ChiefBrock
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2013
- Location
- Charleston SC
Been grilling most my life (49.8 years old)..hahaha. From helping on all night pig roasts as a boy where it was more about drinking PBR, eating the skin, and telling lies than anything else...but everyone ate their fill the next day and never complained.
As an adult and raising a family during 20+ years in military (retired May2004)....started tradition of grilled meals....usually cook all year round 3+ times per week on grill. My kids and wife have never eaten a pork chop. lamb chop, burger, steak, tuna steak, shark steak at our dinner table not cooked on a grill.
From a very basic Weber kettle...to a Ducane 5 burner propane to now having both a Weber Genesis E series (copper) with sear station for my burgers and steaks......and a Meadow Creek PR42 for smoking and roasting duties.
I have smoked a few times in an old Brinkman smoker I had in 90s and used it mostly for jerky and wild turkeys....turkeys were always tough and thank goodness for internet in my reading journey.
Past couple years been borrowing a backyard sized cooker/smoker from a friend whose family are synonymous with BBQ in Lowcountry and Piedmont areas with their mustard based sauces. It worked great for cooking the 50lb pig I do every year for Christmas for my extended family (22-28 ppl) but I hate borrowing things and started wanting other options....grease trap, indirect heat, etc. Hence picking up my own used but new to me PR42 from a gentleman in NC that used it in competitions last year.
So last weekend I took my PR42 with pull out charcoal drawer and started my journey...not knowing what to expect I gave myself 16 hours worse case for two pork shoulders (15lbs approx) and a small venison tenderloin (3 lbs).
venison I marinated in mixture put through blender of 1 part soy sauce, 1 part canola oil, 1/2 part brown sugar. Marinated 2 hours...pulled out and wrapped in saran wrap and refrigerated. did not want to leave soaking as thought if the oil and soy separated it might pickle meat.
week prior read through a hundred rub recipes and finally decided to just make one up based on others but with my own amounts and changes as starting point.....paprika, fresh ground pepper (used mortar and pestle...next time will be bought ground hahahahahah...arm felt like it was as big as Popeye afterwards), kosher salt, garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin and brown sugar. Rubbed pork in yellow mustard....caked on the rub good .....and let sit while cooker got up to heat.
Well lit MC with chimney and had 40 lbs of Cowboy sitting by it just in case....started with one small bag (8lbs) and added a few chunks of apple to it as well for more smoke. 30 minutes later was at 275*....added meat and watched the lid thermometer (found out previous guy swapped it out for one reason or another with a generic brand so not sure how accurate...got feeling it registers LOWER than actual as you will see later).
A bit of playing around as I cant leave good enough alone....I close bottom vents both sides to half way and top to half way and see what happens....and it settles on 225*.
I had also downloaded the app for my DROID and set alarms for every 30 min the first 4 hours to check fire and record how it was doing.....and then after 6 hours to check meat temp with a handheld digital probe (since ordered Maverick ET732).
Long story short.....cook time for the two large shoulders at temp shown was about 7.5 hours. Friend said they run 12-16 hours on his in restraunt at similar temps but his is full offset setup rather than a roaster/smoker so I am guessing I get more heat than him...but then again 225 is 225 no matter where the source...right?
Well meat was at 196*F at 6:30am after doing spritzes of apple juice every half hour the final 2 hours...so pulled it and wrapped in foil and stuck both in my big 90qt Igloo Cooler outside. Dinner was scheduled for 1pm so I had some time.
Put the venison on for an hour...should have only done it for 30 minutes as it was medium well instead of rare-medium rare...but I was exhausted by then and my GAS level was very low...LOL
Removed, wrapped, into cooler.....
Went inside...showered, took nap...woke up at 12pm and pulled meat from cooler. It was still very warm...surprisingly. Opened up the first....great smoke just under the surface...juicy...smokey....I am pleased. Pull all the meat and fill three large dishes...cover with foil tightly and stick in warming drawer in oven bottom until time to eat.
Family showed up...meat on counter....I sliced the venison tenderloin very thin and put on plate with cheeses and crackers....it was gone in 20 minutes. My claims of being over cooked and not good went on deaf ears. I am blessed with a food ignorant family when it comes to technical aspects and such....they just like to eat and like it when I surprise them with different foods. Two years ago cooked buffalo ribeye roast for christmas.....before that was alligator, crawfish, duck and venison swedish meatballs...before that was bear roast. LOL You get the point.
Anyhow...great success but I have few things I would do different:
-buy digital meat and cooker probes--done, arrive Monday
-buy Bear Claws for pulled pork...it is HOT even in insulated silicone gloves
-calibrate or buy replacement hood thermometer...I think MC uses Tel Tru by the looks so that will be done by next week.
- add more brown sugar to rub....cut back on fresh ground pepper slightly or buy it already ground a not as strong....maybe cut in half from original amount.
- make my spritz half apple juice and half apple cider vinegar
-wrap venison in bacon after first hour to make sure it gets good smoke...but helps with flavor and adds some fat for cooking later
-use briquets instead of lump...easier to fit into drawer after first load burned down
well, trying ribs and wings this weekend for Superbowl....will be cook number 2 on my MC42 but so far so good.
