Meats, Fish and Fowl

What To Smoke

One of the truly great things about smoking is that you can smoke a wide range of foods.  As you would imagine some things are more difficult to get right than others, and will be easier as you gain experience.  Keeping in mind that this site is focused on folks who may be newer to smoking we are going to go through some of the things our team feel are the easiest to get started with and most likely to give you a great finished product.  See below on an easy approach to;

 

 

Pork Butt

A pork butt or Boston butt is actually the shoulder of the pig.  It got its name from the containers it was placed in for shipment.  Butts are named after the barrels pork used to be stored in around the time of the Revolutionary War; they were called butts. And the reason butts are often called Boston butts is because they were considered a New England specialty.  The lower part of the leg is called the picnic, another unusual name, this can also be smoked but is far less common than the butt portion.

We like to start off with the butt because frankly it is a less expensive piece of meat and fairly forgiving.  As relatively tough and fatty cut, it certainly benefits from long, slow cooking methods such as smoking.  While the time commitment is significant the end product is delicious.  The general recommendation is to smoke the pork butt at 225 degrees for about 2 hours per pound.  We find that typically we spend about 12 hours for pork butts using a method of wrapping the meat a little more than half way through the process to get it passed the stall.  

You will hear folks who smoke meats talk about the ‘stall’.  This is when the internal temperature of the meat stops increasing for a period of time.  This is due to the moisture being driven from the meat and it gives up heat as it sweats.  Wrapping the meat part way through will get you past this.  If you don’t wrap you’ll eventually drive out enough moisture to resume increasing the temperature but this can take some additional time.  You want to cook the meat until it reaches an internal temperature of  195 degrees.  While cookbooks will say that pork is safe at 145- 150 degrees, that temperature is sufficient to break down the collagen and truly render the fat.  You will certainly want to get a meat thermometer to do this right.

With pork butt we like to put the rub on at least the night before to let it penetrate in to the meat.  Make the rub and coat the meat thoroughly.  You can then wrap the meat in a plastic wrap or we use 2 gallon plastic sealable bags.  Then leave the meat refrigerated over night.

Get the smoker going early since as mentioned above it is typically a long day with pork putt.  Make sure you get the temperature up to minimally 225 degrees.  There is a wide range or thought on cooking temperatures but we certainly lean towards low and slow with this type of meat to make sure to break down all of the connective tissue while not overcooking the meat.  With pork a hickory will work well in terms of a wood choice for flavor.  We like to maintain a temperature of around 250 degrees through out the process.  Depending on your smoker this can be really simple or a bit more challenging for an offset or vertical using wood and/or charcoal.  Obviously for cookers like a pellet or gas the temperature can be set to a desired level.

For pork butt we recommend starting with 6 hours at a steady temperature.  This period is important in terms of getting a great smoky bark on your meat.  Try to avoid opening the cover as you will lose temperature if you can.  After the first 6 hours we like to wrap the meat to get it past the stall and raise the internal temperature of the meat.   Another option we like at this time is to add a 1/4 of a cup of a sweet juice that will add some sweetness as it steams in to the meat.  If you need to add wood or charcoal in a vertical cooker this is a great time to add or adjust since the unit is open anyway to take the meat of and wrap it.  ( On a side note you may want to invest in food safe, high temperature silocone gloves to handle the meat.  It is easier to pick it up by hand given its weight as opposed to most typical cooking tools.)

After wrapping place the meat back on the smoker for another 4 hours.  When the 4 hours passes you can do a temperature check and should find that you are near the desired temperature.  Don’t be concerned if the meat has softened considerably and may even by all apart with the bone very loose.

Remove the meat from the wrapping and put it back on the smoker for another 2 hours.  During this period you should be able to get the meat to its final desired temperature while also re-establishing the bark which likely softened during the period that the meat was wrapped.  Again, while the smoker is open if you need to add more wood or adjust anything this is a great time.

