Happy WSM Smoke Day!


 
Forecast heavy rain for Saturday made me move Smoke Day to Thursday. I cooked one butt for pulled pork, plus some chicken thighs (on the kettle). I'm ashamed to admit that the only photo I took was this one, showing how much charcoal (B&B briquettes) was left after a 14 hour, 250 degree cook. The pulled pork will be served tomorrow when my daughter's family comes over to celebrate my birthday.IMG_20230526_170336166.jpg
 
I decided to cook a dry aged brisket.
Some weeks ago I ask my butcher to dry age one for me.
I also decided to smoke the brisket until it hit the stall and got a good bark in my 22.5”WSM. I then switch over to my Weber Spirit to finish it wrapped in butcher paper.

What can I say… it worked great and the result was fantastic. It was one of my best briskets ever.

Here are some impressions for my friends:

View attachment 71309
View attachment 71310
View attachment 71311View attachment 71312View attachment 71313View attachment 71314View attachment 71315View attachment 71316View attachment 71317
Beautiful looking brisket there Jan!
 
I am impressed with all these cooks......looking good, is today still part of smoke day?

As far as I'm concerned it is -- though I'm calling it "smoke' day since my 14.5 is still out of commission. We've had constant cool drizzle all days, so not much inclined to stand out with the pressure washer etc. cleaning it up.

But on the official WSM Smoke Day, I set up the meals for all three days and started with that big, full-egg burger (yummy). At the last second, I discovered all my wood chunks were still in packed away the garage instead of being inside of in my grill cabinet -- so-o had to fake it with a smoker tube and pellets. At least I got to enjoy sitting with a beer mostly protected by a table umbrella and watching the smoke swirl around my grill. That's when I realized yet another surprise -- I replaced the grill hood a couple of weeks ago and haven't yet lined the lower edge with woodstove gasket to help contain smoke (directed out the back) and heat (no wonder my cooks seem to take a bit longer -- especially in this wind). I'll post detai and pics about that when I do the job.

On the topi"smoke" day weekend, last night I had that spaghetti with RAO'S and the ground chuck I prepared on Smoke Day. So very good, no pics. 😒

Today I'll try to remember to get pics of the ribs and corn on the cob "smoked" again on the grill. Ribs are now dry-rubbed and in the fridge.

Meanwhile, I'm making a new fireplace mantle top and working on finishing the cleanup/stripping of a sundial I made numerous years back. And, of course, continuing to figure out how to configure this workshop space at the back of my garage.

Happy Memorial Day all, and never forget those who sacrificed so we all can enjoy it!
 
OK, Chris. This going to be a bit piecemeal, but as I dodge between showers and sun, I'll tell the tale of my Memorial Day "smoke". Hope it doesn't get too boring.

I put the ribs out to thaw on Smoke Day and decided how to prepare them: mix together the last of my Cajun Spice and the last of my Texas Rub (I think both are posted on Recipes) and use that as my rib rub. I have always done ribs with a dry rubber and only sometimes had a sauce on the side. This time I promised @Joan to use one of the sauce recipes she posted, but I got distracted by #5 Sauce -- so I fixed both. Reasonable, right. The Joan post is the Southern Living Sweet and Simple BBQ Sauce -- sort of. I also told Joan that I might sub some Chipotles en Adobo, and as luck would have it, I ran out of Worchestshire sauce on #5 so subbed a tad of A1 ( steak sauce, right? 😁) and soy. Chipotles for Chile sauce (?) And hot sauce.

So some pics. The ribs with rub and covered for a few hours in the fridge. I cut slabs in 2-3 parts to fit my 14.5 and, in this case, the end of my grill away from the heat.
20230529_113742.jpg

My grill setup. As I mentioned above, I will be adding gasket to force smoke out the back. If your eyes are good, you can zoom and catch a glimpse of wood chunks below the lower grate. The drip pans are for that and go block smoke going directly out the rear. Instead, should be up the front and over the meat. The EP--330 has a lower BTU "sear" burner on the left that at lowest setting will keep the temp at just under 300*.
20230529_132340.jpg

I said before that I have some other projects in the works. This shows the heavily mildewed sundial I'm cleaning up. Years of sun and rain can do that to you in NC. I'll post more about this in another section, bit this is what I was doing while waiting to start the cook. The foreground is the stripper compound. 20230529_112227.jpg

The grill once started with thin, blue smoke pouring out all around for lack of those perimeter gaskets.
20230529_145058.jpg

How about a break before we get to the coo
 
Any day that you can barbecue something in the days leading up to May 27 or shortly after May 27 is considered YOUR Smoke Day!

Sounds great, I was convinced it was a long weekend celebration......I have been really aiming at making all my long weekends 3 smoke or bbq meal weekends for a bit now....next one for me is July 1rst! This may also work into a long weekend for you folks south of me too???? The 4rth is a Tuesday I believe.
 
Seems hard to believe that I proofread... Autocorrect is the pits!

No sooner did I stop for the "coo" than the sky fell in. Fortunately, I just managed to get the ribs wrapped first. But I'm getting ahead.

I wanted to do 3-2-1, but first I needed sauce. The #5 was easiest (the basic one posted by @Steve Petrone here: https://tvwbb.com/threads/no-5-sauce.13616/ ) tasted really good-- better than either of the Whole Foods bbq sauces that Sheila bought. The SS sauce was thinner, even with chipotles, and quite different. More like a NC BBQ sauce, but heavier and CHIPOTLE. I'll save most of it for my next pulled pork or chicken. Here they are , the #5 on the right.
20230529_153010.jpg

2 hours into the cook, l brushed each part of the baby backs with one sauce -- the #5 is closest -- and repeated a half hour later.
20230529_153413.jpg

Like I said, just in time I wrapped and poured in a little cola soda and a little beer -- WTH 《shrug》.
20230529_164317.jpg

After getting bit soaked (and BTW, let me add that through all this I was enjoying listening to Pure Prairie League of "Amie" fame), it was time to prepare the corn-on-the-cob. I like doing it my way. If you haven't had COTC prepared like this, you ain't living. But you may not want to do it for a crowd unleash does their own.
20230529_165701.jpg

Shuck the ear leaving the shucks attached, strip the silk, butter the ears and sprinkle with salt, or better yet, Cajun Spice. In this case, I've used up the Cajun Spice, but still have some of the mix from my rub.
20230529_170315.jpg

When it was time to do the final stage of the ribs, I added the corn. This was taken just before taking them off the grill.
20230529_183240.jpg

The butchers twine is my add. I've usually seen it done without, but like the comfort of containing the moisture.

Hmm. A rest and plating may be in order.
 
First time trying a tri tip and it turned out great. Forgot to take more pictures and by the time I remembered we had ate most of it.

Dry brined for 6 hours then put a rub of black pepper, chipotle powder, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder and on the smoker at 275 until internal temp of 125, then finished on the grill to sear it.

IMG_2531.jpegIMG_2532.jpeg
 
Smash tacos prep!
IMG_20230529_164045.jpg
IMG_20230529_164051.jpg

Smash taco making.

Beef.
IMG_20230529_165429.jpg

Chicken (with one beef that snuck into this picture).
IMG_20230529_170038.jpg

A plater of smash tacos
IMG_20230529_170625.jpg

My personal plate.
IMG_20230529_171205.jpg

Perfect, when I get a little of everything on my plate into one taco bit.
IMG_20230529_171310.jpg

I know they are only called smash tacos in my house, but my daughter loves them and they are are something special when it all comes together. My daughter has asked me to remake them all year and they were as good as she and I remembered.
 
Last edited:

 

Back
Top