Does anyone know where I can buy turkey legs around the raleigh/cary area? I called The Meathouse and they don't have them.

10/9/2015 9:06:58 AM

I've seen them at Food Lion and Harris Teeter. Not consistently in stock though so probably best to call in advance.

10/9/2015 10:22:57 AM

finally bought a kitchenaid mixer. got the meat grinder attachment. ground some chuck last night and made some chopped steak and they were awesome. also made dough for burger buns that I'm going to bake tonight for the game. Gonna grind some fattier chuck this time for the burgers.

10/9/2015 10:51:47 AM

picture from earlier tonight... in rocky mount cooking some bbq. brisket and pork butts are on!

10/10/2015 1:34:25 AM

Got a chicken brining since last night, I'm debating on injecting it with butter and garlic before throwing it on the grill this afternoon. Seems a bit like overkill though...

10/10/2015 9:59:53 AM

Dang that's a nice lookin rig!

10/10/2015 5:48:34 PM

Well, I lost the brisket grill off. I built my fire too big to begin with and fought the entire time to keep the temp below 250, thought I had it under control and left to go to the store, when I came back the temperature had spiked. I had to pull it way too early and it cooked too fast. Everybody said mine had the better flavor but my neighbors just fell apart and mine was too tough. I learned a lot though, and now I'm in the mood to smoke more stuff. I just pulled my turkey legs, getting the grill up and I'm about to throw a spatchcocked chicken on

11/1/2015 2:39:27 PM

HT has 99 cent/LB butts right now. Sale will end mid week.

11/2/2015 7:22:06 PM

How does the ThermoPop hold up again the ThermoPen? I'm thinking about giving them away as a gift but really dont want to spend 75 EA

11/9/2015 5:58:25 PM

It looks like the ThermoPop isn't quite 'instant read'. Says it takes 5-6 seconds for a temp

11/10/2015 12:02:34 AM

which turkey recipe / method is everyone using this year? i'm planning to more or less use this http://amazingribs.com/recipes/chicken_turkey_duck/ultimate_smoked_turkey.html

11/11/2015 10:29:50 AM

brine it 24-48 hrs. don't get fancy, just water, salt, and sugar. spatchcock it. compound butter with herbs under the skin. whatever seasoning you want on the outside. cook it anywhere from 375 to 425 degrees. done in a couple hours.

11/14/2015 3:58:42 PM

my paternal side of the family insists on deep frying the turkey every year. now i do like deep frying stuff, but i consider the deep frying method very much overrated. spatchcocking the turkey and smoking seems like a MUCH better method and i'm going to advocate for that this year.

What wood have you folks used that gives turkey the best flavor? I've never smoked a turkey (surprisingly)

11/14/2015 10:49:16 PM

I think the best thing to do would be to smoke one and bake/fry another. At least in my family, I think a lot of people would complain about only having the smoked option. Also, I don't think deep fried turkey is overrated - that shit is delicious. But it's kinda dangerous and definitely expensive.

11/16/2015 10:33:59 AM

i don't really "smoke" it. low and slow is for tough cuts that need a long cook to get tender. turkey doesn't need that. why spend several hours when you can cook it in less than 2? the whole point of spatchcocking is to speed up the cook. you can reach safe temp in the breast before the outside is all burnt up. hot and fast is the way to go for turkey. i do usually throw in some pecan and/or apple wood chunks, but it doesn't really seem to matter.

11/18/2015 6:48:42 PM

thermoworks has the thermapen mk4 on sale for $79. has a backlight, uses AAA batteries, and has an auto-rotating display for left-handed use.

turkey on the akorn yesterday. 10 lbs and it was done in 1 hour 20 mins.

[Edited on November 27, 2015 at 10:29 AM. Reason : afd]

11/27/2015 10:29:07 AM

Picked up a thermapen - 16lb turkey done in 2hours spatchcocked

11/27/2015 2:40:18 PM

@NeuseRvrRat Thanks for the info.

Just ordered one. After 2 knockoff brands, I've learned you can't go cheap w/ these things.

