The BBQ Pit Blog

Peach Wood Smoked Chicken on the Weber - Indirect Heat

It had been a while since I had used my Weber Grill so the the boys and I decided to smoke some chickens over the weekend.  We ended up having to do some inventory of our dry rub and BBQ sauce ingredients before we got started. 

The boys helped make our red sauce and the dry rub that we put on the chickens.  Although they love to tell their friends about how good the BBQ they cook tastes, they also follow the BBQ Code of Honor to never reveal the secret recipes for our sauce and dry rub :o)

We started out with 2 whole chickens and put the dry rub on them.  We then put charcoal on one side of the Weber Grill and placed the 2 chickens on the opposite side of the Weber Grill creating the Indirect Heat method.  The following link -  Difference between direct & indirect cooking - will give you some great information about the differences between direct and indirect cooking. 

We added a couple of chunks of Peach Wood and then cooked the chicken on the Weber about 3 hours.  The Birds were ready once the breast meat reached 160 degrees and the legs are easy to "shake". 

We are looking forward to our next opportunity to smoke some more BBQ this weekend and start to do some practice runs cooking ribs and chicken for the upcoming Birmingham Habitat For Humanity BBQ Contest in June.

Unbelievable Double Smoked Hams

It has been a while since I have smoked hams so I figured I would smoke a few for some friends recently.  You just can't beat a smoked ham when it comes to flavor and the ability to feed a large number of people.  They just absorb the smoke so well and when smoked properly they are one of the best tasting smoked meats.

I always buy hams from the grocery store that are pre-cooked and they turn out great. The hams I bought were half hams and were the shank end. 

The shank end has a lot of flavor and the smoke from the wood really sinks in to make a great flavor. Recipes Tips - Info on Hams is a great site that explains the different variety of hams.

I made my dry rub out of brown sugar, paprika, pepper, seasoning salt, and a few other secret ingredients before applying liberally to the hams. 

I smoked these 10 pound half hams for about 5 hours each at 275 degrees with pecan wood.  From the pictures you can see how they had turned a dark brown on the outside and the "face of the meat had started to fall apart. 

I used my Traeger Smoker which is an electric wood pellet fed smoker to cook these hams.  With it 35 degrees outside you can't beat a smoker that you can really "set it and forget it". 

Since pre-cooked hams are ready to eat even before you smoke them, you don't have to worry about  getting them "done".  The secret is to smoke them long enough to penetrate the ham with the right amount of smoke flavor and allow the ham to start to fall off the bone.  If you cook them till they are  160 internal then great, you can slice them and they will turn out fine.  But if you dare to enter BBQ Nirvana, then go to 195 degrees and have "pulled ham". 

I like to leave my ham uncovered and let the outside of the ham darken but if you prefer you can wrap the ham in tinfoil after it reaches 165 degrees internal and let it cook on to 195 degrees internal so the outside still looks shiny/tan but still falls apart.

A smoked ham is going to be better than any oven baked pineapple glazed ham or one from the "old store" down the road.

7 Bone Chuck Roast - It is a good day to eat meat!

This past weekend I decided to cook a 7 bone chuck roast on my Traeger Grill.  Recipe Tips Website defines the 7 Bone Chuck Roast as a crosscut beef roast from the shoulder blade portion of the chuck primal. It gets its name from the crosscut of bone within the roast that is shaped like a "7". The 7-bone roast is one of the most popular for pot-roasting.

When this cut of meat is smoked properly, it is "fall apart" good and tastes completely different then the typical pot roast this cut of meat has traditionally been used for over the years.  

This 7-bone roast weighed in at 5 pounds and required about 5 hours of smoking time.

I used a dry rub that consisted of Paprika, Seasoning Salt, Garlic Powder, Pepper, and Sugar.  I also used Pecan pellets in the Traeger Grill to give the meat a great flavor.  Pecan adds some great flavor to meat that is a mild, nutty and sweet flavor all mixed into one.  I like to use it when cooking pork or beef due to its unique flavor. 

In this photo I have put the dry rubbbed roast on the Traeger Grill and am about to set the temperature to smoke the roast at 250 degrees for the next 5 hours. 

While this roast smoked I made a horseradish sauce for dipping the meat in once ready to serve.  I like to mix a 1/4 cup of sour cream with a 1/4 cup of mayonaise.  I then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of horseradish and mix.  The more horseradish the hotter the sauce.

