John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
Thermoworks ThermaPen (Red)
Thermoworks MK4 (Orange)
********************************* Accessories Big Green Egg Plate Setter
Benzomatic TS800 High Temp Torch X 2 Bayou Classic 44 qt Stainless Stock Pot
Bayou Classic 35K BTU Burner Eggspander Kit X2 Finex Cat Iron Line FireBoard Drive Lots and Lots of Griswold Cast Iron Grill Grates Joule Water Circulator
KBQ Fire Grate Kick Ash Basket (KAB) X4 Lots of Lodge Cast Iron Husky 6 Drawer BBQ Equipment Cabinet Large Vortex Marlin 1894 .44 Magnum Marquette Castings No. 13 (First Run) Smithey No. 12 Smokeware Chimney Cap X 3 Stargazer No.10, 12 ******************************** Fuel FOGO Priemium Lump Charcoal Kingsford Blue and White B&B Charcoal Apple, Cherry & Oak Log splits for the C-60 ************************************************* Cutlery Buck 119 Special
Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
So, a report the day after. The whole weekend was a great success. On Saturday evening I went to sleep at 20:00, and set the alarm at 22:30. I actually managed to sleep, and at 22:45 I fired up my smoker. I added the nine briskets (full packers, avg 15 lbs each), and went to work. At 02:00 I started to freak out, thinking the wood wouldn't last. I think it was a brain fart, due to the late hour and all. At 03:00 I added the 25 pork bellies. And I started to calm down. I did have plenty of oak wood.
Overall the cook went fine. I did have to move the briskets around, due to their difference in size. I placed the biggest ones close to the fire, and the smaller ones in the back. Normally there's a real good air flow in my smoker, and very even temps, but when you load that sucker up the thermodynamics change quite a bit. So at two or three times during the night I moved briskets back and forth. I did the same with the pork bellies.
After the briskets had stalled I decided to wrap them in butcher's paper. It took 10 minutes or so to get all briskets out, wrap them, and add them back in.
The thing is I didn't see the rise in temp I was expecting (roughly 1.5 hours after wrap). So I decided to take them all out, re-wrap them, this time with aluminum foil, and get them back into the smoker. Sure enough, I got the response I was looking for, and around 06:40 they were all done and I could drop them into the (three) faux cambros. I went to bed at 07:00 and slept till 09:30.
I also made 20 liters (5.3 gallons) of creamed corn in the middle of the night.
Right before 10:00 I sliced the first brisket and pork belly and served the crew. They all rolled their eyes and smiled ear to ear. I absolutely nailed this cook, it was great to see, and the 400 people that came to eat kept complimenting my food all through the day.
There were a few things about this cook that I really appreciate: 1. I did several adjustments during the cook to compensate for/avoid future problems. This is really cool, as I feel I can rely on, and trust, my experience. Like re-wrapping for example. Being able to get 9 briskets of varying size to the right doneness/tenderness felt good. Makes me feel like a pit master 2. The roaring reviews. That makes it worth everything. 3. My smoker. Man, that is a meat machine! And it's easy to operate. I love it. 4. The fact that I alone cooked food for so many people. A lot of pressure, for sure. But I pulled through. Awesome feeling.
Now for some well earned rest. I didn't take many photos, as I was busy, but here's a few.
The pork belly sandwich plate, with bourbon beans and creamed corn.
The pork belly. Juicy as can be. Rubbed with Hank's KC Royale Pork Rub
The brisket. Super-juicy, with great flavor. Rubbed with Hank's Bonafide Beef Rub.
JGo37 - yes I am. I usually separate the point and flat by cutting the brisket in two (point to the left, flat to the right). I then proceed by slicing the two separately, in separate directions.
Comment