Tasted good too! Those were the remainders, as I was the only one who ate any… will bring them up to the golf staff tomorrow.
OK - as I expand on my new smoker hobby…what are everyone’s favorite rubs? Store-bought because I’m lazy…and why?
Beef -
Pork -
Fish -
Poultry -
thanks all!
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Just my 2 pence.
Really should re-think store-bought, or at least be careful to read labels. Most (not all) commercial rubs are mostly salt. If the first ingredient listed is salt, put it back. That’s a problem because if you brine (and you definitely should!) and then use commercial, you’re double-dosing on the salt.
I always wet-brine all poultry in 6%. Since all salt is different, I go by volume, not weight. Here’s a simple recipe: put one cup hot water in a two-cup measuring cup. Add kosher or sea salt (no iodized please, that’s only for de-icing the stairs) until level gets to 1 1/2 cup level. Stir and dump slurry into 1gallon cold water. Done.
Almost everything else, I dry-brine in fridge. Salt-pepper-granulated garlic. I usually brine overnight, but you’ll get benefit even after an hour or two.
I’ll apply the rub about an hour or two on the counter before the cook. Not much flavor sinks in; I’m going for killer bark.
For poultry, we like Simon&Garfunkel Rub (you know the ditty: parsley, sage, rosemary & tyme).
For beef try: 4 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper; 1 1/2 Tbsp each Tyme, Rosemary; 1 Tbsp each onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne and maybe a little sugar and dry mustard. Makes about 1/2 cup. Then experiment! Once you find what you like, you’ll be putting it on everything. Besides, if you mix in bulk it takes less time than cleaning your clubs and you’re good for months. And tastes waaay better.
Brisket? I’m from Texas; we use Dalmatian Rub (salt & pepper) and don’t even think about asking for sauce….
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Gotta be a meat locker nearby. Better cuts at better prices I’m sure.
Beef -
- brisket - 50/50 salt and pepper, garlic, paprika
- beef ribs - Combo Montreal Steak and Meat Church Holy Cow
- prime rib - Hy’s (it’s Canadian), garlic, rosemary
Pork -
- ribs - Meat Church Honey Hog and Meat Church Holy Gospel
- butt - Meat Church Honey Bacon BBQ and Honey Hog Hot
Fish - dill and garlic
Poultry -
- whole chicken - Spiceology Tennessee Smoke and Spiceology Nashville Hot Chicken
- wings - Meat Church Honey Bacon BBQ and Spiceology Nashville Hot Chicken
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I get ya on the lazy…but it’s not that hard. Experiment…make your own, put in air seal containers. It’s worth it…They’ll last a good 18 months. It’s really worth it!
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You are correct on Brisket…nothing more complicated than that!
Our Pork Rib Rub is very complex…But the flavor is amazing… Brown Sugar, Gran Garlic, Onion Powder, Ground Ginger, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Ancho Chili Powder, Dry Mustard, Hungarian Paprika, Cayenne…
Smoked pork belly burnt ends today. Initial smoke is done, added butter, brown sugar, honey, apple juice and put in foil pan and back on for a couple hours.
Wife and I are debating adding bbq sauce to glaze at the end. Yes or no to bbq sauce??? #crowdsourcing
I’m a “yes”….she thinks it’s too many flavors.
Thoughts?
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Listen to your wife.
Already plenty of sugar and flavor in there!
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So what’s everyone smoking for the holiday season? I’m getting much more comfortable now…I’ve added a few completed smokes to the list: Pork butt, Beef ribs, pork ribs (st louis and babyback), beef brisket, tri-tip, chuck roast, whole chicken, pizza, mahi mahi, pig shots…
Looking for more ideas. Loving the assortment of Meat Church rubs.
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Since our indoor cooktop died, thought I’d try lasagna outside. First, the bolognese: fresh ground chuck & sausage.
Bechamel done on GrillGrates (sorry, no pics; too busy stirring!) Then the noodles go on side burner while bolognese simmering on grill (background).
Then assembly.
Into the smoker for an hour.
Too hungry to be patient, should’ve let it set up longer!
Looks like trainwreak, but it was really tasty.
Indoor kitchens (like tee shots) are overrated!
-Fraser
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Just added grill grates to my gravity fed smoker… game changer! Finally can get the sear I want on the grill. I’m tempted to reverse sear smoke the tomahawk I have… but my wife and daughter might not like it…
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Alton Brown’s technique for basically turning your chimney starter into a salamander, works really well for getting a nuclear sear on things. Glad the grill grates are working for you
Why do you think they’d not like the reverse-sear and smoke?
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Too much smoke flavor.
Occupational hazard when cooking with a smoker, lol. But I can see their point. Do two different cuts, two different ways, would be my attempt at splitting the baby.
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It’s all good… I’ll smoke one on it eventually. As I’ve gotten more into make BBQ, i’m learning my wife doesn’t particularly care for ANY BBQ… other than basically smoked chicken.
She’s fine with grilled stuff, just doesn’t love brisket / ribs / shoulder…
You’ll love them the more you experiment. For example, turn them over (flat side up) for a killer griddle/plancha. Or return them conventional (ridges up) and sprinkle some post oak pellets into the valleys for a great smoke finish. Yes, I often use smoker pellets on the grill.
Hope this helps! Congrats on your GrillGrates!
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I actually have them set up on the grill with one side up and one side down… it’s awesome.
threw a huge thing of veggies on the flat side and cooked skirt steak on the ridged side… worked out really well… (though I still need practice!).
They make me like my grill a ton more. The cheap grates that came with it were making me question my purchase…
I’ve seen the pellet trick but haven’t tried it yet! All in due time. I have some pellets sitting around.
Decided to build a smoker in the off-season. Finally got my contraption in cooking trim. My pride&joy is the Tel-Tru thermo and ThermoWorks Billows
Latest addition is the exhaust baffle. It’s a cut down electrical safety plate. Bolt goes thru a spacer and double-nutted below a spring to provide tension.
Would’ve been simpler if I knew how to weld.
Here’s the Billows attached to one of the intakes:
It’s a fan controlled by the ThermoWorks Signals remote thermometer. It uses the pit probe on Channel4 to maintain set temp.
Here’s the ribs ready to go on
Now, that’s textbook thin blue smoke!
Five hours later
Very pleased with my new smoker!
Ok, so I guess it needs paint….
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When will be the Open House ?