Meat smokers

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mcbosco
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by mcbosco » Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:43 am

I agree, some automation is preferred. Wood Pellet smoker or the electric types is the way to go generally.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by markj » Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:29 pm

Soooo, this here thread has me lusting after some good old fashion bar b que. What if a bunch of us got together and made up some stuff and set to enjoying it together. I have a place out in the country but the I-29 roads are closed so it is a bit harder to get here.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:13 pm

markj wrote:Soooo, this here thread has me lusting after some good old fashion bar b que. What if a bunch of us got together and made up some stuff and set to enjoying it together. I have a place out in the country but the I-29 roads are closed so it is a bit harder to get here.
Thant would be awesome indeed! :mrgreen:
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Ruffshooter » Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:27 pm

I despise Automation. :twisted: I like tending fire on the offset or the set it and forget it with minor adjustments to air on my UDS. I will be cooking this weekend on it an the offset. :mrgreen:
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by northern cajun » Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:26 pm

Greg Jennings wrote:This is exactly what I have.

http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-E ... 4/-1430148

Except that it says "Master Built" on the side rather than "Bass Pro".

Look up the injected and wrapped port butt recipe in the Dr. BBQ book. Use a pork shoulder instead of a butt. Use his "Sweeter" rub rather than the normal rub. You can use his sauce, but make it a week ahead of time. It needs time to mellow in the fridge.

Anytime you use it, don't bother putting in wood after the meat gets to 140 degrees. It doesn't do anything positive.

I really shouldn't give up the deep secrets like that easily...

A Butt aka Boston butt is from the shoulder
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by mcbosco » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:05 am

Ruffshooter wrote:I despise Automation. :twisted: I like tending fire on the offset or the set it and forget it with minor adjustments to air on my UDS. I will be cooking this weekend on it an the offset. :mrgreen:
Ha, I thought you were a Traeger man.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Greg Jennings » Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:20 am

northern cajun wrote:A Butt aka Boston butt is from the shoulder
I'm saying that the recipe, while saying it's for a butt, works for the whole shoulder. It's a quantity thing. In this case, specifically about the injection. There is enough injection in the recipe for a whole shoulder. Way more than is needed for just a butt.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Wed Aug 17, 2011 9:26 am

Greg Jennings wrote:
northern cajun wrote:A Butt aka Boston butt is from the shoulder
I'm saying that the recipe, while saying it's for a butt, works for the whole shoulder. It's a quantity thing. In this case, specifically about the injection. There is enough injection in the recipe for a whole shoulder. Way more than is needed for just a butt.
My oldest son Went to livestock school this summer to learn all about his pigs. One of the test he took was to name the cuts of meat and Boston butt as we all know is one of the cuts. Now trying to be a good mom I don't let my boys call each other names but the oldest thinking he could be sly started calling his little brother a Boston Butt and then gave me the whole BUT MOM i'm not calling him a name it's a cut of meat . Son I was born in the night but it was not last night. :roll:
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by MillerClemsonHD » Wed Aug 17, 2011 10:39 am

Ruffshooter wrote:I despise Automation. :twisted: I like tending fire on the offset or the set it and forget it with minor adjustments to air on my UDS. I will be cooking this weekend on it an the offset. :mrgreen:
Ruffshooter I'm with you. The smoke and the extra effort is worth the extra work for the flavor. I can put a but in a crockpot for 8hrs and feed it to most people and they will say its great and have no idea. Could do the same in the oven, but that is not real bbq. I have had some great nights and days with friends and family that come to help out "drain the cooler" while I cook bbq.

Reading this thread and some half decent weather coming in the next few weeks, I will also be firing up the offset, now I just gotta figure out what I'm gonna put on it.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:33 am

Willie Hunter wrote:I sure wish people would not start threads like these. :D I went looking last night and bought a Bradley digital smoker from Bass Pro Shop. I have wanted one for several years and now I have one coming.
So happy I could help you out :mrgreen:
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Wed Aug 17, 2011 11:42 am

Being a girl I would buy this in a heart beat :mrgreen: My boys would make fun of me but hay i'm the only chick in the house!

http://www.traegergrills.com/shop/grills/BBQPIG
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by markj » Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:29 pm

I despise Automation. I like tending fire on the offset
Me too. I put the smoker in a pickup box trailor with accessories and I wear old time stuff a hat etc :) kinda put on a show.

