KBQ ~ has landed

[dirtman]

I posted this in Sous Vide as well. Moderators is this ok?

I need some advice. I am cooking about 80 lbs (5 Briskets) from Snake River Farms for a party Saturday night. I prefer not stay up all night and babysit the KBQ. I am considering:

Smoke 2-3 of the Briskets start to finish on my MAK 2 Star. I will dry brine the night before and use Big Bad Beef Rub. Should I inject? If so low sodium beef broth or Butcher BBQ?

Cook 2-3 with a combination of Sous Vide and the KBQ. KBQ first 4 hours and finish Sous Vide and if so what temperatures? OR Sous Vide and finish on the KBQ? If so what temperatures? When do I bribe? When do I put on Rub?

[Spinaker]

dirtman
I wouldn't inject if they are SRF briskets. You wont need it. I cook PRIME and don't inject.

I use salt rubs, so i brine nd rub at the same time. I typically trim and rub it down at least a day and up too three days, before the cook.

If your going to SV: I would SV the briskets first. Maybe up too 165 F then put them in the KBQ to finish. I have never SV'd before so don't take my word on that one, maybe. But the bark would develop much better at the end of the cook. Plus if you put it back in the SV bag I would think your bark would be done for. So finish it on the KBQ

**Remember, the KBQ cooks fast. So maybe cook two or three in the KBQ and the rest on the MAK. But you can cook two briskets, hot and fast. (275 F to 315 F ) in about 6 hours. I have anyway.**

[Ernest]

dirtman KBQ 2-3 on Friday, vacuum seal and SV at 145 overnight night. Then KBQ at low temp before serving. Smoke some on the MAK overnight and finish those on the KBQ before serving as well.
KBQ can serve as a cambro while adding some flavor as well.

[Spinaker]

hahaha, and there you have it. You da man E.

[johnec00]

dirtman
Some time ago, I tested SV on pastrami. I cut a brisket flat in half then did one half SV first then smoke in PBC. The other half was smoked in PBC first then SV'd. In a few words, the piece that was SV'd first was very dry due to liquid lost during SV. The smoke then SV piece was excellent. Below is a screen grab from my notes. In addition, I smoked then SV'd a point (not corned) and described here:

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...rfected-method

I don't know how my experience scales up to 5 packers, but pass it along FWIW.

[dirtman]

johnec00 Spinaker Ernest Thanks gentleman! I have four 20lb plus Briskets and one in the 15 lb range. I have typically smoked at 225 for 12-15 hours on the Mak. If I didn't have to stay up all night, maybe I would consider cooking on the KBQ the whole way. Spinaker 20-22 lb briskets at 275 degrees, what is you best guess to finish time?

Maybe I'll cook two on the KBQ the whole cook. I have post oak (Franklin BBQ style), Apple and Mesquite. Any wood recommendations?

[Spinaker]

275 F for those big old briskets I would say 8 hours. Use oak for the smoke. That is my favorite. But any will down the KBQ. I haven't burned Mesquite so I cant recommend it.

[Ernest]

I burn mesquite quite often. It does burn out faster so I mix it with Oak.

[smokinfatties]

I have done hickory and apple on a 22lb brisket and it cooked start to finish in 10 hours- that was without wrapping. It cooks fast! I dont know what time serving is and if you can tend to the fire all day on the day of, but it should be less than a 10 hour cook if you wrap.

[dirtman]

smokinfatties What temp did you cook the 22 lb brisket in 10 hours?

[smokinfatties]

dirtman 250 range- KBQ cooks VERY fast because of the convection fan. Although I did trim quite a bit, but I cooked a full packer. My SRF did take up to 210 to get to probe temp but wrapping around 170 should help dramatically. if you have an instant read make sure you check the temp from the top near the fan per the manual, the dial can be deceiving at times. Also if they are cooking unevenly you can also swap racks etc.

[Spinaker]

Hmmmmmm. Interesting. Maybe I need to switch up my temps a bit and see what happens.
Hope all is well in sunny CA, my friend. (I haven't seen the sun in 3 days and its looks like it could be over a week before it pops its head out again.)

[smokinfatties]

We have a spare room and about 6 spare cookers if you need a getaway bud! I was bitching that 3 days of rain soaked my fire wood! Hahah stay warm!

[Spinaker]

LOL!! I might have to take you up on that! And you need to update your sig to accommodate these two most recent pickups. (Not to mention the KBQ)

[JGrana]

All Local Brisket

Stopped by my local butcher shop, looking for an Iowa Premium brisket. Sadly, all out... But Andy the butcher tells me they are carrying some beef from a local family farm - grass fed, non-GMO etc.
Had one brisket - on the small size - 8lbs. Looked pretty good and Andy gave me a good price (~$4/lb).



It was trimmed down a bit already - not too much fat cap. So, I ended up separating the flat from the point, did the dry brine the day before then a generous BBBR a few hours before putting on the KBQ. The flat was around 3 1/2 lbs and the point around 2 1/4 lbs.



Not only used this local brisket, but also hickory and apple from my yard. Truly all local for this smoke ;-)

My kids and their family are all the ribs I had left in my freezer, so time to re-stock. Grabbed 4 racks of SLC and did the dry brine and MMD




The morning started partly sunny but cold and went downhill from there. But, the KBQ just kept on smoking



For 2 of the rib racks, I decided to do a modified Huskee and put brown sugar on 2 of the ribs after an hour in the smoker



With the cold and wind, wow, the KBQ cooked fast. The small briskets were done in 4 hours!!! The ribs around 3 1/2

I used all hickory for the first few hours (when the brisket was first put in) then switched over to apple and a few hickory sticks.

