MikeUSMC: "Bury Me in Smoke"

Ok, I started with a Jim Beam barrel on Craigslist for $100



Sanded it down with a wire wheel on an angle grinder on the bands.
80 grit, then 120 grit, then 150 grit sandpaper "flapper" wheel on the oak
Cleaned it up nice


5/8" self tapping stainless screws (predrilled pilot holes) in every stave to hold the bands up, and to stop the barrel from falling apart when I cut the top off. This took FOREVER


Off comes the top, out comes the loose char. Smelled like smoky bourbony awesomeness


Little 14" Weber "Smokey Joe" for the bottom. I drilled a ton more holes in this for better airflow, and altered the legs a little so it would sit lower




Access door to refill water pan/charcoal




Four 3/4" threaded pipe air vents w/ caps to control the airflow. High-temp, food grade caulk in each stave joint



Somewhere along the way, after all the hardware was on (holes drilled), I was ready for paint. I love the textured look of this stuff. (Spray paint) "Forged Hammered Antique Pewter"



A coat of stain, and BOOM!

'MERICA.









Boss, let me know if you want me to delete any of the double posted pics. I'm not looking to get in trouble here

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Nice box mike!!!
 
   
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pk9vrtbpds

 

[boutros]

Last year, for Christmas, my wife got me a Nutrichef Bluetooth grill thermometer, and I'm really happy with it. I think it only comes with 2 probes, but can accommodate 6, so you have to order the other 4 probes separately (I did). It's nice for doing big cooks (multiple pieces of meat). Plus, you can just roll over and look at your phone in the middle of the night, instead of having to go outside and check on everything. It also has alarms you can set, and temperature graphs you can monitor/look back on, which is nice. Very user friendly too

Smart Bluetooth BBQ Grill Thermometer - Upgraded Stainless Dual Probes Safe to Leave in Outdoor Barbecue Meat Smoker - Wireless Remote Alert iOS Android Phone WiFi App - NutriChef PWIRBBQ80 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076B36HF9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Xwr1DbGDP7SSK

Thanks for the recommendation! Great price too.

 

[MikeUSMC]

Pulled a slab of pork belly out of the freezer to bring to a party last night

PORK BELLY BURNT ENDS!

After 3 hours of open (cherry wood) smoke at 275*, toss 'em into a foil pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and HEAVILY drizzle with honey. Cut up a stick of butter and spread the pads out. Cover with foil and back onto the smoker

Let 'em get happy for another 1.5-2 hours with the butter and stuff, and this is what you should end up with

Drain the braising liquid (butter) and GENTLY toss them in BBQ sauce. They're gonna want to fall apart so try to be delicate. I just squeezed a ton of sauce all over the top and tossed them around by hand. Back on the smoker, UNCOVERED, for another 15-20 minutes to let the sauce "set" and get nice and tacky, aaaaaaaaaannnd...

BOOM!

So freakin' amazing! Gotta be one of my favorite smoked snacks. I should really make these more often
Thanks for looking!

 

[Rajun Gardener]

They look fantastic Mike, I've been wanting to make some for a while now!

 

[PtMD989]

Dang, you should seriously start catering [emoji106][emoji16]. Those look great just like every thing else you cook. [emoji106][emoji106][emoji16][emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[boutros]

Dear god that looks soooooo good! I was gonna bring salmon to thanksgiving, but this looks better! I’m doing this, thank you!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Adult lollipops! 

 

[Walchit]

They look fantastic Mike, I've been wanting to make some for a while now!

I'm gonna have to try them as well!

 

[stettoman]

My "Recipes Kyped From THP" cookbook is getting fatter by the day...I may have to put my smoked delights section into a book by itself...

 

[MikeUSMC]

Made a charcoal basket for the new rig for a test run. I'm trying to see if I can get a longer, "uninterrupted" burn time by burning charcoal vs. splits for overnight cooks. Sucks having to add splits every 1.5 hours or so on a long cook, like a brisket, when the cook goes overnight; catching 45 minute catnaps on the couch or in the garage, here and there, etc. Shit gets old quick, lol. It'd be nice if I could get a solid 4-6 hours of sleep during an overnight cook like I can when I smoke stuff on the barrel.