I've f'd up a few filets on my egg lately due to bad IT readings.

11/27/2015 3:29:34 PM

i went ahead and cut all the ribs, breast bone, wishbone, etc. out of my turkey after spatchcocking this year. I recommend doing it. allows more of the seasoning to get on the meat itself and makes carving a breeze. only bones in mine were leg, thigh, and wings.

thermapen is the way to go. accept no substitutes. i am going to leave my regular one in the kitchen and the backlit model in the garage with my grill stuff.

[Edited on November 27, 2015 at 10:02 PM. Reason : adf]

11/27/2015 10:01:15 PM

Christmas weekend and it's in the seventies. I rolled the Akorn out this morning and I've got a Boston butt on. I slept a bit later than I intended though, I wanted to have it on at 6, didn't get it on till 7:30 though. Dinner might be late tonight...

Also, don't buy a thermopen on Amazon. I decided to finally get one and looked at them on Amazon and it was $274. I figured maybe Amazon was just doing their price gouging thing on high demand items, but then I checked the thermoworks website and they had the mk4 on sale for $87. Dunno what's up Amazon's ass

[Edited on December 27, 2015 at 9:40 AM. Reason : amazon]

12/27/2015 9:36:27 AM

Direct from thermoworks is always the cheapest way. Sign up for their emails and they will send you links to special pricing, open box sales, etc.

12/27/2015 10:24:01 AM

Cooked a duck and turkey (not at the same time) on the Akorn Christmas day. First time cooking a duck and it came out pretty well but the skin didn't crisp as well as I had hoped.

12/27/2015 10:24:00 PM

In the 80s today, I got some tators baking on the Akorn and a couple of new york strips on deck. I'm torn about this weather

12/29/2015 6:51:05 PM

Posted about this in Chit Chat, but I'll be smoking my first pork butt this Sunday and I could use some help (was going to use the crock pot but the butt is too big).

It's a little over seven pounds and I have a Master Forge Grill:

I plan on doing some internet research, but wanted to check here first as it seems like you guys know your shit.

So I talked to a buddy of mine who smokes regularly and he talked about having the meet on one side, coal on the other, and tinfoiling surrounding areas so as to not make sure the smoke doesn't get out. He also mentioned putting the butt on the very top rack and putting a cheap pizza stone on the bottom rack to stop the direct hear from the coals.

Checking to see how that advice vibes with you guys and any other tips or advice you might have. Thanks!

[Edited on January 8, 2016 at 2:27 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2016 2:27:04 PM

It's a long read, but worth it http://amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/perfect_pulled_pork.html

This is pretty much exactly what I do:

1/8/2016 2:34:26 PM

Also keep an eye out for this grill

Quote :

"Ashley Christensen: A CALL TO ALL OF MY PALS, PLEASE SHARE: To the miserable pieces of sh*t who did thousands of dollars of damage breaking into our facility to steal one of the most special gifts that has ever been given to me... I dare you drive this cooker down the road, or break it out at a party. It is fully custom, and we’ll be looking for ya. This was a gift from one of my mentors Nick Pihakis in celebration of us winning the James Beard Award. Though it’s one of a kind, we have insurance. To the low lifes who stole the cooker: Stop looking for where the propane tank goes... it’s a hard-wood cooker (I know, what a bummer... you can’t even steal nice things these days ). The really sad thing? We mostly use this cooker to cook for charitable causes. PALS, PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT, AND HELP ME TAKE THIS MESSAGE VIRAL."

1/8/2016 2:36:22 PM

^ I've seen that posted all over my facebook page for the last day or so. That sucks.

What is the cheapest, most reliable thermometer that I can get in a local store?

1/8/2016 5:08:01 PM

To measure air temp or meat temp?

1/8/2016 6:30:02 PM

Meat...but I guess I need both? I know you can't trust the temp on the grill...but I figured as long as I'm monitoring the meat temp, then I'm good...right?

1/9/2016 1:21:07 AM

The air temp inside the grill is pretty damn important. I can cook without a probe in the meat because I know about how long it should take. I can't cook without knowing my air temp.