When the 2 hours is up, using a meat thermometer , take a reading on the internal temperature which should be at 195 degrees or so.  (If it is still low you can leave it on the smoker some additional time).  With the meat at temperature you want to let it rest.  This is an important part as it will let the meat re-absorb some of the juices that had been pushed out during the cooking process.  An easy way to do this is to wrap the meat in the butcher block paper and place it in a cooler.  Typically we recommend letting it rest for a couple of hours.

You are now reading to start to shred the pork butt. In terms of shredding the pork one of the best ways is with the bear claw shredders but it can be done as well using forks or similar utensils  .

If you are going to add a sauce you can do this when the pork is shredded or ‘pulled’ mixing it in as you go.

Now the best part, Dig in and enjoy your delicous creation.

Pork Ribs

The process for ribs is similar to the pork butt but it is a much shorter process as the there is not nearly the thickness of meat to cook.  You will be looking for similar cooking temperatures but they will be done in roughly half the time.

Like the pork butt the ribs should be prepped and rubbed the night before and allowed to sit wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator.  With a great rub on them the ribs will come off so flavorful they won’t need any sauce at all which is often how we servc them.

The one thing with ribs to make them more enjoyable to eat is that we recommend taking the membrane off of the back.  It is fairly simple to do.  Start by sliding a small pointed knife under the membrane at the first bone and begin to lift it off.  You can then grab the membrane, use a paper towel really helps and grab the end of the ribs with the other, and pull.  Most times you can get the membrane to come off is a large piece but don’t be upset if it breaks apart and take a bit more work.

We recommend starting with St Louis style ribs which come from the center of the rib section of the hog.  These ribs are very flavorful and should be trimmed and ready to go.  If you purchase general pork spare ribs there is excess cartlidge that will need to be trimmed off.  The St Louis style and the  general spare rib come from lower on the hog then the baby back and tend to be a little fattier but also tend to be the most flavorful.  Baby back ribs are a bit more expensive but can certainly be done in the same manner suggested here.

As mentioned you will want to thoroughly coat the ribs with the rub the night prior to cooking.  Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and leave them refrigerated over night.  You will be looking at about a 6 hour cook time so if you are going to be serving them that day plan accordingly to get your smoker going.  If you are using a wood / charcoal smoker make sure that the fuel is burning evenly and the smoker is holding temperature.

We like to start them off at 250 degrees using hickory to add great flavor.  If you are finding it difficult to fit the amount of ribs on the smoker we would suggest getting a rib rack.  The rib will stand up on their side in the rack allowing more to be on the smoker at one time.

The first phase is a 3 hour cook period making sure that the temperature on your smoker stays on target.  After 3 hours remove the ribs and wrap them in foil or butcher paper.  We also like to spritz down the meat with a sweet juice such as apple juice, when we are wrapping them.  The juice will steam and add a hint of sweetness to our rub that was included a fair amount of heat.  After wrapping the ribs put them back on the smoker for another 1 1/2 hours still targeting 250 degrees.  During this part of the smoking the internal temperature will rise and the fat and connective tissue should break down making the ribs very tender.  You will see when you unwrap them that they have pull back on the bone as the fat has rendered from them.  In the last phase you will unwrap them and put them back on the smoker for another hour.  We like to add some more wood during the portion of smoking to embue more smokey flavor and re-establish the external texture we are looking for in our ribs.  

With the cooking complete we like to let them rest in a pan with a loose foil covering allowing them to re-absorb some of the juices.  You now have a great finished product with the meat almost falling off the bone.  As I mentioned earlier we often enjoy the taste from the rub and the smoker and don’t add barbeque sauce.  If you do want to sauce the ribs in the process of cooking them you can do that in the last 1 hour phase where the heat will carmelize the sauce.

