Anyone had Grunty's BBQ ribs? Homemade smoker : )

[_Stretchie_]

I know several of you on here have tasted GruntyGiggles' slow cooked ribs but we now have a way to make them EVEN better.

We made a smoker this weekend whilst Essex was being terrorised :D

It's an 'Ugly Drum Smoker'

It was mint. It involved the use of:
- A grinder with flap disk
- A 28mm hole saw
- Pipe nipples (meheheheh NIPPLES....)
- Brass ball valve
- Welder
- Destruction of a brand new £50 BBQ from B&Q
- Setting fire to stuff
- Consumption of beer
- Consumption of food that had been slowly cooked with hickory smoking chips
- MASSIVE smile as we got nomalicious on it's ass

Here's the higlights:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120608_183302.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120608_183310.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120608_191525.jpg

Meheheheeh NIPPLES....
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120608_191601.jpg

Fire, UG
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120608_222310.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120609_124853.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120609_164322.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120609_191433.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120609_191502.jpg

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/001%20First%20Smoker/IMG_20120609_215712.jpg

[HoL]

Thats ace, I'm sooooo hungry now

[Bluepete]

Ooooo, me likey lots!

I've got a dustbin and chiminea I use for cold smoking but I see a bit of fettling coming on for hot smoking.

Where did you get the thermometer from?

Oh, and recipe for the ribs please!

Pete ;)

[Souldude]

Had some from my home made smoker too yesterday 5 hours cooking and nearly falling off the bone.
http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa343/souldude_754/bbq.jpg

Not got the welding equipmet for the barrel so converted an argos one to fit old brick built in one. Resuls nom nom.

Bluepete I got a temp guage from BBQ spare parts .co.uk @ £8.50 + p&p its about 20 degrees F out though.

[Bluepete]

Good set up there mate! Illhave a look at that site, cheers.

Pete ;)

[keith_d]

Cool design, but I'd think about replacing the shelf with a circular rail and some butcher's hooks so you can hang more stuff in there at one time. Or maybe I'm just greedy. :)

Keith.

[gruntygiggles]

Ooooo, me likey lots!

I've got a dustbin and chiminea I use for cold smoking but I see a bit of fettling coming on for hot smoking.

Where did you get the thermometer from?

Oh, and recipe for the ribs please!

Pete ;)

Well, I can't share my actual rib recipe...Stretch has just said a big fat NO, wo you can either order some from me and just cover cost & postage OR...I can give you just a basic rub recipe. My rub took me 6 years to get to where it is now, so if you like making your own stuff, I could give you the basics for you to play around with :-)

Cool design, but I'd think about replacing the shelf with a circular rail and some butcher's hooks so you can hang more stuff in there at one time. Or maybe I'm just greedy. :)

Keith.

Well, we have an even better plan than butchers hooks, but also, being enormous, this will eventually have two shelves, so briskets, pork butts etc can go one and ribs and chicken etc on the other.

I do not understand this notion of greedy ;-)

[_Stretchie_]

Where did you get the thermometer from?

Oh, and recipe for the ribs please!

Pete ;)

I just looked on eBay to find one, if you can get it a thermometer with a long probe (snigger) would be better but this will do for now. Cost about £5

Not a chance on the ribs recipe I'm afraid, she's going to make me millions off the back of that

Had some from my home made smoker too yesterday 5 hours cooking and nearly falling off the bone.
http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa343/souldude_754/bbq.jpg

.

That's the must nuts mate, looks great

Cool design, but I'd think about replacing the shelf with a circular rail and some butcher's hooks so you can hang more stuff in there at one time. Or maybe I'm just greedy. :)

Keith.

Ha haa, as Grunty said, there will be a second 22.5" grate underneath it as phase two of the build, also planned is a base with wheels to move it around, a shelf on both sides and hooks for hanging cooking implements and sharp stuff, also, and I think this is the crowning glory, a mounted bottle opener like you get behind bars, you know, for the chef, I'm sure once I get the hang of it I'll find it very hard work putting meat on, twisting the ball valve and leaving for several hours.

