PELLET POOPERS VS STICK BURNERS SMACKDOWN BEGINS! [judges now accepting bribes]

[Panhead John]

Alrighty folks, this is the moment the world has been waiting for! Which cooker can produce the best food? We’ll soon find out. The media scrutiny has been intense! Can’t blame em, never before has there been so much at stake for a Smackdown……the chance to win a cheap ass plastic trophy!

The stick burner folks have all circled their wagons, eager to prove to those pellet people, they’re #1! Meanwhile in the pellet pooper camp, everyone’s just praying there’s no power outages. It’s rumored that glitchy has even gone out and bought himself a backup generator. This is how intense the competition has become folks!

Here is where everyone can post pics of your food. Remember, meat rules the Smackdown, so show us your best proteins. There will be a 2nd place winner announced for the best side dishes as well. Pictures can be posted for consideration up until Tuesday the 6th at 8 pm CDT. Good luck everyone and let’s have some fun!

[holehogg]

Looks like I'll only be able to get my wood burning on Sunday.

[Huskee]

It's so cool to see a backyard pic in South Africa that looks so similar to where I live, same chairs, same cookers, slightly different shrubbery though.

[Panhead John]

I’m just wondering why he hangs his water hose up in the tree….🧐

[Allon]

Panhead John, Maybe he likes the way water spreads grease fires.

[WayneT]

Hello fellow Pit members and happy Labor Day Weekend, the unofficial end of summer for many of us here in the USA. As this Smackdown kicks off, I think it’s important to give a nod and tip o’ the ol’ hat to all the fine folks who run AR – owners, admins, mods, code ninjas, et. al. - for allowing these shenanigans and keeping it between the ditches. In Texas they say "go big or go home", here in my house it’s "have fun or go home". And this is fun! (I’ll let my Texas fellow Pit members speak to its bigness.) A special shout out goes to Panhead John for his social ebullience, rapier sharp wit, and superior planning skills. Seriously, who else could organize this chaos? He should have his own show! Y’all take a bow.

For all my cooks during this friendly, Labor Day Smackdown, I will play to the strengths of the pellet smoker and prepare foods that shine best with a more delicate smoke profile. While doing so, I hope to showcase the utility as well as the versatility of this marvel of culinary engineering. Despite their acceptance and the huge following they have garnered around the world, there are still many doubters, to the extent that some have resorted to giving them monikers like Barbie’s Easy Bake Oven. I know this is all in good fun and take not the slightest offense. In fact, in wry acknowledgement of all the many stereotypes I’ve heard about pellet smoker owners, all my cooks this weekend will be done with my hair up in a ponytail and me wearing my pink ‘Life is Good’ ball cap.


With those preliminaries out of the way, here’s how I’m gonna roll.

There was a recent discussion topic here on AR about how being exposed to a lot of smoke during cooking can have a negative effect on a person’s taste or perception of taste of smoked food afterwards. It is this discussion that has informed my planning and cooking for the Smackdown. Therefore, I'm resisting the primal urge to smoke everything and instead, on each of the four days of the Labor Day weekend I will cook and present a unique, multi-course meal featuring at least one smoked course or entrée noted with an asterisk *. And, within my upcoming discourse over the course of this Smackdown, these featured courses, of course, will be the ones prepared in full, or in part, on the pellet smoker, some of which will include a dry brine step using coarse salt. That’s all the double speak I have so far. Let’s start cooking and may the most inspired team win!

[Panhead John]

Wayne, hey bro, we need a shot of that ponytail! Maybe sneak one in, in a future pic? 🧐

[MsTwiggy]

Mic drop y'all. . . 🎤🎤🎙🔥🔥🔥❤️🐿

[Richard Chrz]

You look like you are going to throw down.

[Panhead John]

Thanks and what a great commentary Wayne! What an excellent way to start off this culinary extravaganza…I honestly wasn’t going to post this, but since you brought it up……

"In fact, in wry acknowledgement of all the many stereotypes I’ve heard about pellet smoker owners, all my cooks this weekend will be done with my hair up in a ponytail and me wearing my pink "Life is Good’ ball cap.”

[WayneT]

Pillow fights, eh? Is that going to be your next organized event?

[HotSun]

Uh, I dress like these guys when I grill, smoke, etc. (actually, through the summer), though I'm stuck in lump charcoal hell and never touch the pellets myself. If I'm feeling better, I will toss some sticks in my kamado knock-off and see what happens when I try to cook this weekend.

[Hamsammich]

[CaptainMike]

Well, Collette and I are home and both down with crappy head colds (who knew those were still a thing?) so I'll try and muster up the energy to throw something on the 'ol locomotive AND the slick and racy pellet pooper.

I'll let the judges decide which food came from which cooker.

[DavidNorcross]

Get well soon CaptainMike

[HotSun]

Ugh, I fear the same here CaptainMike. Hope you and the wife feel better soon.

