Favorite Smoke?

[carpetride]

Do you have a favorite smoke? One you look back and say "Yeah that turned out great!" I guess I'm still new enough to smokin that I still get a thrill when I do something that I thought may be above my skill level. I hope that feeling never goes away! Probably the best part of any hobby I have ever had has been the learning, the trial and error, and the triumph.

Tonight I come home from a meeting several hours away from home and my wife tells me I have completely ruined her on ribs. Seems she too was at a meeting today for work and they went to a local rib joint for lunch (we used to think they were good) said the ribs were so tough she couldn't eat them! Her secretary also said they didn't hold a candle to mine.

Yep, I'm just waiting for the swelling of my head to go down so I can fit through the door to go to bed!


BTW, I keep the link in my signature as my favorite smoke.

 

[lawdog]

this one is mine
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=12323
jut flat out a great taste and the inlaw factor to deal with.
my wife wont let me cook one for her family for he holidays because she says it would be a waste of good meat on people who would not appreciate what went into it.

 

[bishop916]

My most successful was 4th of July chicken, brisket, ribs for about 20 family members.

My favorite smoke is still the last one I did.
I'm at the stage right now where every thing I do is better than the previous!
But seriously, the ribs I did last Sunday were darned choice! Finished with some custom sauce, mmm mmm mmmm - gonna go get me a leftover rib!
...and before that was gawd-awesome beerbutt chicken...and before that was brisket to die for!

You get my drift?

 

[erain]

i loved the brisket smoke i did, something about taking a kinda undesirable piece of meat and makin it into something special!!!!!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=19953

 

[cowgirl]

Hmmm, I think my favorite one was a venison sausage and morel stuffed canadian bacon....http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=20455

That stuff was so tasty, I need to make another one.

 

[ronp]

They have all been good, and I will do them all from now on. Depends what I have a taste for. Umm, pastrami, cappicolla, Cb , chicken thighs, pulled pork, brisket, everything is good.

Too many to mention.

 

[bbqgoddess]

heeeeeere's mine.... raspberry basil pulled pork
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...il+pulled+pork
I have just re-ordered this vinegar....yum yum

 

[24kilo]

Two of my Fav's are turkey injected with olive oil and garlic and the cavity rubbed with fresh rosemary and thyme. The second is Corned beef ,spice pack goes in the water pan.

 

[meowey]

Nice thread Carpetride!

Here are links to 3 smokes that I did that are related to charity fund raising.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=9487

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=9680

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=9929

I enjoy all my smokes, but doing something you enjoy to help others is important.

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey

 

[fatback joe]

Hmmm.......not sure that I have one that sticks out in my head for the most part....there are several that I remember pretty clearly, but those have been because they were tied to some kind of event or family get together more than the smoking itself.

I think there are more kind of key stepping stones along the way that I remember. I got my first smoker in '93, it was a gasser and it didn't take me long to get that down and think that I had this art mastered........moved on to charcoal and wood and boy what a shock........no offense to the gas and electric users (well minimal offense maybe

) but the time spent using the gasser didn't teach me chit about real smoking, all it taught me was how to throw wood chips on a gas smoker.

The art of this, IMO, comes with managing the wood and fire........that was back to square one. Anyhow, sorry to stray with my rambling, I remember when I felt like I had that down. It was nice having the feeling that I could turn out a good product on anything now. Sure there are tips and tricks to the various smokers, but once you understand how to manage the fire and wood, I think you can cook on anything.

I remember the feeling that came with first time that I finally got ribs just like I wanted them.........or finally felt that I could consistently produce a brisket that I was happy with. Or, for the competions, I finally got that bite threw skin........and can do it consistently.

I still enjoy cooking for friends and family or the odd paying job here and there, but most of those just run together in my mind..........I am laughing at myself here, feeling like I am 80 years old typing this.......but you know what I mean. It is kind of like riding a bike, you can do it without giving it much thought.

