Beer Forum

I generally truss mine with butcher's twine because I'm transferring from oven to grill, etc.

Elbone wrote:

spiderwrangler wrote:I do the same sort of 6 and 6 that Elbone talked about, but I usually start my shoulder in the oven and finish it off on smoke and charcoal.

Cool idea! I can't think of any reason that wouldn't work perfectly. Plus you can time it so you get the "reveal" for your guests on the smoker. Bark will be nice and crisp. I'm gonna try this.

There is a difference between the two methods. Meat stops absorbing smoke in the 140-160 range. 6hrs oven/6hrs smoker will have less smoke flavor than the reverse. Even after 160 some smoke flavoring is added but it's from layering on the outside vs meat absorption. You can use either method to "control" the smoke flavor amount and you can also make adjustments by when you add smoke wood, sort of like hop additions. Most people I know the use the oven or foil do it in the later stages, there is a flavor difference between absorption vs layering, the absorption flavor is usually preferred.

When I use the oven I do it later in the cook, around the 160-165 mark-right around the plateau , but 80% of the time I do the full cook on the pit. The oven does seem to reduce the plateau time. This is when I do butt. Brisket I cook at higher heat and foil around the plateau, leaving it on the pit all the time.

Another vote for the WSM. You can spend more, but it will do everything you need and will last a lifetime.

I'm a big fan of the offset smoker. I installed a gas assist from gassmoker.com into mine and it makes things much easier in terms of stable temps with a minimum of fire tending. I can run the gas flame high to get the smoker up to temp, add my logs for preburn, dial the flame back and let the smoke do it's work. Later when I've got the smoke flavor I want I can bump the gas up a little higher and walk away until my remote thermometer tells me the meat is done.

Another fix that will turn a cheap offset into a great cooker is the addition of a convection plate to help evenly distribute the heat. No more hot spots! I got mine here -- http://tinyurl.com/5zl3cx

Something I haven't tried yet but is on my list is to build a digitally controlled pit. Fun stuff here -- http://tinyurl.com/27urcqr

I have the Char-Griller Pro Deluxe model. I love this thing. Cast iron grates and it is and off-set, as well. Turns out some serious grub. See?


The baby will be cooked this summer.

[quote="snowcapt"]I have the Char-Griller Pro Deluxe model. I love this thing. Cast iron grates and it is and off-set, as well. Turns out some serious grub. See?

That's one of the ones I have as well. Add a 20" convection plate to it -- makes all the difference in the world!

MNHazmat wrote:

snowcapt wrote:I have the Char-Griller Pro Deluxe model. I love this thing. Cast iron grates and it is and off-set, as well. Turns out some serious grub. See?

That's one of the ones I have as well. Add a 20" convection plate to it -- makes all the difference in the world!

Yeah, I had a buddy weld on some angle iron around the seal, then I got some stove rope and put it around the perimeter, added a dryer duct to make the heat force it's way out and I have a couple of plates that sit on the bottom that regulate the heat. When I first got it, I just flipped the charcoal grate upside-down. There are a couple of bolt ends in there that it rests on. No burning the side near the fire for me!

For all my redneck brewin brothers