Any Home Bakers Here?

[ronott1]

Smoked Chicken:

Smoking chicken is another one of my favorite things to do.. done correctly it can be quite tasty and very healthy as well.
I have been doing quite a few test runs on my new wood fired smoker to get everything right before I begin giving instructions on how to smoke chicken
I have to say I have been getting some very good results.. tasty results I might add.
I am going to release the details that have recently become the standard for smoking chicken at my house.
Go to the local supermarket or meat market and pick out a few plump chickens in the 3 to 3.5 pound range for the best flavor. I like to buy ones that are not full of solution.. look for words like "all natural" or "minimally processed" on the outside of the package.
Brine the chickens in a solution of 1 gallon water, 1 cup kosher salt, 1 cup sugar and anything else you might like to add such as wine, fruit juice, spices, worcestershire, etc.. You can double the recipe if you need to. please read the page on brining for more information.
You will only need to brine the chickens for around 4 hours or so.
Build a fire that will maintain around 225 degrees using oak as a base wood and while the fire is getting started wash the brine off of the chickens and coat the chickens with lemon pepper and cajun seasoning.
Place the chickens on the smoker breast side down and immediately throw on some hickory and let the smoke roll relentlessly out of the smoke stack. you can also mix in some apple or other fruit wood if you have a favorite.
Let the smoking chickens go for an hour and a half and then turn the chickens to breast side up so that it does not dry out the tender white meat.
You can mop the chickens with some butter or spiced olive oil if you like.. I do not mop the chickens at all as I have found that it is really not needed. The outside of the chickens tend to stay nice and moist throughout the entire smoke.
I like to use a Taylor meat thermometer to check the temperature of the chicken since the entire success of smoking chicken lies in not overcooking the chicken.
Pull the chicken when the temp reaches 165 in the thickest part of the breast.. sometimes I will pull it a few degrees shy of 165 since I know the temp will continue to cook for a few minutes after it comes out of the smoker.
I have to tell you... prepare for the attack! I did a batch of these this past weekend and you should have seen the family huddles over the counter like a crew of barbarians pickin' that chicken to the bone!
Feel free to come up with your own variations but hopefully the details listed above will help you get started smoking the world's favorite white meat.

 

[ronott1]

SMOKED CHUCK ROAST

Start to finish: 5 to 7 hours (15 minutes active) plus at least 1 hour marinating
Servings: 6 to 8
1 dried whole Anaheim or New Mexico chili
1 dried whole ancho chili
2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup water
4-pound chuck roast
1 cup apple, hickory or oak chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

In a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, toast both chilies until fragrant, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a cutting board.

Add the cumin seeds to the skillet and toast, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 60 to 90 seconds. Transfer the seeds to a blender or the bowl of a mini food processor.

Remove and discard the stems from the chilies and cut into 1-inch pieces, then add to the blender or processor. Add the vinegar, brown sugar, garlic powder, espresso powder, salt, pepper and water. Process to a smooth paste, adding water, a teaspoon at a time, if necessary.

Place the chuck roast in a large bowl or baking dish and coat completely with the chili paste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.

Meanwhile, light a smoker, charcoal grill or gas grill and prepare for indirect cooking. Place a drip pan below the cooking grates and stabilize the temperature at around 250 F.

Drain the wood chips and scatter them over the coals (or place them in a smoker box and set over the heat source in a gas grill or electric smoker).

Place the chuck roast on the cooking grate over the drip pan. Cover the grill or smoker and cook, maintaining the temperature at 250 F, until an instant thermometer registers 180 F at the center of the roast, about 3 to 4 hours.

Wrap the roast tightly in heavy duty foil and cook (with the grill or smoker covered) until fork tender and an instant thermometer registers 200 F to 205 F, about another 1 to 2 hours. Remove the roast from the heat and let rest, in the foil, for 30 minutes.

To serve, shred the meat using forks or slice across the grain.

 

[ronott1]

Smoked Pork Chops​

Looks expensive doesn’t it, well it doesn’t have to be. In addition to being inexpensive, it was crazy easy to make. All that is involved is an over night soak in the brine detailed below, a quick dusting with any seasoning you want. I used a little bit of BBQ 3000 just to give it a little more and then a quick (2 hourish) jaunt on the smoker at 225°F with some apple wood. I cooked them up until the internal temperature was 165°F, pulled them and let them rest for a short while, before cutting into these juicy and mighty tasty pork chops.
Ingredients
4 c apple cider (not juice)
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c kosher salt
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp chile powder
1 c boiling water
Instructions
Mix sugar and salt into boiling water until dissolved. Cool mixture. Mix together apple cider, chile powder, vinegar and water mixture. Place pork chops in a 1 gallon zip lock bag, pour in brine and fill remaining space with cold water. Refrigerate over night in brine, remove, season and smoke.
Like I said this recipe will be sticking around next time it might not be chops, it might be another cut of meat. It would also make a great base for some other marinade, just adjust the seasonings. Please tell me it at least made you hungry to look at.

