Louis: Seeing your grill reminded me that I haven't done any cooking with my smoker up north. The last roast was a huge pork roast that I smoked for 11 hours. I saw it in the back of a meat counter in a butcher shop and asked the butcher to wrap it up for me. He said its too fatty and not much use for the roast other than smoking and I told that's what I plan to do. I marinated the roast over-night and did a slow cool fire in the smoker keeping the temperature in the smoker around 140 degrees. Turned out perfect!
PS: Why doesn't beef taste the way it used to taste 20 years ago? No favor.
Greg your pork roast sounds fantastic! I have a smoker, but I have very little experience using it. Mine uses wood and or charcoal. I did manage to make some very good split chicken breast in it for the 4th of July. The benefit of using the smoker is it can smoke 2 dozen split chicken breasts at one time in less than 3 hours. A big help for my gathering of friends and family on the 4th. My smoked chicken breast are very popular and the smoker has been a blessing. My weber can only do about 6 at a time.
What kind of smoker are you using? Any tips you may have for me would be appreciated.
This is what I have
I also have a 6 burner propane grill, but that is my wife's baby. She loves how fast she can get a lot hamburgers, hot dogs and other foods ready. My wife is also good with the weber, but If I am feeling good, that is my happy responsibility, I enjoy cooking!
Otherwise I just use my old weber. I have many years of experience with it. I know how much charcoal to use to cook with indirect heat, no matter what I am cooking. I can put the food on and go take a nap, but never on the 4th. I never burn anything and it smokes the meat beautifully.
Once I get a feel for the smoker I will be making smoked sausage (Kolbasz, Hungarian word for sausage) in it. The recipe comes from Angela's late father, Otto Krnacs, Papa. You are so right about the need for fat. The recipe requires a minimum of 30% fat. As you know the smoker will release most of the fat, not enough fat and the food will dry out. I learned that the hard way trying to make chicken wings in the smoker. The wings ended up in soup, but it was good soup. Wings are not an economical way to make soup, but it was better than throwing them out.
Here is a rhetorical question for you; why are chicken wings more expensive than chicken breast? We all know it's because the demand for buffalo chicken wings. Another example of the "age of stupidity" we live in if you ask me.
As for why beef doesn't seem to taste as good as it use to? I don't know, I have not noticed to be honest, but that won't stop me from venturing a guess.
I think it may be that finding premium beef is harder than it use to be. USDA Prime has become as rare a hens tooth. The best I can find is USDA Choice. Beef needs a good marbling of fat to be very tasty. Fortunately I like any beef and my teeth are still good enough to eat the cheap cuts.
I'm cheap so I don't shop at butchers shops, the few butcher shops that remain in Baltimore are very expensive. Grocery stores seldom have premium grades of beef. I've been told by grocery store meat managers that the restaurants in Baltimore buy up all the premium grades of beef, they can and at premium prices.
Willie, can you help us out here? If anybody would know it's the man from Texas!
Thanks for your reply.
PS while on the subject of food here is my new hotdog steamer
I love hotdogs!!! The steamer is my favorite way of making all meat hotdogs. After cooking the hotdogs in the steamer I wrap them in wax paper and put them in the top of the steamer to keep them hot. If I put rolls alone in the top they get to soggy, for me. It reminds me of the hotdogs from old Memorial Stadium.
It's not good for beef hotdogs, I don't like beef hotdogs boiled or steamed. They are best on the grill.
Next I want a roller grill, for beef hotdogs, but I don't yet know which one I want.
I'm thinking about this one
can you tell I like coca-cola stuff