Maiden Voyage of GOSM "Big Block"

[soflaquer]

Well, the BB got broken in yesterday!!! Decided to put on ABT's, Baby Backs, a few Leg quarters and of course..............Earls "Stuffed Pork Loin"!

First, let me congratulate Big Earl on a recipe worth trying. Kudo's my friend! The only problem I encountered had nothing to do with his recipe. A few weeks ago, a local grocery chain had Pork Tenderloins (not Loins) on sale for "Buy 1, get 1 free!". How could any self respecting Pit Master pass that up? They were in nice 2 LB. cryovac packages, but when I openned them up...............out pops 2 tenderloins! I'm thinking, how on earth am I going to fillet these babies? Well, it was a chore, but I got 'er done!

Now, my evaluation of the new gas smoker. Being a "Stick Burner" for all these years it was a lttle awkward at first, but I got the hang of it pretty fast. I will say that it is a much more Heat Efficient unit than my all wood smokers. I can see that it will take me a few times (like any other cooker) to adjust times and temps. My ABT's cooked much faster in this unit, and I should not have left them on for my usual 3 hour mark. This thing will allso eat through a bag of wood chunks in no time! For a 6 hour total cook, I used a bag and a half. Thankfully, the Big Block has a huge cast iron wood box, so I wasn't constantly having to refill it. The one drawback I did notice, was that even with a good steady flow of "Thin Blue Smoke" the end product never achieved the Smokey flavor I get from my All Wood units. This is something I've heard before, I guess it is true.

Here are some pix of the food and cooker. For those paying attention, the yardbird was temporarily moved to the top rack so I could access the Baby Backs. For those unaware, always have your Chicken on the bottom rack so there's no chance of cross contamination.

In all, I am pleased with the Cooker and it will make those All Niighters a bit more pleasurable and give me that extra needed space for my big events (especially when I need to finish off a wrapped Brisket or Butt).

Jeff

 

[bob-bqn]

Jeff, I remember when mine were all pretty & shiny.

Food looks great! You managed to do well with those tiny tenderloins. :D

BTW, The bugs can't live & breed in a 250* climate. So I don't worry about cross contamination with poultry in a 250* environment. It's the time outside the cooker, before & after, that you must be cautious. Except: I don't put raw meat of any kind over cooked meat about to be removed from the pit.

 

[soflaquer]

Thanks Bob! The cooker may be at 225*, but the the Chicken isn't when it hits the rack. In most situatiuons, the yardbird is the last to hit the racks if you're trying to time your meal on a combination smoke. It's always wise to have your meat stacked from top to bottom - Beef - Pork - Chicken.

Believe me, it won't be shiny for long! :D

Jeff

 

[Dutch]

Looks great Jeff! I'm glad you were able to use those tenderloins.

 

[soflaquer]

I have to say, Dutch, that's an awesome recipe! My Wife was crazy about it! Can't wait to actually use it on a regular Loin, instead of a Tenderloin! It was tough trying to get what stuffing I could in them once I had them splayed out - I'm sure with a normal sized Loin, you could stuff that thing FULL!!! Thanks for the recipe!

Jeff

 

[bwsmith_2000]

Jeff,
Congratulatons on your "maiden voyage." I agree with your assessment of the GOSM. I was also really impressed with the enhanced effieciency! I'm not getting rid of my off set side by side but I do enjoy the GOSM..... especially when I'm also mowing, washing cars or whatever. It frees me up to do multiple things when I need to.

 

[bbqblitz]

Looks like a great meal, Jeff.

Congrats, bro!

 

[soflaquer]

Thanks everyone! I agree, Bill, that's pretty much why I purchased it......eaze of use. Usaually when I break out 'Ole Backdraft, it's an event, not just a casual weekkend smoke.

Jeff

 

[pg]

SoFlaQuer, I agree with you, "the eaze of use", even though the traditionalists gig propane, there are times when I want the ability to do seasonal, year-long, convenient smoking.

When I want the real deep smoke flavor, sit and watch, drink beer method, my wood smoker is the best!

Also, I'm finding that the more my gas smoker is used, the more it gets seasoned, the more smoke the meat retains.

 

[soflaquer]

PG,
That's an interesting factoid............I hope it holds true. That was really my only main dislike of it. Had I done that meal in my wood smoker, you could have smelled the meat the next day out of the refridgerator! :D

Jeff

 

[guido]

I know that I'm not getting as much smoke flavor as I did with my ECB. However, maintainance is a HELL of a lot easier on this Lowe's propane than it was with that ECB. I've had better luck with normal stick burners too.

It looks like the BB is QUITE a bit bigger then my Lowe's BBQ Grillware smoker. I knew I was outgrowing this, but damn....


I did the stuffed loin on NYE, and everyone LOVED it. First time fileting a loin, but it wasn't bad. Unfortunately, I forgot the cheese though!
Next time I make one, I'm going to use a fatty!