oscarsear Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Been playing with the smoker that I got last fall. I've done many meats and YUMMY. But I do have some questions. I have found wet smoking to work better for me. My smoker is electric and it seems to max out at around 225F and I smoke stuff for 12 to 14 hours. I just finished a bone in blade pork shoulder. It is droolly marvelous. It came with skin on which I removed keeping as much of the underlying fat as possible. Now that it is done I wonder if I could have gotten the skin to a crackling stage using my wet smoker method? That's my big ?? today. Do you leave the pig skin on a pork cut when you wet smoke at long and low temps? BTW I used apple and cherry on the bugger. Any and all advice is solicited and appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaspr Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I prefer to remove all skin and all surface fat. Then I usually cut the roast into at least two pieces...speeds cooking time and you get much more surface area which means more tasty bark. www.amazingribs.com is a wonderful resource for all things BBQ. What kind of smoker do you have? I use a Bradley. One more tip...google the recipe for 'Vaunted Vinegar Sauce" and then mix this half and half with regular Kraft BBQ sauce...SOOO good on pulled pork...you gotta try this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 9, 2011 I don't know I am new at the BBQ/Smoking, I have always grilled. This is a good place to ask questions or just read to find out, it's a forum like this one, sometimes a little slow but some real compitition BBQ, catering and some BBQ buisness owners. http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/index.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 9, 2011 more tasty bark That was all I needed to read, my favorite part, it looks burnt but taste great. [] I have never tried smoking before and I love the taste, so I built a smoker, after not working on it for like 2 years because I had a problem. I couldn't figure out the correct intakes and exhaust port sizes to get it to draft correctly. I found a place to get some good advice and finished it. I painted it with high temp paint and tried it out a couple of times with simple stuff to get the hang of keeping the temps where I want them. I need to look into cooking something a little bigger like some pulled pork or brisket. [Y] The contraption..........kind of a standard design, of one style at least, not pretty or small. Edit: I accidentally made the pic to small, but you get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 By any chance did you make that thing out of the MWM trailer carrier you built? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Skin on always. Will not get crunchy cooked wet though as far as I know. We smoked a whole hog (136 lbs.) last summer in a block pit for about 14hrs over green hickory coals. When the leg joints pulled apart on the rack we knew it was done! Then we pulled the skin off (dogs get that) and then used everything else for pulled BBQ meat. Fed about 60 that day with lots left over.Of course it was the best I have ever had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 9, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 9, 2011 By any chance did you make that thing out of the MWM trailer carrier you built? Nope, it's still in one piece, it was only used one other time to go to a cabin in the mountains for 10 days over Christmas. We needed the space for ice chest because I had a HK930, cd player, and a pair of RB-75's in the back of the jeep. [:$] Well it was 10 days, couldn't go without. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Sounds like a skinned roast delivers a better 'bark' when these are slow smoked. This one turned out excellent. I've had these where the skin does get to cracklin stage without ruining the meat. I'll have to look up how to cook one that way. Probably a hot oven method I'm a guess'n. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
germerikan Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 AFAIK you cant get a good crispy skin only from Smoking. The heat is not high enough. We always cook till end and then do a saltwater brine to mop on the skin, a little heat (we use one of those burners normally used for tar work) and it gets nice and "bubbly" crispy. Almost like pork rinds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Cut the raw skin into 1/2" cubes and set aside. Put a big cast iron pot over an open cooking flame and wait until pot is frying hot. Add a cup of water and 2 lbs. of the cubes. The water will cook of quick leaving the cubes frying in their own lard. When they are good and brown remove to tray covered with paper towels, season to taste with salt/red pepper. Now you've got you some REAL cracklins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 11, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 11, 2011 Now you've got you some REAL cracklins. Had more than my share of those before, we use to raise 2 pigs a year. Taste great, and about as bad for you as it can get, years ago they would also save the leftover lard to cook with. I can feel my blood clogging up just thinking about it. