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BBQ and Outdoor Cooking Thread

baylrballa said:
no, you need a probe form BBQ anyways. even the infrared guns are different between a surface temp gun and head temp gun.
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I have plenty of wireless probes but always wanted a gun to check temperatures of different parts of the BBQ. Now the wife is on me to buy forehead temperature gun. I was wondering if there was a gun that would do both accurately so I don't have to buy two guns...
 
Anyone by chance have a pit boss vertical pellet smoker? Thoughts? Buying barely used one locally.. reviews online seem pretty good
 
Well couldnt pass up in the deal. The smoker, cover, 2 thermometer probes, and 40 lbs of pellets for 240
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Think oll do sausage and a chicken on Sunday
 
I just caveman most of my dinners anymore. About 6oz of diced taters, some garlic and onions, and about a 3oz sausage patty.

45 minutes properly maneuvered on the fire? Doesn’t suck. 47CB67B0-3AD6-4070-9F45-A61D8E8600E5.jpeg
 
Hey BBQ gurus,

I am looking for my first Smoker. $500 to 1,500 budget. beef brisket, pork shoulder and other body parts, dino ribs, vegetables, chicken, turkey, lamb, AND fish are on the menu. I live in Wisconsin so some cold weather BBQ is in order. My son in law has a Traeger and lives nearby. So a smoker complementary to his would-be so FINE! I am retired so I can devote blocks of time to cooking.

The quandary of the fussiness of a charcoal offset versus a pellet simplicity plagues me. Is the extra completion taste worth the convenience of Wifi pellet augering? Has someone found a good compromise. Kinda like a fairway finder driver with distance. :cool:
 
U_of_Bucky said:
Hey BBQ gurus,

I am looking for my first Smoker. $500 to 1,500 budget. beef brisket, pork shoulder and other body parts, dino ribs, vegetables, chicken, turkey, lamb, AND fish are on the menu. I live in Wisconsin so some cold weather BBQ is in order. My son in law has a Traeger and lives nearby. So a smoker complementary to his would-be so FINE! I am retired so I can devote blocks of time to cooking.

The quandary of the fussiness of a charcoal offset versus a pellet simplicity plagues me. Is the extra completion taste worth the convenience of Wifi pellet augering? Has someone found a good compromise. Kinda like a fairway finder driver with distance. :cool:
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www.masterbuilt.com

Masterbuilt® Gravity Series® 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker

With the Gravity Series® 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker by Masterbuilt®, you can smoke, grill, sear, bake, roast and more. Set the temperature and the DigitalFan™ maintains the desired cooking temperature. The GravityFed™ hopper holds up to 8 hours of charcoal, gravity ensures you have...
www.masterbuilt.com www.masterbuilt.com

Get this and tell me how it is! 😅

It really seems like the best of both worlds but haven't seen one in person or have any idea of the build quality to know if it'll last. Otherwise, seems like a lot of the people in here have pellet cookers and turn out fantastic food. I'm just getting by with a vertical propane smoker and gas grill for now, but plan on going pellet at some point.
 
showtime said:
www.masterbuilt.com

Masterbuilt® Gravity Series® 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker

With the Gravity Series® 1050 Digital Charcoal Grill + Smoker by Masterbuilt®, you can smoke, grill, sear, bake, roast and more. Set the temperature and the DigitalFan™ maintains the desired cooking temperature. The GravityFed™ hopper holds up to 8 hours of charcoal, gravity ensures you have...
www.masterbuilt.com www.masterbuilt.com

Get this and tell me how it is! 😅

It really seems like the best of both worlds but haven't seen one in person or have any idea of the build quality to know if it'll last. Otherwise, seems like a lot of the people in here have pellet cookers and turn out fantastic food. I'm just getting by with a vertical propane smoker and gas grill for now, but plan on going pellet at some point.
Click to expand...
These have been rusting out quickly and aren't going to last long due to the thin metal. On the upper end of your budget but check out MAK 1 Star. MAKs put out the most smoke for a pellet cooker and are built like tanks - also made in America. I can tell a difference in my offset and MAK, but it's slight. I find myself using the MAK over everything else I have.
 
I can’t bring myself to go pellet.

I enjoy the process of using the offset too much
 
I do too, but with a 4 year old and a lot of work it’s been awesome to have the choice of pushing a button.
 
TexasHacker34 said:
I can’t bring myself to go pellet.

I enjoy the process of using the offset too much
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I agree the process of getting the BGE fired up and the cooking is half the fun and a excuse for a cold beverage of some sort. Doing long cooks is just so easy set the temp and just add some water to the drip pan when needed. The local Meat market gets Waygu Brisket that I have been eyeing for a special day, big price but I bet it will be worth every penny.
 
Sooner21 said:
These have been rusting out quickly and aren't going to last long due to the thin metal. On the upper end of your budget but check out MAK 1 Star. MAKs put out the most smoke for a pellet cooker and are built like tanks - also made in America. I can tell a difference in my offset and MAK, but it's slight. I find myself using the MAK over everything else I have.
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Appreciate the information. That's disappointing since I love the concept, but maybe not too surprising as Masterbuilt isn't really known as a buy it for life brand. Hopefully some of the other guys will put out higher quality versions that can hold up in coming years.
 
U_of_Bucky said:
Hey BBQ gurus,

I am looking for my first Smoker. $500 to 1,500 budget. beef brisket, pork shoulder and other body parts, dino ribs, vegetables, chicken, turkey, lamb, AND fish are on the menu. I live in Wisconsin so some cold weather BBQ is in order. My son in law has a Traeger and lives nearby. So a smoker complementary to his would-be so FINE! I am retired so I can devote blocks of time to cooking.

