Summer means smokers!

[Eric]

http://AmazingRibs.com has reviews on electric (or stovetop) grills and smokers, if you are interested.

[Spooky]

Good old George has me covered.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004W499/
http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/grill-indoor-grills-and-smokers/george-foreman-15-serving-indooroutdoor-grill

[Eric]

Nice price; compact; no open flames.  Sounds like a wiener!

[Spooky]

My brother's wedding was on Saturday and they had lots of leftovers (like 50+ pounds of pulled pork, brisket and chicken). I brought a bunch of it to work today and I am a hero!

[Eric]

I don't have any pictures, but I fired up the smoker and did a brisket and Boston butt.  I may have mentioned that the meat market I go to grows their own Angus cattle and gets locally-grown pork.  Both pieces were fresh and looked great.  It was because we had friends over, so the only pics taken were by others to tease the ones who couldn't make it (naturally).

It was a full brisket of about 12lbs or so.  I didn't want to tend the fire overnight, so I split the point from the flat (two different muscles that are layered and separated by a 1/4 of fat).  The flat makes for your typical brisket meat.  The point makes something called "burnt ends".  Also took the 10lb pork shoulder and cut it in half. 

I have the pulled pork down to a science (it's not that hard), so that was a hit.  The only thing I did differently was I didn't foil ("Texas Crutch") to speed up cooking and braise it a bit.  That meant this version had "bark", which one woman fell in love with.

The flat part of the brisket was tasty, but a bit dry.  I poured some of the reduced drippings I'd saved over the slices which helped a lot.  The whole brisket was only seasoned with yellow mustard, salt and pepper.  I always inject a beef base to give it a beefier taste.  I didn't Texas Crutch it because it was already cooking too quickly, but I think that would have helped give a more-tender result. 

But the star of the smoker was the burnt ends.  Seasoned and cooked the same as the other part of the brisket, instead of letting it rest like the other part, it's cut into small cubes.  Then take roughly equal parts of reduced drippings and a barbecue sauce and add just enough to coat the cubes.  Leave uncovered in the smoker or grill for 90 minutes.  Very moist and flavorful, and gone an hour before the meal started.  I knew I should have hidden them!

Everyone got their choice of pulled pork and/or brisket to take home.  I think that of the 22lbs uncooked meat, we maybe have 1lb of pork and 1/2lb brisket.  There was only nine of us, so what a great compliment.

[Eric]

Sara really should share her baked bean recipe, too.  It went great with the meat and grilled corn (by a friend).

[Spooky]

Yummy!

[TinkTanker]

I don't have any pictures, but I fired up the smoker and did a brisket and Boston butt. 

Pics or it didn't happen.

WSM or Pit Barrel Cooker? It is time.

[Eric]

I don't have any pictures, but I fired up the smoker and did a brisket and Boston butt. 

Pics or it didn't happen.

You just won't let me be lazy, will you? 

Sorry, the burnt ends were gone faster than you can say, "Cheese".

[Eric]

WSM or Pit Barrel Cooker? It is time.

To buy?  Good question!

The new Pit Barrel Cooker looks nice, with its thicker steel and porcelain.  That one can hang a bunch of rib racks off the rebar is intriguing.  It sounds like it cooks at 275-310F, but no commenters at Amazing Ribs are complaining it's too fast/hot.  The killer for me is that I don't think it has an ash pan, and so ashes just fall on the ground. Or am I missing something?

WSM 18.5" is also nice, though I may be biased.  I tend to think it's too big for just two of us except for the rare occasions like last Saturday where I did 10lbs pork butt and 12lbs beef brisket.  Ribs may need a rack (we don't do many ribs).  I think I used skewers last time to shape the rib rack. 

I'll just add this because it's on sale today for $157, though I don't think you're a propane guy:  http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-20050211-Propane-Smoker-40-Inch/dp/B004EBTYCG#Ask