I'm sure any of those units with the heat resistant cable on the probe and the remote digital display thing will be close enough. You can order quality stuff online, but there aren't usually many local options.

1/9/2016 8:08:56 AM

Went to richmond over the weekend and took Tuffy Stone's BBQ class. damn that dude knows his shit. can't wait till my next competition.

1/11/2016 7:48:23 AM

First attempt at smoking a pork shoulder was a resounding success. Used the website above along with tips from several friends, and here's what happened (sure no one cares):

- Trimmed fat cap to about 1/8" and dry brined with salt the day before smoke.
- Set up grill like synapse's picture above (without the water pans). Dry rubbed about an hour before I put on the grill.
- Got temp to a little above 250 and set it on at about 8:45 am.
- Left house to take the dogs for a run on the beach at 9:45 and added charcoal to get the grill to 300. Came back at 12:30pm and temp was down to 125. Panic set in.
- Did yard work for the rest of the day, monitored grill, temperature ranged from 215 to 275 the entire afternoon. Sporadically added soaked hickory wood chips about four or five times throughout the day.
- Left grill again at 4 pm to meet friends for a couple beers at a beer/dog park. Again, added coal to get grill to a little over 300 before leaving.
- Came back at 6:30pm and grill was completely dead. Freaked out and put on more coals...then looked at butt and decided it was done.

Brought butt in to rest while wife cooked collards and roasted potatoes. Bone slid out and I sliced the tip off. Tried to attempt another slice and the meat just started falling apart. Added a little salt and pepper and pepper/vinegar sauce. Probably some of the most delicious pork I've ever had. I've eaten a ton of pulled pork over my lifetime, so I'm going to attribute it to being fresh off the grill as well as me being a little drunk.

I didn't use a meat thermometer (until the very end when I decided to pull it off), or an air temp. I just watched the thermometer on the grill...which I'm sure is pretty inaccurate, but whatever. My only question is...is it suppose to be this easy? I let the temperature go from 300 to 125, and then up and down from 200 to 300 several times throughout the day. All I did was add charcoal about 7 or 8 times throughout the day and throw some woodchips on top. $10 for a 7 lb pork butt, half a bag of charcoal, and now I have meat for days. I'm going to do this shit all the time.



*Only part I think I might have fucked up was putting the butt on the grill, fat side down. I wasn't thinking at the time, but I wanted the non-fat side up thinking that's where the most beautiful bark would be (and it was). But afterwards, I was thinking how the fat-side should be up, to let the fat melt into the pork, instead of just drip on the grill pan. Is that right?

Also, the pork is juicy as fuck...would the water pans make it even more juicy?

Will post pictures later.

1/11/2016 8:20:31 AM

you are doing a lot of things right - but i'd do some reading and forget most of what you think you know - start with some of these articles but there are plenty of others online that are great

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/index.html

in general, pork shoulder is very forgiving on temperature and incredibly hard to mess up in the end but you can likely make it better - i would more closely monitor grill air temperature with a digital thermometer your first few times so you can learn cooking times and the charcoal burn rate - recommend water pans to keep humidity / moisture up

what was the temp of the meat when you took it off?

1/11/2016 8:35:05 AM

Butts are hard to fuck up.

Fat cap up vs. down is a big debate. Both ways can produce good BBQ.

Take all info on BBQ with a grain of salt. A lot of it is from folks with no understanding of thermodynamics. Competition BBQ is a whole different game than backyard BBQ. Comp BBQ is a joke.

1/11/2016 8:44:52 AM

^^ I think it was close to 190. I remember sticking the thermometer in there and it moving past 170 and I just decided to take it off and get it inside.

Honestly, I don't plan on changing anything I did in the future with the exception of maybe getting a thermometer and monitoring the temperature a little better. The plan was to keep it around 250 for most of the day...and even though it fluctuated a lot, I'd say it probably averaged out around 250 overall.

