KBQ ~ has landed

[Spinaker]

Things are progressing nicely! Pastrami in top, brisket in the middle and a shoulder in the bottom.
We also made some farmer's breakfast outdoors!

[hogdog6]

Oh yes!!! Looking good... Real good!!!

[Ernest]

Fun day Spinaker

[Thunder77]

Is that scrapple I see there?

[Spinaker]

Yesterday was a great day. I was cooking for a friend's hunt club out in Lester Prairie, MN. The weather was windy and cool but the sun was shining and the smoke was rolling!
My buddy and I cooked a brisket, two shoulders and a pastrami flat. I used a mix of cherry, oak and apple for this cook. My buddy cooked on his WSM, while I was using the KBQ. He runs his WSM like a PBC, he completely removes his water bowl. I would recommend any WSM owner to try this. His ran along perfectly, for hours, at 275 F.
As for the KBQ, it ran great! And as usual, I had a great time feeding the fire. It just never gets old. The brisket came out fantastic. This was one of the best briskets I have ever cooked. It was truly spectacular. It had a great smoke ring, the bark was jet-black. Moisture and tenderness were also just about perfect.
(I didn't do a great job with pictures yesterday, between shooting clays, feeding the KBQ, BSing, shooting more clays etc. I kind of forgot the camera. But here is what I do have.)


BARK CLOSE UP!!!

Brisket at about 185 F, internal


Oh yeah, and you always have to have the firebox shot.

[Spinaker]

Thanks Brother! cookingmadly

[smokinfatties]

Nice one spin! Love the pictures. No Beef Ribs?

[Spinaker]

Dude, beef ribs are really hard to come by up here. Unless they are special ordered. smokinfatties

[kmhfive]

Great-looking cook!

[Mr. Bones]

Suh_Weet, Brother! Looks like ya' nailed that cook!!!!

[Ernest]

This is happening.....

[Spinaker]

Ribs, ribs and more ribs!!!!

[EdF]

And more ribs. hogdog6 you shamed me into it.

[Spinaker]

There we go!

[EdF]

Those Meathead Chinatown ribs were especially good. And they're for dinner tonight!

[hogdog6]

EdF. I too gotta try that recipe.

[Spathiinc]

I gave breakfast sausages a shot today. My kids school is having teacher appreciation week, and we're signed up for providing breakfast protein tomorrow. The plan is to make
- yogurt, fruit, and granola parfaits
- bacon, egg, and cheese english muffin sandwiches
- smoked sausages

So basically, home-made McDonald's food. I briefly thought about smoking the bacon, but decided to just cook it regular since I have standard thickness cuts. The breakfast sausages, however, I figured would be a good experiment for the KBQ.

So, I stated with a 14-pack of Johnsonville maple syrup breakfast sausages and got the KBQ read. Pre-heated to ~225 with Hickory and top and bottom smoke. Following the meathead guide, I was aiming for 225 for about an hour. I ended up letting them go slightly more than an hour, they were well pasteurized at that point (per thermapen), but they definitely didn't look quite right. Following the advice I've seen on this thread for other cuts of meat, I tossed a grate ontop of the burner and gave each link a quick sear to give them some color and texture.

I lost one in the fire and dropped one on the ground. I decided to use the ground one as a taste test (after rinsing)... and eh... it turned out fine, but nothing special. I don't think I could tell the difference between this and a regular pan-fried link. No regrets, good lesson, maybe a stronger wood would help. Good, but not "holy shit" good like my first KBQ ribs.

[hogdog6]

Thanks for the experiment info.

[Ernest]

Pig ribs are done! Waiting for cow ribs.

[Ernest]

Dinosaur!

[hogdog6]

Look fantastic

[Spinaker]

Daaaaaaaang!!! Those are looking gorgeous.

[Henrik]

Yep, there's just something special about beef ribs.

[hogdog6]

Had the best rib cook yet. These guys were tender, moist and most of all delicious. My wife who isn't much of a carnivore had 2nd's. I've never seen her do that with BBQ and she couldn't quit commenting on how good they were. The KBQ color never ceases to amaze.

[cookingmadly]

Great job, those look amazing!

[Spinaker]

These look great. I will second the KBQ color. It is amazing!

[Ernest]

Nice!

[cookingmadly]

My second cook on the KBQ, boneless pork shoulder. Expected to be able to get bone-in from Costco, but apparently not. Time to hunt down a good butcher in the area.

[Histrix]

I've cooked butts with bones and without bones and can't really say that I have ever notice any significant difference in the final product. The only difference I've seen is cost/lb.

[Spinaker]

Check out this article, scroll down to "Thermal Impact of Bones" Some good info on this very subject. Sacred Smoke BBQ Ernest @Histrix

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/mythbusting_bone-in_meat_is_better.html

[Histrix]

Familiar with the article. Removing a bone from a butt does not expose more surface area to heat. As I said, with pork butts I find no significant difference in the final product boned or not.

[Ernest]

Man!! Almost 2 years and I'm yet to find a flaw.

[JGrana]

Ernest, you are the Beef Rib King. That ring, the bark, the juiciness... the KBQ does indeed give a big boost - but you should take a bit of the credit!

[Ernest]

JGrana much appreciated!

[OmegaDog12]

Ernest. Going to try a rack of beef short ribs this weekend. What temp did you use and for how long? Did you dry brine? How long? Thanks!