New 22 WSM last week, and had yesterday off of work, so time to break this beast in.
Found some decent looking Prime chuck at the Costco, 5lbs worth, so one in the freezer so wife can make the stew that she’s been craving, and one chunk for ends. Salt and pepper, and a liberal coating of Cajun Spice Rub from a local spice company here, Nutmeg. Great people, and their raw spices are what we normally use for our rubs also.
Loaded the charcoal grate up Harry Soo style, wood chunks under the charcoal. This was a mix of apple and hickory, and the charcoal was a mix of B&B logs, bricks and lump.
I did use the water pan, wrapped in foil, and kept it full of water, I had to refill right after the wrap. Lucky me, it was unseasonably warm and still, steady 30 degrees and no wind for the first cook. The grill was awesome, I made some adjustments before the meat went on, and it pretty much stayed at 250-270 for the duration of the unwrapped cook. I was nervous, all the talk of gaskets, doors, blankets, and temp controllers, but today everything went textbook smoothly. Probably the only and last time for that lol. After the wrap, I bumped up to 270. I did have a spike after the wrap, tried to be quick about opening and closing the lid, even closed the lower vents first, but I did briefly spike up to 305, but was able to come down quick by closing the bottom vents completely.
Took it to 165f, and wrapped in butcher paper. Decent coloring in the meat at this temp, I’m pretty amped so far.
Quickly bundled it up, bumped the temp a little, mainly so we could eat at a reasonable hour, kept the temp right at 275 for the remainder of the cook. Once the internal probes hit 202, I started probing, and the first one went straight through lol. It took a little pressure to get through the paper, but once the paper gave way, I shot right out the bottom. There was no resistance in the meat, tried a few spots, and it was like stabbing warm butter. I was wanting to let it rest before cubing, but it was getting late, so straight to the cutting board. Cubed, tasted, tasted more, and cubed. Decent looking ring, super juicy, and the meat just melted in my mouth. Wife loved it, she almost got stabbed a few times, snatching chunks from the block. Keep in mind, neither of us are normally huge beef bbq fans, the less rich pork is my normal go to. I grew up in the hills of NC.... Anyway, cubed, tossed in some brown sugar, drizzled with a Maple Bourbon bbq from the local grocery, and let finish on the smoker for a half hour.
This was certainly a day well spent. Done again, I’d probably start much earlier, so it can rest, and still eat at a reasonable hour. Maybe a different rub, there was no sugar in this one, but definitely still delicious. Can’t wait for the next cook, heck, I can’t wait for work to be over so I can get home to the leftovers.
Found some decent looking Prime chuck at the Costco, 5lbs worth, so one in the freezer so wife can make the stew that she’s been craving, and one chunk for ends. Salt and pepper, and a liberal coating of Cajun Spice Rub from a local spice company here, Nutmeg. Great people, and their raw spices are what we normally use for our rubs also.
Loaded the charcoal grate up Harry Soo style, wood chunks under the charcoal. This was a mix of apple and hickory, and the charcoal was a mix of B&B logs, bricks and lump.
I did use the water pan, wrapped in foil, and kept it full of water, I had to refill right after the wrap. Lucky me, it was unseasonably warm and still, steady 30 degrees and no wind for the first cook. The grill was awesome, I made some adjustments before the meat went on, and it pretty much stayed at 250-270 for the duration of the unwrapped cook. I was nervous, all the talk of gaskets, doors, blankets, and temp controllers, but today everything went textbook smoothly. Probably the only and last time for that lol. After the wrap, I bumped up to 270. I did have a spike after the wrap, tried to be quick about opening and closing the lid, even closed the lower vents first, but I did briefly spike up to 305, but was able to come down quick by closing the bottom vents completely.
Took it to 165f, and wrapped in butcher paper. Decent coloring in the meat at this temp, I’m pretty amped so far.
Quickly bundled it up, bumped the temp a little, mainly so we could eat at a reasonable hour, kept the temp right at 275 for the remainder of the cook. Once the internal probes hit 202, I started probing, and the first one went straight through lol. It took a little pressure to get through the paper, but once the paper gave way, I shot right out the bottom. There was no resistance in the meat, tried a few spots, and it was like stabbing warm butter. I was wanting to let it rest before cubing, but it was getting late, so straight to the cutting board. Cubed, tasted, tasted more, and cubed. Decent looking ring, super juicy, and the meat just melted in my mouth. Wife loved it, she almost got stabbed a few times, snatching chunks from the block. Keep in mind, neither of us are normally huge beef bbq fans, the less rich pork is my normal go to. I grew up in the hills of NC.... Anyway, cubed, tossed in some brown sugar, drizzled with a Maple Bourbon bbq from the local grocery, and let finish on the smoker for a half hour.
This was certainly a day well spent. Done again, I’d probably start much earlier, so it can rest, and still eat at a reasonable hour. Maybe a different rub, there was no sugar in this one, but definitely still delicious. Can’t wait for the next cook, heck, I can’t wait for work to be over so I can get home to the leftovers.
