Yes, the pig is such a noble beast it deserves to star in an event all it's own. Pig-palooza was conceived as a chance to fine tune the cooking regimen I'll be employing during the 12th Annual Guys Can Cook Too competition. I'm entered in the appetizer division, and I'll be serving Savory Pulled Pork Bites: slow smoked pork shoulder served on a buttermilk bread round and topped with my Char-B-Q Sauce and pinch of coleslaw. I had just acquired a vertical water smoker and needed to dial that in and become familiar with maintaining my fire. Pig-a-palooza was a chance to experiment on family and friends to determine how the smoker would perform but most importantly what I'll be facing in terms of portions and service. To that end, Pig-a-palooza was big success even if small in scale. The biggest lesson learned was that I need to start with my pork shoulder cold and build my fire up slowly up from 200 to 225. Apparently, if the pork heats too quickly you won't achieve proper smoke penetration along with the possibility of overdoing some of the outer portions of the shoulder - which is what happened. So to recap: room temperature meat is for grilling, cold meat is for smoking. D-oh!
As you'll see, this was a very relaxed gig with people dropping by whenever they wanted and staying as long as they wanted in order to simulate the crowd traffic at the event and issues with keeping the pork warm over a four hour period.
The serious chef, tough but fair.
The service table, mirroring the workspace I'll have at the competition.
Anonymous comments from guests provided valuable feedback, as well as some comedic fodder.
The crowd starts to get unruly.
Some serious pig talk went down.
If you missed Pig-a-palooza do not despair. I'll be doing this again no doubt!
8 comments:
Maintaining temperature in a water smoker is a bit of a chore at first, but you will quickly get the hang of it. I use a Weber for my smoked meats, and I am always amazed at how little air the coals need to burn.
By the way, stay away from those new Kingsford competition briquettes; they seem to create much more fine ash, which is light enough to get past the water vessel and coat the meat on the lower rack of my smoker.
P.S. That's a lovely skirt you are wearing.
Thanks IAMNAC! I've seen those briquettes but have not used them. I'll stear clear. My biggest mistake during Pig-a-palooza was not employing the water bath. I too had heard many complaints about temperature maintenance, but those were from before the time Brinkman made the modifications to the coal grate. Now, with that and using natural mesquite charcoal, it's no problem at all. A second run with ribs was fantastic. An additional tip I got from Chris Lilly is to use a solution of apple juice and dry rub instead of water. ABAF. Always Be Adding Flavor.
Also, I believe I owe you a recipe. I intend to procur that today over lunch.
D'oh! Hey, yer talkin' to a Scotsman, and that's not a skirt! That said, the folks were much relieved I wasn't going commando.
Gazpacho, salpicon and endive? It's a skirt!
I have thought about using hardwood charcoal, but can't find much information. My next smoking project is this weekend; a brisket -- the king of smoked meat. I am planning at least 12 hours, and am concerned about whether the hardwood will last that long. How did your mesquite do?
Not a skirt! Unless it's skirt steak, which at the moment is my favorite cut of beef.
Mesquite works well for heat, but is not necessarily the flavor profile we want in smoking. It's a very tough call. Brisket is the King of all smoked meats as far as I can see in that it's the most unforgiving. Where as porkbutt has some fat, brisket is much leaner. The fat needs to be coaxed from between the muscle fibers. Low and slow, and you need some serious BBQ hardware to pull it off. Now... depending on your smoker of choice, there are some different strategies that can be employed in terms of coals and wood. Count on a long and sleepless night. I know I will next week when I put 60 lbs of porkbutt to smoke. I would whole heartedly suggest looking up Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book" for great tips on starting fires and charcoal arrangements for various grills including Webers. Keep us posted... I've yet to even consider doing a smoked brisket so you are most definitely 5x5!
I am changing my name to "Brisket King."
It worked out pretty well. I used a simple pepper and salt rub, and smoked it for about 20 hours, which was a bit of a pain because I had to re-stoke the old smoker. At the end of that long, fairly hot smoke (250-285) I was left with amazingly tender, juicy brisket.I don't think I'll be able to top it.
Lucullus says: I can attest to Brisket King's hyperbole. I had his beef brisket last week and it was very tender with a wonderful crust. But then he forced me to watch "The Human Centipede: First Sequence" and all was lost.
Brisket King's beefy offerings sound most tempting indeed. Human Centipede: First Sequence, not so much.
Other than whole hog, brisket must be one of the most challenging of all BBQ offerings. Cudos to IANAC for his smokey endeavours.
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