brine recipe

from good eats "Q" part I

12 oz salt
8 oz molasses
2 qts water
Place in cooler, weigh it down to completely submerge meat.
8-12 hours is about right.

update and salmon results

The temperature thing seems simple enough now - the smoker thermometer shows how hot the meat will get. I removed the instant read thermometer.
The collagen dissolved in the oven as predicted.
I've been using the pork in recipes - I made borracho beans (excellent!) and navy bean soup (also excellent!).
A couple days ago, I smoked some salmon. it was from trader joes - 3 pieces, frozen (thawed), the cheapest cut. I left it for about 90 minutes, and checked it - it wasn't smoked enough. Another hour and I pulled it off, but it came out dry and kinda tough. Next time I'll brine it because it needed salt.

Results from second attempt: Pork Shoulder

After 11+ hours it came out very tasty and quite smoky - In fact, I think it's maybe a little too smoky, but Susan says she thinks it's awesome. The house quickly fills with the same pungent aroma you get from liquid smoke when I pull the meat from the refrigerator. But still, it couldn't be pulled into stringy meat piles like Alton's video. Clearly the collagen was still mostly intact. I suspect the problem is that I didn't maintain a high enough temperature.

I used both of my thermometers to monitor the temperature, and I thought I did a great job of maintaining a temp of 210-220, according to the instant-read. However, the large smoker thermometer usually hovered around 185 - at the high end of the 'smoking' range on the dial. Furthermore, when I pulled the meat off, it was about 185 degrees - and Alton said that the collagen would melt at about 200 degrees.

This leads me to think I should bring up the temperature according to the smoker thermometer - for 220 degree meat, bring it up to 220. nobody ever mentioned that. That will take my cheap instant-read thermometer off off the scale scale, and my electronic instant read will probably show like 260 - 280. This I learned from attempt 1: tri tip, which got overdone and dry. Other factors were involved though - neglect, for one, and placement of heat source too close to the meat, for another.

Right now, I've pulled of a hunk of it, and i'm roasting it in foil at 300 degrees for 1 hour. I want to see if I can get the collagen to dissolve.

Assembly of the terracotta smoker

First, realize that this is based on a concept from Good Eats with Alton Brown, from 2003, I think. The episode is 'Q' and it's in 2 parts on YouTube. Second, lots of discussions on the Internet surround this setup, and even more for smoking in general. I had lots to go on before making the commitment.

SUPPLIES

• 2 terracotta pots that fit together when one is upside down on the other. Alton used a smaller rounded pot for the top, but I had some around the house so I saved on that purchase. Mine's pretty big.



• Hotplate. $15.00 from Longs Drugs. 750 watts.



• Allen wrench. I glued this onto the hotplace control knob so I could adjust temperature without disassembly.



• Cotton Rope. I had some around the house with a nylon core that I removed. I use it for handles and to make a seal around the rims.



• Thermometer. Instant read seems to be best - I also use a smoking thermometer. $20. ouch.



• Rack. I bought a 14" heavy duty Weber replacement rack for about $9.



• Heavy duty pie plate, or other container for the wood chips.



• Boards, bricks, rocks, or something to raise it off the ground.



• (3) 1/4" x 2" bolts, with 6 nuts and 3 washers

TOOLS

• Drill



• Masonry and high-speed bits as needed. Drilling is the primary assembly technique.



• wrench/pliers to tighten the bolts. Do not overtighten or you risk breaking to pot.

The basic setup is well documented in the Good Eats video, so here are my modifications.

• 2 x 1/2" holes in the bottom to improve airflow control



• 1 large hole in lid for big thermometer. I plan to drill a tiny hole for an instant-read.



• 4 holes in lid for rope handles. Not required, but nice.



• Small hole at bottom of base for control knob extension (allen wrench) to poke through



• 3 x 1/4" holes at rim of base, for holding 1/4" x 2" bolts as rack supports. I butt 2 nuts agains each other to lock them in place without overstressing the terracotta. By adding a couple extra washers, I was able to get the spacing just right so the grill rests snugly without sliding around.



• I wrap a cotton rope around where the rims meet, to keep smoke from leaking out. It was a simple matter to tie a loop that I can easily remove/replace when needed.



• I modified the hotplate adjustment knob to extend it outside the smoker. This is the best enhancement in the whole project. This was done by drilling a hole into the plastic knob, and gluing an allen wrench into place.



• I use a webcam to monitor the thermometer from my upstairs office. Truly Geeky

First attempt - Tri-tip

i used a tri-tip, coated with my spicy rub. Things were pretty smooth - First wood change at 4 hours, but then at 7 hours I had to go to a commitment, and when I got back it was overdone. Great tase, but very dry. My wife and i scarfed down what was edible, and I wanted more than ever to smoke me something good.

I made a lot of adjustments to the temperature knob while I was there, and soon realized that the wood itself contributes greately to the heat, so of course when it burns out, the temparature drops. Also, I can affect the temperature by controlling the airflow - more air for more heat. Still learning the exact best way to control the heat.

Thermometers and temperature

Apparently the ideal temperature for smoking a pork butt is 210-222 degrees. Thinking I would get the best results from the right equipment, and I didn't want to sacrific our nice instant-read digital probe which would not do well coated in smoke goop.

I searched for a replacement thermometer for a BBQ or smoker. It was harder to find than I thought - I ended up at a BBQ store with 2 choices - both $20. I got the large dial version so I could see it from a distance. It's rugged, and it's made for smokers, so it has areas marked for smoking and barbecuing. How could I go wrong?

But then I noticed that the new thermometer never seemed to register as hot as the digital probe - sometimes off by as much as 60 degrees! As a test, I place both into boiling water, to see if the would register 212 degrees. They both did, so they are both accurate! Apparently the smoker thermometer works best when submerged in liquid. Hmmm... (as I write this, I wonder is there's a way to achieve this in my smoker..?)

Anyway, after I determined that this problem sucks, I decided the best approach is to have both instant read and the rugged thermometer side-by-side until I learn the characteristics. And it's not so bad (at least I hope.. I haven't yet cooked the meat entirely) because the markings on the thermometer are pretty good - just ignore the numbers. I'm still considering drilling a small hope for an instant-read - especially if it turns out the butt I'm smoking is overdone.

Attempt #1 (tri-tip) was badly overdone. I think it's mostly because the meat awas too close to the wood as it burned. I've already raised the grill away from teh heat source, and lowered the hardwood, to increase the distance from the meat.

Attempt #2 is smoking right now. I'm using a $2.99 instant read thermometer I picked up yesterday - It seems to be helpful.

Smokin in the rain

Today it's raining, but I brined a pork butt overnight so I'm smokin' anyway.
This is only my second attempt at smoking, and it's only been 2 hour so far.