Oh, and possibly a Pyrex dish viewing plate so you can see how it's going without opening the lids after all "if you looking, you're not cooking"

We've just put this on

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/IMG_20120610_165601.jpg

[minimorecambe]

Mmmmmmmmm

[andrewsmith]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I wish I had the space

[Bluepete]

Well, I can't share my actual rib recipe...Stretch has just said a big fat NO, wo you can either order some from me and just cover cost & postage OR...I can give you just a basic rub recipe. My rub took me 6 years to get to where it is now, so if you like making your own stuff, I could give you the basics for you to play around

Basics then please. I like to play with food!

Pete ;)

[the white rabbit]

My rub took me 6 years to get to where it is now,

Phnaaar!

Grass needs a cut.

[_Stretchie_]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

I wish I had the space

You do my son, you do oh and Pete, go to butchers, buy ribs, put rub on, leave overnight, put in smoker for several days and use the perfectly cooked ribs to smother the super secret sauce all over yer face and shirt

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2

[andrewsmith]

Stretch

I would be chucked out the house for putting one of them in the yard! I wish I hadn't seen the pic on FB then checked here

[gruntygiggles]

Basics then please. I like to play with food!

Pete ;)

Basic dry rub that will suit any meat you put on the BBQ is:-

1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar ( I use caster as reacts better with the meat for marination)
1/4 cup paprika (or 3/4 cup smoked paprika if you are cooking in an oven)
1/4 cup table salt...sounds a lot, but you need it
2 tbsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)

Make sure the onion powder and garlic powder is proper powder...not granules.

Play around as I did. I have a few more things that go in mine, but the bext thing about doing it yourself from a basic blueprint is that when you reckon you've got it right...it's all down to you :-)

For cooking, try an get the silverskin (shiney membrane) off the back of the rack of ribs. Best way to do it is get the end of a table knife (not sharp or pointed) under the membrane at one end. Get your finger in the gap and make a bit of a pocket, then, using kitchen towel to get a grip, grab the loose membrane and just pull it all off. It takes a bit of a tug, but it is really worth the effort as it is much nicer to eat ribs without this on.

Now, if you are smoking, you only need a thin dusting of rub on both sides as the smoke flavour will do the rest for you. If however you are cooking in an oven, as in rub recipe...use smoked paprika to get the smoke flavour in there and rub a generous couple of dessert spoonfuls of rub on each side of each rack. Wrap in cling film, pop in fridge and forget about them for at least 4 hours, but overnight is best.

So, lets say that you left them in the fridge overnight...

Take out and allow 30 minutes to come to room temp while your oven preheats to between 100-120 degrees C.

Put the ribs, bone side down in a deep roasting pan or tray, dust on a little more rub (just a fine dusting) and pour about 1/4 inch of water or apple juice into the bottom of the pan. Cover very tightly with foil and pop in oven. If you want to eat at 7pm...pop them in at midday. Check after an hour and top up with a little water if needed. Same a couple of hours later and after 5 hours cooking time, remove the foil and carry on cooking. Keep an eye on the ribs now. What you want to look for to know that they are done and ready to eat is that the meat has started to shrink away from the bones and there is a bark on the ribs...ie, looks a bit burned. It should look burned...it should be a proper, crusty bark :-)

When you see this, you can do one of two things. You can either smother the racks with BBQ sauce and leave to cook for another 10 minutes and serve...or you can just remove from oven and serve with freshly made warm BBQ sauce to pour all over.

You can rest the ribs of you want...but to be honest, when they have been cooked this low and slow, by the time you have removed them from the oven, sat them on the side for a few minutes while you get things together and then cut them to individual ribs, they will be perfect for eating.

I won't give a time like, they should cook for 6 hours or 7 hours as all racks will be different sizes, so go by the shrinkage and the bark and you can't go wrong :-)

Let me know if you want a BBQ sauce recipe :smt040

[Tara]

Grunty's recipe for ribs is the best

[_Stretchie_]

It's amazing that I am still only 9 stone with the amount of this stuff I've eaten

; )

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, look at the smoke ring on these

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/IMG_20120610_150726-1.jpg


http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/IMG_20120610_201935.jpg


http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/IMG_20120610_215028.jpg

[gruntygiggles]

Did a little test for Dan yesterday with the beef skirt (couldn't get decent brisket anywhere).

