Can you share your catfish recipe? Have a pond full of them and need to start keeping some.
Smoking Meat Questions and Discussion
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Chicken thighs are my favorite simple thing to throw on. You can do a bunch of different stuff with and they don't take any time. I would liken those to a pork loin in terms of just how much better they are being cooked on a smoker of some sort.
My favorite, though, is beef spare ribs when I nail it.
Just smoked some chicken thighs two days ago. Agree, very simple, just brine, dry rub, and on the smoker for 2-3 hours. Really good. But my favorite has to be pork back ribs.
What temp do you cook at? I've only ever done chicken thighs hot and fast because I've heard they get rubbery low and slow. Usually takes me about 45 minutes at 400.
Usually 200-225. Meat itself is delicious but I haven't perfected the crispy skin yet.
This is funny because once I was able get ribs and brisket down on my own smoker, it's really hard to go to a restaurant and be happy with what I get.
However I still always order BB ribs and brisket, and I'll also go for the smoked link sausage because I never do that at home.
I'm also with you that I've been disappointed enough times with pork spare ribs (not enough meat) that I default to BB ribs now 100%.
- Mar 27, 2006
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Agree on chicken thighs. They are like a blank canvas that you can go any number of directions with. And unless you completely drop the ball, they're very difficult to screw up. They take to seasoning/brining so well.
I concur with above. When I do pork ribs I will usually have some chicken (thighs or drums) and I will have those brined and ready to go with ~2 hours left and throw them in at one of the Rib steps to get ready at the same time as my ribs -- same temps, nothing special. Always get rave reviews on the chicken.
I've been through a handful of rubs for chicken and my family prefers the Weber "beer can chicken" rub. Last time I basted a little BBQ sauce with ~30mins left and that was also a hit.
Plus there is a lot of fat so it's hard to dry them out
Great point -- when I do drumsticks, typically I wrap them in a slice of bacon.
A couple weeks ago I found a pkg of chicken breasts in the freezer that needed to get used, so I did the same as above plus wrapped in bacon and they were approved.
I was also similiar to what you are saying. I did try them again and this time did the finishing temp to around 205. Made a world of difference in regards to rendering the the fat. I actually look forward to smoking these. Here is my ranking on ribs and I have smoked all three many times.
1. St. Louis Style
2. Pork
3. Baby Backs
Baby backs seem a lot thicker and just don't seem tender as the other two. I used to wrap ribs, but quit doing it just didn't want to keep adding more ingredient wise to them. I backed off a lot of the seasonings just to get more of the smoked flavor from them. Just my two cents.
I take my spatchcocked chicken and throw it on the grill at high temp for about a min each side and it crisps it up pretty well. Maybe it's "cheating" but it works for me.
I'm a brisket snob, and my brisket is better than any i can get at a restaurant. Not a brag, I have just screwed it up enough to know hat not to do.
Link sausage is easy to do and you will be amazed at the results. I get mine from Grazianos and throw it on low for 2 - 3 hours. I usually put it on when I'm doing something else.
If it works it ain't cheating IMO. My problem is I usually baste with SBR for the last 20ish minutes, great flavor but doesn't lend itself to a dry, crispy skin.
I only use dry-rub at least until the end, and kind of an amended 3-2-1.
Smoke 225-250 for 3 hours, wrap in butcher paper about two maybe 3 hours (open and check), finish by opening paper and basting BBQ sauce then cook for 30min to an hour.
THEN close up the paper, cover with towels for at least 30mins, hopefully an hour. They are killer tender. Given enough time on step two, the ribs will fall apart and that's how I like them...but letting them rest at the end is key.
What temp did you cook it at and how high did you take it? 20 hours seems like a long time.
I always go low and slow to render the fat perfectly and get the most smoke out of the Traeger. Did 180 for about 11 hrs to get a deep smoke ring then wrapped and let ride at 225 until 3:30 (203 internal temp). Let rest for 90 mins. Incredibly moist and tender with a perfect bark.
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I usually start at 180 but only for about 5 hours. Then I kick it up to 225 for 6 hours or so before wrapping in butchers paper for another couple hours (edit: I shoot get the internal up to about 210-215 so I usually will up the temp a bit when I wrap also). I then let it rest in the oven for a few hours. Always comes out great and super juicy.
I put all my trimmings into a pan and smoke it with it then pour a lot of the tallow over the butchers paper.