He11s Bells Time to Light The Pit On Fire

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He11s Bells, time to light the BBQ Pit for a serious smoke out.



The menu is going to be 12 lb of home cured & smoked Pastrami, 8.5lb of Boneless Pork Leg Yucatan Pibil, 2 racks of Beef Short Ribs and a pot of smoked beer sodden Baracho Ranch Style Beans. All smoked over an Oak, Pecan and Cherry wood fire.

The Pastrami cured for 7.5 days in the spice brine, was desalinated for apx 24 hours changing the water several times, and the spice rub of Pepper, Coriander seed, Mustard Seed, Brown Sugar, Paprika, garlic and Onion powder has been applied and is now resting for 2 days in the refer before smoking.



After bringing the temp on the Pastrami up to 150* it will be foiled and set to rest in the refer for several more days before steaming.


The Yucatan Pork Pibil is now marinating in a concoction of Anchotte Paste, Orange, Lime and Grapefruit Juices, roasted garlic and onion,toasted Pepper corns, Cumin seed, whole cloves and oregano (then all ground to a fine powder.



After marinating the Pork Pibil will be wrapped in Banana Leaves and smoked.


The racks of Beef Short Ribs will be Kosher Salted and Black Peppered for a simple approach before smoking.

The Beans will be soaked over night, boiled in a cast Iron Dutch Oven with Onion, Garlic, Ham Hock, Cumin, Red Chili Flakes, Chili Powder and a Quart of Beer. They will be cooked about half way done before placing in the smoker for finishing...

To serve the Pork Pibil I have made Pickled Red Onions wt Habenaro chilis, marinated in Oj, Lime and Grapefruit juices.



I will also make Corn tortillas made on my Tortillas Press from fresh Masa...

[MRM]

Holy cow! What army are you going to feed with that much meat? Can't wait to see pictures of the results. How long does it take in the pit until it's done?

[cabmandone]

In the words of a Marine Corps friend of mine " git you some!" Looks good man!

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Originally Posted by MRM

Holy cow! What army are you going to feed with that much meat? Can't wait to see pictures of the results. How long does it take in the pit until it's done?

God, I will throw it all up in the air and whatever God wants he can eat and whatever fall back down to earth is what I will eat.


I am figuring about 8 hours cook time.

I have one of those Vacuum Food Sealer machines...and will freeze a bunch of the Pastrami (Pastrami being a cured meat lasts a long time in the refer). and maybe a good portion of the Pork and Ribs?..That way I can have delish meals already done.

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Conchita Pibil marinated and on the Banana leaf ready for wrapping and the second picture is wrapped...

My problem was that the Banana leaf split along the seams...I shoulda soaked it in hot water to make it more pliable...oh well next time.



Seasoned Beef ribs with Kosher Salt, Black Pepper and Paprika.



Pastrami dry aged wt rub in the refer for 2 days.

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Use a Chimney with Oak Lump Charcoal over the propane Wok burner to get the fire goin lickty split...Drop in fire box, place logs in till they blaze away and the fire dies down a bit leaving a nice bed of glowing coals...this also brings the temp up in the drum to over 300*



Today I cleaned out the grease and hosed out the bottom to get the gunk out...put some water on the bottom to keep it nice and moist...

What you are looking for is a thin clean exhaust from the smoke stack...for this you need to keep the vent open, when the fire dies you close down the vents a bit....till yo have to add new fuel on the fire. Then you have to reopen...

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Here is the smoker loaded up...Pastrami Brisket is above the Dutch Oven with beans, then the two racks of ribs. Next to the Beans is the Pork Pibil and then the Pastrami flat.







My smoker is to capacity and getting to temp was a bit slow...

After about 2.5 hours I pulled the Dutch Oven put the lid and it is now on top of the fire box bubbling away.

Moved the Pibil to where the Dutch oven was and the Pont brisket next to Pilbil..rotated Ribs... Also put left over Banana leaf on top of Pastrami briskets and Ribs...lets see how that works out? I think it will hold in moisture...?

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Here is the mature fire...

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The Dutch Oven on top of the Firebox, and a picture of the beans bubbling away...put some Brown Sugar in after they is soft.

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Smoking away....

Hey those Ribs are done, the Beans are done







Nice smoke ring, comes off the bone clean, Done to medium...




Heres dinner....The ribs are so tender they melt in your mouth, and the beans are done to perfection.....instead of a BBQ sauce I use the bean gravy... had just one....


The Pastrami Brisket (145*) and Pork Pibil (150*) has been spritzed with a few drop of water and tin foiled...Q! is running at a steady 225*

I am about ready to pull the Brisket and let rest for a few days before steaming...