If you know your meat, you will know this, but if not...it is a very useful thing to know. Look at the middle picture above. There are a few strips of cut beef in the centre of the picture and a few in the bottom left corner.
The strips in the centre of the picture were cut with the grain of the meat, you can see this as you can see the muscle fibres are long and go from end to end.
The strips in the bottom left corner however were cut across the grain. This is to say that all of the tissue holding the muscle together has been cut through. You can see that there are no longer muscle fibres staying in long strips from end to end. Instead, you get what looks like a less tidy strip.

ALWAYS cut across the grain. As Stretchie found out last night. Cut with the grain and you have to apply a little force to pull the meat in two. Cut across the grain and the meat will just fall apart in your fingers...making it like butter when you put it in your mouth.

Just a little tip for anyone that didn't know this already. It makes a huge difference!

[gruntygiggles]

Grunty's recipe for ribs is the best

Wub you...now you just need to get yourself a smoker too :-)

[Tara]

Your right i do :)

[anna]

*sulk* you didnt save me any *sulk*

[BanannaMan]

Nice work Stretch!

[_Stretchie_]

It's to make sure you have some "good ole cookin'" next time your here smokin cigars

[gruntygiggles]

Anna.....so gutted to have missed you on your visit over the weekend, sounds like you had a great time catching up with everyone.

Next time you're over, we will have to fire up the smoker for you :-)

Same for you too Bill...You know you wanna try some smoked Wiltshire Pork Butt ;-)

[anna]

Wont leave it so long next time GG, will give you a shout when I book to come over so to make sure to catch up properly xxx

[BanannaMan]

It's to make sure you have some "good ole cookin'" next time your here smokin cigars


I'll take that as an invite to the stray household sometime in the near future. ;)




Next time you're over, we will have to fire up the smoker for you :-)
Same for you too Bill...You know you wanna try some smoked Wiltshire Pork Butt ;-)



Anything GG cooks turns out amazing. :smt045

[_Stretchie_]

Wont leave it so long next time GG, will give you a shout when I book to come over so to make sure to catch up properly xxx

Anytime our kid

I'll take that as an invite to the stray household sometime in the near future. ;)

Only if you promise to bring over some Cheeto's :smt040 . Come on over Bill, you know you want to, bring the missus.

[gruntygiggles]

Anytime our kid



Only if you promise to bring over some Cheeto's :smt040 . Come on over Bill, you know you want to, bring the missus.



And Lays. Lays original ore far more important than Cheeto's, lol.

If you come back though Bill...you won't have to sleep with the ghost...we moved down the hill :-)

[BanannaMan]

Cheeto's and Lay's.
I think I can take care of that.
You'll have to PM me your new addy.
(Hopefully not too far from the pub!)

As for ghosts.
I have an untold story from AR10 I'll share in person. :eek:


Lets see how this goes with the hotel.
If things don't work out there, might could pop over for a visit sometime when you have a weekend off. (?)
Let me know when you get a date.
Need to book the flight/hire bike, etc. asap.



Sorry for the derail but quite necessary to see if this smoker performs well or just looks that way. ;)

[Jackie_Black]

Here's mine, hot smoking meat, LOTs of meat over several hours at about 120c. I bloody luv's it (if you look close you will see there is a second shelf below :smt045 )



http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j11/Stretchie_/Smokers/Food/IMAG0295.jpg

How does one go about getting into hot smoking meat?

I found this on the web will it do the trick? http://www.bbqbarbecues.co.uk/barbequick-smoker-and-grill-3347-500300

I seriously need to know how to do this!

[_Stretchie_]

How does one go about getting into hot smoking meat?

I found this on the web will it do the trick? http://www.bbqbarbecues.co.uk/barbequick-smoker-and-grill-3347-500300

I seriously need to know how to do this!

Yeah, looks like a smoker, maybe that bit you can see through the door that gets opened is a water bowl to prevent things drying out/keep it more moisture in the air.

Controlling the airflow is what controls the temperature.

Here's how I made mine if it helps

http://db.tt/EMCyBCIs

And here's how to make a fatty, takes about 4-5 hours to cook at 120c

http://db.tt/4KMNOBqt


To get mine going I have a chimney starter (Google it, spend £20 on a Weber one from a posh garden centre, the must be the only non massively over priced thing they do and it works great) which I fill with coal, set fire to and leave it going for about 30-40 mins to get the coals going.