The quandary of the fussiness of a charcoal offset versus a pellet simplicity plagues me. Is the extra completion taste worth the convenience of Wifi pellet augering? Has someone found a good compromise. Kinda like a fairway finder driver with distance. :cool:
Click to expand...

For the money, I just don't think you can beat the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker (or as afficiando's refer to it, the Weber 'Bullet'). There is nothing you can do on most $2000+ smokers that you can't do on the Weber and it is incredibly cheap by comparison. I've always loved that there are also forums, such as https://www.virtualweberbullet.com that are devoted just to this smoker.

I am now a BGE guy, but I spent years learning how to slow cook and smoke on the Weber Smokey Mountain. Definitely recommend.
 
Boone said:
For the money, I just don't think you can beat the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker (or as afficiando's refer to it, the Weber 'Bullet'). There is nothing you can do on most $2000+ smokers that you can't do on the Weber and it is incredibly cheap by comparison. I've always loved that there are also forums, such as https://www.virtualweberbullet.com that are devoted just to this smoker.

I am now a BGE guy, but I spent years learning how to slow cook and smoke on the Weber Smokey Mountain. Definitely recommend.
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Agree with all of this. The pellet cooker is definitely easier. But bang for your buck if you are going smoker the Weber is the best.
 
I’m still on the caveman diet. Tonight I have Italian sausage, red taters, squash, onions, and Idaho taters all set to be flung into a bed of coals.
 
Beer can chicken with kielbasa, roasted reds and asparagus was phenomenal, though it took longer to cook than e-recipe said it would so wife was getting agitated lol but worth it in the end
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Man those wings tasted so good.....think I need a round 2.
 
going to do pork belly burnt ends on Sunday I think, will be a good way to end the weekend
 
Got another rack(3 bones) of dino ribs from Porter Road and will be smoking them Saturday.
 
I made some brined Huli Huli chicken this afternoon which was one of the best things I've made on the grill in years. Here's the recipe I found on a BBQ board:

Chicken Brine
2 qts water
2 c soy sauce (I like San-J low-sodium)
1 T vegetable oil (I prefer peanut oil)
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 T grated fresh ginger
4 split chicken halves, about 8 pounds total

Sauce
3 (6 oz) cans pineapple juice (I used 18 oz of juice from a carton...the canned stuff tastes like metal. Shudder.)
¼ c brown sugar (I used light brown)
¼ c soy sauce (San-J low sodium, again)
¼ c ketchup (Heinz organic)
¼ c rice vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T grated fresh ginger
2 t Asian chili garlic sauce (I get whatever has the fewest preservatives)
2 c Mesquite wood chips, soaked 15 minutes

Brine chicken: Combine water and soy sauce in large bowl. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium high heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in soy sauce mixture. Add chicken and refrigerate, covered, for at least one hour or up to eight hours (a bit longer if you use low-sodium soy sauce)

Make glaze: Combine pineapple juice, sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and chili garlic sauce in empty saucepan and bring boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until thick and syrupy (you should have about 1 c.), 20 to 25 minutes.

Prep grill: Seal wood chips in foil packet and cut vent holes in top. Open bottom vents on grill. Light about 75 coals. When coals are covered with fine gray ash, spread evenly over bottom of grill. Arrange foil packet directly on coals. Set cooking grate in place and heat, covered with lid vent open halfway, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 5 min. (For gas grills, place foil packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, covered, until wood chips begin to smoke heavily, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium low.) Scrape and oil cooking grate.

Grill chicken: Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange chicken skin side up on grill (do not place chicken directly above foil packet). Grill, covered until chicken is well browned on bottom and meat registers 120F, 25 to 30 min. Flip chicken skin-side down and continue to grill, covered, until skin is well browned and crisp and thigh meat registers 170 to 175F, 20 to 25 min. longer. Transfer chicken to platter, brush with half of glaze, and let rest 5 min. Serve, passing remaining glaze at table.
 
Nothing fancy but I found myself with the rare evening alone. (wife and kids were at the sister's house) Decided to pickup an angus grass fed NY strip and grill myself a delicious dinner in blissful solitude lol!

Rubbed some Flat Iron Pepper company - four pepper blend - on one side and some Bull-sh*t seasoning on both sides. sear both side and set on indirect heat until 130 degrees for med rare juicy perfection!

Paired with some mashed taters and a pour of Widow Jane 10!
 
well I smoked my dino ribs on Saturday and frankly they were horrible. Not my first dino smoke by certainly one that will be remembered.
First the ribs when I got them unfrozen and started to trim, was awful fatty, I mean a ton of fat. I trimmed it off, took off the silver skin and put my rub on although they looked OK from one side, the other side looked like pure fat which I couldn't trim. Place them on a wire rack and then a pan underneath so I wouldn't have a clean-up problem and it's a good thing I did. When I was done, there was another cup and a half of fat that rendered down in the pan! Took the ribs off, let them set for a half hour under foil, and when I started to cut them, there was hardly any meat, certainly not the amount of that I got before on some other dino ribs. Hardly any meat of substance on top but there was some very tender meat along the end of the ribs which we ate and enjoyed. All in all not worth the $80 I paid, not even close.

I got these from Porter Road, I called and explained what I got and how it ended up , and I took pictures that were sent to them to prove my point. They agreed with me as a whole and refunded my money for the ribs. This was my first bad product from Porter Road, but in true customer satisfaction, they got 5 stars from me. I buy from them all of the time, this is my first negative and they handled it without any hassle. Just wanted to share in case some have questions or hesitations about quality or customer service.
 
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