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 You know, a cardiologist said that the absolute worst thing is fried chicken skin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 200 to 250 is about right for most meats. Time depends on the thickness of what you are 'cuein. I have been on a BBQ team and have run one myself for about 6 years and we have a fair share of them metalic things with posts and flashy doo dads on it that they give to the Q that they think was better than the rest. I'm a member of KCBS and a certified judge too. HEY, if you buy the ticket, I would be more than happy to taste what you are makin and give ya pointers! You really need indirect heat for a good dry smoke. I am not much into water smokin but there are lots of people who won't do it any other way. Ask 4 Q'rs how to do it and ya get a dozen answers that work, just not the one that they used to win the last cook off [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebes Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Time for a hijack. Cal, I'm getting tired of my stock rub, and looking for something new. Your favorite rub? Yes, you can leave out the secret ingredient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 My girlfriend just surprised me with a Traeger smoker, the Texas grill. It's amazing, the food coming off this thing is just insane! I'm just now getting into smoking things and it's a ton of fun! I like the Traeger Prime Rib Rub! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Time for a hijack. Cal, I'm getting tired of my stock rub, and looking for something new. Your favorite rub? Yes, you can leave out the secret ingredient. For beef, in all honesty, seriously, Salt, pepper and a little garlic. Wash then dry the meat, cut a head of garlic in half and rub the cut side all over the meat then use fresh ground salt and fresh ground pepper then smoke on an a complimentary wood. Orange wood is a fav of mine though I have used apple. Oak is always a standard fall back position. I don't like the strong flavor of mesquite unless it is sparingly used. It also depends on what the local "flavor" is. Some locals like hot while others like smokey so you need to adjust how you Q depending on what the locals like. Carolinas like vinigar and pulled pork while in Texas if it isn't beef, it isn't Q! For Pork ribs, we like a wet rub. Prepare the ribs (clean, take off the membrane, trim, wash and dry.) Put on a pair of gloves, rub the rack of ribs with yellow mustard.... VERY THICKLY, about 1/4" thick or 1 large jar of yellow mustard to a rack of ribs. Roll small enough to fit into a gallon zip bag, keep cool over night in the fridge or ice chest. Keep as cool as possible without freezing but no more than 40F at the most. Next, about 3 hours before cooking, use 1 pound of brown sugar per rack , pack a thick coat of brown sugar all over the ribs, both sides, then reroll and put back in the bag and keep cool until cooking. Smoke at about 230F for about 3 to 4 hours or until done (your cooker and temp, will decide on how long to smoke. Also, your smoker will likely be close to this but you need to monitor for proper cooking) A properly cooked rack of ribs should be tender, the meat should NOT fall off the bone, if it does, the meat is over cooked! It should sepperate cleanly from the bone when you take a bite. Use high quality meat, this can not be stressed enough, you can not cook "tender" a bad quality of meat. A low smoking temp will not burn the sugar but the flavors will merge and thicken on the meat while grilling ribs like above will be nasty as the high temp burns the sugar. Which brings to mind a big Big BBIIGG No No that a lot of people do. NEVER put a sugar based BBQ sauce on GRILLED meat UNTIL THE VERY END! Like I said above, the sugar will burn under the high heat. Put the sauce on if you like it, just not until the end.[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Oh, one more thing. Guys, remember, while you are Q'n you are busy. You need to watch the smoker, you need to tend the fire, you need to stay with the cooker at all times, constant attention is mandarory so if the wife askes you to, say, set the table or take out the trash, YOU ARE BUSY, YOU HAVE BEEN COOKING FOR 4 HOURS STRAIGHT, can't she set the table? after all, you are working your tail off to produce the best tasting meal you can possibly make, you should NOT be disturbed, perhaps with a cold beverage or two but other than that, it is hot hard work![] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 I am a happy man for starting this thread......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 This is the Trophy table 2010 with everything we have won in all events, all teams combined since we started. 3 teams have merged into one with each of us having a speciality different from the other members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 This is the showcase winning meal at this comp. Showcase is this comps division where you make anything you like. This is a sausage (I made the sausage fresh, it was a Polish sausage, man I love that stuff) stuffed pork loin with a cherry reduction sauce. We slit the pork loin then used it as you would a sausage casing, we did not cut and wrap the pork loin around a sausage. The loin then was wraped with 2 pounds of apple bacon and smoked for 4 hours. Fresh chips, a fruit compote, corn bread and a custom orange smoothie. Desert was a pie made on site (it had wilted by the time these after event photos were taken) that closely resembled a Reeses cup in flavor. This was a cold set pie so as it warmed up, it melted a bit. We have taken first place in this event three years running. Everything but the cornbread and the bulk sausage (we did stuff it there though) was made on site that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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