Whilst waiting for this I open the three air vents in the bottom of the drum, when the coals in the chimney starter are ashen I pour them over the rest off the coals in the coal basket in the smoker itself and leave for about 20-30 mins for them to start burning then I close off the two rear air vents, leave the front one fully open and put the lid on then check the temp in about 10 mins and adjust the front valve and the exhaust on the lid to get the temp I want. Then the food goes on and gets cooked accordingly for hours until the internal temperature of the meat is right for what we want.

Convenience and fast food it isn't. But well worth it.

[Jackie_Black]

that's amazing! cheers for that. I'm going to get right into this.

I take it you leave charcoal burning and lob wood chips on to make the smoke?
Pork shoulder on one will be brilliant!

[TheOnlyNemesis]

Next summer i am living at your's by the way and eating all your food.

[minimorecambe]

It's awesome :D

[_Stretchie_]

Come over Stu but I'll be speaking to your employers to get them to pay me your wages direct

; )


Cheers Morcambe, glad you liked it

:)

[minimorecambe]

Cheers Morcambe, glad you liked it

:)

That's the only reason I like you ;)

[yorkie_chris]

What sort of wood do you make the smoke with? Does it have to be seasoned or can you use freshly cut wood?

[gruntygiggles]

:smt040What sort of wood do you make the smoke with? Does it have to be seasoned or can you use freshly cut wood?

We have some fresh cut, unseasoned wood from a very good friend on here which we need to try but...

The best woods for general smoking are Hickory, Mesquite and Oak. There is also Cherry, Maple, apple and so on.

Hickory is, IMO the best all round smoking wood. Mesquite is stronger and oak is milder.

We mainly use Hickory and Oak. I do like mesquite, but as it is stronger, I though Dan better get used to the whole smokey flavours before he tried it.

Having meat smoked in a genuine smoker for the right amount of time with the proper woods will be unlike anything you have ever tried that is meant to be smoked. Itnisnworth knowing that the majority of smoked products for sale in their are simply spiked with liquid smoke, so you get nowhere near the same flavour!

[_Stretchie_]

That's the only reason I like you ;)

I can cope with that :thumbsup:

What sort of wood do you make the smoke with? Does it have to be seasoned or can you use freshly cut wood?

To be honest Chris I'm not sure, I just buy packs of wood chips or chunks for smoking but I think it has to do with the moisture content, so if been kiln dried for instance it might be too dry compared to naturally dried cuts. But then as with anything I'm sure there will be people that swear by both, taken from other website(s):

Generally speaking any wood that is hard and free of resin (or sap) is good for making smoke. If the tree makes fruit or nuts you enjoy eating then the wood is typically good for smoking.
This fella comes up on the Smoking forum
http://bbqsmokingwood.co.uk/

Not used him myself YET, but I think I will have to as all the major, public, players have packed away BBQ's and everything to do with it like coal and smoking chips... :smt062

And a list (not definitive) of woods for smoking, alsostolen from elsewhere, but we’ve only tried Hickory (very distinctive andawesome), Maple, Oak and Apple:

ACACIA - thesetrees are in the same family as mesquite. When burned in a smoker, acacia has aflavor similar to mesquite but not quite as heavy. A very hot burning wood.
ALDER - Verydelicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, andlight-meat game birds.
ALMOND - A sweetsmoke flavor, light ash. Good with all meats.
APPLE - Very mildwith a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin darkbrown) and pork.
ASH - Fastburner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats.
BIRCH -Medium-hard wood with a flavor similar to maple. Good with pork and poultry.
CHERRY - Mild andfruity. Good with poultry, pork and beef. Some List members say the cherry woodis the best wood for smoking. Wood from chokecherry trees may produce a bitterflavor.
COTTONWOOD - Itis a softer wood than alder and very subtle in flavor. Use it for fuel but usesome chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Don't usegreen cottonwood for smoking.
CRABAPPLE -Similar to apple wood.
GRAPEVINES -Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats,game and lamb.
HICKORY - Mostcommonly used wood for smoking--the King of smoking woods. Sweet to strong,heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork, ham and beef.
LILAC - Verylight, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb.
MAPLE - Smoky,mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small gamebirds.
MESQUITE - Strongearthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottestburning.
MULBERRY - Thesmell is sweet and reminds one of apple.
OAK - Heavy smokeflavor--the Queen of smoking wood. RED OAK is good on ribs, WHITE OAK makes thebest coals for longer burning. All oak varieties reported as suitable forsmoking. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.
ORANGE, LEMON andGRAPEFRUIT - Produces a nice mildsmoky flavor. Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry.
PEAR - A nicesubtle smoke flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork.
PECAN - Sweet andmild with a flavor similar to hickory. Tasty with a subtle character. Good withpoultry, beef, pork and cheese. Pecan is an all-around superior smoking wood.
SWEET FRUIT WOODS -APRICOT, PLUM, PEACH, NECTARINE - Great on most white or pink meats,including chicken, turkey, pork and fish. The flavor is milder and sweeter thanhickory.
WALNUT - ENGLISHand BLACK - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods likealmond, pear or apple. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats andgame


