Official BBQ thread

[elpablo21]

Some thighs pre-grilled for a Curry stew I'm attempting to do

Impossible Burger for the lady I did a while back

 

[elpablo21]

Got a Turkey breast on sale to smoke pre-Thanksgiving

 

[DCAllAfrican]

Looks good.

Did you brine it?

How was the moisture?

 

[elpablo21]

Looks good.

Did you brine it?

How was the moisture?

Yeah, I had some Kosmos pre-made brine I needed to finish and used that. I think the moisture came out pretty good

 

[cs02132]

Second time smoking a (washed) chicken. Came out good but need to keep practicing for sure

Brined it over night in
Water
Celtic sea salt
A good amount of peppercorns
Like 6 cloves of smashed garlic
1 white onion
2 sliced lemons
Oregano
Parsley
Rosemary



then seasoned and smoked

I still gotta learn how to control the heat better and get it to maintain the temp I want. Realized I think I’m using too much charcoal since I only want to get to 275ish degrees for this. I still gotta learn the right amount of charcoal, wood, learn the vents etc
For this one it was always around 350 sometimes close to 400 at the hottest. Towards the end I got it down to around 300
That’s probably why the skin is peeling back like that. I think I need to pat my seasoning in more and let it sit and absorb longer before I put it on
Also I am all about #char but I want to get it maybe a little lighter, like golden brown
Keeping the temp lower will help me do both things I need to improve - color and keeping the skin from peeling back

i wanted to do a turkey for thanksgiving but idk I’m gonna practice on chicken a few more times and then I’ll see

 

[elpablo21]

Looks good mane.

breast looking moist

Chicken with skin on is always tricky due to wanting smoke flavor but getting higher temps to make the skin edible

some folks prefer a high temp throughout or others low smoke at first then crank it up towards the end. Skin looks good to me though and edible

 

[nycposite]

Got a Turkey breast on sale to smoke pre-Thanksgiving

Looks great. Wanting to do a turkey for Thanksgiving but not trying to waste a turkey. Any tips

 

[elpablo21]

Looks great. Wanting to do a turkey for Thanksgiving but not trying to waste a turkey. Any tips

Brine it. The simplest of brines do wonders

I've smoked them without spatchcocking but if you do it will help with a more even cook

Don't get too concerned over temp swings if using an offset/kettle grill. The big bird can handle it. Even if smoking low I didn't mind if it hit 325-350

Use a decent thermometer to check the internals and make sure the breast hits its safety zone. Dark meat will usually be ahead of it.

If you're worried about it taking too long and your heat is dropping you can always finish it in the oven. A few hours of smoke is plenty of flavor and that would avoid the "danger zone" for bacteria growth

 

[elpablo21]

Malcolm's most recent Turkey vid. I feel like he has like 5 or more already

 

[mplsdunk]

I smoke chickens at 275 for the #char. Nice work guys.

we’ll see if this chuck is any good. got some high buck chuck with good marbling so it hopefully isn’t dry.

 

[cs02132]

Is there like a recommended amount of charcoal to use for a temp?
Like for example if I wanna stay around 275, I fill up the charcoal starter halfway. I usually fill it up and temps go 400+ but I need to practice keeping it low

 

[mplsdunk]

Is there like a recommended amount of charcoal to use for a temp?
Like for example if I wanna stay around 275, I fill up the charcoal starter halfway. I usually fill it up and temps go 400+ but I need to practice keeping it low

for smoking on a kettle I don’t use a chimney. I pile the coal on the side and throw a lit charcoal starter on it. That way you don’t overshoot your temp by a lot.

look up how people set up Webber’s to smoke with bricks. That’s how I do it.

 

[cs02132]

That’s what I do too but I feel like I’m using too much charcoal, it gets too hot

or am I wrong that more charcoal = more heat? Right ?
Am I supposed to just use the same amount of charcoal and adjust the vents to get a lower temp? That would take way too long for the temp to go down


I usually just sear thighs/ whatever else, so the 400+ temp didn’t matter too much. But when I’m smoking a whole thang I’m trying to learn how to get it to the lower temp that I want

 

[mplsdunk]

If you pile them up on the side of the grill and just put a charcoal starter on one end of the coals and monitor the temp it won’t really matter how much you put in because you adjust the vents every so often and all of it won’t catch at once.

 

[VeeAhy]

The amount of charcoal is part of it on a kettle, but air flow is the main key to controlling temp. If I’m doing low temps...275 and less about 3/4 of a chimney will work. 325+ a full chimney. I don’t let my chimney charcoal ash over 100% either. I bet it lit half way then use air flow to reach temp.

 

[mplsdunk]

like that and just throw a non toxic charcoal starter at one side and it will slowly burn.

Same concept as the “snake method” but the lazy way I guess.

 

[cs02132]

Ah I see. That makes sense now
I thought you meant put the lit coals on one side

 

[tupac003]

Going to use this recipe for my smoked turkey since I have the masterbuilt 560.

 

[mplsdunk]

Not dry at all. Broke boi brisket.

 

[elpablo21]

 

[cs02132]

I’m trying to practice on at least 2 or 3 more birds before I decide if I wanna do it on thanksgiving
Mom said she got a 16lb bird, whew I gotta learn to control that temp fast

 

[mplsdunk]

Honestly this hits harder than brisket to me.

dry cure a couple hours, spritz with apple cider vinegar smoke at 225 and cook to 180 and wrap and rest an hour or so. That’s what I did. Give it a try. Just get a good chuck.

 

[elpablo21]

Def will give that a try

now I’m thinking of if I want to smoke and fry bird this year. Only did it once but it was a fun process

 

[SuperQ]

I’m trying to practice on at least 2 or 3 more birds before I decide if I wanna do it on thanksgiving
Mom said she got a 16lb bird, whew I gotta learn to control that temp fast

Its not that hard to smoke a bird. Ive been doing it for the past seven, eight years now. Using the vents to control the temp and making sure your coals are ready to go so the temp doesnt dip too low on your bird is the biggest part. I smoke my birds kinda high at 275-300 for 6-8 hours depending on the weight. If you smoke them too low, you run the risk of the bird going bad before it cooks through.

 

[cs02132]

Its not that hard to smoke a bird. Ive been doing it for the past seven, eight years now. Using the vents to control the temp and making sure your coals are ready to go so the temp doesnt dip too low on your bird is the biggest part. I smoke my birds kinda high at 275-300 for 6-8 hours depending on the weight. If you smoke them too low, you run the risk of the bird going bad before it cooks through.

Yea you mean like the coals getting cold then replacing them? I was thinking about getting some of these