Chit Chat

[AtticaFish]

As it always does, seems there is not a lot to discuss at times. Everyone must be out mowing lawns and fishing. I'll throw some stuff out to chew on.

Meet the new grill..... same as the old grill........
Finally put together my new grill and broke it in over the weekend. Look at that nice clean handle and wood shelf, it won't be like that for long. Of course i picked the windiest day with sideways rain to do it! Grill worked like a champ though. Got the mesquite chunks burning good off to the side......

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.......and then close the lid and vents up tight. It kills the fire and smoke starts rolling.

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Did someone say hot pepper cheese on top of smoked chicken breast?

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Memorial Day weekend we kicked off the camping season also. I do love my ice fishing and all but it doesn't take long to get back in the Summer mood. Sure had to sit close to the fire on the first night though. Temp dipped just a hair below 40°!

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[Jig Man]

Ya know I never thought of that. Use your grill till it becomes a fire hazard then toss it and get a new one... Of course it will be awhile before food tastes as good as it did from the old one..

 

[hookup]

The Who .... one of my favorite rock bands.

And grilling - who doesn't like the manly art of burning meat. 2 Flank steaks on the grill as I type



And last weekend did my first brisket - came out goooooood

 

[Barefoot]

Love that food porn!
I need to get back to smoking some fillets. I did a lot of Lake Trout when I lived in Tahoe.
Great pics!

 

[AtticaFish]

The Who .... one of my favorite rock bands.

hookup - I wondered if anyone would even catch that. That big steak looks good to me. We have a couple sirloins planned for over the campfire this weekend.

JigMan - The old grill was getting close to rusting through on my burn side and the bottom vent might as well have been welded open with rust as well. It was time. This grill isn't all that expensive either. We get our moneys worth.

Barefoot - Smoked trout sounds great. Closest i can come here is smoked catfish...... and that's not very close. haha

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

That grill sure looks fancy compared to my Brinkman smoker. Chicken breasts sure look good. I like smoking whole turkey breasts after splitting them in half. Charcoal and wood is the way to go, love the smoky taste.

 

[AllenOK]

AF, I have the same grill. Going on 9 years? Maybe 10? I can't remember. Used to have a "Tree-Walker Hound" dog that chewed my boards to heck. Haven't gotten around to getting some lumber to replace those.

Not sure how many people you're feeding. Offset smoking is good, but.....Get the side firebox, if you can swing it. That lets you use the entire cooking chamber for food. I can easily fit 6 pork butts into mine that way. I typically only do two pork butts at the most. I can give you a few more pointers to really get that thing smoking if you want.

I really like the pics of your Bassett. I have a soft spot for those, had one as a kid growing up....

 

[Jig Man]

Now here is a cooker that will flat get it done. Glad it isn't mine couldn't afford to fill it up.


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[AtticaFish]

Junglejim - Never tried turkey breast..... but that is going to have to go on the grocery list. I'm sure wife would eat it and i could slice what is leftover for sandwiches for rest of the week too.

AllenOK - Calling my chicken breasts truly 'smoked' is a bit of a stretch. More like grilled chicken with lots of smoke flavor. Cook time is maybe an hour at most. This is not low and slow cooking by any means, close to 275°-300°. I would want the side box to do the slow smoke. Usually only feeding wife, 1 kiddo (the other doesn't like the smoke flavor ) and my own big appetite. The 2 xtra chicken breasts were cut into strips, frozen and then used for fajitas. The smoke flavor is goooood with fajitas. I do smoke pork (shoulder/butt) occasionally that i cook for several hours, but sure have to watch so my temp doesn't get too high with that and keep it loosely covered with foil so it doesn't get too charred on top. I'll take any tips on smoking and might have a few recipes to trade you. Think my last grill like this lasted 5 years or so..... and we cook on it 3 to 4 times EVERY week during warm months and maybe once a week through the winter. Like i said, we get our moneys worth out of the grill and keep the charcoal & wood chunk industry in business.

Jigman - Wow, that is a large fryer! And it looks like 2 others in the background...... must have been feeding a few people at that event.

 

[hookup]

Attica - get some fruit wood chunks or hickory & put them on the grill right before you add meat - it'll add the smokey flavor. Also, a side fire box will allow some nice cooking with a few easy mods to the grill. I cheated & bought an elcheapo smoker from Wallmart, then did a few mods so that I can get low temps to smoke fish.

Or get chips, soak them in water, wrap in a foil pouch and poke small holes in the pouch will do the same.

Jig - I have a 100,000 BTU cooker like that that for my beer - except I had to replace the alum pot for stainless - does something to the beer. Never cooked anything but beer with it.

 

[Jig Man]

Not for sure how many total, there were several college age kiddos, in and out. But I do know we ate 100 lbs. of mud bugs and 30 lbs. of catfish plus the fixins... It was a good Memorial Day weekend!

 

[AllenOK]

AF, if you ever decide to get the side firebox, get some small screws and bolts, and use those to seal all the extra holes in the cooking chamber (for mounting a rotisserie, etc.)

