A New Grill For Grilling Season
I am no novice to grilling. I've been grilling on a small gas grill for many years now, but this week my gf purchased the Rec Tec 340 pellet smoker grill for my late Christmas gift. It came with 7 bags of pellets and all I had to do to put it together was put the hinges and the lid on. Tonight I'll do a burn in - which is just running the smoker at high temp for an hour to burn off all the dust and "season" the metal. Rec Tec grills are also a "smart grill" which means it connects to my home wifi. The Rec Tec Grilling app allows me to start, stop, change and monitor temps from my iPhone. This will be handy next winter when it's colder.
Yesterday during my lunch break I stopped at the local butcher shop and picked up a 8.64lbs pork shoulder for my first smoke. I'll get things ready for tomorrow morning and start things up before the sun rises. For my rub I'll use sea salt, cracked pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and brown sugar for good bark caramelization. I haven't looked too closely at the meat, but if necessary I'll trim the cap down to under a 1/4" and remove the big vein that runs through the underside.
Saturday morning I'll set the grill temp at 250 degrees. Apply the rub to the meat and set in the grill cap side up for 3 hours. After 3 hours I'll spritze the shoulder with a 1:1 ratio of apple juice and apple cider vinegar every 30 to 45 minutes until the internal meat temp reaches 160 degrees. As important as this internal meat temp is the cap fat should not spring back when I poke it. It should have a nice crust to it as well.
This where grilling meat often gets a stall. It just sorts of sits at this temp for a long time. Some people will leave the meat and eventually it gets past this and finishes the cook. Others will do what I'm going to do here and wrap the shoulder tight in aluminum foil. This allows the steam to hold in the meat and help break down the fats and connective tissue faster. You can do this either on the grill or in the oven. No further smoke flavor will penetrate the foil so either is fine. I'll most likely leave mine on the grill and cook it until the internal meat temp reaches 205 degrees.
It will then be ready to rest. A big cut of meat like this should rest anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes still in the foil wrap. Once that is done, if it's cooked correctly the bone should pull easily and cleanly from the meat. Pull the meat apart and enjoy.
If you want to use a pan and foil wrap you can separate the grease from the juices and add it back to the pulled meat for some outstanding pulled pork. Or put it on sandwiches with some coleslaw and sauce. Hawaiian bread is outstanding to use as little pork slider sandwiches.
Please share your tips and tricks for grilled pork in the comments!
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Mr G is smoking a Boston Butt tomorrow and I'm making fried cabbage
That sounds awesome! I may try to make my own slaw. I haven't done that since I was 17 under the direction of my father.
Cole slaw is actually quite easy. Get those bags that have the shredded cabbage and carrots. Use your preferred amount of mayo or Miracle Whip (I prefer MW), thin it with apple cider vinegar, add some sugar to taste and mix well.
Please don't ask for measurements because I go by sight, sound, and taste when I cook.
f'n seriously? you're going to publish this right at lunch time? wtf?
this is what got my attention. perfect for year round application. I don't know if I would recommend any non-monitored prolonged usage if you live among free range carnivores.
.......>KA-BOOM<....................................................................(siren in backgound)
I rarely blow up the house...I just fill it with smoke and cause the cats anxiety from the smoke alarms
LOL Hum.. That's just the call to dinner here.
I almost caught the kitchen on fire last night. Had to dump a whole pan of piergogies and start over.
I couldn't find the cats for an hour
My mom used to make it with pineapple, so good but I don't have her recipe.
I've been watching youtube videos and reading recipes for 3 days now waiting... I might have a problem.
I have been wanting to try making traditional Kimchi. The bad boy of slaws.
that and korean barbecue is a big family favorite.
i'm more like "Tommy" when i buy a new girl, witch i then grill
.
So I continue to go back and forth on whether I should inject the juice/vinegar solution before the rub or not and also should I use a mustard binder to hold the rub. I've looked at dozens of recipes and everyone has their own school of thought on it. I probably won't know until I do it at 5:00 in the morning. LOL!
I like using mustard or honey mustard with brown sugar; when I used honey mustard with brown sugar [as a glaze], I SWEAR it smelled like apple pie. I don't know how or why, but it did.
I was going to use horseradish, but I'd be the only one to like it. I do have a bottle of brown spicy mustard I may use.
I use mustard, brown sugar and pineapple juice to make a glaze too. It’s delicious!
I like horseradish sauce mixed in with my meats or rubs too... no one in my house can even tell I used it.
I've never done the pineapple juice. I might have to try it.
I use it on beef roast all the time.
