A barbecue adventure, the saga unfolds.

geezer said:
Was that coffee still hot when it reached the judges? :)
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I don’t know, but I doubt it.

Desserts were a Wednesday deal, the Royal is pretty much a week long adventure. The cold front blew in overnight Saturday and things got colder all day Sunday. I can’t remember what the temps were last Wednesday, but likely were pretty nice.

Categories for the Wed contest were sides: vegetable, beans, potato, dessert.

I just checked: 205 teams entered baked beans, that was the highest number. 177 entered desserts.

I don’t know how many judges they used that day, they want 1:1 judges to teams. If they seated 33 tables, that would be 198 judges. All tables would get their 6 samples of beans and 7 tables would get 7 samples.

When it came to desserts, at 177, some tables would get 5.

Teams have a +/- 5 minute window to turn in their entries. They get put on the turn-in tables in the order received. The table captain from each table takes 6 (or 5, or 7, depending on the luck of the draw) entries to the table. Table captains follow particular pick up orders so each table has a chance to be first. Each table begins judging as soon as possible.

For desserts, because the presentations can be so large, it sometimes takes the table captain multiple trips. On hot days I really hate watching the big scoop of ice cream melt all over that massive piece of pie underneath while we wait for the other entries to reach the table. Another problem with desserts is they usually don’t all fit on one table. Logistics with that category are pretty tough and it can sometimes take 15 minutes from turn in to judging.

Sunday was bitter cold. Teams usually keep their entry boxes wrapped in a towel or insulated bag until handing them over. At a place like the Royal your team spot might be 1/4 to 1/2 mile away from the turn in area. That’s a long time to keep something warm. Then it may sit on the turn in table a few extra minutes before it gets to a judge. 2 of the 7 ribs I judged were cold, really cold. I do give teams the benefit of the doubt in those cases.
 
I have passed by the BBQ place pictured below for many, many years but have never stopped. Obviously, you cannot miss it from the road and every time I pass I think to myself I have to give it a try. I stopped in this week when I realized my go to place moved. What do you notice? No windows! The only natural light entering the place is from the door. It was like walking into a dungeon. At just after noon, I was the only person in the place. The ribs were likely boiled as the bones just fell out. Maybe they have a strong catering business b/c I otherwise have no idea how the place has remained in business. It made me sad as I love supporting mom-and-pop operations but I cannot justify returning.

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Note the lack of smoke rising from it...

63 years ago, my wife and I came around a turn on a Tennessee state road, and a large barn seemed to be burning, as smoke oozed from all the cracks of the vertical wood planks. My initial reaction was to stop and see of they had called the fire department, or find someone nearby if there was no one home.
U turn back, pull in, and realize there is a much smaller attached shed with aa sign SMOKED HAM AND BACON. We entered, and there was the largest stock of smoked pork products that I had ever seen. What had once been a tobacco curing barn was now a monster smoke house with enough meat in it to fill half a dozen tractor trailers.
we picked out a largish ham. had it wrapped in cloth, then many layers of newspapers, to assure that no grease soaked thru to my first new car's carpet.

For those who remember the LIL ABNER cartoons, with DAISEY MAE, one of the features was a Honeymoon ham, which was saved for newly weds to take on their honeymoon, for their food. It lasted forever... We dubbed that ham 'our honeymoon ham' and when back home, hung it in the basement, and cut slices off from time to time, re wrapping it each time. It lasted for several years.

Returning to that huge building, no smoke, not BBQ.
 
Sac Arrow said:
That's right. Barbecue is a term that is more contentious than politics, religion, or wing placement. I'm sensing that I am immediately about to get blasphemed by the self-proclaimed issuers of the card, but wait...

I'm using a smoker. That's right. It's a Cuisinart 18 inch vertical charcoal smoker, and I'm doing ribs. So far I have...

1. Figured out how to set it up. I mean I assembled it a couple weeks ago, but the immediate crisis was exactly where to place the water/drip pan which also serves as a heat deflector. I had it sitting on the coal retainer ring. Obviously that wasn't going to work. I then figured out that it actually sits on the lower meat rack tabs, below the rack. Okay, crisis averted.

2. I built a ring of coals on the holder, put have a chimney of burning coals in the middle (per Youtube and instruction manual) and added the hickory chunks, which I soaked in water overnight.