 

[ronott1]

Smoked Tri Tip
I hadn’t heard of a tri-tip roast until moving to California a few years ago - it’s a triangular cut of beef also called the bottom sirloin, usually weighing in at between two and three pounds. Tri-tip is funny-looking, but quite tasty - a cross between a sirloin steak and a roast - and really shines on the smoker, though it’s also good grilled.
1 tri-tip roast (2.5-3 pounds)
1/4 cup tri-wizard rub
24 hours before cooking: Trim the fat cap, if desired. Rub the tri-tip well with the tri-wizard mixture, making sure you get it into all the nooks and crannies. Cover with plastic wrap or pop into a zip-top bag and refrigerate overnight, or at least a couple of hours.

1 hour before cooking: Take the tri-tip out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. Preheat your smoker or grill.

Smoke at 225F for 4 hours or until the internal temp reaches about 140F for medium rare. I like a combination of hickory and pecan woods.

If you don’t have access to a smoker, sear on a hot (500F) grill for up to 5 minutes per side, then move it off of the flame and continue to cook for about 15 minutes at medium (350F) until the internal temp reaches about 140F for medium rare.

Use tongs to put your beautiful tri-tip on a serving platter, cover it loosely with aluminum foil and allow it to sit for at least ten minutes before carving.

 

[ronott1]

Smoked Pork Ribs: method and recipes

Method
Heat smoker to around 250 degrees (225-250 degrees works well, not sure how hotter will impact temperature). I use Kingsford regular charcoal because big bags are cheap at Costco and flavor is fine, but I soak apple or mesquite chips (or a mix) in water for 30 min. before smoking and add handfuls those throughout the cooking process to add real wood flavor.

Dry Rub
Apply Dry your favorite dry rub on both sides of ribs. Tri-Wizard spice will work along with Pappys and etc. Cover and let rest while smoker heats up.

Ribs cook for a total of five hours at 225-250 degrees. After an hour of cooking, I mop (baste) the ribs every 30 minutes to keep them moist. I add wood chips on the hour and add charcoal as needed to keep the temperature as close to 250 degrees as possible (manipulate airflow etc to maintain temperature as well. During the last 30-45 minutes, I cook each slab in foil to boost moisture. I have read that if the ribs come out a bit bitter, it could be because there is not enough air moving through the smoker during the foil process. Hence I open completely the top vent during the foil process.

Mop
½ cup water
½ cup vinegar (for pork, always use apple cider vinegar)
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
3 tablespoons olive oil (or canola, etc)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne powder.

Mix all ingredients until combined; apply with basting brush, etc.

I find this recipe and method makes for very tender and very moist Baby Back ribs. It should work very well on any pork rib cut and the basic principle of mop and foil should produce nice beef ribs as well.

Another option might be to brush on your favorite bbq sauce when adding the ribs to the foil. It might be messy, but it should impart a great deal of additional flavor.

And don’t forget to tear off the silver skin/membrane off of the back of the ribs. A sharp paring knife and paper towels work best: loosen the membrane across the width, grasp with paper towel, and pull.

 

[N F C]

Thanks for sharing your expertise and recipes Ron! If we can ever get out of the snow drifts, we'll get to practicing, lol.

 

[ronott1]

I also have a recipe for tri wizard spice that goes along with the pork ribs recipe. You can use this as a dry rub on just about any thing!

Tri-wizard rub
Perfect for smoked tri-tip, this rub is also nice on chicken, fish and pork. It’s a great seasoning base, too: add cumin and lime juice for a Cuban flavor, or paprika, brown sugar and celery seed for a Memphis-style rib rub. The ground chipotle pepper adds a nice touch of smokiness, as well as heat; if you have trouble finding it locally, try Penzey's online or substitute cayenne pepper.
1/4 cup rosemary salt or kosher salt
1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
1 tsp dried chipotle Pepper or cayenne
Mix well and store in a covered container - an empty spice jar with a “shaker” lid is ideal.

Tri-wizard rub keeps indefinitely.

 

[ronott1]

Thanks for sharing your expertise and recipes Ron! If we can ever get out of the snow drifts, we'll get to practicing, lol.

Your welcome!

I have a propane cabinet smoker. It does a great job too. I mostly use applewood chips that I bought in bulk years ago from Oregon.

 

[cmom]

I haven't smoked anything for a very long time. In years past we did had a variety of woods and smoked just about everything until the smoker finally died and never got replaced. I'll have to look and see if I can find any of the old recipes. Baking sourdough muffins today. Made bread yesterday and doughnuts the day before. Been busy rearranging my coops and pens and getting my breeders sorted out.

 

[wyoDreamer]

@ronott1 I was reading your Pork Chop recipe and saw the BBQue 3000 and went - hey, Penzies spices! Penzies is dear to my heart, I started going there when they were just one little spice store in Brookfield, WI. I get a smile when I see the Penzies spice bottles on the TV cooking shows - even when the lables are blurred out, I can recognize them, lol.

Try the BBQue 3000 on your smoked chicken some time, that is pretty scrumptious also. I am a big fan of their Barbeque of the Americas mix, more so than the BBQue 3000 though.