BBQ Smokers

[/pine]

Personally I always thought salmon was overrated...I never cared for the taste/texture when it was prepared as standard table fare (baked,broiled, grilled on cedar plank etc.,etc...)

I'm sure the indigenous tribes smoked it for preservation...I put it in the same category as a lot of other fish that are much more palatable when smoked...i.e., Spanish and king mackerels, amberjack, mullet (a "sea fowl" not really a fish) etc...

 

[IslandTractor]

Personally I always thought salmon was overrated...I never cared for the taste/texture when it was prepared as standard table fare (baked,broiled, grilled on cedar plank etc.,etc...) I'm sure the indigenous tribes smoked it for preservation...I put it in the same category as a lot of other fish that are much more palatable when smoked...i.e., Spanish and king mackerels, amberjack, mullet (a "sea fowl" not really a fish) etc...

I agree. I never order salmon when eating out but partly because it is invariably over cooked (to my taste). I do like lox and cream cheese on bagels and I do like smoked salmon. However, a few months ago I cooked some costco (ie nothing special) farmed salmon using sous vide and it was delicious. Changed my opinion about salmon.

 

[/pine]

I agree. I never order salmon when eating out but partly because it is invariably over cooked (to my taste). I do like lox and cream cheese on bagels and I do like smoked salmon. However, a few months ago I cooked some costco (ie nothing special) farmed salmon using sous vide and it was delicious. Changed my opinion about salmon.

For myself it mostly about the texture (with any fin fish)...I do like smoked salmon and the recent posts on the topic have given me a tooth for some...have not done any in a while...I can get it fresh in town with a few days notice...I'm pretty sure the stuff they have at the chain grocery in town only has frozen or previously frozen filets...

After reading your post about sous vide I read up on it a bit...sounds like a great way to do chops...

 

[IslandTractor]

For myself it mostly about the texture (with any fin fish)...I do like smoked salmon and the recent posts on the topic have given me a tooth for some...have not done any in a while...I can get it fresh in town with a few days notice...I'm pretty sure the stuff they have at the chain grocery in town only has frozen or previously frozen filets... After reading your post about sous vide I read up on it a bit...sounds like a great way to do chops...

Sous vide is amazing for steaks and chops. It essentially allows you to cook the meat to an exact temperature without any part being over cooked. So if you know your favorite steak is perfect at 135 then you can have the entire steak at 135 rather than the outside well done. Only thing you need to do besides sous vide step is to sear the steak for a minute or so on as high a heat as you can. Some people use propane torches held just a few inches away. Most folks just heat up a cast iron pan on high.

Sous vide until recently required very expensive water baths so was used only in top restaurants. Today you can get exactly the same technology for $150-200. Put one on your Christmas list. Google Anova culinary precision cooker.

 

[General Lee]

I have an Oklahoma Joe that looks a good bit like your new smoker. I have done a few changes to mine. I love cranking it up in all kinds of weather.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

Those are a decent smoker, especially with a few mod improvements. I considered an Oklahoma Joe, but decided on something with thicker steel.

 

[IslandTractor]

Smoking a couple racks of St Louis ribs in my Cajun Grill this morning. Using Byton's Butt Rub, Fogo lump charcoal and Apple wood. The grill is pretty steady at 225 with a big water pan. Started at 6 so should be ready by lunch.

Not sure how many of you already know about Amazingribs.com but I find it very useful. It's not a "secret sauce" type site but rather a very practical and science based review of technique and equipment.

 

[General Lee]

Just did 4 slabs of St. Louis yesterday evening for some guests. They were absolutely delicious.

 

[EarPlug]

Pulled pork today! Just put an Organic Pork Shoulder (wild pig) on the smoker this morning.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Pulled pork today! Just put an Organic Pork Shoulder (wild pig) on the smoker this morning.

Cool! Glad everyone is putting their smokers to work! I have 3 slabs of baby backs thawing; plan to dress them up in a few minutes and get them ready to smoke tomorrow morning, as per my previously posted method. Using my own special rubb, some Royal Oak (courtesy Walmart) charcoal, my own special mix of Mesquite, Blackjack and Pecan and a late topping of Woody's Cooking Sauce. May throw on a couple brats and hotlinks about halfway through. 250 degrees for no more than 3 hours and we're ready to go! I like to cook my ribs direct, gives them a nice brown crust.

Good luck, everyone!

 

[dragoneggs]

Baby Back Pork on the little Traeger last night. Applewood pellets and a homemade rub my wife experimented with. Almost three hour smoke at around 275, and a slobber of BBQ sauce the last hour to make it nice an messy! Yummy.

 

[Otto Syracuse]

Not sure how many of you already know about Amazingribs.com but I find it very useful. It's not a "secret sauce" type site but rather a very practical and science based review of technique and equipment.

Island Tractor, thanks for the link to Amazingribs.com, I'm going to be spending a lot of time there!

Otto

 

[teejk]

I ate wild pig years ago. As much as our DNR hates them (permission to shoot on sight), I wish I could get some...best meat ever I think. I guess the problem is that they tend to be nocturnal and that proposes problems. Enjoy!

 

[IslandTractor]

Duplicate

 

[IslandTractor]

I ate wild pig years ago. As much as our DNR hates them (permission to shoot on sight), I wish I could get some...best meat ever I think. I guess the problem is that they tend to be nocturnal and that proposes problems. Enjoy!

Remember that commercial pork in the U.S. is essentially trichinosis free but wild pig can be infected. Just make extra precautions to monitor internal temperature with a good digital thermometer. The safe minimum temp is about 160 per CDC (California dept of health says 175). Those are both much higher than 145 that is safe for commercial pork.