I'm gonna do another test run with briquettes soon because my smoker ate up this big bag of lump in about 4.5 hours, running at 275*F

Went to another party last night (bigger crowd) and I made 11 more pounds of pork belly burnt ends
(I threw the 3rd slab in my freezer for later)

Sofa king good!
Thanks for looking!

 

[Walchit]

Damn those look good. I dont have any advice on longer burn times. But I do like your basket. Maube put your lit coal in one end and let it snake method across the basket? Idk how many lit coals you need to get that beast up to temp though

 

[Ashen]

I can see how that beast would take a lot of fuel for smaller cooks. Any way to add custom removable partion without it changing air flow.

 

[Downriver]

Nice basket Mike. I agree with Andy, I'd get some firebrick and snake it. Prolly burn for DAYS hahaha!
 
Great looking cook by the way. Lucky party go'ers.

 

[Chorizo857_62J]

Man, that looks SOOOO good!

 

[MikeUSMC]

I do like your basket. Maybe put your lit coal in one end and let it snake method across the basket?

Nice basket Mike. I agree with Andy, I'd get some firebrick and snake it.

Thanks, guys. Yeah, the "snake" (with briquettes) was gonna be my next test run, with some sort of divider in the basket. I'm heading to a party next Sunday at 3pm, and I offered to smoke a brisket and a pork shoulder, so I'll be doing that overnight on Saturday. Those will be the guinea pigs, lol. Probably still too far out to accurately predict the weather for Saturday night, but as of right now it's supposed to get down to 11*F. Guess we'll find out how it works, one way or another

 

[Shorerider]

Your recent cooks have all had me drooling over my phone, awesome stuff, mate. 
 
Is the steel used in that basket galvanized?

 

[MikeUSMC]

Your recent cooks have all had me drooling over my phone, awesome stuff, mate.

Thanks, mate! Means a lot to me!

Is the steel used in that basket galvanized?

NO! Stainless. (Maybe it looks that way from filtering the pic) Don't wanna give anybody galv poisoning, haha. I've had that a few times as an Ironworker from cutting up beams and bridges and shit with a torch. That shit is no picnic, and there's no cure for it! They say milk helps, but I think that's a load of crap. When you're that nauseous, who the hell is gonna wanna start chugging milk anyway?

Same material that I used when I built the bigger basket for my barrel:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/63957-mikeusmc-bury-me-in-smoke/?p=1541502
(^ I always forget that I built that thing, lol. It's buried in my shed somewhere!)

 

[Shorerider]

I kinda figured, as an ironworker, you would know all about using Gal for something like this. Have you thought about adding two partitions lengthways to create an "S" shape for a slower burn?

 

[MikeUSMC]

Have you thought about adding two partitions lengthways to create an "S" shape for a slower burn?

Yeah, I'd thought about that, but I'm not sure the basket is wide enough (13.5"/34.5cm) to do 2 partitions and still keep the heat up high enough, especially in the Winter. I ended up splitting it down the middle with one divider. It's easily removable, so if needed, I can reconfigure it at a later time. Maybe I could try 2 short partitions, running the short way at some point too (?). It's just gonna take some trial and error

Pic, flipped around, so Shorerider doesn't have to do a headstand to see it too:

^ That better, mate?

Here's the fuel I have to get me through the night. If it comes down to it, I still have about a 1/2 cord of split oak in the backyard

Layered in some briquettes, then added some post oak and pecan chunks at the beginning of the snake, then pecan and cherry chunks toward the end, when the pork should be going on:

Between the basket and the chimney starter, I've already gone through a little over a bag and a half (30lbs) of briquettes. Added a few more wood chunks toward the top and some nice Douglas Fir 2x6 for good measure

Nah, that 2x6 is blocking an empty "hole" where I'm gonna dump the chimney starter to kick the snake off

Trimmed the pork early this morning, and it's been brining in cream soda, salt, pepper and granulated garlic all day. Gonna get the brisket out of the fridge and start trimming, injecting, and hitting it with rub in a little while

3:45pm here now. Gonna be a long night
Stay tuned

 

[Rajun Gardener]

Good Luck!!
 
If that doesn't work you can try to add the loaded basket then fill around the basket with briquettes to make the snake a little wider. They should light easy and burn about the same.
 
You might have to use cube starters or a torch to get it lit without messing up the outside snake.