I might be the few that finds it therapeutic and enjoys it. With that said I can understand having a thin steel pit that you need to feed it every 15 minutes, but even then with my OKJ I loved it. It was like a happening for me being a pyro all day. Not sure about Sassafras, I think that's a no-no by some, I just avoid it although smells amazing, we burn in the stove often. Oak is my vote. Depending on what you got a full packer brisket or just the flat or point. If it's a full, trim is key make sure you take that fat cap down to 1/4" so it can try and render. Nobody wants an unchewable piece of fat. You can also try separating them, much more forgiving to smoke the point or just the flat and shorter cook time. I smoke mine the day before and hold it overnight in a warmer, game changer, truly!
Ive heard that about sassafras, but the bark and roots contain most of the carcinogens from what my brief research indicated. Not sure of the cut. She had it butchered and all the meat was vacuum sealed and frozen. I guess I'll enjoy the day, just not looking forward to getting up that early. I like manning the fire. Ill have the fire pit going as well. Sometimes I'll pre char the smoker chunks. Probably whip up more lump charcoal too.
Prep the night before that will save you a bit of time in the AM. Trim it, season it and just wrap gently and into the fridge. Have your pit loaded up and ready to go with the flick of a match. First thing in the am, take it out & let it get a little acclimated and get that pit fired up.
Ribz on at 10 this AM. All day smoke. Pellet smoker with Alder, Pecan and a bit of Hickory! I will spritz with Apple cider/vinegar mix. Also a "Backyard Bar Sign" that I am cutting out for our next family and friends gathering here!
Done Ribz and a deep dish apple pie. Also had cornamacob and some veggies. Stuffed right now. Unfortunately have to go in for a fasting blood draw tomorrow AM. Poor planing on my part. Dr. will probably slap me when he sees my blood sugar numbers! On the good side my A1C should not be effected by one indiscretion!
Need FHC input here. Wanting to cold smoke some nuts. I have one pound bags of RAW pecans, walnuts, and cashews. I was going to coat them with oil either olive or vegetable and sprinkle with salt and pepper. No other seasoning, just letting the smoke flavor them. Wanting to use hickory. For cold smoking cheese I set a small bed of coals in the offset and add handfuls of sawdust. It gives off lots of smoke. Gonna try the same with the nuts just have to make some hickory sawdust. Will the oil coating be enough to get the smoke flavor to stick? How long should I let it smoke? These are for my consumption and I like a strong flavor. I looked online and get all different answers.
The nuts are on as of one. Had a jar of unsalted peanuts i added as well. Mixed in a Ziploc with olive oil and ground sea salt. I had a bag of mesquite chips she had given me a couple years ago and decided to use those. Shooting for a four hour smoke.
Ended up doing 5.5 hours after tasting as it smoked. Went out a few times and used the blowtorch to light again. Should've had a bigger coal bed in hindsight. Took them off at dusk and stuck them in the oven as it was still warm from heating supper. Don't know if that helped or not. Left in there for a while then cooled and vacuum sealed. Hoping the sealing helps with the flavor as I wasn't that pleased with the end result. Of course sampling almost every time I went out didn't help. Maybe a straight smoke wasn't a good idea? Smoking that long with mesquite maybe?
Did our first whole chicken a couple weeks ago. Brined, butterflied and smoked with apple IIRC. Finished in the oven. Came out very good. Got two meals out of it. Bones saved for soup stock. I was wondering if there was such a thing a smoked chicken soup? Just got another and froze. Not sure if we'll smoke it in the cold weather. Have a batch of cheese going in for a cold smoke this afternoon. Few pounds of sharp cheddar, block of Gouda, some shredded cheddar and a bunch of string cheese. 3-4 smoke with apple sawdust. Cool day with temps in the mid 50's ideal for a cold smoke. The nuts I did in September are almost gone. Guess I liked them. Bought cashews and pecans and need walnuts for the next batch. Gonna try it different next time.
Sounds good Brad! I bet the smoked chicken soup will have some nice flavor. I’ve contemplated making that before. Keep us posted!
Cheese smoke 2/3 way to three hours. I may let the sticks and shredded go longer. There's a product called "liquid smoke" I buy at Walmart that maybe used for soup? I put it on chicken nuggets.
Cheese smoke was a success for the most part. Mostly sharp cheddar, string cheese and a block of Gouda. Over ten pounds worth. Need to pick up some racks rather than use the grates on the grill. Used foil for the string cheese and shredded. The one to two week wait to eat some will not be fun (ash tray tasting bitter now) as I finished the last of my prior batch recently. Thinking of making some smoky mac n cheese with the shredded.
I was wondering if there was such a thing a smoked chicken soup? Why not. I have done it with Turkey, and it was delicious so why not a chicken? Don't forget about smoking a Turkey this upcoming holiday either.
I did the first time after letting it "rest" a couple days wrapped in parchment in a Ziploc bag. It was too dry IMO when I first took some out weeks later. I wrap in parchment and leave as is in Ziplocs now. The cheese sticks did get vacuum sealed though. The blocks closest to the offset got more skin than the other side even though I rotated them halfway. I used the warming rack for the blocks and grate on foil for the rest. How often do you do cheese? Use pellets?
