25 hours total to grind, case and smoke 80lbs of meat

This last weekend I entered my first ever BBQ competition and boy was it fun..one thing that surprised me were the contestants. All of them were willing to help and give you pointers and anything you needed! The competition was in accordance with the South Carolina BBQ Association. There were 34 teams in the contest. And what do you know, I came in 3rd on brisket...I was stoked and shocked at the same time. If anyone is every thinking about competing and having any second thoughts....do it!

An Irish trash can or corona with lime is my go to, what’s everyone else’s go to?

Ahoy. I forgot that I did this thing a few years ago during lockdown and thought I might share some experience/cosmic intervention that've continued to create the best carnitas I've ever made.

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/odxpjj/homemade_7_hour_smoked_carnitas/

Updates since I first tried this recipe:

-This cut was about 5 1/4 lbs after removing the bone.

-Save on time & fuel by cutting your swine slightly smaller than I did here, unless you have a rather expansive stock of oak/red oak.

-When shopping, go with fattier cuts.

-You need a good 2" of rendered fat to fry the pork in once it comes to temperature; save some trimmings and add them to the tray as needed. Also remember to flip the shoulder every so often to fry all sides.

-When covering the piggy after the first 4-5 hours, tent it loosely rather than cover.

-195F seems a lot. (I think my cheap-azz temp probe went south during this one.) Cook until a minimum 145F obviously, but make sure your oinkers spend enough time frying in their own fat & they develop a decent crust like shown.

-After resting & shredding, transfer the shreds to a separate container and baste generously with some of the remaining fat. This keeps the meat both moist and adds a ton of flavor. I've saved the remaining fat for making stuff like fried peppers, pork stew and a katsu which didn't really work out.

Things got a little weird here. I had made a butter chicken for dinner and through why not snack sticks? These turned out not bad, I’ll have to do another small batch but bump the seasoning some more to really get them to pop. Overall, I’d give them a B-, the chicken Caesar ones are still in the lead.

Thinking of grabbing a pair of these, and would love to hear anything good (or bad) anyone has to say.

Stick burner running at 325-350, about an hour cook time.

I'm trying this again. I tried to post it once but my pictures didn't come through.

Ok take 2.

I'm looking for advice on how to best smoke this cut.

Should I dry rub and let sit for a day in the fridge, or should I brine it with the same spices in my rub but add red wine?

Then what to do with it when it's done? I see posts on here talking about wrapping it in towles and letting it sit in a cooler for several hours. Granted that's with brisket.

I do pretty good for myself with pork and will probably smoke this meat for 12 or 16 hours using lump hardwood charcoal at between 200 and 225 degrees. Unless that's just the worst thing ever to do with it but I don't think it is.

So all you super pros out there, tell me how to make an award winning something out of this but in miniature.

Thanks in advance 😸

About every other week (weather permitting) I like to spatchcock a chicken and smoke it. For whatever reason it’s been buy-one-get-one free at Kroger on Tyson products the last few times I’ve been in so I’ve stocked up. The WSM gets easier to use each time. I love this thing.

Smoked a 9lb pork butt.. pitboss comp blend pellets.mustard binder..mixed fajita & rita rub with some vaquero steak rub. Use a combo of apple juice with fresh squeezed orange juice and lime in the foil boat at ~165. About 9 hours smoked at 250°. ~1 hour rested.. inhaled the tacos in about 10 seconds.

Tried filets on the traeger tonight. Planned on 225F for an hour, pulled them about 10 minutes early (internal temp of 135F), quick sear on the grill to finish. They were more well done looking than I’d hoped, but still tender, juicy, and flavorful.

14.4lb Prime Brisket from Costco

Binder of 50% Pick Juice / 50% Yellow Mustard

Seasoned w/ Salt, coarse Malabar Pepper, and Goldees Brisket Rub

22in Weber Kettle

Kingsford Charcoal and Weber Pecan Chunks

Smoked at 260°-270°

Spritz with 50% Water / 50% Worcestershire Sauce

Render Tallow from White Fat Trimmings (3 Cups)

Wrapped in butcher paper at 170° internal temp

Continue cooking until 203° internal temp

Rest on counter for 40 mins and then into Yeti cooler for 4.5 hours until sliced and served

Crazy tender and juicy!

(Sliced pics are actually from the reheated point the next day)

Just bought a WSM 18"/47cm model. Never smoked meats before, barely done any BBQing at all actually, so I'm a total beginner. I've found an easy looking 3-2-1 recipe which I think I am set on using. I'll be using Blues Hog original rub and BBQ sauce, and coconut shell briquettes with apple wood chunks. I think I'll be using the minion method for lighting the coals (lighting some of it in the chimney container thing using lighter cubes, then pouring them into the middle of a pile of unlit briquettes, and placing a few wood chunks on top).

I'm not sure yet what smoke temperatures I need to achieve, and if I should be using an internal meat temperature probe for the ribs (not sure if it's worth it for quite a small/thin layer of meat?) - I'm also confused about how to control the temperature on the WSM, I see conflicting information online. In some videos they seem to open the vents further to increase the temperature, in others they do the opposite... I am also unsure on if I need to rest the ribs after cooking, and how long for if so, and am also curious about if I need to change my recipe if I plan on using the lower-level grill in addition to the top one (not sure the top grill alone will be big enough to fit all the ribs).

So my plan is: - prepare coals using minion method - season ribs while smoker gets up to temp - put ribs in smoker and leave it for 3 hours once it settles at the correct temperature - put ribs in aluminium foil with butter and apple juice - wrap aluminium foil up and place in smoker for 2 hours - remove ribs from foil, glaze with BBQ sauce - place ribs back in smoker for final 1 hour - remove ribs from smoker to rest(?) - eat

Am I missing anything? I'm very excited to get started in this hobby but I'm paranoid about screwing up my first attempt, so any beginner advice is appreciated!

Hey Guys,

I've got a 6kg Brisket on order from the butcher and I'm planning my first Brisket for guests this Sunday lunchtime.

I saw this link and was thinking of vaguely following it - https://www.meatchurch.com/blogs/recipes/pellet-grill-brisket

But it's daunting as it's my first time doing a Brisket. I've done Ribs and Wings and some veggies on it but this is a lot!

So if I've got it right I'm gonna do the rub and try and give it a good day for it to set in if possible (easy as I have time).

Then set it to 200F/95C and chuck it in until it gets internally to 165F/73C (am I measuring in the thickest part of the meat or just the middle?)

Then increase temp to get to a 175F Internal, then wrap and increase temp again until it's 200ishF Internal?

Then rest for a bit.

Only thing is I know temperature is King not time but I do want to plan this out if we have guests coming over at 12. I don't mind getting up early or anything but just want to plan it out. Should I be planning to work it backwards a bit even if it means getting up in the middle of the night to wrap it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated for a confused first timer!

Hey all! Doing a brisket Sunday. Would like to smoke it Saturday with maybe an 11ish pm finish and then hold over till around 3-4pm next day. Midnight to 4pm too long?

First cook for the change of season went for a warmer spice blend for the cooler weather. Quick mid week chicken thighs with some corn ,kūmara and pumpkin.