I was amazed on how steady the MC kept my temp at least as far as the included aftermarket temp dial displayed...was very easy to keep it at the optimal temp. Looking forward to a long and enjoyable learning experience and hopes in few years I can be half as good as some of you gentlemen with my meats. Thanks for putting up with my long first post...as you can see I like to talk. LMAO
As an adult and raising a family during 20+ years in military (retired May2004)....started tradition of grilled meals....usually cook all year round 3+ times per week on grill. My kids and wife have never eaten a pork chop. lamb chop, burger, steak, tuna steak, shark steak at our dinner table not cooked on a grill.
From a very basic Weber kettle...to a Ducane 5 burner propane to now having both a Weber Genesis E series (copper) with sear station for my burgers and steaks......and a Meadow Creek PR42 for smoking and roasting duties.
I have smoked a few times in an old Brinkman smoker I had in 90s and used it mostly for jerky and wild turkeys....turkeys were always tough and thank goodness for internet in my reading journey.
Past couple years been borrowing a backyard sized cooker/smoker from a friend whose family are synonymous with BBQ in Lowcountry and Piedmont areas with their mustard based sauces. It worked great for cooking the 50lb pig I do every year for Christmas for my extended family (22-28 ppl) but I hate borrowing things and started wanting other options....grease trap, indirect heat, etc. Hence picking up my own used but new to me PR42 from a gentleman in NC that used it in competitions last year.
So last weekend I took my PR42 with pull out charcoal drawer and started my journey...not knowing what to expect I gave myself 16 hours worse case for two pork shoulders (15lbs approx) and a small venison tenderloin (3 lbs).
venison I marinated in mixture put through blender of 1 part soy sauce, 1 part canola oil, 1/2 part brown sugar. Marinated 2 hours...pulled out and wrapped in saran wrap and refrigerated. did not want to leave soaking as thought if the oil and soy separated it might pickle meat.
week prior read through a hundred rub recipes and finally decided to just make one up based on others but with my own amounts and changes as starting point.....paprika, fresh ground pepper (used mortar and pestle...next time will be bought ground hahahahahah...arm felt like it was as big as Popeye afterwards), kosher salt, garlic powder, cinnamon, cumin and brown sugar. Rubbed pork in yellow mustard....caked on the rub good .....and let sit while cooker got up to heat.
Well lit MC with chimney and had 40 lbs of Cowboy sitting by it just in case....started with one small bag (8lbs) and added a few chunks of apple to it as well for more smoke. 30 minutes later was at 275*....added meat and watched the lid thermometer (found out previous guy swapped it out for one reason or another with a generic brand so not sure how accurate...got feeling it registers LOWER than actual as you will see later).
A bit of playing around as I cant leave good enough alone....I close bottom vents both sides to half way and top to half way and see what happens....and it settles on 225*.
I had also downloaded the app for my DROID and set alarms for every 30 min the first 4 hours to check fire and record how it was doing.....and then after 6 hours to check meat temp with a handheld digital probe (since ordered Maverick ET732).
Long story short.....cook time for the two large shoulders at temp shown was about 7.5 hours. Friend said they run 12-16 hours on his in restraunt at similar temps but his is full offset setup rather than a roaster/smoker so I am guessing I get more heat than him...but then again 225 is 225 no matter where the source...right?
Well meat was at 196*F at 6:30am after doing spritzes of apple juice every half hour the final 2 hours...so pulled it and wrapped in foil and stuck both in my big 90qt Igloo Cooler outside. Dinner was scheduled for 1pm so I had some time.
Put the venison on for an hour...should have only done it for 30 minutes as it was medium well instead of rare-medium rare...but I was exhausted by then and my GAS level was very low...LOL
Removed, wrapped, into cooler.....
Went inside...showered, took nap...woke up at 12pm and pulled meat from cooler. It was still very warm...surprisingly. Opened up the first....great smoke just under the surface...juicy...smokey....I am pleased. Pull all the meat and fill three large dishes...cover with foil tightly and stick in warming drawer in oven bottom until time to eat.
Family showed up...meat on counter....I sliced the venison tenderloin very thin and put on plate with cheeses and crackers....it was gone in 20 minutes. My claims of being over cooked and not good went on deaf ears. I am blessed with a food ignorant family when it comes to technical aspects and such....they just like to eat and like it when I surprise them with different foods. Two years ago cooked buffalo ribeye roast for christmas.....before that was alligator, crawfish, duck and venison swedish meatballs...before that was bear roast. LOL You get the point.
Anyhow...great success but I have few things I would do different:
-buy digital meat and cooker probes--done, arrive Monday
-buy Bear Claws for pulled pork...it is HOT even in insulated silicone gloves
-calibrate or buy replacement hood thermometer...I think MC uses Tel Tru by the looks so that will be done by next week.
- add more brown sugar to rub....cut back on fresh ground pepper slightly or buy it already ground a not as strong....maybe cut in half from original amount.
- make my spritz half apple juice and half apple cider vinegar
-wrap venison in bacon after first hour to make sure it gets good smoke...but helps with flavor and adds some fat for cooking later
-use briquets instead of lump...easier to fit into drawer after first load burned down
well, trying ribs and wings this weekend for Superbowl....will be cook number 2 on my MC42 but so far so good.
I was amazed on how steady the MC kept my temp at least as far as the included aftermarket temp dial displayed...was very easy to keep it at the optimal temp. Looking forward to a long and enjoyable learning experience and hopes in few years I can be half as good as some of you gentlemen with my meats. Thanks for putting up with my long first post...as you can see I like to talk. LMAO
LOL