3. Seasoned the ribs, loaded them up, and off we go.
View attachment 103494 View attachment 103495 View attachment 103496
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Some initial observations:

1. Even going vents full bore, temperatures came up very slowly. I'm jockeying the top vent a little bit but it struggled to hold and maintain 225. I'm shooting for 250. This is after an hour.

2. Since I'm not really throttling it, I have concerns that I'm not going to be able to maintain the appropriate temperature for eight hours (I need eight hours.) The product reviews suggest that it should be able to hold 250 for eight hours. I suppose that is variable on the charcoal, amount, and the OAT. Which, currently is 49.

3. Adding charcoal to this thing is fairly highly problematic. The only way to accomplish that is to remove the entire upper assembly to expose the fire grate, and that is not something I really want to do if I can help it.
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Because of your thread I have been on the lookout for a smoker for a beginner.
I found a weber smoker on facebook marketplace recently for 150 bucks in pretty good shape.

This seems like a bad time of year to learn because it is getting cold out.
I am going to give it a shot one of these days.
I figured I try pork shoulder first?
Here’s both of my weber grills waiting for me get started.

I bought chimmy starter and some cherry chunks and plan to use charcoal chunks over those.
All because of this thread. It made me hungry! lol
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Gary Ward said:
Because of your thread I have been on the lookout for a smoker for a beginner.
I found a weber smoker on facebook marketplace recently for 150 bucks in pretty good shape.

This seems like a bad time of year to learn because it is getting cold out.
I am going to give a shot one of these days.
I figured I try pork shoulder first?
Here’s both of my weber grills waiting for me get started.

I bought chimmy starter and some cherry chunks and plan to use charcoal chunks over those.
All because of this thread. It made me hungry! lol
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You certainly could. I personally like butts more. Shoulder has a ham taste to it. Glad to have sent you down that rabbit hole.
 
Gary Ward said:
I thought a Boston butt was pork shoulder?
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I don't know, sometimes the terms are used interchangeably. In any case, the rear end has a different taste than the front end, and a different color and texture. The butt is more reddish, and the shoulder is more brownish.
 
Gary Ward said:
Because of your thread I have been on the lookout for a smoker for a beginner.
I found a weber smoker on facebook marketplace recently for 150 bucks in pretty good shape.

This seems like a bad time of year to learn because it is getting cold out.
I am going to give it a shot one of these days.
I figured I try pork shoulder first?
Here’s both of my weber grills waiting for me get started.

I bought chimmy starter and some cherry chunks and plan to use charcoal chunks over those.
All because of this thread. It made me hungry! lol
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View attachment 147170
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Beginner tip:

Start that chimney at zero dark thirty and do a pork butt or two on the bottom rack. Do chicken thighs or a bone in turkey breast on the top rack. Add brats, Italian sausage, or hot dogs for lunch.

That Weber smoker will work OK in cold-ish weather as long as it isn’t windy. If you can rig a wind break, that helps a lot.

Have fun!

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Gary Ward said:
Because of your thread I have been on the lookout for a smoker for a beginner.
I found a weber smoker on facebook marketplace recently for 150 bucks in pretty good shape.

This seems like a bad time of year to learn because it is getting cold out.
I am going to give it a shot one of these days.
I figured I try pork shoulder first?
Here’s both of my weber grills waiting for me get started.

I bought chimmy starter and some cherry chunks and plan to use charcoal chunks over those.
All because of this thread. It made me hungry! lol
View attachment 147169
View attachment 147170
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Congrats, you got a nice deal!

If you can tune a carb or adjust mixture on your 172, that smoker will be easy for you. Keep the top vent open, and adjust the lowers - more open gives more air and gets hotter; shut em down for cooler.

Pork butt is easy to start with.

Virtualweberbullet.com

Enjoy the rabbit hole.
 
This afternoon and all eve it has warmed up 50 something, supposed to be 60 tomorrow.
I slept for a bit after work. Then went to grocery store and bought a 2.7# pork shoulder and was looking for butt but I didn't see any?
I have 2 good butchers nearby. I am gonna go see Joe at the meat store next cook.

It was nice, calm and warm on the ground, so I went to the airport at about 8:30 pm after the grocery store and flew 1.5 night flight. Saw several large Xmas displays getting worked on. I flew over one at 2000' agl on purpose and got a couple low level laser beams flashed on the bottom on my wings. It was a dark too, no moon. did 4 full stop night landings. I was still current as I did 3 FS night landings take offs 10-10-2025.
It was calm on the ground and at 2000' agl the wind was 240@32-34 of smooth air. I was screaming going east and it was slow coming back west, but really smooth.
I flew the Rnav approach in on AP. It tracked perfectly, plane was crabbing all the way to about 400' and then crab went away.

