Your favorite smoker recipe

[Ken Weaver]

Ken Massingale has gotten me turned on to smoking meat (in a cooker for you smart a****). I scored a Brinkman smoker for $50, its old, but rarely used. I seasoned it last night and have been scouring the web for recipes. I got to thinking that with everything else the members do here, there's got to be some experts out there.

So here's your chance - post your favorite smoker recipe. In two weeks I'll capture the thread and compile things into a PDF version of the BT3Central Smoker Cookbook, and figure out a way to post it for everyone.

Thanks for participating!

[bigsteel15]

The pulled pork recipe that came with my Bradley smoker.
If I can find it, I'll post.
But do you know how hard it is to find a pork shoulder or butt up here that doesn't have all the fat trimmed off?

[NMPinNYC]

Try this website; although I don't have a smoker, a number of folks I know love theirs, and highly recommend this Weber site. Good luck! And if you need a good pernil recipe for the oven, let me know and I'll hook you up. Pernil is pork shoulder done in a latin style. Love it! Nick P.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

[Ken Massingale]

Try this website; although I don't have a smoker, a number of folks I know love theirs, and highly recommend this Weber site. Good luck! And if you need a good pernil recipe for the oven, let me know and I'll hook you up. Pernil is pork shoulder done in a latin style. Love it! Nick P.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

I'd like to have that Nick. I don't know what pernil is, but if it's pork, I'll try it. 'Course I'll smoke the shoulder some before following your recipe!
ken

[Ken Massingale]

Here's the basic rub I use on beef, pork and chicken. I add a few other things according to the meat. Spraying the meat with Apple juice mixed with beer or a little Southern Comfort about every hour adds a nice flavor. Don't do the first spray until the rub has 'crusted' or you will wash the rub off the meat.
woods:
Chicken-------Pecan with Cherry
Pork Butts and Roast----------Hickory with Cherry
Brisket--------Cherry with Pecan and Hickory
Babybacks and Spareribs----------Cherry

I put a charcoal chimney of hot real hardwood charcoal in the smoker and put 3-4 pieces of wood on and wait for the smoker to get to 250, then toss the meat in.


Rub:
5 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
4 tablespoons paprika
1 ½ teaspoons ground savory
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
4 teaspoons onion powder
3 teaspoons course ground black pepper
4 teaspoons garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons white pepper
4 teaspoons dry mustard
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
3 teaspoons dried sweet basil
Salt to taste, Sea or Kosher is best
2 teaspoons ground bay leaves, If you use whole bay leaves blend until leaves are pulverized.
1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
Directions:
Throw all this into a food processor and blend it up fine.
Rub meat and cover with saran wrap or stick it in a ziploc bag.
Marinade over night in fridge. Allow to come to room temperature and place in smoker.

Enjoy your smoker, Ken.

[Ken Weaver]

Try this website; although I don't have a smoker, a number of folks I know love theirs, and highly recommend this Weber site. Good luck! And if you need a good pernil recipe for the oven, let me know and I'll hook you up. Pernil is pork shoulder done in a latin style. Love it! Nick P.

Post the recipe- everyone will want it.

[NMPinNYC]

Pernil al horno – Pork Shoulder from the Oven
OK, here goes the recipe for pork shoulder, originally from http://www.elboricua.com/index.html, revised by me to include revisions to the marinade and cooking instructions that I think makes it an even better recipe:

Ingredients:
5 lb. pork shoulder - picnic cut (with fat). I get mine from BJ’s Wholesale Club. You’re looking for the lower part of the shoulder that tapers to the leg. Of course, you can use the picnic if you like; I’ve done that too, when that’s on sale at the supermarket.
Marinade:
7 garlic cloves. You can use more if you like. I like to chop mine up in a food processor. Use fresh garlic!
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1½ teaspoon Adobo seasoning
1 small packet Sazon Goya

Marinade:
Crush the garlic in a pilón (mortar and pestle). If you don't have a pilón (shame on you!) crush the whole garlic with the side of a wide knife then dice the pieces. I chop mine up in a food processor, quite finely. Whiz up the rest of the marinade ingredients quickly in the food processor, don't foam up the oil too much, and pour into another vessel to ge it ready to pour into and onto the pork. It should not be too runny, but runnier than a paste. Adjust ingredients accordingly.

Wash the meat and pat dry. With a sharp knife cut the fat away from the top of the meat keeping it all in one piece. Start at the wide end and go to the narrow end. You don't have to separate it completely - just leave enough still connected so that you can flip the fat over to the side while you season the meat itself. The fat will be placed over the meat after seasoning, and will cook over the meat in the oven, basting it and giving it more flavor. Season the side of the fat that goes over the meat with a bit of the marinade also - just that one side. It is neither necessary nor recommended to season the top of the flap of skin/fat. The other side - the top - should only have salt.

Make very deep slits all over the meat and season the meat with the mixture making sure that the marinade goes into all the slits. Put the fat back over the meat to look the same as before it was cut and sprinkle it with salt. Put the meat into a stainless pot or bowl, and pour the marinade mixture over the meat; use something that won’t react with the vinegar, and refrigerate the shoulder, covered, for 24 hours. I like to flip mine in the marinade after 12 hours. Try to keep the flap of fat out of the marinade, but if you can’t, don’t worry about it too much.

