Official CCS Grillmasters thread

[Gustavus Adolphus]

And the money shot.

...Tapatalking

Looks good man. Did you make a sauce to go with it?

 

[Sunbiz1]

Chimney starter and either a bit of crumpled newspaper or a disk of paraffin.

Yes, but aren't the sticks easier to find?...every Walgreens pretty much carries them as opposed to a Home Depot trip.

 

[R_Mac_1]

Looks good man. Did you make a sauce to go with it?

I made a vinegar based finishing sauce to put on the meat when I pulled it, but not a barbeque sauce. Ive just been using Devil's Spit, with a little coleslaw on top.

...Tapatalking

 

[GaelicSoxFan]

Yes, but aren't the sticks easier to find?...every Walgreens pretty much carries them as opposed to a Home Depot trip.

I'm just going by what I've seen on cooking shows. Due to local ordinance, I can't have a charcoal grill on my balcony.

 

[brett05]

Soaking wood chips is a waste. You can do this one at home. Weigh your chips. Soak them in water as long as you want, weigh them again. They gain like 7% weight which will steam away fast.

Do wrap it in hevy aluminum foil a few times and poke holes at the top. If you don't have heavy wrapy the chunks like 6x

 

[R_Mac_1]

During smoking I actually came up with a good idea. In my charcoal basket I made there is a metal divider made from sheet metal, seen here

I found that if I just set 1-2 wood chunks on that it keeps them up out of the coals so they don't burn up as fast. They just get hot and smolder for a while until they're used up.

...Tapatalking

 

[theCHI_Life84]

Looking good, but stalled right now in the 160s. Nice bark on them

...Tapatalking

what did you do to get it past the stall temperature? on my last smoke, my firebox was clogged with ash and it was starting to cool off/get windier. So, I used the crutch method (i think thats what its called) and wrapped the butts in foil, set them on a grill directly over what was left of the charcoal in the firebox, and that got em right up against 200 degrees.

im curious as to what you did to get them passed the stall...

 

[R_Mac_1]

what did you do to get it past the stall temperature? on my last smoke, my firebox was clogged with ash and it was starting to cool off/get windier. So, I used the crutch method (i think thats what its called) and wrapped the butts in foil, set them on a grill directly over what was left of the charcoal in the firebox, and that got em right up against 200 degrees.

im curious as to what you did to get them passed the stall...

I just kept the smoker running and waited it out. Two of them finished on the smoker and the third one was in the 180s forever and got finished in the oven. All three tasted great.

...Tapatalking

 

[Sunbiz1]

I'm just going by what I've seen on cooking shows. Due to local ordinance, I can't have a charcoal grill on my balcony.

Now there's a rule I would have to break, you lose too much with gas.

 

[-Cago34-]

Has anyone smoked a turkey before? The whole turkey, not just legs. I'll be doing one for Turkeyday next month and I'm a bit apprehensive because of the time involved to do it...from what I've read it's like 30 mins per pound and I always end up getting around a 20 pound bird so that's basically a 10 hour smoke on Thanksgiving day.

My main question is how does the skin turn out? Does it ever get crispy? I ask because I've read on different BBQ websites that people have a hard time with chicken wings, and chicken in general not getting crispy...I have not experienced that at all, the chicken I've smoked always turn out juicy, with crispy skin but a turkey is a bit different.

Thanks fellas!

 

[Sunbiz1]

Has anyone smoked a turkey before? The whole turkey, not just legs. I'll be doing one for Turkeyday next month and I'm a bit apprehensive because of the time involved to do it...from what I've read it's like 30 mins per pound and I always end up getting around a 20 pound bird so that's basically a 10 hour smoke on Thanksgiving day.

My main question is how does the skin turn out? Does it ever get crispy? I ask because I've read on different BBQ websites that people have a hard time with chicken wings, and chicken in general not getting crispy...I have not experienced that at all, the chicken I've smoked always turn out juicy, with crispy skin but a turkey is a bit different.

Thanks fellas!

The principal should be the same by simply re-calculating cooking time to account for extra weight. I've never tried it b/c I do high-temp turkeys in the oven with a roasting rack over a pan of broth at 525 with foil on top, then remove it for last 30 minutes to brown. I can do an 18 lb bird in 2.5 hours w/this method.

 

[-Cago34-]

The principal should be the same by simply re-calculating cooking time to account for extra weight. I've never tried it b/c I do high-temp turkeys in the oven with a roasting rack over a pan of broth at 525 with foil on top, then remove it for last 30 minutes to brown. I can do an 18 lb bird in 2.5 hours w/this method.

Yeah, I think the principal 's the same also...I was just wondering. Last thing I want on Turkeyday is rubbery turkey skin! :nope:

Btw, that oven technique sounds like a winner!

 

[ShiftyDevil]

Has anyone smoked a turkey before? The whole turkey, not just legs. I'll be doing one for Turkeyday next month and I'm a bit apprehensive because of the time involved to do it...from what I've read it's like 30 mins per pound and I always end up getting around a 20 pound bird so that's basically a 10 hour smoke on Thanksgiving day.

My main question is how does the skin turn out? Does it ever get crispy? I ask because I've read on different BBQ websites that people have a hard time with chicken wings, and chicken in general not getting crispy...I have not experienced that at all, the chicken I've smoked always turn out juicy, with crispy skin but a turkey is a bit different.

Thanks fellas!

Last year for Thanksgiving I smoked two turkey breasts, it worked amazing.

But you MUST brine them for at LEAST 12 hours. Absolutely MUST.