Brisket

The brisket is a very flavorful although fatty piece of meat that come from the lower chest of the cow.  The fat and marbling makes this a piece of meat that requires a long cook or prep time.  While most of the prime beef was sent from Ireland to England this cut was less in demand and more affordable for the average person.  To work with it the Irish would cure it in salt so it would be preserved.  The size of the salt was known as a corn and hence the beginning of corned beef.  In other parts of the world preserving took the form of smoking.  This process not only preserved the meat but rendered out much of the fat providing and excellent finished product.  So while once the food of peasants it is now in high demand.

Being such a flavorful piece of meat it really doesn’t require much in the ways of rubs.  For the most part salt and pepper are the prime rub mixes sometimes with garlic or onion powder added in. It does require however quite a bit more prep work in trimming the fat.  A full brisket also referred to as a packer brisket consists of two main sections the flat and the point.  A typical full packer will weigh between 8 – 12 lbs.  If you buy a brisket at a local grocery store often you are just buying the flat portion.  The flat is a leaner part of the meat but certainly benefits from the low and slow cooking process.  You can start with the flat only but we recommend working with the complete brisket if possible.  

While the rub on the brisket is not complicated there is still quite a bit of prep work to be done.  Start by trimming off all of the hard fat cap on the meat.  We recommend trimming the fat down to about a 1/4 of an inch from the meat or so.  I’ve see some pit masters leave the fat on and take it off at the end with the reasoning being that it adds to the flavor but I always find there is still plenty of fat marbled through the meat for that purpose. If you don’t mind paying a little more per pound for certified angus beef or prime cut you will find that they have more consistent marbling in the meat. 

After completing the process of trimming the exterior fat you want to find the vein of fat that runs through the meat that separates the flat and the point.  Using a sharp knife slice through the vein of fat separating the two parts.  You can certainly cook the whole brisket as one piece however you may find that some parts are over done waiting to reach the desired temperature throughout the entire piece.  Now taking you brisket rub which is all of the ingredients combined make a nice even coating over the full surface.  Don’t be afraid of putting to much rub on.  You’re now ready for the smoker which should be running at 240 – 250 degrees.  You want to ultimately reach between 195 and 205 degrees for the internal temperature.  We find that by running the temperature a little hotter and separating the flat and the points our cook time is about 8 hours.

Like the pork butt this large piece of meat will hit a stall point usually around 160 degrees where the internal temperature stops increasing as the moisture is evaporating. This is usually about 4 hours in or so and the point where we like to wrap the meat.  Wrapping the meat in butcher block paper or foil will help get past the stall and increase the tenderness of the meat.  Some folks will tell you not to wrap the brisket because you will soften the ‘bark’ or crispy, smokey exterior that has formed on the meat but we find that we can get that back in the last part of the process.  ( During this phase some folks will want to inject the brisket which is a whole other conversation that we’ll address is a separate post, so for now we are not going to recommend it.)   With the meat wrapped with return it to the smoker.  Like the pork shoulder if you are using a wood / charcoal smoker since it is already opened you want to check to make sure you have enough fuel for the rest of the cooking process.  This next phase of cooking should last about 3 hours and the internal temperature of the meat should be close to its final desired temperature.  

As the meat nears its final temperature you will want to remove the wrapping and put it back on the smoker for the final cook.  The final phase will finish the cooking process and help to re-establish the crispy bark on the exterior of the meat.  Usually this should only be about 1 to 1 1/2 hours for the last phase as the meat reaches it’s final temperature and the exterior of the meat is a texture that we desire.

Now the best part.  Like other meats you should let it rest for 30 minutes or so covered lightly to allow it to re-absorb some of the juice in the center of the meat.  After the rest period you can begin slicing the meat.  Cut against the grain of the meat for the best slicing.  When you first cut in to the meat you should see the layers.  The bark or outside should be nice and crispy, inside that should be a red line known as the smoke ring and finally inside that the well cooked meat.  This meat is absolutely delicious as is and require no sauce or additional flavoring.  Once you’ve tasted it you will understand why folks wait up to an hour and a half outside of places like Franklins BBQ in Austin for food.  You can eat it as a meal or in a sandwhich.  It is a large piece of meat so don’t be concerned if you don’t finish it all in one sitting.  It can be refrigerated and reheated.  One of our favorites it to make brisket and grilled cheese sandwhich’s.   There is no shortage of recipe options of food to make using the smoked brisket.