Anyhow, probably the biggest thrill these days is from the competitions. I did my first contest in January and I am hooked. I love the whole aspect of it (well, maybe not packing up afterwards

). Good people and good times, sitting out in a field somewhere cooking all night, to offer it up the judges the next day.......the anticipation waiting for the awards cermony waiting to hear if your name is called. The head scratching afterwards when you wonder jsut what it is the judges are looking for as you go back to the drawing board. Yeah, the anticipation is great!

I guess typing through this brought me up to my most memorable cook. FBA contest in Winterhaven, FL this year, I was sick as a dog and not having a good time at all, I just wanted to go home and go to bed. Well, the awards time came around and I got called for an 8th place finish in ribs.......my 8 year old daughter beat me to the stage and grabbed the check and plaque and just stood there grinning.....man, was she excited........I guess that is my favorite cook so far thanks to her, she took a sick, feeling bad weekend and turned it into something special.

 

[flash]

LOL, well I have enjoyed them all. And its not my head that's sticking out the most with all this fattening food.

 

[wutang]

I don't have a lot of them under my belt, but this was my favorite so far.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=21681

 

[wutang]

When I first joined this forum I used this one as an example of the cool stuff on here when talking to friends.

 

[justsmoke2]

My favorite was when I did pulled pork for a family outing every raved and my brother thought it was a lot of work thought he could find something better to do with his time. So the next gathering when he bellied up to get some pork I spoke up said wait I have something special for you. I gave him 2 cold uncooked hot dogs and stated I would have cooked them but I needed the extra time to cook for everyone else. Now he has to apologize every time we get together. lol

 

[babyback]

After I got my smoker, my first smoke was probably the most memorable. The weather was nice and beer was cold. Probably wasn't the best Q I have made, but I enjoyed the experience. It has been the only time so far that my wife didn't bug me about cleaning and doing chores while I was trying to cook. Of course, after that first time she kinda caught on to my little scheme.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I've done pork/beef ribs, turkey, chicken, pork loin (insane as it may seem), baking potatoes & buttercup squash (these are great too)...can't think of all the foods I've smoked. Only one thing that did'nt come out like I planned was carrots, great flavor, but the texture was off.

As you can probably sense by now, I like to experiment with many different foods & seasonings (mostly my own blends). I find that the KISS method is a good way to go. My first pork rib dry rub was very complex with a fair amount of heat. I modified the original recipe about a dozen times in the last 4 years and dropped from 13 to 7 ingredients. It was good at first, and keeps getting better.

I think what is most important for me is this: (1) I love to cook for family/friends (2) I love the feeling I get when everyone sits down and digs in...the smiles and gestures of appreciation is all I need to know I hit another home run!

I know where you're coming from with the restaraunt ribs, too. Everyone that's had mine does'nt want 'em any other way...no sauce, just good rub & smoke.

Speaking of smoke, I tried some chunked plum wood a few times with chicken...pretty good stuff. I usually go for mesquite, sometimes a little hickory (sparingly, 'cause it has a bite).

Injectable marinades are great, but I've found I like my own blends. Here's a tip: Put your seasoning blend in an uncovered saucepan with your favorite butter/oil/citrus juice blend and low simmer for 15-20 minutes (longer if you want to reduce it for even stronger flavor). Then, cool & pour it through a strainer into a bowl to draw into the syringe. If you don't strain the marinade it will plug your injecter.

Good luck, have fun and ENJOY!

 

[douglaslizard]

my favorite smoke is always the one thats coming up next.i have had some real good times and real good meat .i have also had some times tand meat that were not so good but still turned out better than being at work.i look forward to every cook i do be it at a comp .for family or just for the wife and kids .i may not even want to eat or be hungry after i get through but it was still a good time

 

[desertlites]

so many good smokes it's hard to say-the brisket in the throwdown was right up there-Than there was that mess of bacon thats right up there-ahh and the sausage that time-OH and the ABT's once from green chili's-hmmmm-can't think of my best.

 

[blacklab]

Any smoke I can drink a beer with burp pat the belly and say that was good. BURP

 

[motorhedd]

I think my favorite smoke is a newport king,alltho a martlboro menthol will do in a pinch...