Came home from flying, trimmed the meat and rubbed seasoning on it and put it in the fridge.
Then got the smoker all loaded up ready for ignition early tomorrow morning.IMG_5979.jpeg
 
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I am an idiot as I decided to dig the wrapper out of the can. I don’t know what I was thinking last night?

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I started the chimney at 6 am. Dumped it on the rest of briquettes and apple wood chunks 15 minutes later. At 40 minutes in I put the top on with hot water. Thanks for that tip.
I was lazy and didn’t get chunk charcoal.
In a short time, it was 300° Closed all the vents for a while, now stabilized at 250°

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Gary Ward said:
I am an idiot as I decided to dig the wrapper out of the can. I don’t what I was thinking last night?

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I started the chimney at 6 am. Dumped it on the rest of briquettes and apple wood chunks 15 minutes later. At 40 minutes in I put the top on with hot water. Thanks for that tip.
I was lazy and didn’t get chunk charcoal.
In a short time, it was 300° Closed all the vents for a while, now stabilized at 250°

View attachment 147187
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You got a smaller boneless butt. It will cook pretty quickly, you’ll have a nice lunch.

When I do butts at home I do either one or two. One store I use sells then in single packs, the other in 2-packs. Typically around 8-9 pounds each, bone in, and somewhere a little under $2/lb. I net about 5 pounds of finished pork from each butt. That’s an all day cook at 250.

In case anyone else is wondering:

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Edit: And that sounds like an awesome flight. For KCBS contests, either cut is acceptable for the pork category. The smaller butts are just the larger ones cut down.
 
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Matthew said:
You got a smaller boneless butt. It will cook pretty quickly, you’ll have a nice lunch.

When I do butts at home I do either one or two. One store I use sells then in single packs, the other in 2-packs. Typically around 8-9 pounds each, bone in, and somewhere a little under $2/lb. I net about 5 pounds of finished pork from each butt. That’s an all day cook at 250.

In case anyone else is wondering:

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Edit: And that sounds like an awesome flight. For KCBS contests, either cut is acceptable for the pork category. The smaller butts are just the larger ones cut down.
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Thanks for that great info, helps a lot.
That was the largest butt that they had in the cooler.
Yes I am not expecting a all day smoke.
I did what you suggested, put the butt on the lower rack and baby backs on the top rack.
I think I am looking for 204° on the butt. Not sure about the ribs?
 
I used to monitor temps on butts but abandoned that years ago. I now count on 1.5 to 2.0 hrs per pound (that’s for a 6 to 10
pound bone-in) when the pit is at the 250-275 range. I then wrap in foil and place in a cooler with towels for 2-4 hours. You’ll be able to separate the meat fibers with a finger…
 
Gary Ward said:
Thanks for that great info, helps a lot.
That was the largest butt that they had in the cooler.
Yes I am not expecting a all day smoke.
I did what you suggested, put the butt on the lower rack and baby backs on the top rack.
I think I am looking for 204° on the butt. Not sure about the ribs?
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About the same for ribs, 200-203. The ends will cook faster than the middle. You can rotate that top rack or add a little foil underneath the ends of each slab. Those Weber smokers have won a lot of contests but heat tends to travel upwards along the outer edges because of the water pan.
 
And speaking of pork butts: I never knew there was such a thing as pork steaks until I met my wife. It’s a St Louis thing, but might also be in some other areas. Bone in pork butt sliced into steaks. Grill them like a regular steak and maybe paint on some bbq sauce the last minute or two.
 
Roughly 3.5 hrs so far for the butt, 3 hrs for the ribs. It's all dry rub, should I sprise with water or anything?
I was planning using barbecue sauce on the ribs right at the end? First time I have had the lid off. Put it back on quickly.
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Gary Ward said:
Roughly 3.5 hrs so far for the butt, 3 hrs for the ribs. It's all dry rub, should I sprise with water or anything?
I was planning using barbecue sauce on the ribs right at the end? First time I have had the lid off. Put it back on quickly.
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I’d open up the foil a bit, it just needs shielding from underneath, you don’t want to interfere with smoke getting to the upper surface.

I generally spray with apple juice, but water is good, too. I don’t use vinegar. A buddy tried doing some kind of vinegar based something and wrapped the ribs to finish. When he unwrapped they were a pile of mush and bones. We figured the acidity of the vinegar dissolved them. I’ve stayed away from vinegar ever since, but spraying as they cook will probably work. It’s a judgement call and chef’s choice.