I did a church block party once, had 150 lbs of pork shoulders. We rubbed em friday night, then saturday I took the outfit to the church parking lot, had a small camper etc. I set the phone alarm every 2 hours and get up tend the fire turn the meat all night long. A few of the old church ladies asked me how I spent the night in that camper :) I told em it was fine, but I had to play with my meat every two hours :) lol never seen so many old gals hide their mouths and laff like that since :) was not one tiny piece left over, them folks ate up most and sold off the rest, 10.00 a zip lock bag, was gone in 60 seconds :) they ask me back every year now.

My cousin has the larger traeger, add pellets, turn it on and go away come back when its done. Might as well use an oven.... isnt true bar b que IMHO. But get what works best and make the best you can.

Been seeing UDS's at competitions lately, they must be real good for competition cooking. My bud won miss state champ and about 300 other ribbons and first places, I got some of his recipes, they are goooood. Its all in the preparation.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by lvrgsp » Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:56 pm

I built me a UDS and it cost more for the beer my brother and I drank than it did for the whole project, thats no lie......the UDS is IMO one of the easiest, most efficient smokers to start with and maintain 250 degrees for hours and hours and hours on one load of charcoal, not a lot of tending to at all........the MES smoker is what I would say one of the most user friendly electric smokers out there. The Bradley is good but sometimes the puck will get stuck trying to load so they have a different puck to help along the loading process. The Weber Smokey Mountain is..... well its a Weber and I'm a huge Weber fan it has a cult follwing, great smoker, user friendly. Never used an ole smokey, can't comment on thaose. Traeger is a pellet smoker, and you need it plugged in for the auger system to work, same thing with the green mountain smokers. One other smoker that is quite high but is a cool smoker grill is the Big green egg.....
IMO the key to good BBQ is the cook knowing their smoker, not always what the smoker is.

Whatever you choose, good luck and happy smoking.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by markj » Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:30 am

I am going to Bills Bar B Que for lunch today :) 7 bone ribs for 9.00 he cant count tho and puts like 9 or 10 in :) full ribs not shaved down or st louis style the full rib and meaty too.

I made a UDS using a 2/3 drup I had and a weber grill, the barrell part goes between the grill bottom and the weber top fits very nice. I took a 8 in stove pipe cut it in half added holes for air fill it up with cowboy lump made from wood lite the very top layer close it up and let it run. Only does 4 slabs tho so for the big stuff I have my home built I can put two whole hogs in :)

Many good welders are making cabinet type cookers use a automatic charcoal thing so you dont have to mess with it.

I see some good smokers on craigslist from time to time.

I have a brinkman stick smoker too I never use anymore, if anyone would like it I would take 50.00 for it. It is the older very heavy grade stell not the wimpy lite steel ones sold today for cheap.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:02 am

markj wrote:
I have a brinkman stick smoker too I never use anymore, if anyone would like it I would take 50.00 for it. It is the older very heavy grade stell not the wimpy lite steel ones sold today for cheap.
Whats a stick smoker ?
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Ruffshooter » Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:14 am

The stick is an offset that you feed wood each 45 min or 30 min. maybe more. You can use a combo of wood and charcoal also. If I were in NM I would snatch it up. I have the cheapo HD model it is okay but is hard to control temps on a cold day. To many leaks to thin of metal.

There are straight offsets where the smoke enters from the fire chamber side and exits via a stack on the opposite end.
Then there are reverse flow smokers, these too are off sets but they have a heat/smoke baffel below the cooking great but over the fire pit opening, with a tight seal usually welded and open at the opposite end to let the smoke travel down under the baffle to the end where it comes up the opening into the cooking chamber, the smoke/ heat flows back across the chamber to the stack which is on the same end as the fire box.
They generally are built better, with heavy steel, hold temps better, have more even temps.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Greg Jennings » Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:27 am

Being able to hold a consistent temperature and cooking by the internal temperature of the meat are, IMHO, the keys.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by markj » Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:12 pm

http://www.brinkmann.net/products/outdo ... 810-3044-S

I use a basket in there too, load it up, lite the top coal shut it down cooks for like 4 hours before a new load is needed. Its just too small for my uses. I had two and gave one away so far. It will do 2 turkeys or two large hams or 4 pork butts.

The heavier metal holds the heat in, the newer ones are not built as heavy and they burn up the coal fast.

http://www.cookshack.com/commercial-barbecue-smokers

These are easy to duplicate if you know how to weld or have a old steel fridge around to modify. I would not recommend the plastic lined fridges.

I will take some pics of my smokers and the semi UDS I have.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Willie Hunter » Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:58 pm

Got my new Bradley smoker today and have salmon smoking right now.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Greg Jennings » Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:25 pm

Willie Hunter wrote:Got my new Bradley smoker today and have salmon smoking right now.
Excellent!

