Hello all. New guy here. Been grilling for years with Weber kettles and just made the plunge into smoking. I watched Steven Raichlen's shows for years and always wanted to pick up smoking but never got around to it. I live in North Mississippi, just south of Memphis. Needless to say excellent BBQ is all around me, so there never has been a need to smoke things myself. I've just decided I need something else to do besides golf and Ole Miss football, my other 2 hobbies.
I'm using the 22.5 Weber kettle for my smokes. I have the smaller 18.5 kettle as well, which I use for smaller grills and lighting fresh coals for long smokes. Temperature regulation has been a pain, to say the least. I need to install a thermometer on the kettle somewhere.
I've made 4 things so far:
1) Killer dry rub baby back ribs. I pretty much followed the recipe straight out of the BBQ Bible. They were excellent. As good as anything I get in Memphis.
2) A great brisket. Also used a Raichlen recipe. A tad overcooked, which made it a little too tender, if there is such a thing. It sliced beautifully for dinner, but after all of the juices distributed, I was only able to pull the meat like pork shoulder. It tasted fantastic, like a BBQ pot roast almost, but certainly wasn't a exemplary brisket.
3) Some awesome BBQ spaghetti. I used some of the remained brisket and followed a couple recipes, one from Raichlen and one from a place called The BBQ Shop in Memphis. This stuff is addicting.
4) Some horrible boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This is the one that brought me back down to earth. They looked amazing when I took them off the grill. Too bad the outside was rubbery and the inside was tough and fatty. I'm not a huge fan of thighs, but thought I would give them a try since you always hear that they are better for slow cooking than breasts. I had some temp. problems (too cold at the beginning, too hot at the end) that contributed to the problems.
Anyways, just looking for a place to learn as much as possible and get some ideas on equipment, types of wood, recipes, etc. It's good to be here!
Nolan in Mississippi
I'm using the 22.5 Weber kettle for my smokes. I have the smaller 18.5 kettle as well, which I use for smaller grills and lighting fresh coals for long smokes. Temperature regulation has been a pain, to say the least. I need to install a thermometer on the kettle somewhere.
I've made 4 things so far:
1) Killer dry rub baby back ribs. I pretty much followed the recipe straight out of the BBQ Bible. They were excellent. As good as anything I get in Memphis.
2) A great brisket. Also used a Raichlen recipe. A tad overcooked, which made it a little too tender, if there is such a thing. It sliced beautifully for dinner, but after all of the juices distributed, I was only able to pull the meat like pork shoulder. It tasted fantastic, like a BBQ pot roast almost, but certainly wasn't a exemplary brisket.
3) Some awesome BBQ spaghetti. I used some of the remained brisket and followed a couple recipes, one from Raichlen and one from a place called The BBQ Shop in Memphis. This stuff is addicting.
4) Some horrible boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This is the one that brought me back down to earth. They looked amazing when I took them off the grill. Too bad the outside was rubbery and the inside was tough and fatty. I'm not a huge fan of thighs, but thought I would give them a try since you always hear that they are better for slow cooking than breasts. I had some temp. problems (too cold at the beginning, too hot at the end) that contributed to the problems.
Anyways, just looking for a place to learn as much as possible and get some ideas on equipment, types of wood, recipes, etc. It's good to be here!
Nolan in Mississippi
