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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. :cheers:









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 :)
 
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Those look perfect! That's my style. Basically a memphis dry rib, no sauce mess all over em (hot sauce after!), and they cut clean and not fall apart but are tender as hell. Nice smoke ring.
 
Damn Mike got skills. Those are st. lou cut right? One pic looks like the curve of baby back.
 
Thanks, everybody!


Rajun Gardener said:
That's the way I like them too Mike. Not mushy soft and a little tug getting them off the bone. Awesome smoke ring too!
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Thanks, R.G. I hear you on the texture. Too many times, I've made them too tender. To the point where I try picking them up off the grate, end up pulling a few bones completely out, and needing a spatula to get them off the grate in one piece, hahaha.

The Hot Pepper said:
Those look perfect! That's my style. Basically a memphis dry rib, no sauce mess all over em (hot sauce after!), and they cut clean and not fall apart but are tender as hell. Nice smoke ring.
 
Damn Mike got skills. Those are st. lou cut right? One pic looks like the curve of baby back.
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Thanks, Boss. I'm gettin' there ;) Yes, St. Louis cut. I just trimmed a little fat off, here and there. No trimming for shape or anything.

I usually I use the "3:2:1" method for ribs, and depending on what you wrap in there, they almost come out too tender (read: sloppy, lol). This time I tried more of a "4:1:1" approach. 4 hours open smoke, 1 hour wrapped (w/ about 1/2 cup of apple juice each slab), then unwrapped with a VERY LIGHT (just a couple of TBSP) basting of BBQ sauce for the final hour. That way, it's just a little tacky and caramelized, but there's not big globs of sauce falling off everywhere. I'll probably use 4:1:1 from now on, because like you mentioned, it doesn't make a complete mess while slicing. Cutting the wrap time from 2 hours down to 1 fixes all of that. Nice, crisp, clean cuts :party:
 
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WarrantMan said:
Mike,
 
Gonna sound weird, but in April here, there are usually some good sales on corned beef briskets that were not sold in March for St. Patrick's season (pennies on the dollar). Just on a whim last year, I bought a few, rubbed one down and smoked it as an experiment. Took it to work and it evaporated something quick... Not too shabby! Still get requests to do another.... Different but oh so delightful!
 
Reggie
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I did this exact thing this weekend.  soaked the brisket in cold water for an hour to help remove the brine, but essentially already seasoned.  A little paprika and turbinado sugar, and good to go.  Disappeared quickly between me and dog (moose and squirrel).
 
Gonna stock up.
 
MikeUSMC said:
I do wanna make a bigger charcoal basket for this. The little 14" grill ain't cutting it anymore
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Finally got around to doing this! :party: For the bottom grate, I bought a 17" Weber grate, which I think is meant to hold the charcoal in a 22.5" grill. Fits perfectly in the bottom of my barrel. 2 pieces of 12" tall "expanded metal" mesh, and a bunch of random stainless hardware and shit for the burn divider.

It'll be nice not to have to set my alarm clock to refill the charcoal at like 2am during long cooks, lol

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I can fit a full 18lb bag of charcoal; hoping to get a 24 hour burn out of it!
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Now, I just have to find an 18-20" pizza pan for underneath so the ashes aren't falling directly onto the 'floor' of the barrel. I have a 16"(?) one for now from using the 14" grill
 
I've got 2 helpers this time ;)
My younger son (he's standing on a stool; he's not that tall, lol) still won't touch the rub because his hands will "get yucky," hahaha. He stuck with with injecting the brisket with beef broth :)

I think this one was like 14-15lbs. Put it on today at 11am

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:cheers:
 
5 hours in, just spritzed with some apple juice :party:

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Smellin' good in the neighborhood! Beautiful weather, cold beer, and jamming out to some Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughn in the garage. Life is good!
(until I start pulling my hair out around the 15-18 hour mark ;) :rofl: )
 
Thanks everybody!

I had every intention of checking on it again last night, around 11:30. My eyes were getting really heavy on the couch around 10:45, so I set my alarm. Woke up at 11:30pm, hit snooze, woke up again, then...

"I'm just gonna......'rest my eyes'..... just for 'a minute'......... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
(Damn beer :rofl: )

Woke back up at 6am, still on the couch, in an absolute freakin PANIC!
Perfect timing though! Smoker was holding at a perfect 226*, and the internal temp was at 201* :party:

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The new charcoal basket will hold hot coals for 18 hours, so I'm pretty pumped about that. Wrapped it in foil, then in blankets, and its resting in the cooler now.

The "point" is a pretty decent size on this, so I'll be making some burnt ends too. Gonna throw the ham, keilbasa, and burnt ends on around 11am I think
 
You win some, you lose some. I'm kicking myself in the ass now for not waking up last night. Water pan was bone dry this morning, and the so is the meat. Pretty tough too. Oh well, lesson learned

Either way, the point fell right off the flat. They were like the same freakin size, lol. Point is usually a lot smaller
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Making some burnt ends out of it, pulled the rest for tacos later in the week
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Tossed it in some Stubb's. Hopefully it'll moisten up a little bit
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Yeah, definitely not my best brisket, by a long shot I'll never make that mistake again!

Everything else came out great though, except for some built up grease on the ceiling of the barrel, dripping down onto the left side of that ham, haha (I cut that part off)
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Ham came out freakin' amazing though! Super moist and juicy, with a maple, brown sugar, Dijon mustard glaze
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No plated pics. Too hectic, had a bunch of family over yesterday
 
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