You guys are making me hungry!
know the feeling , been reading this and decided to fire up my grill, have a baker on presently and a sirloin marinating as i type about ready to make some smoke.....
Mr G does all the grilling and smoking so I'm no help. I like a Carolina bar-b-q sauce, tho, because it's got a nice vinegar tang to it, it's not too sweet, and has a little heat
That sounds like Virginia barbecue. I never really liked barbecue until I moved here. It always tasted too sweet, and I usually just ate the side dishes. But most barbecue here, either chicken or pork, seems to be done with a vinegar base that I'm learning to like pretty well. It's still not something I'd go out of my way for, but I don't go hungry when barbecued pork or chicken are on the menu.
A great thing to do with tri tip or burgers is a final baste of.....honey, soy sauce, and a shot of vodka. Mix the soy sauce with the honey until it is a basteable consistency. Then add the vodka. Only do it with the final turn of the meat. That way the honey does not burn.
Interesting! I'll try that soon.
One time a griller came to my job and he made the burgers with it. I must have ate six, just the patties. They were that good.
I tend to marinate for half an hour before the dry rub.
I find injection to be a pain. Submerge it and fork it.
I'm simple. I get the meat to room temp, heavily perforate both sides with a fork. pour worster sauce on and let soak in to both sides. put into a big ziplock and pour in more worster. let it sit in the fridge overnight. to prepare I remove the meat from bag, salt and pepper both sides, start the grill. let the meat reach room temperature. grill it to rare/medium rare, basting with melted butter. ezpz
Whichever way you do it, it sounds awesome. The snow is still on the ground up here but now I'm seriously thinking of trying a brisket this weekend.
I'm saving that for my birthday in mid-May.
Have found extreme cold to be problematic when slow smoking large cuts.
Even the Brinkman Bullet has to be carefully watched in frigid conditions.
It takes longer, but I've gas grilled in sub zero temps when we lost power before. With this "smart grill" I don't have to walk outside to see the temps. I just have to look out the window and at my phone app. At least in theory. Obviously I won't be starting anything up until this evening and tomorrow.
Your grill has a temp app?!?!?! Now I really am jealous! I have to use a laser.
I'll let you know how well it works. I got this one, because my son has the same make and model. I thought we could share tips, tricks and recipes.
Back when I lived in Harvey, IL, I did a 6 lb., 14 hour smoked brisket. I marinated it in Guinness overnight, then added a rub. I had 'friends' coming out of the woodwork in the last 2 hours. They followed the yummy aroma and filled the backyard. I made plates for neighbors but left the moochers to their own devices.
that sounds delicious! I may try that stout marinade.
I've got 2 friends that've mastered brisket. I mean on the brink of killing the person ahead of you in line for the last plate of it. bringing tupperware to the barbecue for the leftovers good. both of them are around 20 hours in heat. one of them does the best prime rib I've ever eaten and he's around 12 hours of heat in it.
I had a hell of a time getting it off the grill and into foil to rest, it fell apart and had a lovely smoke ring. I have never done another one that size. 4 lbs. is my limit now. I do more salmon and pork now...
The family that grills together..........
both my sons are excellent in the kitchen, which is really surprising, since I had to teach their mother how to cook. maybe that's why.
Red says I grill the best pork chops in the world. I keep my technique a secret cuz I don't want to have to kill anyone if I tell them.
I do use a special sauce when they are done grilling and I'll tell you the name...Home-made apple salsa.
That sounds amazing!
Used to judge BBQ contests and those folk will definitely kill to preserve their recipes.
I enjoy sharing recipes and exotic ingredients. Trying new things is half the fun.
Used to love watching BBQU. with Steven Raichlen.
Am a firm believer in apples in everything from big chunks in chili to marinade to smoke.
I have a friend in SW Missouri that travels to all the BBQ contests, he is quite good and has won a number of them.
The Mason-Dixon line is the point where Southern mustard/vinegar sauce and Northern tomato sauce meet and continue the war. Folk take it seriously.
What's his team's name? I'm from that region and might have heard of them.
Sounds like good eating
So lunch is sometime after 12 or 1?
I don't mind being a little early and waiting. I can have a few beers while smelling the grill.
I think dinner rather than lunch, but the beer is already cold so stop on by whenever! I have some stout, lager and ale.
Did somebody mention BBQ? I'm on my way.
Please bring your guest on a leash. Here in town it's the law.
lol ..... Beautiful baby !
But likely not leash trained.
Too bad, my little monsters are. Its the law here ya know...lol
LOL Love my fur babies !
And their puppies !
