Butts, Brisket, Brined Bird, Boulders, Ribs and Ham weekend! (on 2 pits)

squirtthecat

New member
Introduced my new MAK 1 Star to the Traeger Lil Tex.

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Lots of huffing and puffing and gnashing of pellets, but they settled down and agreed to play nice.


On the MiniMAK, 33 pounds of (kinda frozen) pork butts. Slathered with CYM and rubbed with SouthernSmoke's butt rub plus some Plowboys's Yardbird rub.


First I had to improvise some Frog Mats for it from my Bradley set.

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squirtthecat

New member
The Traeger is currently processing a 14 lb brisket. Doing it 'Cowboy' style... (smoked, then into a braise)

2 hours of smoke, fat down.

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Into the braise, fat up.

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Both pits are set at 225° and 235° as of 8:30PM...


... and they have their snuggies on.. Mid-30s tonight with some wind.

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squirtthecat

New member
Now to the Brined Bird..

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Yes, I'm seroius.

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Bringing the flavor.

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Taking the plunge.

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Into the FrankenFridge set at 37°.

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I'll pull the butts and brisket off in the morning when they are done, and put the brined turkey on the MAK and 3 or 4 racks of St Louis style ribs on the Traeger. We've got a dinner party at 6:30 tomorrow night - so that is the target for this batch of smoking...

(the boulders and ham come into play on Sunday afternoon)


Stay tuned, if you like.. ;)
 

squirtthecat

New member
Walked out the door this morning into the fog. Literally. I think the MAK brought a little Pacific Northwest with it.

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Time to peek..

Brisket is at 200. Done!

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Backed the Traeger down to 'smoke' to keep it warm in there while I figure out how to get it out of that pan, and what to do with it..


Butts.

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Most are coming out of the stall now. The big one is a bit stubborn and still in the 160s°.


I bumped the temp up a notch, and wired them up and will keep an eye on the internal temps.

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(That would be a nice place for a small fold out shelf.. Bob... HINT HINT)
 

squirtthecat

New member
Pellet usage... This is what I was most interested in. 34, damp and chilly last night.


MAK.

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Traeger.

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Here is a better view of the MAK from the back side. Those vents are where the smoke/moisture escapes.

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I stuck an old candle jar in the grease bucket in it to make it easier to clean up.

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Time for some coffee, and then it is brisket wrestling time.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Patience stc...you know it wil come roaring out of the stall

That is the funniest part...it is so hard not to worry during the stall
 

squirtthecat

New member
Thanks BP. I was hoping they would be thawed when I put them on, but the thermodynamic gods had other plans for them...

Not to mention, 4 identical butts would have been a better test. But the Schnuck's meat department gods had other plans for me.

The big one is actually at 152°. I'm in no real rush, other than I want to have time to shut the MAK down and check the ash buildup inside, before I start the turkey on it. I can transfer the straggler(s) to the Traeger if necessary. I'll keep it up and puffing away.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
four buttts affects the cooking times too and the convection be patient and the transfer to anywhere once foiled is ok ( I know you know that)
 

squirtthecat

New member
As I sort of expected, the brisket fell apart coming out of the pan. It was destined for 'pulled beef' anyway. (can't complain for a $24 packer from Wally Mart)

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Pan drippings, into the fridge. Will defat later and hit with the stick blender for my not-yet-patented 'brisket smoothie' au jus..

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Rummaging in the fridge, I completely forgot about a bottom round roast I picked up on Wednesday. I was going to make jerky nuggets with it - but that idea is shot. Trimmed off some of the oxidation and going with Irish/Italian Beef.

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Still waiting on the butts.
 
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jimsbarbecue

Moderator
Looks good. You are getting to see how nice it is having two smokers. As BP mentioned patience and convection all play a part. Just like when your cooking chops etc in a fry pan you don't crowd the pan the same with a smoker there needs to be space between the meats like it appears you have.
 

squirtthecat

New member
Yep. I know what I can/can't do/fit in the Traeger, so this is definitely a learning experience. That's why I went with the ultimately forgiving pork butts. ;)

One is about to come off, and I need to crack the lid to check the old CDN probe I have stuck in another.

The butt stragglers are headed for foil and my Bradley electric smoker in about 30 minutes. I'm going to shut down the MiniMAK and check the firepot to see how much ash has accumulated. Then it's Turkey Time!


Thawing ribs and chilling wine right now...

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squirtthecat

New member
Moved the butts to foil pans, splashed some cider vinegar and sealed up tight - into the Bradley. PID set at 225°.

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Turkey time! Took out of the brine and rinsed, then doused top/bottom/inside with some Carolina Treet.

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Gave it a hour on 'smoke' (160-170°) and I just bumped it to 265°. Maverick probes in the breast and the leg.


First butt is done and in FTC. Will go check the rest in a bit - had to take a popcorn break.

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Ribs are on and smoking.

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CT slather and some rub a friend brought me back from Memphis.

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(went back and gave a few shakes of it on the turkey as well)


I need to reload the pellet hoppers now. I'm thinking Apple..
 

squirtthecat

New member
Day 2.. (or is it 3?)

I've been having trouble getting the foil off of the last batch of boulder birds (still frozen to the bird in places - I have to dig it out w/ a knife). So I'm trying something different today. Tossed 'em in with the foil on at 250°. I'll give them an hour or so and carefully work the foil off, flip, and hit with CT and a bit of rub. One of these is going to my Mom & Dad's for Thanksgiving, so I have to go real easy on the spicy stuff.

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9.35 lb ham with CT and some of SothernSmoke's Memphis rub. This is for a guy who volunteers at MrsSTC's school.

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These hams are packed in water, so I took what was on the tray (CT drippings included), added some more water and tossed it in the back of the pit.

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I'll take it to 141° and pull, chill, vacuum seal and pop in the freezer.


BBQr's Delight Pecan pellets in the MAK, and the last bag of my Peach (sniff sniff) in the Traeger.
 

squirtthecat

New member
WOW what a feast!

I told you I'd put the new MAK to work!

I got busy (and tired) and didn't post the rest...

Here is the turkey coming up to temps. I ramped it up from 250 to 275 to around 300 or so until I saw 160 in the breast and 180 in the leg. Then I backed the MAK down to smoke to keep it warm until everyone got there. (40 minutes or so to kill)

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Right as the first car pulled up... I gave it a little spritz.

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A quick butcher job of carving, and I stood back while they attacked it.

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The boulders and ham were halved up (sort of) and bagged to cool for the night.

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I just vacuum sealed them and popped the load in the freezer.
 

Trooper

New member
Holy cow, Squirtthecat!
I just about passed out talking the picture tour!
Talk about a ton of quality smokin/Cookin/BBQin -
All going on at once.
Tip o' the Hat!

Troop
 
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