Hope this helps

[Wideboy]

That timber I gave you was kiln dried but if you put it in water it will soak it up like a sponge, the cherry was stood for a few years also. Pretty much all timber nowadays is kiln dried for cost effectiveness so I would imagine the stuff you bought would be kiln dried unless it was specially cut from the tree for smoking rather than an offcut.

I still need to build one, might do it over winter, you and grunty have delicious meat, I couldn't stop placing your meats in my mouth.

[yorkie_chris]

How come you use a fancy BBQ lid? Any reason you couldn't use a clip top drum with a normal lid?
I was out in Poland seeing some family a few months ago, good vodka and home made smoked wild pig sausage and black bread... om nom nom.

Also care to make an idiot digestible explanation about the difference between the smokers with the fire in the same drum or in a smaller drum next to it?

[_Stretchie_]

How come you use a fancy BBQ lid? Any reason you couldn't use a clip top drum with a normal lid?
I was out in Poland seeing some family a few months ago, good vodka and home made smoked wild pig sausage and black bread... om nom nom.

That sounds great. Despite the rumours, I'm not a sausage lover, but we've tried sausage on ours of varying cheapness and also 'quality' sausages and they do taste great. The one's we did had to be eaten quite soon after they are taken off though. They were juicy and flavourful but then start to go a bit rubbery and chewy after a few minutes but before that definitely the best sausages I have ever had.

The ONLY reason I've got that BBQ lid on is that mine was a sealed drum so I had to cut the lid off. A clip lid would be great to be honest, makes it even easier and cheaper to make. The ONLY advantage I can see of using a domed lid is that it gives more clearance so you can mount the food shelf higher up and have room for a second shelf.

It just depends on what you'll be cooking. Mostly a single shelf will be all you need as it's 22.5" across, and on mine I've got lot's of room on both shelfs for big bits of meat. If you had a flat top then you could still have two shelves, the upper shelf being set a fair distance below the lid, maybe 8" or so to leave room for pork shoulders and briskets and things and the second shelf being just a couple of inches below that and used just for flattish / shallowish things like ribs, sausages and beef skirts.

Also care to make an idiot digestible explanation about the difference between the smokers with the fire in the same drum or in a smaller drum next to it?

Yeah, it's just 'direct heat' vs 'indirect heat'. Mine is direct heat as the heat is directly under the food, and as you might guess indirect heat is where the coals are NOT directly under the food.

You can still do indirect even if it's in the same drum / BBQ, for example, if you have a decent sized BBQ then put the coals and wood on one side and the food on the other.

It's all about controlling the temperature, at 120c the wood smoulders and smokes, whereas if you put the same wood bits on top of a traditional english BBQ they would flame as the temp it ALOT higher.

I think the long and short of it is that direct heat is a little quicker but the end product may be drier, where's as indirect heat takes even longer to cook but may not dry the meat out as much, but we've never had any problems with anything getting dried out.

The offset ones have an advantage in that if you want to add more coal or wood chips you don't have to open the cooking vessel or disturb the food, whereas in mine I'd have to open the lid and remove the food grate(s) to get to the coal basket.

The direct ones (at least in the case of my drum) have an advantage in that the coal basket will hold 10kg of coal and will burn for over 20 hours, so I don't need to add more coals anyway and in theory it can be lit, and then just left when the food is on.

I say in theroy as depending on what you are cooking you might want to be giving the meat a mopping of marinade every hour or so, but then that's no fault of the drum.





I couldn't stop placing your meats in my mouth.

You're just a durty boi