The best part is that I now have the green light from the wifey to buy gadgets and smoke whatever the fuck I want. This was a "trial run" for me to be able to do this on the reg and put money into it. She was drooling over the pork last night and gave it five stars after the first bite.


^ Do you do fat cup up or down? And do you trim it? My fat cap was pretty thick (an inch in most places). I'm not a quality butcher and my knifes aren't restaurant quality, so I butchered (in a bad way) the fat cap a bit. I was worried about it, but didn't see any ill-effects.

[Edited on January 11, 2016 at 9:10 AM. Reason : .]

1/11/2016 9:05:38 AM

Quote :

"recommend water pans to keep humidity / moisture up"

The bigger role they play is to absorb heat and prevent the temperature fluctuations that ^ experienced...if my grill was insulated (BGE, Akorn etc) I probably wouldn't use them...but with my Weber kettle they're super helpful.

And yeah, as long as you don't cook it at 500 degrees or over direct heat this cut is pretty hard to fuck up.

I do fat cap down, and don't trim fwiw. I think the only advantage to trimming it is if you want more bark. Not sure I buy into the whole fat cap up basting the meat in fat thing...shit's fatty enough anyway.

Lastly all the smoking takes place in the first hours of cooking...meat can't absorb smoke much after it gets to a certain temperature. Try apple wood next time

[Edited on January 11, 2016 at 10:18 AM. Reason : Hopefully it was a good deal over 170...connective tissue is still there at that point. ]

1/11/2016 10:12:34 AM

I normally smoke about 2-2 1/2 hours(^above is correct) you are just wasting wood after a certain point. fat side up, I also never trim. I do a simple pepper/salt rub. Never had an issue.

1/11/2016 10:50:37 AM

Gotcha. Noted on the smoke/wood chips...I probably wasted a good deal of chips after the first few hours yesterday!

I'll keep trimming the fat as I do love the bark.

I get my rub from a local BBQ restaurant that I bartended at for many years down here. It's delicious, but pretty simple as well. Mostly salt, pepper, chili powder, light brown sugar. The bark on that thing yesterday was amazing.

1/11/2016 11:06:21 AM

Pics:

1/11/2016 11:22:24 AM

beautiful!

1/11/2016 11:27:21 AM

I do fat down and I don't trim. I trim my briskets though.

1/11/2016 2:38:53 PM

1/19/2016 11:52:02 AM

So getting back to my smoking questions....

If I'm smoking ribs, or a brisket, or any other type of meat...do I generally do the exact same thing I did with the Pork Butt...just change the time? Just a couple hours for ribs? More time for a heavier brisket?

I'll do some online research, but you guys were great with the pork butt!

1/19/2016 1:08:50 PM

Butt easy.

Ribs harder.

Brisket hardest.


(for me to learn at least)

1/19/2016 1:15:43 PM

Brisket is easier than ribs for me. Only trick with brisket is that there seems to be a very narrow window where the meat is cooked enough to be tender, but not so much that it's dry. You have to pull it off in that narrow window.

Ribs aren't hard, there's just a lot (relatively) of opening the grill and wrapping and unwrapping and saucing. It's annoying to me. It can also be tricky to not cook them to the point of falling apart. They will taste fine, but I don't want ribs I have to eat with a fork.

1/19/2016 2:43:12 PM

But none of it is particularly difficult. The internet is full of folks who complicate BBQ. It's simple food. Keep it that way.

1/19/2016 2:45:20 PM

Quote :

"It's simple food. Keep it that way."

exactly.

1/19/2016 4:53:20 PM

If you have any interest in doing brisket take a look at these videos. The whole series is great. Aaron Franklin is a master. His cook book is fantastic also.





[Edited on January 19, 2016 at 4:58 PM. Reason : size]

1/19/2016 4:56:26 PM

^ love his show

1/19/2016 6:54:42 PM

Got three racks of back ribs on the Akorn for tonight, but my maverick wireless thermometer is going crazy. I've got one probe reading 374 degrees which I know can't be right, so I dropped the meat probe in on the grate and it's reading 225 on the nose. Weird...

2/7/2016 2:30:11 PM