Try injecting and smoking a turkey, then making turkey salad from it. Out-freaking-standing.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Grange » Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:35 pm

I'm going to smoke my first brisket on Sunday. I'm also going to try and smoke some corn on the cob. Hopefully it turns out.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Willie Hunter » Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:15 pm

Greg Jennings wrote:
Willie Hunter wrote:Got my new Bradley smoker today and have salmon smoking right now.
Excellent!

Try injecting and smoking a turkey, then making turkey salad from it. Out-freaking-standing.
I need to learn about this injecting process.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Willie Hunter » Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:16 pm

Grange wrote:I'm going to smoke my first brisket on Sunday. I'm also going to try and smoke some corn on the cob. Hopefully it turns out.
Good luck on your brisket, hope it turns out good.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:27 pm

Got our UDS built burned out and now to paint it. Sunday we're going to smoke a Tri tip wish us luck!! :D
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Ruffshooter » Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:53 pm

Post some pics of the smoker and grub. :mrgreen: Just had some pork ribs chicken and sausage from the UDS. Love the set it and almost forget it, still get great smoke with the mixes of chunk wood and a mix of lump and Stubbs.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Garrison » Sat Sep 10, 2011 5:15 pm

I cannibalized a Home Depot job and built one out of an old Ben Franklin Stove that was missing doors, doubles as a fireplace when I take the smoker off the top. I can choke off the damper for desired temp. I have put a lot of albacore through it since these pictures were taken.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Escopeton » Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:34 am

I have a Silver Smoker that I bought from Home Depot years ago. I love to BBQ, Smoke and grill on it. Here it is in action with chicken wings.

http://youtu.be/klLrkC18g8c
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Sun Sep 11, 2011 4:11 pm

Having a very hard time keeping temp any tips you guys could let me in on ?
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by lvrgsp » Sun Sep 11, 2011 7:25 pm

A couple things, one I assume your talking about the drum smoker? If its to hot drums are harder to bring back down. What temp are you at now, And what temp are you wanting. My guess is around 250

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Ruffshooter » Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:37 am

Post pics so we can see inside an out.
What temp are you wanting to cook at.

1) Fuel: Use charcoal with chunks of wood mixed in. Maybe three or four pieces.
2) The fire basket, needs to be around 2" or higher from floor, for ash to fall an air to get in.
3) Filling the fire basket. Depending how high or the diameter of your basket: fill up the outer of the circle basket about 4" high, leaving a center clear for the lit coals. I fill 3/4 of a chimney when lit dump them in the basket.
4) Have all the vents wide open and watch it get to the temp you want, start shutting down the vents on the bottom. Usually one open and the other two closed. Will vary.

You can cook at any temp with the drum. Hotter temps will be lighting most of the fire basket at the beginning. Lower temps as I mentioned above. LVRGSP is right, most cooks will be from 230 to 275 on the drum. I cook turkeys and chicken from 275 to 300 degrees. Remember this is a smoker. Low and Slow. But you can cook hot and fast. There is a slight learning curve. but you will get it. Also look at the smoke is it white non or blue. The best smoking is done at the blue smoke that is when you put your meat on. not in the white. That is a harsh bad tasting smoke if that is all you are cooking with.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by lvrgsp » Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:05 am

I agree with Rick, on the drum. One exception and I do this to really dial in the drums temps. I replicate everything Rick does up until getting the drum up to temp and then shutting down the vents. I get everything going, leave the bottom 3 vents open, I have an old 22.5 in Weber kettle lid, I put that on with top vents wide open (The whole time im cooking). By the time you get the fire lit the grates on and the lid on most generally the drum is gonna be 100 or so degrees give it 30 minutes to get to 200, and your on your way. Drums are exceptionally hard to get the temp lowered so if you can control the temp before you get it to where you want its alot easier. You will find like most that the drums are exceptionally efficient, and can be very easy to control temps.....


Now a few more tidbits of information with the drums, one is temp inside the drum while cooking. Depending on how big your basket is in relationship to the drums circumference, you will get a 25-50 degree difference from the center of the grates to the edges, which can make a big difference in cooking times. I have 3 temp probes I use at times one that is 2 inches from the edge of the barrell to the grate and one that is 8 inches for a good reading closer to the center, and I always like to see my dome temp on the lid. I stick a small therm in the top vent hole. One more thing cook by food temp never time....unless its ribs.... :mrgreen: . Remember too you can check your therms calibration with boiling water.....

Smoke On...... :mrgreen:

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Ruffshooter » Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:30 am

Yup the top one open all the way, too.

