« Gobber Noodles | Home | Teaching a Kid to Fish »
Backyard Smoker
By stevem | June 10, 2010
Some have asked me what I like to do, or more specifically what I like to cook on the rare weekend that I get to spend at home. Look no further than my back porch and the smoker, both are well used and loved any time I get a chance.
Of course there is plenty more to do while the smoker does its work but it’s all just to pass time while smelling the smoke blend that calls my name. What ends up in the smoker and on the menu depends on how I am feeling, but more times than not there will be a brisket and ribs in there. This weekend was no different, a full smoker means a happy camper. The smoker ended up rolling for nearly 10 hours and the result was just like it should have been, bone suckin’ good.
As a matter of fact the son of a frequent Camp Chef blogger proudly proclaimed that it was the finest meal he had ever eaten; you can take that one to the bank!
Steve
Topics: General Discussion, Smoking | 11 Comments »
June 10th, 2010 at 8:53 am
Yep… gonna have to get me a 24″ Smoker Vault. Might need some tips and advice on both the brisket and the ribs. Maybe we can discuss it as you offer samples? =0)
I like that new propane tank, too. I noticed one at the Camp Chef DOG in a corner of the warehouse. Very cool. Will have to get me one of those.
June 10th, 2010 at 9:39 am
Ranes,
You are welcome anytime at my place and if there is something in the smoker then you are certainly welcome to sample it. The last few days I have had that thing working on overtime doing nearly 20 lbs of jerky.
June 10th, 2010 at 10:58 am
What are some of the best books out there for smoking. I am a newbie and would like to learn the right technique’s and some good recipes.
June 10th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Steve,
Would you mind sharing your jerky recipe? My hubby and I were talking just last weekend that we needed to try making some in our Smoke Vault. Thanks!
June 10th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
I’ll share my jerky recipe. It’s one of my favorites. I used a Korean Barbecue recipe for Bulgolgi.
20 ounces soy sauce
1T Onion Powder (not onion salt)
1T Garlic Powder (not garlic salt)
1T Ginger Powder
Add that to 10 pounds meat.
Back when I used to make tons of jerky, I had the butcher slice the meat and pack in 5 pound packages. I trimmed off what little fat was left and cut into jerky size pieces. I used 10 ounces of the Bulgogi marinade to 5 pounds of meat and let marinade overnight.
For spicy jerky, just add powdered heat… cayenne pepper, etc. For really hot jerky, add a little wasabi powder.
I used to offer 3.5 ounce bags and pound bags. There was a time when I was ordering 50 pounds of meat at a time.
June 10th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Hey! What’s the deal with no recipes!!
Also, for someone looking for some great books here are a few that I have and really like:
“Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures and Glazes” by Jim Tarantino
“Paul Kirk’s Championship Barbecue” by Paul Kirk
“Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue” by Cheryl and Bill Jamison
“Peace, Love, & Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue” by Mike Mills
There are also others from BBQ legends like Chris Lilly and Ray Lampe. And great books from Steve Raichlen and Rick Browne.
I don’t know if I can mention other sites but you can also find a lot of information from forum sites like thesmokering.com and virtualweberbullet.com
June 10th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
I would echo William’s contribution on the books, those are the same I use. Paul Kirk’s being my favorite and the one I refer to the most. As far as a good BBQ related read goes, the Mike Mill’s book is a good one to salivate over while traveling.
My jerky recipe is really quite simple, I use the stuff from Hi Mtn Seasonings. They make great stuff and in my opinion their jerky stuff is second to none. Not sure on how many flavors they offer but I know it’s quite a few. My personal favorites being Original, Hickory and Cracked Pepper and Garlic. The advice I was given on choice of meat is to use beef and get the eye of round roast. There will be some trimming and slicing but it’s worth every bit of work. Just ask the web guys here at the office!
Steve
June 10th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
As far as recipes go for the smoked stuff above, I left them off on purpose. Not that I am a secret keeper, because I really am not that good at it!
I wanted to see if anyone was watching and interested.
For the ribs I have used quite a few different rubs but usually the same methodology. One of the old standbys for rubs has been Emeril’s rib rub. It has just about everything I like in a rub and with a small addition of brown sugar it’s ready to go out of the bottle. Some may wonder why I don’t mix my own rubs and spices, simple answer is time. It’s a premium around my place and with a huge kitchen remodel in the very near future it will become even harder to come by. So I keep it simple. I tried a new one this last time, it was Bone Suckin sauce dry rub, I had never heard of the company of mix but was very impressed with it’s flavor. As a matter of fact we did a little taste testing and it beat out Emeril’s. I bought it at Bass Pro Shops and I am sure it can be found online.
As for the brisket I have used a mix that is done by a friend of mine. Not sure what all is in it nor why it is so good, but it works! The biggest trick here is time and temperature. I try to run mine around 12 hours at about 200-225 degrees.
Steve
June 10th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Thanks for sharing your recipe, Ranes, it sounds great. Steve, I had completely forgotten that we were given a couple packages of the jerky seasoning from Hi Mtn Seasonings a while back. Thanks for the recommendation, I look forward to trying them.
June 11th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Hi Mtn just came out with a new jerky flavor, jalapeno. I will be putting that one through it’s paces this weekend.
June 19th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
wow i look great