Once the roast has smoked for 5 hours I was able to pull some of the meat into pieces with a fork and other areas of the roast were sliced.   The smoke set into the roast very well adding a great Smoke Ring to the meat. 

9 Pound Boston Butt Smoked on Brinkmann Electric Smoker

I didn't have the time or energy this weekend to get my Lang Smoker out, the cadillac of wood smokers.  Ben Lang makes Lang Smokers in Nahunta, Georgia and they are great for the big BBQ's but for doing just 1 or 2 Boston Butts, I decided to go with my Brinkmann Electric Smoker.  Yes, to many BBQ enthusiast there isn't room for anything but wood and charcoal when it comes to BBQ but when you need to get the job done and still want to produce some good quality BBQ, the electric smoker is the way to go.  Especially if you want to get some sleep at night after putting on a 9 pound Boston Butt.  Secret to it is making sure to use the right amount of wood on top of the electric element so you end up with a good Smoke Ring .   As you can tell from the picture, the Brinkmaan has seen its share of long nights of BBQ.

I put my "top secret" dry rub on the 9 pound boston butt around 9:30 PM on Friday night and then had the Butt on the smoker around 10:00 PM.  I filled up the water pan about half full that goes in the smoker and put in a few chunks of peach and cherry wood in the bottom near the heating elements.  I added some more wood around 11:30pm and then again the following morning at 8am.  Around 1 pm on Saturday the Boston Butt was internally at a temperature of 175 degrees.  At this point I wrapped it in foil and let it cook until it reached 195 degrees at which point I took it off the smoker and let it rest. 

At 195 to 200 degrees internal, the pork butt will reach a tenderness that allows the entire Butt to be pulled apart with a fork or by hand.  The Brinkmann Electric Smoker I own is an older one and keeps a temperature of around 220 degrees which is on the low end of what I would prefer to cook at temperature wise but "low and slow" works every time.  Being able to "set it and forget it" to cook bbq is great when you want to cook those large pieces of meat but still get some sleep at night. 

Yes, even a BBQ addict like myself who has spent 14 hours straight in 30 degree weather cooking BBQ with my wood burning Lang Smoker sometimes has to cheat a bit and plug in the electric smoker.  Anything I can do to help increase revenues at Alabama Power :)   

An electric smoker is a great way to cook large cuts of meat such as ribeye roasts, boston butts, sirloins, whole chickens, and turkeys.  It basically allows you to keep from cooking your meat too hot or even burning the meat.  Key to making great bbq on the electric is using the right amount of wood to add enough smoke flavor to penetrate the meat.  If you can master the cooking times to keep the meat tender, then tweaking the amount of wood to get the right flavor will take you to the next level of bodacious BBQ. 

Fireplace Grill is a HOMERUN!!

Christmas has come and gone and I got a great surprise present from my wife.  She bought me a Fireplace Grill from SpitJack which makes pig rotisseries, grills, smokers, and other unique BBQ equipment that you just don't find at the local hardware or retail store.   

If I didn't already have enough outdoor grills and smokers, I now have the ability to grill and bbq inside  the house.  While most people are sitting around their fireplaces roasting marshmallows or just having a great quiet family moment, we have pork tenderloin, ribeye steaks, and greek chicken sizzling in the fireplace.  Romantic, I know.....

The grill was simple to put together and is easy to use.  I built the fire with oak and cherry wood, then let it burn a couple of hours until the fire started to die down and the embers were bright red. I then slid the grill into the fireplace and put the cooking grate on top.  Next was just adding the meat. I started the meat closer to the back of the fireplace which is the hottest area and then moved the meat towards the front to get it to away from the flame but close enough to the fire to still cook well. 

The smoke flavor from the wood was outstanding and the meat was very tender.  This product is just a great way to continue cooking through the winter time without having to fight the cold weather outside.

For all of you that just have to grill and bbq year round, the answer is now here.  I have to say that I have to rank the originator of the spitjack fireplace grill up there with the greatest minds of all time.....   No more excuses for not grilling out in the winter because it is too cold outside, or you might get sick in the freezing weather, No more excuses now - 365 days of grilling and bbq is now at your fingertips.....

St. Louis Style Ribs Smoked Today

Saturday became "Rib Day" at the Wade house today.  The smell of cherry wood smoke was rising through the early morning air in Vestavia Forest.  I had applied my dry rub to the ribs and had them on the grill cooking them indirect starting at 8 AM with an expected 12 noon lunch.  

