Cooking Pigskit in A Snowstorm

[STEbbq]

I'd committed to cooking my pigskit this week, so I wasn't paying attention to the weather forecasts. Low and behold, after dry brining it overnight and throwing on MMD this morning, I pulled up the garage door to see snowflakes.

Well, I was still determined to use the Akorn (aka Bandit) to get the job done. I loaded it up with fresh lump and got the fire going, but I wasn't sure if it would get to temp in this weather (about 40 degrees) in any reasonable timeframe. So, I pulled out the MB560 (aka Smokey), and fired it up as well.

I had inadvertently started off a race to 250. Bandit maybe a 10 minute head-start but was only at 70, whereas Smokey quickly blew past it.

Then, the tables began to turn.

Smokey stalled at 180, whereas Bandit kept climbing steady...150...160...170 until it finally passed the stalled Smokey on its way to 250 (275 actually initially). I threw the pigskit on and went back into to start on the green chile cornbread that barelfly sent me as part of his SS present. I went back out a few minutes later and finally Smokey hit 250, so I set it to 400 and went back into to finish off the cornbread prep. I gave it about 20 minutes but Smokey never broke 290, so I shut it down and brought it back in, while Bandit remained happily cooking away between 250-300 in a nice snowstorm. The green chile cornbread heads into the oven at 400, and turned out amazing. We ended up adjusting the corn bread recipe to our tastes (cornbread packet, 2 eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 stick of butter), and it was delicious.

About ~5 hours later the pigskit was pulled off at around 195ish and probe tender, and Bandit was still at 250. Smokey sulked in the garage.

So, in the battle for winter dominance, gotta say the Bandit (and kamado) crushed it.

[RonB]

A breathtaking story for sure.

May I suggest you try subbing bacon grease for at least half the butter? Ya can't beat bacon grease in cornbread.

[STEbbq]

My wife hates pork so I guarantee you she won't touch it. In contrast, she loves the cornbread as prepared.

[RonB]

That means you get it all.

[STEbbq]

THE START AND THE TWO WARRIORS FACE OFF:



THE BANDIT PULLS AHEAD:



SMOKEY SOBS LIKE A BABY



ANGRY GLARING COMMENCES: ​
​

THE WINNER GLOATS:



CHECKING ON TEMPS..HMMM.



COOKED PIGSKIT:







AND SERVICE (SLICE OF PIGSKIT WITH PULLED PORK TACO AND RED CURRY THAI FOOD):

[grantgallagher]

40 degrees near chitown in winter sounds like a summers day. Surprised you had trouble with temps, ive done -F cooks here in NJ with no problems.

EDIT: Didnt mean that to come across as any sort of bragging, more curious.

[STEbbq]

I think if I left Smokey for probably another 30 minutes to hour, it probably would have made 400, but it had failed to reach 400 before the oven did, so it lost the battle. For a smoker that usually hits 250 within 15 minutes and 400 in 20ish, and 700 in a bit longer, it had a rough day.

[STEbbq]

Also, only 2nd time cooking real food on Bandit (Akorn)

[STEbbq]

My guess is a few things:

1) Possible ash build up in the manifold especially with the fan possibly blowing more ash through with the upgraded and tighter grate. I will have to see next time I pull it out.

2) Smokey typically takes longer to come up to temp in cold and windy conditions. I don’t see any fix here. More surprised to see Bandit easily get to temp in the same conditions with no intervention from me needed.

[barelfly]

Excellent! Glad you enjoyed the cornbread!

Oh, and what is all that white stuff

enjoy my friend! Thanks for sharing the cook!

[smokin fool]

Atta boy, nothing like smoking meat in a snow storm.

[HawkerXP]

It looked to be a glorious day to be cooking out of doors!

[DaveD]

Man, that is serious commitment! How did you like the pigsket??

[STEbbq]

It was awesome. Like the best bits of baby back ribs in every bite. I didn’t really taste bacon so much, but still full of flavor. I do want to order it again.

[DaveD]

I hear ya, the hint of bacon I got was just that, a hint, very subtle. And I'll say that when I used the leftovers as taco filling, didn't get a bit of it, but then again the tacos included cheese, tomato, lettuce, red chile sauce, sour cream, avocado... lots of competition! Got my second one on the way...

[STEbbq]

I am going to do a taco tomorrow too! Yum!

[bunky2021]

Noob question here...what exactly is pigskit?
Not sure what it is but all of this looks amazing!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

it's a pig brisket, they are pretty small and while I wasn't happy with how mine turned out, I think cooking one up is worth a shot at least once.

[STEbbq]

Definitely an unique item and worth ordering. We loved it.

https://porterroad.com/products/pork-brisket

[STEbbq]

BTW, Polarbear777 I figured out why the MB was struggling to get up to temp. Basically it looked like the new grate plus the original fire brick being burned through created a lot of ash buildup. So, the heat was being blocked by a layer of ash. I removed the grate, put the charcoal back in the hopper, and dumped the ash that fell through into the ash bucket. Then, it worked perfectly.

I did order new fire bricks from MB which was $56 shipped. I remember when they first introduced the bricks, they were only $30, not $45.

if the new bricks don’t fix the problem, I will go back to the original grate and I’ll have to order it again from MB. I may just give the grate a shake or two and see if that’s enough to prevent a recurrence.

[Polarbear777]

Makes sense that the tighter grid would trap ash.

If I were to replace the brick I’d probably get an aftermarket stainless liner that folks are making since you have to reassemble anyway.

Of course I’m now using a southernQ which is perfect for large volume smoking. The only issue is that sometimes briquettes bridge in the hopper, and I can’t use char logs because they always bridge.

Myron mixon smokers have a tapered charcoal chute so it can’t bridge. Smart, but 2x the cost of what I have

[STEbbq]

Polarbear777 That is a good idea on the liner. I will see what the instructions call for and may do that if as you say, I have to take apart the entire thing. I am hoping this is more of a one time thing on the grate but we will give it another chance. At least it is a cheap and easy fix on the grate. Though, if I am ordering the stainless steel liner, maybe I should look at their grates too. I think there is an upgrade that let you stack wood just underneath.

That southernq looks sweet buddy!

[DaveD]

Noob question here...what exactly is pigskit?
Not sure what it is but all of this looks amazing!

I did a step-by-step account of my first pigsket cook a while back, which you can get at this here link if you take a notion. Profusely illustrated