I went and got a food quality grade bucket with a screw on lid, did a basic brine and added a couple of cups of cracked peppercorns, a bunch of bay leaves and thyme. Was a slight pain in the but keeping it cold, but not that big an issue.

The skin wasn't great and stayed soft, I think this year I'll do something similar but finish them in a fryer at my Mom's place.

 

[-Cago34-]

Last year for Thanksgiving I smoked two turkey breasts, it worked amazing.

But you MUST brine them for at LEAST 12 hours. Absolutely MUST.

I went and got a food quality grade bucket with a screw on lid, did a basic brine and added a couple of cups of cracked peppercorns, a bunch of bay leaves and thyme. Was a slight pain in the but keeping it cold, but not that big an issue.

The skin wasn't great and stayed soft, I think this year I'll do something similar but finish them in a fryer at my Mom's place.

Yeah, you definitely have to brine any poultry before smoking. As far as the skin not crisping, I see a lot of people having trouble with it...I have not. Toward the end of of the smoking if the skin isn't how i like it to be I add some fresh charcoal and a couple chunks of wood in order to create a very hot smoker which crisp's the skin, but doesn't dry the meat...just for like the last 30-45 mins.

Maybe doing a couple breasts, and legs would be best for me considering the time constraints. I didn't even think of it, thanks man!

 

[Sunbiz1]

Yeah, I think the principal 's the same also...I was just wondering. Last thing I want on Turkeyday is rubbery turkey skin! :nope:

Btw, that oven technique sounds like a winner!

I'm about to start making these again, so here's the full recipe:

Dry a 16 to 18 lb. turkey inside and out with paper towels.

Oil the turkey inside and out with any kind of vegetable oil (olive, canola, etc.) using your hands.

Cut away any excess skin around the opening of the cavity and wedge a fork inside the cavity to open it further. Leave the fork in to keep cavity open.

Rub spices, herbs, or just pepper all over the bird with your oily fingers. I use a combo of thyme, sage, parsley, and freshly ground black pepper.

Place the turkey, breast side down on a rack in a large metal roasting pan.

Cover the top of the turkey, including legs and wings with greased foil.

Pour ¾-inch of chicken or turkey broth in the bottom of the pan. As the turkey cooks, check the liquid every 45 minutes and add more in case it evaporates.

Cook the turkey at 500° to 525° for 2 hours.

Remove foil, stuff the turkey with cooked stuffing and return it to the rack breast side up. This gets a bit tricky b/c the bird is real hot. I use oven mitts with gallon sized plastic ziplocks bags over them to flip it. Have a second person secure the ziplocs with rubber bands.

Cook the turkey 30 to 45 minutes longer until an instant-read thermometer stuck deep in the thigh reads 175°.

Let the turkey rest at least 20 minutes, this allows the meat to reabsorb its juices.

 

[ShiftyDevil]

Yeah, you definitely have to brine any poultry before smoking. As far as the skin not crisping, I see a lot of people having trouble with it...I have not. Toward the end of of the smoking if the skin isn't how i like it to be I add some fresh charcoal and a couple chunks of wood in order to create a very hot smoker which crisp's the skin, but doesn't dry the meat...just for like the last 30-45 mins.

Maybe doing a couple breasts, and legs would be best for me considering the time constraints. I didn't even think of it, thanks man!

Yeah it worked great last year, only did it because there was a great deal on turkey breasts, which was fine with me, less mess and my family likes white meat better anyway (as long as it's moist)

 

[nvanprooyen]

Chimney starter and either a bit of crumpled newspaper or a disk of paraffin.

+1...

 

[X]

So my dad's brother was in town the other day. He lives in Missouri, and I've seen him maybe twice in the last 10 years. He stopped by our new house just to check it out while he was in town...and asked me about my grill, asked how often I used it, etc...and asked about my smoker. I told him my smoker just burned up the other day (one of those cheap walmart ones) and it seemed to pique his curiosity. He told me about one he had recently built for his local high school, and how it would hold about 800 lbs (!!!) of meat...and only then did i realize that he builds grills/smokers for a living. I knew he worked w/ metal, but talk to him so infrequently I had no idea what he did with it.

He's always had a strange level of respect for me, mainly b/c he respects the hell out of my dad, and b/c his son has always been the emo/pouty kid that hates everyone and doesn't understand why no one likes him. That's sort of important, too I guess.

So he went back to missouri the other day, and I got an email from him recently.

Basically, he said he hates the idea of a grown man not owning a "real" smoker :lol: and he had some ideas he was playing with...I told him it wasn't necessary but I appreciated it and was just happy to be able to spend some time w/ him, etc. etc.

Then he sends me this:



With the following specs:

-- Holds 100+ lbs of meat
-- Upright portion is a water smoker, will come complete with drain so I don't have to clean out the water reservoir as often
-- Middle portion is for dry smoking, should hold 80+ lbs of meat on it's own
-- Small portion is a small grill for quick charcoal jobs
-- Wheels designed to roll on any reasonably hard surface
-- Metal will withstand 900*, paint will withstand 850*
-- Total weight of the smoker will not exceed 350 lb.

He also said it will live far longer than I will...b/c he "don't use any of that cheap shit," to build it with. :lol:

When I asked him about cost, he said, "ehh, just come visit me when it's done, let me take you out to dinner, and I'll help ya load it on a trailer. Gotta be good to family."


So......Who wants to come over in a couple of months for 28 racks of ribs?

 

[nvanprooyen]

Holy shit, that is so awesome......

 

[X]

Holy shit, that is so awesome......

no lie. I told him I do most of grilling on a gas grill now, and he laughed and said, "Why?" - hah..He said my charcoal half of my grill just wasn't big enough. Freakin' awesome.