You can baste with sauce and cook an additional 10 minutes to thicken it up.

You’ll know you’re getting close when the meat starts to pull back from the bones and you see Billy Bob teeth.
 
Matthew said:
I’m glad I didn’t hang around for the awards after the Sunday contest. It didn’t get any warmer as the day went on.

913 BBQ is a husband and wife team that’s won a lot of championships over the years. And they are good people. They took 7th in chicken Sunday and you can get a feel how cold it was.

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Respect to all the competitors there. The worst time I ever had over my smoker was fighting temp on a cold windy day.
 
DJTorrente said:
Respect to all the competitors there. The worst time I ever had over my smoker was fighting temp on a cold windy day.
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Yeah, that’s a pain. Worst for me was a thunderstorm blasting through. The gust front, temp drop, and massive rain was not fun. That happened twice to us at the same contest a few years apart. Another contest we were at a park with a row of teams between us and the pond. It rained so hard and the pond rose so fast that coolers, lawn chairs, and smokers ended up in the water. That was funny because it didn’t happen to us.
 
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Matthew said:
Yeah, that’s a pain. Worst for me was a thunderstorm blasting through. The gust front, temp drop, and massive rain was not fun. That happened twice to us at the same contest a few years apart. Another contest we were at a park with a row of teams between us and the pond. It rained so hard and the pond rose so fast that coolers, lawn chairs, and smokers ended up in the water. That was funny because it didn’t happen to us.
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Wasn't that a Deep Purple song?

All of this bbq stuff, plus T-day coming up, makes me want to buy a smoker, even if I don't have a great place to put it yet.
 
Yesterdays barbeque was interrupted by a death in the family in Clearwater Fla.
So I had to turn my attention to finding my wife a flight to Orlando to be with our daughter.
Delta had a flight at 4:15 and we left for the airport an hour or so before the butt was to be finished.
We did enjoy the ribs as they finished nicely and were real good before we left for the airport.
The butt I screwed up. I put it in foil trying to not over cook it before I left for the airport.
When I got back 3 hrs later it was still only 180° Then I took it out of the foil and back on the top rack for a while. Then it got dry.
Not a big deal in the whole scheme of things.
Next one will be better I'm sure.
Thanks for the help.IMG_6005.jpeg
 
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I’m sorry for your loss.

I am glad the ribs worked out.

Around here it’s extremely common to wrap pork butts when they reach 165. Spray with apple juice, a good drizzle of honey, brown sugar, and a dusting of extra rub, wrap and finish to 203-205.

The trouble with smaller butts is they tend to blow right past 165.
 
Albany Tom said:
Wasn't that a Deep Purple song?

All of this bbq stuff, plus T-day coming up, makes me want to buy a smoker, even if I don't have a great place to put it yet.
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I have 2 2/3 Weber Smokey Mountain smokers, they live in my garage. Our competition team used 4-5 before we got the big trailer mounted cooker. You’ll still see rows of Webers at contests, but not like 10 yrs ago. Their weakness is the base, it will rot out. The 3 sections mate into each other in a way that keeps grease running down the inside surface. That means any rain on the outside will find its way inside and settle into the base bowl where there is no drain. Over time, water and ash will eat through. One teammate kept his stored outside and the base rusted through. I took the mid-section and top, figuring I could get a base and new internals some day. My neighbor got one as a gift, but never used it. He stored it outside under a cover, but over the years that cover weathered enough to let rain inside. Now the base has some pinholes in it. He gave it to me so I use that one and mine if I need the extra room.

I keep thinking about getting a pellet smoker for the convenience.
 
Matthew said:
I’m sorry for your loss.

I am glad the ribs worked out.

Around here it’s extremely common to wrap pork butts when they reach 165. Spray with apple juice, a good drizzle of honey, brown sugar, and a dusting of extra rub, wrap and finish to 203-205.

The trouble with smaller butts is they tend to blow right past 165.
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Thanks.
I do not trust the thermometer probe I was using yesterday, it's just an old dial one we had in the gadget drawer.
Yesterday late afternoon a cheap digital one showed up that I ordered. Didn't get a chance to use it yet. Tested it in our oven last night.
Last night I did take the smoker apart and cleaned the grates, water bowl and dumped the hot ashes into our firepit. It's going to be stored under a awning so it shouldn't get wet.
I can't wait to do it again. We had perfect weather for it this weekend. The ribs were great if I say so myself.
 
