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  1. Mr. Zorg

    Is it just me or are "used" charcoal briqettes better than fresh ones?

    An example of 1984 vintage Kingsford from the days of sand & clay binder, shown in the ashes. I doubt there's any calcium carbonate in the 1984 product also based on the ashes. https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/burn-test-1984-kingsford-vs-2020-kingsford/
  2. Mr. Zorg

    Is it just me or are "used" charcoal briqettes better than fresh ones?

    No charcoal briquettes I've ever used have been a hollow shell. But it's easy to think of a vegetable starch binder being burned or simply carbonized along with the volatiles being driven off with the heat of other burning charcoals, thus rendering the vegetable starch to no longer having as...
  3. Mr. Zorg

    Is it just me or are "used" charcoal briqettes better than fresh ones?

    I forgot to put the WM item web link in my prior post this thread. WM Cowboy Briquets
  4. Mr. Zorg

    Is it just me or are "used" charcoal briqettes better than fresh ones?

    In general I've found partially burned charcoal briquettes to be sensitive (crumbly) to further handling. I think it's because a lot of the binder used being burned up. As for cost of charcoal FWIW Walmart in my area is selling Cowboy All Natural briquettes twin pack of 20 lb bags everyday low...
  5. Mr. Zorg

    What are your favorite sides to serve with smoked meats?

    Traditional minimalist pinto beans unless I've smoked rolled stuff pork loin. Then my wife likes to make here pan bread & fruit stuffing. Nothing's set in stone though.
  6. Mr. Zorg

    My First Homemade Smoked Cheese

    I didn't use a tube, nor pellets, and I don't plan to start using a tube, or pellets. This technique with the way I executed it provided desirable results. I don't see a reason, for me, to purchase additional equipment, and pellets I'd have zero other use for. There was natural bark on the...
  7. Mr. Zorg

    My First Homemade Smoked Cheese

    Well based on the encouragement from all y'all I cut off a sliver of the smoked Gouda and the smoked Cheddar to taste test. The color contrast between the surface and interior cheese is striking! This cheese is definitely not oversmoked. No way. It's delicious as is! I can't imagine what 2 to 4...
  8. Mr. Zorg

    My First Homemade Smoked Cheese

    Thank you @Steve H! Thank you @DRKsmoking! Thank you @crazymoon! Thank you @Brokenhandle! We lived in the Great Lakes area for around 10 years, in two different stints including those especially cold polar vortex winters 2013 - 2015 with lows of -17°F one winter and -19°F the following...
  9. Mr. Zorg

    My First Homemade Smoked Cheese

    Thanks. I wanted to run this experiment t see how it would work with materials I have on hand. I don't own a pellet grill / smoker so I don't have use for a lot of pellets even if I purchase a smoke tube. I also like knowing exactly what the wood I'm using is, and looks like, when I cook.. If I...
  10. Mr. Zorg

    Ornamental purple cherry tree wood for smoking?

    Maybe it's some vareity of ornamental plum, purple fruit. When we lived in NW Ohio one neighbor had a tree that looked like a cherry tree when in bloom. I asked him what kind of cherry tree it was and he told me it was some sort of Japanese ornamental plum.
  11. Mr. Zorg

    My First Homemade Smoked Cheese

    With cooler weather finally here in South Texas, my wife & I decided to try making some homemade smoked cheese. It was 36°F here with practically no wind Sunday night. Being the first time to try this, I didn't want to put a whole bunch of cheese at risk. Here's what I started with: a 7 ounce...
  12. Mr. Zorg

    Beef Cheeks

    The cheeks are a prominent part of barbacoa de cabeza (smoked whole cow's head) in South Texas. These daus, only one commercial establishment, Vera's in the Rio Grande Valley, is grandfathered by the health department to use the traditional pit in the ground. Many other places use no smoke at...
  13. Mr. Zorg

    AA Ron from Michigan

    Welcome from San Antonio Texas!
  14. Mr. Zorg

    Where do you guys get your wood chunks from?

    Ah, your username made me think Canada!:emoji_slight_smile: I sent links via PM - I hope they came through.
  15. Mr. Zorg

    Where do you guys get your wood chunks from?

    No, but keep in mind all the ones I've purchased from are in the USA. You mght have difficulties shipping to Canada, but I'm sure you can run those details yourself.
  16. Mr. Zorg

    Where do you guys get your wood chunks from?

    Dunno about Canada, but I've had good results buying wood chunks from trees not locally available to me from sellers on eBay. Shagbark hickory, wild cherry, and even some pistachio tree wood (from California). You might look into that option.
  17. Mr. Zorg

    Good African woods

    I'm not sure what's all locally available but acacia (Mesquite is i the acacia family) and mulberry as mentioned is what I'd look towards. So many wood types have local names, some acacia species are called wattle of one type or another for example. Here's a Australian / Oceania smoke woods...
  18. Mr. Zorg

    Bad smoke day WSM

    Yep - I stick with 100% Hardwood charcoal whether lump or briquettes - loke the Royal Oak Chef's Select (and it's rebagged Members Mark at Sam's Club), same with other brands. Just hardwood charcoal plus a touch of vegetable starch (corn starch, wheat starch, yucca starch). I don't care for...
  19. Mr. Zorg

    Bad smoke day WSM

    FWIW I don't follow Harry Soo or anyone on the competition circuit. I simply cook for my, my wife's, and our friends & family's tastes, plus charity things like church BBQ's, using techniques I've applied and adapted over 47 or so years. I was offered a sponsership by Packaging Sevices...
  20. Mr. Zorg

    Bad smoke day WSM

    I've found Frontier to offer a good lump charcoal. Quebracho wood isn't a necessary ingredient for a charcoal to be "good" for me, but it's a "good" wood to make charcoal from. I first encountered it in the Original Charcoal Company Rancher charcoal briquettes sold at Home Depot in 2007, made in...
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