Ever toss out something you smoked?


 
Nothing lately, but last year I bought a couple of roasting chickens that were nearing their expy date. Put 'em in the fridge, and they sat for at least a week. Opened the cryovac to cook, and they smelled rude. Those went straight into the trash.

A month later, I had a fresh shoulder working on an all day cook. Started at about 8 am, I was hoping to have pulled pork by 7pm. After consuming too many brewskis, I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up at 4 am the next morning.... no pulled pork. Instead I had a dried out 6 inch coating of charred bark around a bone. The only good ting I found out was that the WSM still had a small fire in it.
 
Last year we bought some beef from some acquaintances who raise their own cattle - grass fed, no hormones, etc. Seemed like a great idea - know your meat, you know?

I smoked a chuck roast at the same time as some ribs and it turned out great. Great flavor, excellent tenderness. Just spot on goodness. The ribs were for that evening, so I put the chuck roast away to have the next day. Something happened while it sat overnight though - I don't know what it was, but the meat was awful. I had to toss it out. Since then, we've had that problem with about all the meat we got from them. Great right after cooking, but the longer it sits, the worse tasting it becomes. Something to do with the fat, I think.

I have since done some research and found that grass-fed beef is either the best-tasting stuff you can get or the worst. Seems like we got some of the latter.
 
My first and only attempt at a low and slow brisket. The cook was a spur of the moment decision and not very well thought out. The meat ended up being way over cooked and very dry. Tried to eat it but there was no way. In the trash it went!
 
Too much Mesquite on a pork butt and some turkey legs. I swore I could taste it for days. If I had it to do over, I would have tried to make some carnitas out of the pork... I just didn't want it anywhere near my mouth at the time. Sadly, it was maybe the best pork butt I have ever cooked....Perfectly done... Other than the smoke flavor.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Shelly:
Does disintegration count? Before I got my WSM, I once put a mess of short ribs on the gas grill (on low), went back into the house. Checked on them an hour later. Apparently, the fat from the ribs caused a flare-up, which turned into a seriously super-hot fire. Because when I opened the lid, all that was left was white ash and a few slivers of bleached white bones. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The thrill of Hickory,
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and the agony of burnt meat.
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Some people learn by reading and others learn by doing. From a person who reads (especially this site) to the people that do, I thank you. Your experiences have taught me a lot. I've never had to toss anything.
 
Every once in a while I will get distracted and mess something up. For sure I have tossed one here and there. DiGiorno anyone?

Gary
 
I've been fortunate to never fully euchre any of my cooks. I have had several less than perfect ribs but large items (butts,briskets) I keep simple and they all come out great.

Something I have been LOVING lately is working through all the "kabob" recipes lately using the WSM base as a charcoal grill.

Funny... I can count dozens of messed up things on the gasser though!
 
I tried smoking meatloaf but used too much hickory. Took one bite and it tasted like I was munching on a burnt stick. Threw the rest away and haven't tried it again.
 
Before my wsm I wasn't educated about different smoke woods, chunks vs chips. I was using hickory chips and evidently used waaaay too much on the ribs I was smoking. I took the first bite and looked at my wife with the look. Paid too much to throw them out so we ate them. Now to this day I can't use more than 1 chunk of hickory on a rib cook. Good thing I have other wood to choose from.

Now for one that should have been tossed. Several years ago I was cooking boneless turkey breast for thanksgiving. I bought an extra one to take to my new neighbor. He has a brinkman electric and lived in Texas for several years. He thinks the only smoke wood is mesquite. Well around noon I take over the breast I just got off the smoker. He tells me he just finished his turkey on the smoker about 10 minutes before and asked if I wanted to try it. I was like well. He asked his wife where the turkey was. She put it in the garage. As I followed him to the garage he opens the door and the odor runs in and slaps me in the face. I about choked. He slices off a piece, I have tears in my eyes by this time. I put it in my mouth and it was jerky. I hated to ask for water as I thought it would take a gallon to wash that small piece of turkey down. I don't know if they ate or trashed that turkey, but I am willing to bet it got trashed. My dog goes nuts when I smoke and I doubt she would have eaten that turkey.
 
What a pleaure to run across this thread. I've got one of these stories.

I'm new to the smoking thing and did some ribs a while back before reading and learning. afterall we're just cooking ribs with some smoke wood - how tough can that be?! HA! I ended up with a couple of racks of pork ribs and used 15-20 pieces of hickory wood - yeesh - we called 'em carcinoribs. They were aweful - completely inedible. I can eat just about anything but I ate two and tossed the rest. Oh well - live and learn.
 
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