The brisked and ribs came out cooked just right. The flat was a little on the tough side but the point was incredible. The ribs were nicely flavored, but not as smokey as I would have liked.



I had both dampers open the entire time. Temps around 240F-260F

Not sure how to boost the smoke flavor yet on the KBQ. As many have said, it does provide a different flavor profile. I need to work on the smokier style. Maybe use mesquite which I can purchase at Home Depot? I can't get mesquite to oak here in WNY. Lots of hickory and fruit woods!

Any other ideas?

[Histrix]

I don't think the ambient air temperature has any impact on the cook times in the KBQ. The KBQ always cooks faster than most other cookers due to the convection oven like conditions inside the cook chamber.

[JGrana]

Thanks for the tips folks! I will try the bottom at 1/2 and the top full next time.
I wonder... past smokes were good. I wonder with the cold weather and the exhaust fan running almost 90% of the time - besides cooking what seemed faster - maybe less time for the smoke to penetrate?

[KBQ]

Shut that bottom damper for a bit. Just a little, though - the flame normally pulled through the bottom damper burns some of the smoke pulled through the top one, so when you shut the bottom you get a lot of impact.

[Spinaker]

I would disagree. The KBQ does cook faster than other cookers but I think ambient temps do make a difference in cook times. The colder it is, the more that fan is gonna run, which means more air movement and faster cook times.

JGrana While cooking where I live, MY KBQ cooks faster. Maybe I got one that just cooks faster in cold weather but my cook times defiantly speed up in the cold weather.

[JGrana]

I gotta agree with you there Spinaker. It was pretty cold and the exhaust fan was really working away! I was surprised when I saw the temps close to 150F so quickly!

[Spinaker]

Yup. JGrana And the color you get at 150 F is tantalizing, especially with cherry.

[Histrix]

I would disagree. The KBQ does cook faster than other cookers but I think ambient temps do make a difference in cook times. The colder it is, the more that fan is gonna run, which means more air movement and faster cook times.

JGrana While cooking where I live, MY KBQ cooks faster. Maybe I got one that just cooks faster in cold weather but my cook times defiantly speed up in the cold weather.

When I do ribs in August and it's 90°F they take about 3 1/2 hours. I'll do some ribs in the next few weeks and see if there is any significant difference.

Keep in mind the KBQ has two fans. One of those fans is ALWAYS running thus the air in the cook chamber is ALWAYS being "churned". No doubt the exhaust fan will kick in more often in cold weather but does that significantly change the air movement across the meat inside the chamber? Maybe it does make a difference in very cold weather but, to be fair, I don't live far enough north to be able to judge that most of the time so I could be mistaken.

For those of you that do live where it is very cold how often are you adding fuel to your KBQ? Every 10-15 minutes? How often are you adding fuel in the summer?

[JGrana]

BTW, notice the new shelf on the side of the KBQ. It came off an old BBQ grill I was throwing out. It's pretty light, keeps my Dot and poker off the ground. Even folds down when not in use! ;-)

[Spinaker]

Yeah!! I like that. Looks good. I bet that is really handy. Is it removable? Imagine getting the Komodo Kamado Shelves on the KBQ. That would be sweet.

[badf00d]

Very nice, JGrana.

[Histrix]

I've been planning on taking an old 100% wool blanket and folding it and making a mounting system with some magnets so I can wrap it around three sides of the cook chamber to lessen how often I have to add fuel in the colder months. I really don't want to have to be adding fuel every 15 minutes.

I like your shelf JGrana. I occasionally use a metal shelf bracket and some magnets to give me a space to hang things on.

[Spinaker]

Good call. I can see this working. Let us know how it goes.

[BBQbot]

That is pretty cool! I'd love to hear more about your cooks with it and how they compare with your WSM's and PBC.

[Ernest]

JGrana KBQ cooks even faster in the cold. My guess is because the fan is running almost constantly.
As for the smokier flavor, I wouldn't mess with the bottom inlet. That's the main heat inlet to the cookbox.
I cook with mesquite 90% of the time and it's just beautiful. I rarely use the dirty smoke. I just love the subtle clean smoke flavor.

[Quailsroost Smokers]

Some guidelines for smoke selection from KBQ.

http://www.kbq.us/smoke-selector-flavor/

I haven't had any issues keeping the pit on temp with the bottom opened 1/2 way and top opened full, and one of the KBQ recommended settings is bottom fully closed (Bypass Setting). I use Kiawe which is a species of mesquite and have never had an over smoked flavor using more top smoke, but then everyone has their own take on how much smoke is too much or too little. I'm still playing with different settings and woods, but so far everything has been great.

[Rlasky]

I took the leap. Got a nice Christmas bonus this year, and I haven't bought anything for the patio in 2 years so I figured I was due. I bought my first round of wood from Fruita so that I could see what the best looked like before I look to source locally. I have a feeling I will need to use them or someone else for regional wood like Mesquite or Red Oak, but I hope that eventually I can source Oak and fruit woods locally. After I placed my order I noticed that Fruita's best seller is Peach wood. Has anyone tried that on the KBQ? I figured I may try a batch with my next order, but I wanted to see if anyone had any experience with it. I know I am looking for wood that burns down to embers as opposed to ash, and I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in this post (which I've read front to back more times than I can count). While on the subject, the trees in my backyard that I thought were Oak are actually Beechwood. I've never heard of that as a smoking wood, but was curious if anyone knew differently.

KBQ arrives Friday 12-30. I'm very excited to be part of the growing community.

[Histrix]

Keep this chart in mind when deciding what woods to use: http://www.kbq.us/wood-selection/

I've never used beech before but it should work. Here's another link that may be of use: http://www.dantesdevine.com/pages/Smoking-Woods.html