Salmon

Salmon may be one of the easiest things to cook on the smoker and as long as you’re a fish eater one of the best tasting.  Compared to the meats discussed above salmon cooks in a small fraction of the time, typically about 2 1/2 hours.  Prep time is also minimal so while we do put a rub on the fish this is all done just prior to cooking.

Start with your whole salmon filet.  Sometimes these are portioned but usually it is easier to work with one larger piece than the small one.  We place the salmon on butcher block paper and start by coating in with lemon juice.  Then cover with the rub which will add sweetness and great savory flavoring.  After that is thoroughly applied we add pats of but about 3 to 4 inches apart down the length of the fish.  It is finish by adding fresh rosemary sprigs and leaves to taste.

The entire fish including the parchment or butcher block is then put on the smoker, using a sweet wood such as cherry or peach.  The temperature should stay around 225 degrees so you don’t dry out the fish to much.  If you don’t have a smoker that uses a water pan already you may want to consider adding one for the salmon.

In about 2 to 2 1/2 hours check on the salmon.  It should be golden brown and should flake apart easily.  While you want to make sure that is reaches 165 internally everywhere on the fish you don’t want to overcook it.  Once the fish is at temperature and it should have a great golden brown look it is ready to take off the smoker.  The salmon doesn’t need to rest as long as some other meats so you can pretty much go from smoker to table.

Turkey

Turkey is another easy meat to smoke.  While it does require some prep time the smoking process itself is very simple.  Turkey unlike the pork and beef products discussed above isn’t fatty or contain alot of connective tissue.  So the smoking process only requires getting the bird cooked all the way through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

The prep should start the night before you are planning to smoke with a brining process.  Brining is basically soaking the meat in a salt water solution which will soak in to the meat adding flavor and moisture.  As long as you don’t overcook the turkey it will come off of the smoker succulent and delicious. 

You should find a container larger enough to hold your turkey or just turkey breast if that is what you wish to smoke.  This can be a large pot or a we like to use a cooler.  A cooler works well if you can fit the container in to a refrigerator to keep it at 40 degrees.  Working with a cooler we add ice after we mix in all of the ingredients and this helps to maintain temperature.

We start with a gallon of hot water and 1 1/2 cups of kosher salt.  Mix this together thoroughly before adding anything else.  To this we add sage leaves, onions cut in quarter, 2 cloves of garlic smashed, and 4 apples cut in quarters.  After this is mixed well place the turkey in the mixture.  The turkey should be full submersed so add more water and ice to reach the desired level.  Do this the evening before and leave it overnight.  Don’t be afraid to check on it and add more ice to ensure the temperature stays cold.

Take the turkey out of the brine in the morning and you can pat down the skin with paper towels to dry it.  Sprinkle a rub of sage, cumin, garlic power, brown sugar and tyme on the outside of the bird.  You can optionally add some of the rub mixture blended in to butter under the skin to increase the crispness of the skin.

Place the turkey on the smoker at 225 degrees for about 30 minutes per pound.  Like everything else with a smoker always use a thermometer to verify internal temperature.   We recommend a sweeter wood for turkey such as cherry.  The bird will pick up subtle smoke flavor while maintaining it moisture.  Many thanksgivings we’ll have both oven baked and smoked turkey on the table.  The plate with the smoked turkey is always gone long before the other.

When you remove the turkey from the smoker leave it in a pan for 30 minuters or so resting before you begin to slice it.  This will give the juice time to move back throughout the entire bird.  Slice and enjoy!

 


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