For the therms, you can drill a small hole in the side and slide in12" turkey fryer therm. Like ones in my bucket temp experiments.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by markj » Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:39 am

Having a very hard time keeping temp any tips you guys could let me in on ?

Air flow needs to be reduced. also the charcoal basket shouldnt be too large, one other item I use is a diffuser, it goes over the heat source and spreads it out more evenly. I need to take some pics....
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:43 am

We would get up to 230 then It would Drop fast to 160 all the vents where open. Took a hole saw and drilled a hole in the bottom of the smoker and all was right with the world. We are sitting a 6,800 or so elevation so maybe the high elevation had something to do with it ??
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by JessiNGunther » Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:45 am

going to take some pics It's not been painted yet so it really is an UGLY drum smoker :D

Oh and THANK YOU guys so much for the tips !!!
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Garrison » Mon Sep 12, 2011 3:58 pm

JessiNGunther wrote:going to take some pics It's not been painted yet so it really is an UGLY drum smoker :D

Oh and THANK YOU guys so much for the tips !!!
My Grandpa always tells us when we go deer hunting, " remember boys you don't eat the horns". I painted mine and that was the last time I will do that. Get it hot and hit it with cooking oil and a wire brush and call it good, even with engine paint it will burn off.

As far as heat goes the ideal situation is to have a burn pit and a smoker box, I like using a hard wood red oak is my favorite and burning it down to coals and then put it in the fire box. Soak some apple, pecan or almond cut in real small rounds in water and set on top of the coals to smolder. Too much smoke is worse than not enough and but the biggest fattiest piece of meat you can find. Having another place to burn down wood will keep your fire the same the same the entire cooking time. Keep your drip pan full of water and beer and make it an all day event, "sorry sweetie I am busy cooking".

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by lvrgsp » Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:24 pm

Here are some older pics of the Drum when I first got it done........It's Ugly but it sure cooks pretty food.... :mrgreen:

The bottom grate and the charcoal basket.....
Image

Top hinged grate I have a second grate now too, above this one.
Image

Thin Blue smoke for that oh so awesome smoked food.....
Image

And 3 racks of ribs, actually now I use a rib rack with the weber dome lid, works real well
Image
Last edited by lvrgsp on Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by lvrgsp » Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:27 pm

And this right here my friends is what is about to be a smoked meatloaf...
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This is the end product with a BBQ sauce glaze......
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Ruffshooter » Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:37 am

That looks great, what sauce did you use.
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by proudag08 » Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:39 am

Heavens to Betsy that looks amazing!!!!!!!!!!! Gotta love a big ol' loaf of meaty goodness!!!

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Greg Jennings » Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:55 am

Here is a good KC-style sauce viewtopic.php?f=104&t=31016 . Note the comment about adding honey to make a glaze.

I like the KC style when sweet is in order. Best fresh made right out of the sauce pan.

I have a different sauce, almost as easy to make, that I like for pulled pork and some other recipes. It's more tangy. No molasses in it.

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Re: Meat smokers

Post by lvrgsp » Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:56 am

I really cannot remember what the sauce was I used, my guess would be either Sweet Baby Rays, Stubbs, or one I made....it was a thinner sauce if I remember correctly, the pic made it look like it was a thick sauce though. It very well could have been what I call my number 1 sauce.....just a mix of stuff nothing fancy...

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Greg Jennings
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Greg Jennings » Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:21 am

Tangy BBQ Sauce.

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Note the part about being better after being in the frig over night.

Court628
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Court628 » Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:28 pm

Love my bandera vertical! However if I had the money I would buy something that will hold the heat a little better so there is less babysitting. However I do NOT like the taste of the pellet smokers at all. They are easy for sure though.
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Ruffshooter
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Re: Meat smokers Brisket pics.

Post by Ruffshooter » Sat Sep 17, 2011 3:44 pm

Just finished eating some of this, off my UDS. No fuss for 7 hours, then pulled off and wrapped and set for 1.5 hours.
Local produce and local beef.

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The best part of training is seeing the light come on in your little prot'eg'e.

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GUNDOGS
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by GUNDOGS » Sat Sep 17, 2011 3:55 pm

all i can say rick is MMMMMM...ruth :D
GUNDOGS SHORTCREEK IRON HORSE (HARLEY)

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Grange
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Re: Meat smokers

Post by Grange » Sun Oct 02, 2011 5:06 pm

I smoked a beef arm roast today. I smoked it for about 7.5 hours and rested it in a towel lined cooler for about 4 hours. It was fork tender, juicy, and delicious.

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