[captainlee]

Sorry you guys are down, get well.

[Huskee]

EDIT: Decided to go all stickburner on this cook.

Here's the start. Two ~3.5lb sections of beef ribs, one seasoned with a mix of my brisket blend from Heaven Made Products & Henrik's Signature Steak seasoning, the other just Heaven Made. Both with a little extra coarse black pepper. Trimmed & dry brined yesterday evening about 8pm.

Oak wood. Cook ~250ish F. Fire started at 10:30a today, cook started at 11:30a.

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About 2.5 hrs in and all is well. Top is the L&R rib racks, bottom is the L&R grate pobes

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4.5hrs in

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5.5 hrs, ready to wrap. ITs @ 176 & 171.

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And some shots of the finished product. It was outstanding. And to be honest I don't even remember which had which rub (sorry Henrik ) but they were AWESOME!

Sides were spicy curly fries and 'street cauliflower' with cotija cheese. Accompanied by a Napa petite sirah. Mmmmmmm.

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Great Photo Jouurnalism.....nicely done

[jfmorris]

Beautiful ribs! Trying to work up my energy after being sick to uncover and start cleaning up the stick burner over the weekend, for a Monday cook. It'll be spares, but I hope they come even close to your stick burner results...

[Johnny Booth]

Yep - that’s a stick burner. Bark and smoke ring. 👍👍
Down home smoky goodness right there!

Street vegetables huh?
I guess mine are called waste basket vegetables.
I never thought of throwing them in the street. 😂

[jhapka]

Time to sharpen the hatchet and spin up the chop saw. Have fun loading up the minivan with pellets

[WayneT]

That’s passé. Amazon delivers.

[glitchy]

It’s not a mini van, it’s an all wheel drive station wagon…uh, I mean SUV.

[Potkettleblack]

They actually fit nicely in the trunk of my car. But also, Home Despot ships.

[Jerod Broussard]

Huskee I made this a Sticky, is Featured better??

[Huskee]

Nah, sticky's good. Thanks.

[realdocBBQ]

I still haven't decided... I was gonna do a real epic weekend and do multiple cooks. Now my guests have pushed me to consolidate most of it on Saturday, so that's gonna limit my ability to really do what I wanted.

I guess we'll see... if I have the gumption to get off my arse and get things trimmed, seasoned and on the smoker tonight, I'll be able to pull most of my plans outta the bottom of the trash bin, but my GOD, after the day I've had at work today, I only want to go home and drown myself in a bottle of tequila. Fecking Fridays. UGH.

[Allon]

Jerod Broussard, I didn't sleep at all last night. I was cramping all night from my kidney dialysis...

[Jerod Broussard]

OUCH Allon Kidney stones were enough for me.

[MsTwiggy]

realdocBBQ them Fridays 'll kill ya!! Hang in there . . . Ur a Dr so if tequila is in order you know best🔥🔥🔥❤️🐿

[Philotius]

Just gotta say, with no dog or pony in this show IT IS AWESOME!! I would take a weekend off work to watch this on TV!!

[WayneT]

I’ve already suggested to Panhead John that he needs his own show. It should be named ‘Smokers, Tokers and Jokers.’

[klflowers]

Just so you stick burner Neanderthals know, here I am in my pelleteer outfit:

[58limited]

That actually looks pretty sharp!

[Argoboy]

Works for that guy.

[captainlee]

Pellet smokers have style!!

[glitchy]

I feel kinda bad being all ready for this and off work today to dive right in. I sure hope this doesn’t cause too many to give up before they even start. Scratch lunch complete with apps. If this doesn’t scare you off, I’m thinking about a special family secret recipe my dad taught me when I was a kid for dinner.

[MsTwiggy]

WTF is this?!! 🔥🔥🔥

[HotSun]

Haha, glitchy, you're cracking me up, I bought half dozen of these last winter for the nostalgia. Getting used to the rectangular format.

[Hamsammich]

lol..this was great..

[MBMorgan]

Protein acquired, trimmed, lightly salted, and hotel-wrapped in preparation for an evening of dry-brining before tomorrow’s smoke event:

[tstalafuse]

This is all well and good, it ain't the weekend yet, and it is already getting full with comments (mine included). Besides, I have a very serious Family Fantasy Football draft in just over 4hrs for which I have not study yet. The Commish has been riding me like rented mule since he/I/we won the championship with a Brees/Graham combo like a thousand years ago. No, I am not stressed!!!!!!!

So, no more of your distractions of great smoked food! I mean it!!! Besides, I am gonna win it all in the meat and sides category with my Spam burnt ends, so you might as well go home!...

[Panhead John]

Hold on there tstalafuse ! glitchy ‘s frozen egg rolls and pizza is gonna be some tough competition for ya. If I had to guess, it’s gonna come down to the wire between your spam and his frozen pizza…..

[DavidNorcross]

This will prove to be a fun weekend for Team Pellet.......

[WayneT]

Preach it David!