I suspect I might have been the only fool -  I meant BBQ enthusiast -  out this morning with the  temperature in the 40's putting ribs on but it warmed up quickly.  Since I was smoking the ribs on my Weber grill I had to use rib racks to fit the slabs on the grill. 

I originally purchased Spare Ribs and cut the brisket bone(rib tip) off which turned these into St. Louis ribs. 

The meat on the left side of the grill is the brisket bone meat.  These are great cut up and put into pork and beans or just served cut into pieces for appetizers.

I am gearing up for Thanksgiving now and will be smoking brined turkeys Thursday, so more to come soon.

Smoking BBQ on a Charcoal Grill or Gas Grill

I get asked all the time about how to make mouth watering BBQ at home using a small charcoal grill or even a gas grill.  When I am not catering events I do use a Weber 22 1/2 inch charcoal grill to cook meals for our family.  Although I would love to break out my 7 foot Lang Smoker and smoke a giant piece of meat for the family, my wife reminds me that can be a bit overkill for a family of four....Go figure...

Charcoal Grills - For those of you with a charcoal grill you will want to have your coals & wood chunks/chips burning on one side of your grill and your meat on the opposite side of the grill.  This allows you to cook indirect which slowly cooks the meat and allows the meat to stay very moist.  The  heat/smoke produced from the fire will surround the meat and produce great BBQ. The picture on the right shows the coals and wood chips on one side of the grill and the rack of ribs on the other side. 

When you place the lid on the grill make sure to have the lid air vents open and located on the side where you meat is located.  You can cook all kinds of meat this way including chicken pieces, whole chicken, ribeye roasts, sausage, etc.....  I would recommend starting with just chicken breasts, thighs, pork ribs, or wings to just get a hang of it.  Then work your way up to doing ribeye roasts, whole chickens, pork loins and other larger cuts that will take a bit longer to cook.  Invest in a meat thermometer for checking the temps on your meat and also document your cooking times so you will be able to repeat your success each time. 

Gas Grills - I have to tell you there are BBQ enthusiasts across the world that will not use the word BBQ and Gas together.  The argument between gas vs. charcoal/wood is similar to the battle between the Hatfield's and McCoy's or better yet Rocky & Clubber Lang in Rocky 111 ... Hands down in my opinion charcoal and/or wood cooked BBQ is the best tasting when done properly.  But there are so many people out there with gas grills that I wanted to discuss how to produce a great quality BBQ on a gas grill. 

You will basically follow the same Indirect Cooking procedure as with the charcoal grill.  Light only one side/panel of your gas grill.  Place your meat on the opposite end of the grill over the unlit panel.  Make a tinfoil pouch and fill it up with a couple of  hand-fulls  of wood chips.  Close up the chips in the foil and then put them over the lit panel on your grill (place pouch on the burner itself and not the grill grate). Poke a few holes in the foil on top and that will allow the smoke to release.  You can soak the wood chips in water before adding but dry chips will work fine as well.  Most gas grills come with a temperature gauge mounted in the top so try to keep your temp at 250-325 degrees while cooking.  Also, use a meat thermometer to determine when your meat is done on larger cuts and chicken.

Wood Chips/Chunks - Go to your local BBQ store or grill section of WalMart, Home Depot, etc...department store and buy some wood chips or chunks.  I recommend peach, cherry, pecan, or hickory for pork butts, pork loins, ribs, chicken, Turkey, and lamb.  For ribeye roasts I suggest pecan or hickory chips.  In Birmingham, the  The Smoke & Fire Place in Vestavia Hills on Highway 31 across from Mark's Outdoors carries the largest supply of wood chips in the area.   You can also buy a cast iron or steel smoker box as well that will hold the chips instead of using a self made tinfoil pouch.

FYI - the larger the grill or smoker doesn't mean that it will produce a better BBQ.  You can cook great bbq on a charcoal grill or a gas grill.  Steaks are great for grilling but when it comes to chicken, roasts, leg of lamb, pork butts, ribs, turkeys, other large cuts, go with the indirect cooking method and you and your guests will be knocked out by the flavor and moisture.  Give yourself some extra time to get the food done on the first couple tries because you will probably end up checking on the meat a bit more than once you get this method down.  Once you start to master this indirect cooking method you will be amazed by the taste and flavor of the food.