Ping crossfire_

[den]

We have smoke.

Comments

[hedgegoth.livejournal.com]

I'll bring the knockwurst

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I think there are a few, but mostly the hardwoods here are eucalyptus.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[http://users.livejournal.com/crossfire_/]

Awesome.

What did you use for hardwood?

(It's too damn cold out here to go through the motions of smoking right now, so I have to enjoy it vicariously through you. ;-)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Hickory chips. They didn't have lumps and the chips were very thin, so I soaked the chips overnight so they wouldn't burst into flames as soon as they went on.

First go was a chicken cut into quarters. I under-smoked them but the pieces were very nice anyway - very juicy and very slightly smokey.

Dad was a bit doubtful at first. Now he's planning fish and pork. Looks like I have to share my smoker. 8)

With pork, can you still get the crunchy skin (ie crackle) or is it best to cut away all the skin and fat?

[steve3.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmmmm Smoked Craaaakle

Its Healthier to cut off the skin and fat but who wants to live forever

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

Next time you're here, we can have a smokefest.

[http://users.livejournal.com/crossfire_/]

You should skin it, but leave the fat. If you're smoking at the right temperatures (110-120F) pork skin won't render fully enough to crackle, it'll just get flabby and gross. Besides, most pork sold in the US is skinned; it's rare to see skin-on cuts.

When I smoke pork I like to do shoulder. Shoulder is a bunch of small muscles with lots of connective tissue and fat, so it's ideal for smoking. Because of the way the bones are in the shoulder, it naturally cuts into two different roasts, which here in the US are called the Picnic and the Boston Butt (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=pork%20shoulder%20boston%20butt%20picnic&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi) (don't know what you guys might call them--maybe the same?). The Picnic is the smaller cut, usually around 5-6 pounds, and has lighter meat. The Boston Butt goes around 9-10 pounds and has darker more "hammy" meat. I like to trim my shoulder to have about a quarter inch of fat on the outside.

Hardwood chips are okay for light smoking--chicken and fish, and even sausages, or thinner pork chops. But if you want to do pork shoulder or brisket...I'm not sure. Maybe you could do it if you used lots of chips, and added them frequently, every hour or so? Is there any way to lay your hands on some chunks of hardwood? Apple, maybe? You only need five or six fist-sized chunks.

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmm smoked pork.....and smoked turkey is delicious. Dad used to smoke meats using the Coleman grill, and he still uses hickory chips to smoke flavor his famous cheeseburgers! He even did a whole turkey several times,
He also smoked some trout and salmon too. Whatever you pick , you're in for a treat. :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

I know! mmmmm smoke...