Wow what a story! At least no bears showed up.
Loved the great photos! Thanks for posting them.
Kathryn
Loved the great photos! Thanks for posting them.
Kathryn
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Cool cook! Cool pics! Cool write up!
Seein the cooked meat and then the moose reminded me of my first taste of the critter. It was roadkill at a roadhouse somewhere between Denali and Nenana. Hope the adventure tasted good.Comment
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It was closer to my first attempts than what I have become accustomed to: a little dry, but still edible. I have a couple acquaintances that I provide with samples who keep me humble and grounded in making the best brisket consistently. When I became aware of the KBQ, I knew that I wanted to master brisket on this great example of engineering and motivation. This was the first of many cooks to come, and avoiding the tempest that I experienced I know there will be a lot of happy taste buds!
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I follow the chicken thighs with two pork butts! I forgot to mention that I used birch on the chicken, and I did the same with the butts! The wood was drier than most, and I found it burned fast. It was below the recommended 20-30%, but it worked out well. One comment is that I used more wood on the butts than I did on the briskets. I opened the bone in butts packaging and applied peanut oil onto the surface before adding Memphis Dust, probably 3/4 cup total. On to a rack, fat side down, and out to build a fire! I used birch bark, some smaller pieces of wood and a couple larger pieces. I struck a match on each side and it was off to the races! Into the smoker the pork went, again about upper middle area. I placed the larger one towards the back to one side and the smaller one to the other side closer to the door. Once the bark had burned up and got the wood going, I plugged the fan in and set the temperature control to north of the 188 degree mark on the dial. I closed the upper poppet and opened the lower all the way. I added smaller pieces of the birch in twos and threes to keep the coals going until I peeked to see what was happening inside the smoke chamber about 1 1/2 hours later. After about four hours, I noticed the top surface was drying a bit, so I spritzed with apple-cider vinegar until it no longer appeared dry on the surface. I timed the interval from the time the fan kicked on until it kicked off again, and then until it kicked on a second time. The heat cycle lasted about 45 seconds, and the cooling cycle lasted about two minutes. I added wood when the fan kicked off, allowing the flame to start working its magic on the new pieces. It worked well when I added a piece with some bark. That allowed the bark to burn off mostly by the time the fan kicked back on. I used Meater probes to monitor the cook, so I didn't get surprised. Usually I just wait until the fat splits and then I start to attempt to pull the bone out, indicating the pork butt was ready to remove from the heat when the bone came loose. This first time on The KBQ, I decided fat side down, so I could not see the fat side. I monitored the Meater app, as well as the look and feel of the pork. The bone was protruding from the meat and the temp was getting close to 203, So I probed the smaller of the two and decided to pull the first one. The second was pulled about 35 minutes later. I had placed each in a casserole and covered with foil to begin the rest. I cleaned up and put things away, leaving The KBQ to cool down. I pulled the bones out and allowed the meat to cool while I wrote this out. Now, the pork is pulled, and in the refrigerator. All that is left is to upload the photos and post it for your pleasure. Man, I am loving The KBQ!!! I am glad I discovered this and I am impressed with the man who made it possible, Bill Karau! What an invention!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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Did I mention that I like The KBQ? If you could smell the after action aroma, have your mouth water just remembering the taste, and visualizing the bark and the juices of those beautiful plate ribs, you just might be a fan of The KBQ! My first attempt smoking beef ribs on The KBQ was fun! I bought a two-pack of 3 rib plate beef ribs. Now I know why they go for $50 a rib, when you can find them! I didn't have much to trim, so I oiled them up and applied coarse salt and pepper. I placed them on two racks, and started for the door to go light up The KBQ. It was then I remembered that I promised the MRS I would go to the store and get a few ingredients for dinner tonight. Not knowing how long it was going to take to smoke the ribs, I opted to get the shopping done before I proceeded to focus on the ribs. That time gave the salt and pepper time to meld with the two plates. I also had to get the birch fire going to build up the coal bed, so off I went. There was a slight wind, but no problem getting the fire going. I filled a 2" pan about halfway with water and placed it on the third from the bottom rack. The ribs were staggered with the larger on the lower rack closer to the door to help preserve the bark from being dripped on during their dance with the smoke. I started out the temperature at 300° F and settled in to tend the fire. It wasn't long before I could smell the pepper in the smoke with the beef. I resisted looking in on the ribs until It was time to check to see if they needed a spritz at the four hour mark. They were looking really good, with the bones sticking out and the bark getting dark and firming up. Again, I was surprised that they were farther along than I expected. So I reduced the temperature to 275° F and decided to check again and probe for tenderness about 1/2 an hour later. The larger one was probing tender and when I looked, the temperature was 205°! Time to pull and wrap in butcher paper to rest for about an hour. The smaller one was still needing some time as the center rib was still a little on the tough side. So when I went back a 1/2 hour later, it was probing tender. SaWEET! Wrapped up and joined the other to rest. Questions: is it worth the effort to separate the tallow from the water in the pan? It is dark, but it smells sweet. Do I filter it, and will that lighten it up? I have read that water is added to fat to render it down and then heated until the water evaporates. I am going to give it a try, but I was wondering if anybody else has made the attempt.
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I decided to KBQ a couple pork butts for the car show tomorrow. The Porsche car folks are going to eat good!
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Well, I tried to deliver it Monday, but I was in college Station and haven’t gotten back till today, so I immediately set it up and have commenced a burn in. I’m going to go buy a bunch of wood and start disassembling it into the right size pieces
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MC/DW stands for Moisture Content on a Dry Weight basis. This measurement expresses the weight of the water in a piece of wood as a percentage of the wood's oven-dry weight. It is a critical metric for a range of applications, including construction and woodworking.
How it is calculated
The formula for Moisture Content on a Dry Weight basis is:
MC/DW (%) = (Weight of Water / Oven-Dry Weight of Wood) x 100 -
Also, I would throw a grilling mat under that Beast of Glory. Sometimes you get coals and oil that can get out. Even though that is a non-flammable surface you are on, it is nice to have something to keep things clean. Looking forward to seeing your cooks.
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