He is not a pet. The photo was taken by Conrad Tan close to the Red Lake Ojibwe reservation which is my ancestral home. To us, he is called makaadewaanzo ma'iingan (black wolf)
he sure looks friendly.....LMAO
Again, Beautiful Animal !!!
and of course best kept wild !
Are they Chow's, steve?
Yes Kavika, They are all AKC Chow Chows. I had a chow when I was young and feel in love with the breed.
I only get or breed Full AKC Chows and do not recommend anyone have a chow mix. Any problems I have ever heard of with a chow was a chow mix.
Some advantages of chows are they crap in the same area all the time, so yard clean up is a breeze, they clean their own coats and if you have more than one they clean each other where they can't get to themselves. So they dont require bathing. They also don't require a lot of exercise, but mine do want the run of the property and house 24/7. lol
They also remind me of teenagers, ya gotta tell em every damn thing Three times. lol
Overall I love my monsters !
Sadly, now my male is to old to breed though so no more beautiful puppies to enjoy and to bring lots of life and love to the pack.
Question, have you smoked before?
Reason I ask is that pellet smokers provide a very subtle smoke flavor. People, like me, who have smoked meats for years, are used to a stronger smoke flavor, and that beautiful smoke ring in the meat as you cut it.
I got a pellet smoker last Christmas, love the smoker, but prefer more flavor from the wood. The solution is cheap and easy however. A $20 pellet tube smoker, available at Walmart or Amazon. It will add a lot more smoke flavor, and help that bark build up on the meat as well ( could not get bark to form on my pellet grill ).
As a bonus, you can even use it to cold smoke anything from salmon to eggs. And yes, smoked eggs are AMAZING .
I've smoked meat in several smokers my dad and I built back in the day, but this is my first pellet smoker. I know it isn't as smokey as a stick smoker. Also this smoker doesn't have the optional cold smoker box the bigger models have so I was actually looking at some of these smoke rings for salmon and cheese.
I usually just make a tinfoil cup, fill it with wet chips and sit it near the heat and away from the meat.
Prefer indirect grilling in most cases.
Let me know how it works long-term. I've been researching some others, mostly vertical smokers, and a lot of the manufactures go cheap on tin and plastics and the heat causes an early end of life for the unit. Treager uprights have a bad reputation of plastic parts heating and breaking too soon, around the fuel feed.
I will certainly let you know. There are so many grills and smokers on the market it can get overwhelming. This little beast weighs in at is 85lbs of 304 stainless steel and it has a 2 year warranty. It's just small enough to use tailgating (provided you can also plug it into a power source). The various reviews I've seen online this week say this is the best customer service in the business.
Have been using an old charcoal Brinkman bullet for over ten years now that my neighbor was throwing away. Just had to replace the wooden handles (an old broomstick) the thermometer and a couple of grates. Sanded it down and painted it with iron stove paint and it has been my long-time go-to travel smoker and grill. Especially useful for tailgating as it is light, has two tier grates for lots of food and doesn't take up a lot of space. The hydration/drip pan is also a nice feature (think steaming apple cider).
Once he saw what I had done to it my neighbor wanted it back. I just laughed at him.
A daughter was getting married, tried to convince her this was a much better replacement for the boring old wedding cake..
I bought a big gas Brinkman from a neighbor who was moving, put a new burner in and bolted a turkey fryer on as a side burner, I put a little charcoal and wood chips for flavor, I need a new rack. But most the time I grill with my neighbor, he is only charcoal and wood.
I've found that a few t-spoons of liquid smoke works well for deep fat turkeys (especially apple). Haven't used my turkey fryer in years since a nearly nasty accident (those things are dangerous).
I just use this one as a side burner, mostly for boiling corn
It’s 5 in the morning. I didn’t get the burn in done last night, it’s doing that now. Connecting the app and grill was a little futzy, but that’s everything that has to connect these days. For those of you who may want one of these grills they use the 2.4ghz band. My Eero mesh network will connect both the 2.4 and 5ghz devices. Typing this I got pop up notices that my grill has reached temp...
I’ve coated the meat with rub and waiting for the burn in hour to complete.
2T garlic powder
2T onion powder
2T pepper
2T brown sugar
1T cayenne pepper
1T paprika
3T French Gray Sea Salt
no binder and no liquids.
anxiously waiting to watch your episode of my 600lb life ...
Meat’s on!! Opening that door really drops the temp fast. Closing the door brings it back up pretty quickly too.
Hope it turned out good. I am sure it did.
Making me hungry.
It turned out well. The meat was rested and ready at 5:00pm. It was super juicy and tasty. We have plenty of left overs so we had a small sandwich for lunch yesterday and brought it with me to work today for sandwiches for everyone here in the office.
Next weekend beef tenderloin!