After finding water in my WSM the first few times after rain, even with the lame Weber cover, I started to store my center section upside down. That way any water rolls off the outside, none can get in.

I leave the top vent closed and open all 3 bottoms; if you don’t, you’ll find mold the next time you open it.

It’s been outside in the Midwest over 20 years and no rot to speak of. It has never been stored indoors.

Gary - was the butt fall-apart/tender but dry? If not, then it was not done. Sometimes a “dry” descriptor means BBQ is underdone. Sorry for the family loss.
 
Matthew said:
I took the mid-section and top, figuring I could get a base and new internals some day.
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You could stack 2 midsections and have a smoker that looks like a rocket…and BBQ twice as much with half the fuel??
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
You could stack 2 midsections and have a smoker that looks like a rocket…and BBQ twice as much with half the fuel??
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Yeah. Done that several times. But I don’t trust that stack, a little too unstable. Plus, to get access to anything on the lower racks you have to remove the whole upper half.
 
Gary Ward said:
Thanks.
I do not trust the thermometer probe I was using yesterday, it's just an old dial one we had in the gadget drawer.
Yesterday late afternoon a cheap digital one showed up that I ordered. Didn't get a chance to use it yet. Tested it in our oven last night.
Last night I did take the smoker apart and cleaned the grates, water bowl and dumped the hot ashes into our firepit. It's going to be stored under a awning so it shouldn't get wet.
I can't wait to do it again. We had perfect weather for it this weekend. The ribs were great if I say so myself.
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These are my tools:

www.thermoworks.com

Smoke® Remote BBQ Alarm Thermometer

Smoke® is a remote BBQ alarm thermometer designed for cooks who want steady control over long, low-and-slow cooks — without constantly monitoring the grill. With two probe channels, Smoke lets you track both your meat temperature and your pit temperature at the same time, sending live readings...
www.thermoworks.com www.thermoworks.com

I’d really like the 4 channel version.

www.thermoworks.com

ThermoPop® 2

ThermoPop® 2 is a compact, easy-to-use instant-read thermometer designed and priced for everyday cooking. Its slim, pocket-friendly shape and large, auto-rotating backlit display with bold numbers make temperatures easy to read at a glance. Affordable and straightforward, it delivers ThermoWorks...
www.thermoworks.com www.thermoworks.com

Someday I’ll upgrade to this:

www.thermoworks.com

Thermapen® ONE

Cook with great confidence. Thermapen ONE delivers precise readings in under one second, so you can dial in doneness and make critical adjustments without slowing down. With ±0.5°F accuracy in key temperature ranges and an included NIST-traceable calibration certificate, every measurement is...
www.thermoworks.com www.thermoworks.com
 
Gary Ward said:
Thanks.
I do not trust the thermometer probe I was using yesterday, it's just an old dial one we had in the gadget drawer.
Yesterday late afternoon a cheap digital one showed up that I ordered. Didn't get a chance to use it yet. Tested it in our oven last night.
Last night I did take the smoker apart and cleaned the grates, water bowl and dumped the hot ashes into our firepit. It's going to be stored under a awning so it shouldn't get wet.
I can't wait to do it again. We had perfect weather for it this weekend. The ribs were great if I say so myself.
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For cleanup I always have some sort of container like an empty coffee can. Dump the grease into it, then dump the ashes into that. It sets up like a slurry. Scrape anything else out of the water pan with newspaper, then set it all inside a grocery sack and toss it.

When I get the chimney hot it’s easy enough to burn the grates clean. Welding gloves is the secret.
 
Sac Arrow said:
Actually I line the "water" bowl with foil and run it dry. It makes cleanup super easy.
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Same, for really big meat cuts I put some large (baseball-softball sized) smooth rocks into the water tray, they keep it from getting too hot as they heat up, then give back the heat as the coals burn down. It really helps regulate the heat, added plus is the dripping fat smokes off and gives it added flavor. I started using rocks about 20 years ago when I just had a Weber kettle and would stack it high with split hardwood, let it get burning good then put a big 1” thick slab of stone on top and when it burned down enough to put the grill on cook a 3-4 pound top round beef roast. Did that most every Saturday evening in my bachelor years, Sunday morning it was done and “cured” so I could just put it in the fridge on a cutting board and cut off a piece throughout the week like a summer sausage if I worked late or didn’t feel like cooking.
 
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