dusted my chuck with SPOG: a mixture of 2 TBS Salt, 1 TBS Black Pepper, 1 TBS Granulated Garlic, and 1 TBS Onion Flakes (hey... I was out of Granulated Onion. I know I could have ground them to make granulated but I didn't - give a guy a break). I had some rub left over so I saved it in an old spice jar for the next SPOG requirement. Also, instead of the Zip Lock Chris recommended, I used a Food Saver bag and put a little vacuum on it, gave it a nice massage, and placed it back in the fridge for the overnight rest.
0 dark early this AM I was up and at em (old Army habits die hard) and fired up a chimney of Publix Greenwise Lump. I dumped a fresh bag in the charcoal ring of the WSM, made a pot of Maker's Mark Coffee, and waited about 30 minutes for the lump to fully engage. I dumped the lit on the bed of unlit, put the center section on, and let the unlit catch without installing the lid.
I also deviated from Chris' instruction by not using water for this cook. I find the cooker reacts to vent adjustments faster and uses less fuel because the vents are barely open. A cooker with water and vents open more burns more charcoal to get the same temp IMHO. YMMV.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (aka work table), I cut the food saver bag open and positioned the chuck quarters the way Chris described in his article. Mine were a bit more flexible so ingenuity kicked in and I skewered them in an attempt to keep them separate so they'll get hit by the cherry wood smoke I added. After all, that's the reason I cut them in half and stood them on edge to begin with -- to expose them to the smoke more.
After my first vent adjustment, the cooker wanted to hang out around 275* and I was good with that but I am upset I had to make two more vent adjustments later to keep it at/below 275*. You see, I take pleasure in the low stress, one vent adjustment cooks where the cooker locks into a comfortable temp range. A two vent adjustment cook is a mediocre, routine cook in my mind albeit acceptable - hey we're only human - right? But three? A three vent adjustment cook is a total, epic failure on my part. LOL If I would have had to make four adjustments I would have classified this cook as "babysitting the cooker" and "chasing temps". Two activities I refuse to participate in while BBQ-ing. If I ever have to make five adjustments (I haven't done this in ...I can't remember when) I believe it would warrant a trip to the dump. Anyway, after my third and final vent adjustment, with my three lower vents ~ 10% open and my top vent ~ 60% open, she settled in at ~ 250* +/- 15*.
Three hours into the cook and time to foil per Chris' instruction -- the beef was 150*. This is where the beauty of the slot cut for the thermometer cables comes in: I removed the lid, moved the pan of beef (with the thermometer probe still installed) onto the side table, and got the lid back on to alleviate a temp spike in about 2.15 seconds. (really?!?! -- 2.15 seconds?) Yes, 2.15 seconds. Record time. Here's what the beef looked like when I removed the skewer and foiled the pan on the work table. My first reaction is: I wish I had more bark. ...but we drive on. I removed the lid, placed the wrapped pan on the cooker, swept the cables into the slot with my gloved hand, and got the lid back on. Again, in record breaking time -- even faster than the removal -- to prevent temp spikes.
Instead of mixing sauce in with the pulled beef, I served a selection from Sticky Fingers, No 5, Bone Suckin Sauce, and around here what we call "Hank's" (a thick tomato based sauce from a friend's recipe doctored up with some Maker's Mark and de-fatted drippings from the beef).
Now, we can watch the COWBOYS in style.
Last night, I cut the roasts in half to make the 4 chunks Chris described. Instead of the rub he used, I dusted my chuck with SPOG: a mixture of 2 TBS Salt, 1 TBS Black Pepper, 1 TBS Granulated Garlic, and 1 TBS Onion Flakes (hey... I was out of Granulated Onion. I know I could have ground them to make granulated but I didn't - give a guy a break). I had some rub left over so I saved it in an old spice jar for the next SPOG requirement. Also, instead of the Zip Lock Chris recommended, I used a Food Saver bag and put a little vacuum on it, gave it a nice massage, and placed it back in the fridge for the overnight rest.
0 dark early this AM I was up and at em (old Army habits die hard) and fired up a chimney of Publix Greenwise Lump. I dumped a fresh bag in the charcoal ring of the WSM, made a pot of Maker's Mark Coffee, and waited about 30 minutes for the lump to fully engage. I dumped the lit on the bed of unlit, put the center section on, and let the unlit catch without installing the lid.
I also deviated from Chris' instruction by not using water for this cook. I find the cooker reacts to vent adjustments faster and uses less fuel because the vents are barely open. A cooker with water and vents open more burns more charcoal to get the same temp IMHO. YMMV.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (aka work table), I cut the food saver bag open and positioned the chuck quarters the way Chris described in his article. Mine were a bit more flexible so ingenuity kicked in and I skewered them in an attempt to keep them separate so they'll get hit by the cherry wood smoke I added. After all, that's the reason I cut them in half and stood them on edge to begin with -- to expose them to the smoke more.
After my first vent adjustment, the cooker wanted to hang out around 275* and I was good with that but I am upset I had to make two more vent adjustments later to keep it at/below 275*. You see, I take pleasure in the low stress, one vent adjustment cooks where the cooker locks into a comfortable temp range. A two vent adjustment cook is a mediocre, routine cook in my mind albeit acceptable - hey we're only human - right? But three? A three vent adjustment cook is a total, epic failure on my part. LOL If I would have had to make four adjustments I would have classified this cook as "babysitting the cooker" and "chasing temps". Two activities I refuse to participate in while BBQ-ing. If I ever have to make five adjustments (I haven't done this in ...I can't remember when) I believe it would warrant a trip to the dump. Anyway, after my third and final vent adjustment, with my three lower vents ~ 10% open and my top vent ~ 60% open, she settled in at ~ 250* +/- 15*.
Three hours into the cook and time to foil per Chris' instruction -- the beef was 150*. This is where the beauty of the slot cut for the thermometer cables comes in: I removed the lid, moved the pan of beef (with the thermometer probe still installed) onto the side table, and got the lid back on to alleviate a temp spike in about 2.15 seconds. (really?!?! -- 2.15 seconds?) Yes, 2.15 seconds. Record time. Here's what the beef looked like when I removed the skewer and foiled the pan on the work table. My first reaction is: I wish I had more bark. ...but we drive on. I removed the lid, placed the wrapped pan on the cooker, swept the cables into the slot with my gloved hand, and got the lid back on. Again, in record breaking time -- even faster than the removal -- to prevent temp spikes.
Instead of mixing sauce in with the pulled beef, I served a selection from Sticky Fingers, No 5, Bone Suckin Sauce, and around here what we call "Hank's" (a thick tomato based sauce from a friend's recipe doctored up with some Maker's Mark and de-fatted drippings from the beef).
Now, we can watch the COWBOYS in style.
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