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Any Time is Grillin Time

I'm doing my normal chuckie cook today. I ran to local butcher shop to buy the roast. There is never anything cheap about their meat but it's always quality. My local grocer had some very sorry looking chucks yesterday and I wasn't about to run to Walmart that time of day or this morning. I was still wanting to smoke one so to the butcher shop I went. I should patronize the local shop more to insure they stay in business. There is something special about having a place that will gladly make custom cuts for you... at a price 😢 😆
 
I was disappointed in my chuck. I cooked it low and slow but it needed to cook in a crock pot for a WEEK :) Seriously, it had a gristle that ran through it that was uneatable. I bought it more for size than looks not wanting multiple meals out of it. I will opt for pretty next time.
I observed a potential problem with my GM smoker today. When it was feeding and burning pellets to get back to the set temp, it was smoking around the bottom of the smoker and out of the grease drip spout. First off.. it normally doesn't chug to catch up like a Traeger, and once temp is reached it maintains it. It doesn't throw as much smoke and burns less pellets. Two different ideas on smoking. Today my GM was chugging and smoking out every port. Secondly, I never checked the smoker temp but it took at least an hour longer to cook my 2.5lb chuck than normal. I gave the smoker a good cleaning. It wasn't that desperate for a clean but that was google's suggestion. I gave particular care to vac the burn pot out. I think the problem has to be there. I put the cooker back together but was out of daylight for a test run. I hope I have it fixed. The only other area that could be a problem is the agar chute. It might have a lot of dust and it hasn't been cleaned.
 
I fired up my smoker Sunday. I was checking to see if a clean burn pot made a difference. The burn pot had a crust build up of ash in the bottom of the pot. I scraped and vacuumed the pot out. There was ash outside the pot as per normal. It shouldn't be a problem but I always clean all the ash out when cleaning. I let the smoker run up to temp and hold that temp for a while. The smoker was working as normal and there was no chugging and excess smoke pouring out everywhere. I think I have the problem fixed but I'll know more when I actually do my next cook.
 
I pulled a rack of St Louis style ribs from the freezer. I plan to put some smoke on it tomorrow. I bought two racks that were buy one and get one a while back. The buy one was pretty darn sorry and I only hope the and get one is better. One way or another, I'm ready to get it out of my freezer.
 
@Unforgiven are you doing your own corned beef brisket again this year? I thought of you while we were making a little Costco run this morning. They had a counter full of seasoned briskets for the 17th. The briskets were huge so I passed them up. I'll have to buy at my local grocer again.
 
olbriar said:
@Unforgiven are you doing your own corned beef brisket again this year? I thought of you while we were making a little Costco run this morning. They had a counter full of seasoned briskets for the 17th. The briskets were huge so I passed them up. I'll have to buy at my local grocer again.
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I probably will, but not for St. Patrick's day as I'll be away.
 
Have I tole tha story of going to Grif's in Houston for St Paddys day one year ?

stagger




www.griffsirishpub.com

Griff's Houston | Sports Bar | Griff's Irish Pub

Official Website of Griff's Irish Pub in Houston, Texas Houston's Oldest Sports Bar
www.griffsirishpub.com www.griffsirishpub.com
 
I plan on grilling out some hamburger steaks tonight. Ground beef, egg, diced onion, breading, and Heinz 57. I can't remember the last time I made the burgers. I wonder how those might be griddled on the Blackstone vs grilled? I'll have to try that at some point.
 
My son was graced with a bison rib roast. His superior was gifted a free weekend bison hunt on a private ranch. Not only did they set him up for the kill, they processed the meat for him. Trying to thin his bison stock he gave some to my son and in turn I received some from him. I will try to cook a one rib four pound roast tomorrow. I've read multiple different cook ideas and I choose the slow smoked with a reverse sear cook method I found. I will thaw the meat and let it come to room temp. I'll then moisten with some oil and beef tallow and generously season with coarse salt and pepper. Smoking with rib bone down at 225° until I see 120° internal temp and then putting a reverse sear on the roast with a ripping hot Weber grill. I'll pull it off to rest when I see 130° max and let it rest thirty to sixty minutes before carving.

I'm anxious to try some bison. My only bison experience was a burger at a city wide celebration from a street vendor. It was pretty miserable. I have a two pound package of ground bison as well to try. I thought about a meat loaf but I'd rather just have burgers. I might change my mind after the roast tomorrow.
 
olbriar said:
My son was graced with a bison rib roast. His superior was gifted a free weekend bison hunt on a private ranch. Not only did they set him up for the kill, they processed the meat for him. Trying to thin his bison stock he gave some to my son and in turn I received some from him. I will try to cook a one rib four pound roast tomorrow. I've read multiple different cook ideas and I choose the slow smoked with a reverse sear cook method I found. I will thaw the meat and let it come to room temp. I'll then moisten with some oil and beef tallow and generously season with coarse salt and pepper. Smoking with rib bone down at 225° until I see 120° internal temp and then putting a reverse sear on the roast with a ripping hot Weber grill. I'll pull it off to rest when I see 130° max and let it rest thirty to sixty minutes before carving.

I'm anxious to try some bison. My only bison experience was a burger at a city wide celebration from a street vendor. It was pretty miserable. I have a two pound package of ground bison as well to try. I thought about a meat loaf but I'd rather just have burgers. I might change my mind after the roast tomorrow.
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Olive oil my friend, not virgin and gently.
 
olbriar said:
We are fans of avocado oil. I don't know that I've every used olive oil. I understand that it is an oil that can vary greatly in quality. I'm totally ignorant on olive oils.
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Very true, a quality oil vs anything pressed leaves a rather large variance. I've no idea what you may have available, a good oil makes a big difference with ANY good dish. I agree with the idea of avo oil. Though I haven't considered using for cooking meats.
 
