Home Made Sausage, Cured, and Smoked Meats - Page 55

I'm on a strict budget and I won't be able to take taht with me when I move out at the end of teh academic year.

Should I get a thermaworks bbq kit (two probes, one for meat one for oven) for $129 or a thermapen for $89 plus an oven thermometer for $6?. The latter seems more versatile to me and the former more useful for BBQ

What does the bbq kit do for you that two $6 probe thermometers (like the ikea ones) can't?

it's more detailed (tells you what the max and min temperature it hit, nice alarm features). the more crucial one is that it can take high temperatures. the $6 ones only go so high (392 F) and i've broken two of them (they fail after awhile). although thinking about it for smoking i dont need high temperature. maybe i'll do the $6 one.

i also dont have ikea nearby. i looked on amazon and they go for $20ish

but i want some ribs. the nearest bbq place is an hour away. i think i'll go as cheap as possible. maybe just survive with an oven thermometer

1 hour of smoke will suffice?

a $6 thermometer will be fine. Invest in a basic book, How to Grill by Raichlen got me started. Here's a synopsis from his website on how to setup your charcoal grill for indirect grilling (smoking). I've edited some of it.

To indirect grill on a charcoal grill, light the charcoal in a chimney starter, with an electric starter, or with lighter fluid (vp note: get yourself a chimney starter). When the coals glow red, dump or rake them in two piles at opposite sides of the grill. (Some grills come with special side baskets for this purpose.) Place a foil drip pan in the center of the grill, between the mounds of embers (vp note: you can fill the foil pan halfway with water to moderate temp change). Place the grate on the grill and cook the meat in the center of the grate over the drip pan. If using wood chips for smoking, toss cup soaked wood chips on each pile of coals to generate smoke (vp note: you don't need to soak the wood chips). Keep the grill covered, adjusting the top and bottom vents to obtain the desired temperature (vp note: I recommend 225 when learning, 250 when you get better) . Add 12 fresh charcoals or a corresponding amount of lump charcoal after 1 hour. Leave the grill uncovered for a few minutes until the coals ignite (vp note: don't bother with this, just toss the charcoal on and close the cover. leaving the cover open spikes temps).

vp note: it's all about keeping the temp in range, try for 225-235. if it get's higher close some air vents, lower open up air vents. What you get with a better smoker is the ability of the smoker to maintain a temp with little to no intervention

if you're on a budget, craigslist is your friend. I bought a beautiful weber performer for $25 last year. It's a great grill and good for smoking. WSMs regularly show up < $100. Finally, if you have time, you can make a big ugly drum smoker (try google).
Edited by vinouspleasure - 9/23/12 at 8:43am

Thanks for that

This has become my new fave thread on the site. Totally. Just got my copy of Charcuterie by Ruhlman yesterday (you can get some amazing deals buying used at Amazon; I paid $6.99 +3.98 shipping and it is in great shape!)

I did ribs and smoked corn on the cob on Labor Day. The corn came out so well I'd like to do a crab and smoked corn chowder next.

By no means as accomplished as you guys - that's a high bar! Ignorance is only curable by learning. Ive done a lot of that reading through this thread. Great info. Awesome inspiration as well.

looks great. ship me some

Do you soak the corn in water beforehand?

I did. It was really good. Im definitely going to do some Jalapenos, corn and onions. I have a friend who smokes onions and peppers and then freezes them for use in other recipes later.

I feel some smoked corn and crab chowder coming on.

Smoker looks familiar

What wood did you use?