If ya are gona do Beef ribs get a whole rack of Beef Short Ribs.. mostly they cut em thin across the bone in the market. Ask them for the WHOLE RACK uncut...You won't be SORRY...

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Pastrami Brisket is of the fire.





Next step is let them rest for a few days in the refer before steaming them to 203*..

I just have the Pork Pibil left on the smoker..it is registering over 170* and the fire is dyeing down...



After this the BGE or anything else for that matter is for amateurs...

I have stepped up my Q game as I am running 4 different things in the Q at the same time. Each has it's own needs to get done to perfection. Ribs, Pastrami Brisket. Pork Roast and beans.

As it worked out with the ribs being on top, they were able to drip juices onto the meat below...

[tabs]

Pulled the Pork, flavor profile is good and it is tender....but it is dry...

Either I left it too long or the fat content is low..????

Back in the day I used to be able to do a Butt roast in 4 hours on my Century Blvd Drum Smoker that was fall apart tender....and juicy..so that three people and a coupla children would go through a 7 lb roast in one sitting. Now????? I just can't get it the way I used to...when I wasn't fking trying...It has to be the fat content in Pork is down, as everybody wants it lean as they think fat is bad...

the only way I can get a fall apart tender Pork Roast is in a Crock Pot.

Ohh well...

[Bill Douglas]

Does look good.

The pork looks great, looks perfect. Maybe the fat content as you say.

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Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Does look good.

The pork looks great, looks perfect. Maybe the fat content as you say.

It is shreadable tender. Maybe it because is pork leg...next time it will be butt.

[Evans, Marv]

Man the saliva was churning as I read that & looked at the pictures. Congrats Tabs!

[tabs]

I made a couple tacos with home made corn tortillas and that pickled red onions...good.

Thx)

[KFC911]

Oh my gawd...I'd be SOOOO fat.....before Thanksgiving even gets here ! Impressive indeed...yummmmm

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Originally Posted by KC911

Oh my gawd...I'd be SOOOO fat.....before Thanksgiving even gets here ! Impressive indeed...yummmmm

Thx.

It takes quite a bit of effort to run that Pit...it isn't a set the temp and wait for the bell to ring thing. As they say practice makes perfect. I am doing things now that require prep time like Bacon and Pastrami (corned beef).

I know that the Pastrami or even just the Brisket version is not a dinner for tonight item because of the long smoke times, so I do a relatively quick item like the ribs and beans..The Pork I saw done on a cooking show, so I said, "Why the he11 not?" To make that Pit pay for firing it up, I load it up.

To go with the Pastrami...I am going to make homemade Kosher Dill Pickles...

Next on the list is to do an Eggplant Parma....done in the Lasagna style...Make the gravy, fry the bread crumbed plant and layer with Mozzarella, Parma and Ricotta. Put in oven... I will freeze most of that in vacuumed sealed bags...easy to pull out and reheat and it is delish.

[berettafan]

impressively complex tabs. how long (years?) did it take you to get the hang of keeping fire/temps steady?

[tabs]

Originally Posted by berettafan

impressively complex tabs. how long (years?) did it take you to get the hang of keeping fire/temps steady?

The Klose because of being 1/4 inch steel plate for the cook chamber and 1/2 inch for the firebox...does it almost automatically, the trick is keeping that thin gray smoke when adding new fuel...then you have to open up the dampers to let more air in to run a hotter fire...if you run a sootier fire your smoke profile becomes heavier...you want subtle...where you taste the meat first and then say ummm is that a smokie flavor that I taste?

The reason why you go to a BBQ like a Klose is so that you can run a steady temp without having to continuously mess around with the fire. I have had the thinner gauge units and it was always a battle where they burn more fuel as the thin gauge dissipates heat more quickly. In a lot of those units they use a water pan to hold heat.. to act as a heat sink.

No problem maintaining temp with a Klose type of unit.

Ifn I had to buy one today..Lonestar Grillz is what I would go for..a second would be a Shirley in AL. They is expensive...but the product you can put out is commercial or competition quality. With one of those you will never have to buy another again...you gots the best there is.

http://www.lonestargrillz.com/

What I would buy today ifn I had to do it again.would be the 24 X 36 offset, with 1/2 plate firebox, folding front shelf, ash pan, and warming oven...it comes with a propane gas hook up for lighting the fire quick...for the ultimate you could add the Vertical smoker chamber...About 3550 plus shipping, with vertical smoker add 1200. .


Back in 05 I bought the Klose for 2K including Ship from Texas.. I thought I was crazy for doin it...but.....it seems to have worked out. I could sell the Klose for about what I bought it for...and step up...but at this point it is not cost effective. I just will have to suffer through with the Klose..