My First Big Smoke

[deejaydebi]

Hi All-

I did my first big smoke today. Man it was cold! Had to close in three sides of the styrofoam igloo I made and put a top on and it worked great. I did have to finish the pastrami in the oven ended up with and icy rain and I wimped out. Only needed about 40 degrees more internal but that could have taken hours!

I decided my homemade fattys are a bit to lean for the smoker by the time they got up to temperature I had t slice it. Looks like lunchmeat! LOL The smell was driving me nuts though!

The turkey MAN that's good! I never really cared that much for turkey even though I always inject it - just not great but this thing WOW! I can eat this and enjoy it often. I ate a whole thigh! I usually only manage a thin slice. My son has dibs on the legs. Gotta save them for him.

The Canadian Bacons were great but could have used a bit less black pepper on the outside. The end piece had me grab for a beer real quick! The slices were really good just a tad bit salty. I don't usually eat salt so I not a good judge - everyone else said they were perfect.

By the way Dutch I can not fit 50 lbs of meat on the All in One. I got about 35 and it was tight! Squished my poor little fatty and reshaped all my bacons to get that much on. Did have a few sparks hit the deck again glad I got a cement porch.

Never did get to add the Pepperoni or Italian sausage I made last night - no room. Oh well maybe tomorro if this ice storm isn't to bad.

Anyway here's the pix:


Debi

 

[vulcan75001]

Debi

Everything looks good...but with your little smoker packed as tight as you had it...how did you get any smoke to circulate.. LOL....really like the pastrami...how long did you have everything in there?
Later
Richard

 

[deejaydebi]

Richard -

Thanks! Everything was different times. The fatty was oly about 3 hours, the turkey was about 5 hours (but I did the breast and legs only), the bacons were about 6 hours and the pastrami was about 10 hours.

Luckily the turkey left room for the smoke to come through but the top rack I had to wiggle a bit to get air flow until everything shrunk a bit.

It was a really fun smoke!

Debi

 

[vulcan75001]

Debi
Sure sounds like you had a long cold day..never got any icy rain on this side of the state...just cold and very windy...enjoy the fruits of your labor..

Richard

 

[ultramag]

Looking good Debi. Looks like you could hardly get the lid on that ECB! No need for wasted space. ;)

 

[buzzard]

them are some great pics!!!!!loved the before smoke, after smoke, and sliced. gave a great overview. this should be the standard for everyone to follow. instead of the minion method this will be the debi method

 

[soflaquer]

Fabulous pictures, Debi! Thanks for sharing them.

You had quite a variety of meat, congrats!

Jeff

 

[up in smoke]

Hold on Debi, I gots to pick up some pumpernickle on the way! :roll:

 

[gunslinger]

That food looks awesome. This is a great thread to show folks what can be done on an ECB. I think a lot of people new to smoking stay away from this type of smoker because they think they are limited either by their size or price. I always recommend an ECB for a first smoker, because of their price and ease. It's a great way to get your feet wet with little investment. And if you don't care for charcoal, a co-worker put his propane fish fryer burner under his ECB. I've even read about numerous people who have won BBQ championships with nothing but a couple of ECB's.
Great work Debi.

 

[msmith]

Way to go Debi all that looks great and bet it tasted great too.

 

[royknives]

Debi,
I could smell the aroma all the way up here....lol Everything looks awesome.!

 

[deejaydebi]

Ultramag -

I actually squished my fatty a few times try to cover it.

Debi

 

[deejaydebi]

Buzzard I tried to get it all in one picture before and after to use less space. Having a hard time getting good color though - instead of nice red/ pink meat it always looks white. Flash washes it all out.

Debi

 

[soflaquer]

Deb,
It's a good thing your a girl, or that just wouldn't have sounded right (and painfull)!

Jeff

 

[deejaydebi]

Richard –

I froze my butt off (I wish ). I had to add more pencils to hold my Styrofoam igloo together! Did okay running in and out until the icy rain came then I gave up the ghost and finished inside. Good thing too the pastrami needed 2 more hours!

Up –

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve always got a fresh loaf of Russian Rye in the house. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do white bread unless itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hot or Italian!


Tom –

I really love this cheap little thing except that it doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have a door for fuel and isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t very tall so hanging sausages is out. Some models have a door this one doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t, but it does have gas, electric and charcol options and the bottom is a great little turkey fryer/steamer. It was REALLY heavy lifting all that meat up and off to add fuel last night – the later it got the heavier it felt. I do wish it were a bit taller (Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m working o that). I do use the gas thing to start some coals and then I stick them on top of a fresh pile. Almost like a built in coal chimney.


Marvin –

I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know turkey could taste this good! Never would have thought to brine a turkey till I met you guys! Still have to slice the pastrami tonight. It slices better cold. I know I have a slicer in the attic somewhere … LOL

Roy

That was all from the Lisbon Wal Mart! ;o) Haven't smoked the sausages I made yet they wouldn't fit in there!

BTW Here's my styrofoam igloo!

Thanks All!

Debi

 

[vulcan75001]

Debi

I like your igloo...at least it is light enough to move around to block the wind from which ever direction it might be blowing from....Hey...the oven thing...ya gots to do what ya gots to do...you weren't the first...and you most certainly won't be the last....probably done more often than is admitted to...you did real good last night...

Later
Richard

 

[deejaydebi]

Thanks Richard!

:lol:

 

[deejaydebi]

LOL Took me awhile but I figured it out eventually!
I am Italian after all!
Debi

 

[ultramag]

I just saw the finished pastrami pics in another post. How about a little tutorial on how you made that Debi?

 

[deejaydebi]

Sure Ultra

Here's my pastrami recipe and instructions

1 big well trimmed brisket about 10 lbs

Brine
1 gallon water
8 oz kosher salt
2-1/2 tsp Prague powder #1
3 oz white sugar
8 bay leaves crushed
5 smashed garlic cloves
4 tsp juniper berries crushed
3 tsp black peppercorns

Dry Rub
1/3 cup black pepper
1/4 cup juniper berries
1/4 cup coriander

Brined for in fridge 7 days
Pump every 1/2 inch or so

Rubbed and wrapped in plastic wrap for 2 days
Smoke at 200 -225 for 4 hrs (I use hickory and Mesqute)
Spritz with apple juice every now and again
Wrap in tin foil and finish cooking until 180 degrees

Chill overnight and break off faty lard but save jellied meat drippings
Slice thin and pour drippings over meat.
Double bag in ziplocks and freeze

That's it!

Debi