 

[EarPlug]

Remember that commercial pork in the U.S. is essentially trichinosis free but wild pig can be infected. Just make extra precautions to monitor internal temperature with a good digital thermometer. The safe minimum temp is about 160 per CDC (California dept of health says 175). Those are both much higher than 145 that is safe for commercial pork.

On Trichinosis in Wild Game (quoted from)

As it happens, the trichinae parasite is extremely rare in wild game and it is even more rare for anyone to become sick with trichinosis from eating game. According to a Centers for Disease Control study that surveyed incidence of the disease from 2008 to 2012, there were only 84 cases of trichinosis in all of America. Of those, 43 were eating wild game. That痴 43 people in a five-year period, and 30 of those 43 were in one incident, an unfortunate party I値l describe in detail later. Consider that number when you think of the millions of people who eat wild game every year.

Wild pigs are a bit more of an issue. Depending on what state you live in, the incidence of infection varies. One study showed a 13 percent incidence of trichinae parasites in North Carolina, which is more or less the commonly agreed on rate of infection. Interestingly, other than two freak appearances of the Eurasian Trichinae pseudospiralis, which shouldn稚 actually exist in North America, Texas hogs appear to be largely free of the parasite, according to this research.

And guess what? According to that CDC study I linked to above, only six cases of trichinosis were tied to eating wild pigs. Six. In five years. You have a better chance of getting struck by lighting on a boat, falling over and then being eaten face-first by a shark.

Bear meat, not pork, is the real problem. (As is mountain lion meat, but only a very few people eat that.)

 

[IslandTractor]

On Trichinosis in Wild Game (quoted from) As it happens, the trichinae parasite is extremely rare in wild game and it is even more rare for anyone to become sick with trichinosis from eating game. According to a Centers for Disease Control study that surveyed incidence of the disease from 2008 to 2012, there were only 84 cases of trichinosis in all of America. Of those, 43 were eating wild game. That痴 43 people in a five-year period, and 30 of those 43 were in one incident, an unfortunate party I値l describe in detail later. Consider that number when you think of the millions of people who eat wild game every year. Wild pigs are a bit more of an issue. Depending on what state you live in, the incidence of infection varies. One study showed a 13 percent incidence of trichinae parasites in North Carolina, which is more or less the commonly agreed on rate of infection. Interestingly, other than two freak appearances of the Eurasian Trichinae pseudospiralis, which shouldn稚 actually exist in North America, Texas hogs appear to be largely free of the parasite, according to this research. And guess what? According to that CDC study I linked to above, only six cases of trichinosis were tied to eating wild pigs. Six. In five years. You have a better chance of getting struck by lighting on a boat, falling over and then being eaten face-first by a shark. Bear meat, not pork, is the real problem. (As is mountain lion meat, but only a very few people eat that.)

Understood but remember that until very recently virtually everyone over cooked all pork so wild pig would have routinely been cooked to 175 or so. As folks become used to eating pork cooked to 145 there is a danger that wild pig would be consumed without being adequately cooked to kill trichinae. The CDC figures don't take that into account. I imagine there is regional variation in risk so perhaps Texas is lower risk than the Carolinas. Also, not all cases are diagnosed as the degree of illness depends on the injected dose and many mildly symptomatic patients might not be fully worked up. Point is simply that it makes sense to cook wild pork to the pre 2006 temperature standard to be safe.

As for likelihood of getting trichinosis versus being eaten by shark or hit by lightning, you are forgettable the all important denominator. There are tens of millions of people exposed each year to sharks and lightning. Probably only a few to maybe ten thousand each year eat wild pork.

 

[teejk]

Interesting reading for sure. I actually thought trichinosis was no longer an issue. My mom used to cook pork chops to something akin to shoe leather out of something she heard from the old "slop the hogs" days. I abandoned that practice years before the USDA finally said 145F was ok. Never thought about the wild variety though. Pigs are "rooters" so I guess it stands to reason that their diet isn't controlled like our domestic variety. Perhaps the saving grace is that most wild pig cooking is accompanied by beer and the temperature will always exceed medium rare. Never thought about bear.

 

[IslandTractor]

The problem with wild pigs is that they are omnivores and will eat a carcass of another infected animal. That is how trichinosis is spread naturally. Anything that eats raw meat is theoretically a risk. We don't hunt cougars or other predators much for food so it isn't such an issue. Pigs or wild boar on the other hand are often hunted with the notion of making meals out of them. Sausage from wild boar etc is a well known problem.

 

[NS Gearhead]

How long should I smoke steaks assuming; 225-250deg and that they're about 1" thick, and looking for medium done. 1hr? 145 internal?

Momma likes striploins, but I'd like a filet minion... in that case they'd be 1.5-2" thick... probably wrapped in bacon. Mmmm, drooling already. LOL

 

[IslandTractor]

How long should I smoke steaks assuming; 225-250deg and that they're about 1" thick, and looking for medium done. 1hr? 145 internal? Momma likes striploins, but I'd like a filet minion... in that case they'd be 1.5-2" thick... probably wrapped in bacon. Mmmm, drooling already. LOL

I've never smoked a steak. Usually steaks are pretty tender cuts and are grilled instead. If I did try, I would check frequently with a rapid read digital thermometer and then move from indirect smoke to direct sear at about ten degrees lower than I wanted the finished steak internal temp to be. A couple minutes searing should brown up the outside nicely.