I followed the recipe for smoking my bison rib roast. I thought it tasted great but it was not tender. If I had another roast, I think I'd try slow cooking it in a crockpot. I would hope it wouldn't lose it's flavor and become more tender. It is such a lean meat. I'm not sure there is a great way to cook it. Smoking was not bad. If I were to smoke another bison roast, I'd smoke it at a lower temp. Perhaps lower and slower might produce a more tender product.
 
The advantages of avocado oil, over something like olive oil or vegetable shortening, is that it's a neutral oil that doesn't impart any flavor to the food; and its higher smoke point. For those reasons, it's my oil of choice to spray onto our cast iron to season and condition it.
 
olbriar said:
I followed the recipe for smoking my bison rib roast. I thought it tasted great but it was not tender. If I had another roast, I think I'd try slow cooking it in a crockpot. I would hope it wouldn't lose it's flavor and become more tender. It is such a lean meat. I'm not sure there is a great way to cook it. Smoking was not bad. If I were to smoke another bison roast, I'd smoke it at a lower temp. Perhaps lower and slower might produce a more tender product.
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Bison makes a pretty good pemican.
 
I just wanted to clarify that "anytime" isn't exactly true. A couple years back I tried to grill (natural gas) a couple of steaks when the outside temp was close to freezing. It took nearly an hour to get them to MR and they sure didn't look grilled. The taste wasn't all that great, either.
 
I've smoked as well as grilled when the temp was way below freezing. LP and not natural gas, but I have never had a problem with cooking out of doors in the cold. It usually consumes more fuel and sometimes elongates the cook but nothing like you are talking. Wind is another matter entirely. Living in a windy area, when the wind is really getting with it, it pulls all the heat off of the grill and smoker and especially the griddle. Really cold and really windy at the same time changes that "Any time" to sometime when the weather is better. :)
 
olbriar said:
I've smoked as well as grilled when the temp was way below freezing. LP and not natural gas, but I have never had a problem with cooking out of doors in the cold. It usually consumes more fuel and sometimes elongates the cook but nothing like you are talking. Wind is another matter entirely. Living in a windy area, when the wind is really getting with it, it pulls all the heat off of the grill and smoker and especially the griddle. Really cold and really windy at the same time changes that "Any time" to sometime when the weather is better. :)
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It was windy that night, but I thought the grill area (we were traveling for my birthday) was fairly well shielded. I think the ambient temps were in the 20s. Either way the grill stayed pretty cold, you could easily put your hand on the lid.
 
I guess for enclosed grills (griddles excluded) it depends on insulation and or the thickness of the steel or material the grill is made of. I regularly grill or smoke in temps in the single digits, but I have a double walled Traeger. I can have snow accumulating on the grill and an inside temp of 500 degrees. I'm currently also using a cheap Walmart gas grill made of cheap sheet metal. I swear I could cook burgers at the same temp on the lid as I could on the grills, but I'd never be able to maintain temp in extreme cold.
 
My son had the lead insulator guy at the refinery make an insulated jacket for my original Traeger. It slowed down the consumption of pellets in the bitter cold. I never had any trouble with it getting to and maintaining a temp in the bitter cold but the blanket helped hold the heat. My Weber does a decent job in the frigid cold. It's is a LP source cooker. My Blackstone isn't great in the cold and the wind is it's enemy.
 
olbriar said:
My son had the lead insulator guy at the refinery make an insulated jacket for my original Traeger. It slowed down the consumption of pellets in the bitter cold. I never had any trouble with it getting to and maintaining a temp in the bitter cold but the blanket helped hold the heat. My Weber does a decent job in the frigid cold. It's is a LP source cooker. My Blackstone isn't great in the cold and the wind is it's enemy.
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I've always preferred a good wood fire myself. Oak is good for many things, add some sage, rose or a number of others for new tastes.
 
^^^ All good information, thanks.
We have a propane Weber built-in to a base on our patio.
The one in question was at a timeshare and it was a robust unit, though I don't recall the brand. I do remember thinking that the distance from the burners to the grill was significant (also non-adjustable) and that likely played a large part in my experience.

They have the same brand at other locations and it works well in the warmer months, so it's likely just that design that isn't great for winter.
 
I owned a propane grill that wasn't good in the cold. It was the old style with a H burner of stamped metal that was covered in lava rock. It was a cheap 70s cooker. They have evolved a great deal since then. My father enjoyed grilling and was an early adopter of a natural gas grill. I'm guessing middle sixties or a bit earlier model. It was made of such heavy metal that you could cook on it long after the gas was turned off. :) It was old school enough that it had adjustable vents for air flow. The best part about that natural gas grill was we no longer had to eat his cooking over charcoals. He soaked his briquettes in gas. :) I can still see him tossing matches at the ol' charcoaler. Everything we at tasted like a 50's Studebaker :)
While I'm at it, I'll bore you with another story about that cooker. My parents were working out of town and I came home from college and invited my girlfriend over for the weekend. I cooked out burgers or steaks or something on that grill. The method was to turn it up all the way and let it burn off the left over fats when done cooking. I came home the next weekend and asked my sweetie to once again enjoy the weekend at my parents house. I went out to light the grill and found I had left it on high for a week. Needless to say... the fats had been burned off :)
 
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