Recent content by va_rider

Lately, I feel like my #2 is having issues getting to temperature. Take for instance, right now. It's been on since 4am with a 20lb brisket in it. The auber is set to 225. It's at 211° some 3 hours later. Should I be looking towards replacing the element?

Here's the info... two packers. Grade unknown. Larger one is about 18#. Smaller is ~10#. Rubbed both with Instacure.. let sit for about 5 minutes.. then rinsed it off. Patted dry, then rubbed with Olive Oil, and coated with Diamond Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper. The smaller one also got a...

I've got people coming over this afternoon for a Single Cask Nation Scotch tasting, so last minute decided to smoke a butt for afterwards.  Got it prepped and rubbed  after dinner last night, then on the smoker at 3 this morning. She's chugging right along now.  Last one I did, I pulled it...

So, having just got the Auber, with the clip on box probe, I wasn't excited about spending more money right off the bat for the nylon mounted permanent  probe.  Especially when the main advantage seems to be that it's always in the same place. Honestly I like being able to remove the probe...

My second run at bacon...  Cured for 8 days.  Smoked it tonight.  Will be having it for breakfast tomorrow.  Pretty standard cure,  with extra brown sugar and Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple syrup.

So, did the analog controller bypass.  Using a clip on probe for the Auber, set on the top rack, about 3" in from the side. P 64 I 041 D 260 That's not a typo on the I. Seems incredibly different from others I've seen here.  Any idea what this means?

What's the importance of smoking bacon to 150? Last time I did this, it took 4+ hours.  The bacon was quite over smoked when it came off.  Why not just smoke for an hour or so then remove? The bacon will already be cured, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Hey folks, It's been a while since I've been on the forum. I've not been smoking much lately because I've been upset with huge temperature swings on my #2. It takes forever to bust through a 185 degree stall on a brisket when the temp is swinging from 170 to 225. So, I decided to go with an...

My #2 takes care of everything low and slow... But sometimes you need hotter and faster...  So... I got a new toy. Very happy so far.  Did a seasoning cook of a pile of bacon...  Now, it's loaded with teriyaki chicken and veggies for dinner!

I mentioned this in another thread...  Being snowed in, I decided to make some today.  Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Spawning from the thread on smoked beers.... We like smoked meat. What goes great with smoked meat? Beer. Who around here likes beer? Like.... REALLY likes beer? I'm an Untappd user. An app where you check in different beers you've had, rate them, provide short commentary on them, etc...

My wife officially calls the #2 the "brisket machine"  as in, 'Hey, you should fire up the brisket machine this weekend!'  I know this is at least #12 since I bought my #2 in June.

So, looking to smoke some sockeye. We were at Costco yesterday, and they were handing out samples of smoked Atlantic Salmon. My wife was a fan, and looked at me and said "you should make this".... So, now I have to figure out how to make it. I've read through some threads here, and it seems like...

Just a quick post today... I had a ~16LB brisket in the fridge, and chopped off the first 10-12 inches to make a pastrami. So, with the remaining, went ahead and fired up a brisket yesterday. The remaining piece was 5lbs, 10oz. I think this was brisket number 9 or 10 since I bought the #2 in...

So, I'm about 2/3 of the way done on my first pastrami. I brined/debrined, last night I smoked it.  The final step is steaming it to 203°... I've looked into several methods of steaming it, and had about settled on doing it in the oven on a rack with a water pan underneath and foil on top...