Bring the meat get back to room temperature before cooking (about one hour). In the meantime get your oven pre-heated up to 400 degrees. Place the meat in a deep pan with the fat side up. There will be a lot of grease so be sure to use a deep pan that is at least 2" deep. I use a turkey roasting pan. The fat side up will make nice crunchy "cueritos", sort of pork rinds.Delicious stuff. Do NOT cover the meat with foil. Cook in a 400º oven for one hour, then reduce temperature to 300º for another 4 hours or so - DO NOT TURN MEAT. When you think the meat is done, you can prick it on the side with a fork to see if it shreds. I like to use a meat thermometer to check, and I like to see the center of the meat reach 185 degrees. Then, if the "cuerito” is not crispy enough for your satisfaction, then leave it in the oven and raise the temperature again to 400º and cook another 15 or so until it is crispy. It will crisp fast so keep your eye on it.

When it’s ready, remove the meat from the oven and let it rest on the counter for about 20-30 minutes before carving or pulling. I tent it with foil. Me, I like to pull the meat apart because it’s so tender, and not carve. To carve, remove the cuerito completely and set aside. Carve the meat and then cut the cuerito into pieces and place over the meat. If you're going to take this to a party put it in an oven-safe container and put it back in a 200º to keep it warm, DON'T COVER IT because the crispy cueritos will get soft if you do.

I usually try to do these two at a time in the big roasting pan I use. The cooked pork freezes well, and I think it’s delicious. Give it a try!

Best, Nick P.

[Ken Weaver]

That sounds yummy Nick!

[Rslaugh]

Guess I need to start looking for a smoker now. MY SIL's boss up in Queensbury, NY bought some fancy rig out of Texas. He paid more to ship it then I want to pay for the smoker but doesn't almost everyone have $2500 smokers on their decks?

What's the BT3 of smokers?

[Ken Weaver]

Guess I need to start looking for a smoker now. MY SIL's boss up in Queensbury, NY bought some fancy rig out of Texas. He paid more to ship it then I want to pay for the smoker but doesn't almost everyone have $2500 smokers on their decks?

What's the BT3 of smokers?

I picked up a slightly used one for $50. Works great.

[NMPinNYC]

That receipe for Pork Shoulder I posted, is a favorite for autumn/winter entertaining, you put it in the oven and let it go, and the house smells really fabulous from the roasting meat and marinade. Makes me drool just thinking about it! Also a great recipe for when you've got big chores to do outside, raking leaves, etc., when it's chilly outside, and this tasty dish is waiting for you when you come inside. Hope you enjoy it! Nick P.

[vtv010]

A few things i smoke:

For those who like smoked fish... Requires some experemintaton to cater to your taste best.

Honey-Cured Smoked Salmon
· 1 quart water
· 1/2 cup salt
· 3/4 cup honey
· 1/4 cup golden rum
· 1/4 cup lemon juice
· 10 cloves
· 10 allspice berries
· 1 bay leaf
· 1 large fillet of salmon
Combine all the ingredients besides the salmon to make the brine.
Place the salmon, skin side up, in a non-reactive dish and cover with brining liquid. Allow fish to brine for 2 hours.
Rinse the salmon in fresh water and pat dry with papertowels.
Place salmon on a drying rack (or grill rack that you will use to smoke the salmon on) and allow to air dry for about 1 hour.
Smoke salmon skin side down for about 1 1/2 hours, keeping temperature at 160 degrees farenheit..

Beef, chicken, etc rub

Red's Dry RubThis is a Texas style rub. Heavy on the chili powder and cayenne pepper.
Recipe From : Chile Pepper Magazine - Sep/Oct 1990
1 11 Oz Can chili powder -- fine ground, light
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons black pepper
4 Tablespoons garlic powder
1/2 Cup lemon juice
Thoroughly coat all surfaces of the meat with lemon juice, and rub in well. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, and sprinkle generously all over the meat, rubbing in well. Make sure that the meat is entirely covered. Store leftover rub in a tightly sealed container in the 'fridge.

[bluevoodoo]

BT3 of Smokers

The BT3 equivalent of smokers MUST be the Big Green Egg. It has a forum of very dedicated, almost cult-like, followers as well. They claim its the best smoker out there. I know I love mine!!

[Scottydont]

Well...now were talking! I have a Barrel Style Barbaque with a side mounted firebox for smokin'.

Check out this website for some great smoking and barbaque tips.

http://kickassbbq.com/starttofinish.html

First I start out with my own recipe for q-sauce.

Scott's Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce

Yield: about 1 quart

2 (14-ounce) bottles tomato ketchup
3/4 cup Jack Daniels Whiskey
1 cup of your favorite salsa (fresh is best)
1 cup molasses
1 tablespoon Creole or whole grain mustard
6 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process
until smooth, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a
rubber spatula. Pulse 2 or 3 times. Store in a sterilized container until
ready to use. It sticks to food best after it has been refridgerated.

Lately I have been doing Country Style Pork Ribs that are to die for. Around here Costco sells a package for around $14 bucks that will feed 8-12 people! I use two foil lasagne pans. I lay a mess of pork ribs in the pans. I pour 16 oz. of beer in each pan and add 3-4 cups of my q-sauce in the pan. The four left over beers in the six pack are for me! I place the pans over medium coals (enough to maintain 200-250 degrees.) That should be just hot enough to cause the liquid to simmer. I cook them at that temp for at least an hour. turning them occasionally and adding more q sauce if boils down too much. It is better to go at the lower temp and cook them longer it makes them very tender. After that I remove them from the pans and directly on the grill to glaze them up. The don't really need to cook any longer this is just to glaze and blacked up the outside just a bit. My family and friends can't get enough!