I got a small length of flexible tubing (I think it's 3"), and clamped that onto the exhaust on the INSIDE of the lid, and ran the tubing all the way down to the level of the grate. This lets the top fill with smoke, when the smoke comes down to the level of the grate, it goes up and out. This way all the food is in contact with the smoke, as most of the smoke goes up, across to the left, then out. Also, having a large reservoir of smoke up top helps to even out temps.

I have some "tuning plates", just some small pieces of sheet metal from Lowe's. I think two of them are 6 x 18", and the other is 12 x 18", both sizes available at Lowe's. I just barely crease the metal to add strength by placing on something that forms a 90 degree bend, and bend both halves just a bit. These fit into the cooking chamber below the grates, and above the charcoal pan. They will actually almost completely cover the opening from the firebox. There's a little bit of a gap between the plates and the wall on the right and left side. This allows smoke to move from the firebox to the left side, UNDER the meat, then rise up all around the meat being cooked. Again, this helps to maintain an even temp by creating a reservoir of hot gas.

I also installed two more thermometers onto the lid on the right and left sides. The stock thermometer is not in a good position. It's to high on the lid and you can't tell how steep of a temperature gradient you have inside your cooking chamber.

I typically burn wood. I'll start my fire with charcoal, but go to wood immediately after that. I can manage 225 - 250 easily. I have about 25 degrees difference between right and left side, with the baffles and the stack extension. However, I have to tend that fire about every 30 minutes or so. "Minion Method", mixing charcoal briquettes and wood chunks, is supposed to be an even burn, that you only have to tend to every few hours or so. That takes building a basket or some sort. I've never tried that.

 

[CrappieHappy]

looks good, I need to fire up the smoker soon...

 

[hookup]

I have some "tuning plates", ...They will actually almost completely cover the opening from the firebox. There's a little bit of a gap between the plates and the wall on the right and left side. This allows smoke to move from the firebox to the left side, UNDER the meat, then rise up all around the meat being cooked.

You're doing it right!

 

[plateboater]

This post is making me hungry!!!!!!

 

[StumpHunter]

Some great looking food!!!! Time for me to crank up the gill..

I started camping this year in April, had a blast catching some Hybrids running up the river run of one of the big lakes here (Clark Hill). Been doing a lot of kayak fishing this year also. Been finding some nice fish along with the crappie.

Few pics from the year.

 

[StumpHunter]

Few more pics

 

[Jig Man]

Those are some good uns stump....

 

[AtticaFish]

hookup - I actually started out my 'smoking' experiments on an old round kettle grill using the wet wood chips wrapped in foil. It gave some decent flavor..... but i kept wanting more. I do get some trims of a pear tree on my property (last cuttings should be dry enough soon) but also get some apple and pear from a local orchard as well. They all have their own unique flavor.

AllenOK - I've looked at all those holes and thought about filling them with bolts..... but only seem to remember it once i am staring at it with hot coals and food inside. haha. I could probably keep the heat lower in there if i watched it closer but don't always have the time to go slow. I'm sure filling the holes would help with regulating the heat over all too..... need to just do it. Also thought about getting a heat proof blanket (not positive what the actual name is) for trying to grill and smoke through the winter. Just something that can cover it, withstand the heat, and KEEP the heat inside. Thanks for all the tips/tricks. Will see what i can put to use!!!

StumpHunter - Do LOOOOVE the looks of that campsite right on the water. Is that a State Park or private? Sounds like some excellent fishing opportunity as well. Always looking for place to go for a week vacation outside of our weekend trips. We have a site for 4 nights this summer at Lake Loramie SP that is right on the channel to the lake and can't wait to get the kayaks out there.

Here is a couple pics of the mutt (AKA Candy) from this weekend. Sad to say, but think she gets more photo time than the kids. Partly because they let her get into things..... and THEN take pictures. haha. She managedto get ON the table while giving the kids her sweet eyes as they enjoyed a snow cone. Once she got up there, she laid down quick and tried to get comfy because she knew i was going to kick her butt off.

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I put my hat on her here. Ohh...... and yes, that is her own personal dog trailer for a bike in the background. NOT by my choice, but my loverly wifey spent almost $200 on that. I ranted and raved for a couple days about how the dog would NEVER even get in it let alone go for a ride. Oh to my surprise, she hopped right in laid down and freaking loved it. I ate crow for the rest of the day..... about $200 worth.

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[AllenOK]

AF, something to think about, re: cold weather. Cold-smoking! Think Lox. You're not going to "cook" the meat. Just cure it with the smoke. You can literally make your own bacon. You just need a source for raw pork belly. Got a good butcher nearby? You would inject and soak the pork belly with a curing mix, then after a few days, cold-smoke it. Slice it to your own thickness

If Whitefish swim in your area, you can cure and cold-smoke those as well. TASTY! I remember that from when I lived up in Michigan.