• Start a personal food blog, or, start a community food thread for all.

Cooking on the Pit Boss Copperhead pellet smoker

It was on sale so I had to buy it for $199.00. 1/2 price at Wally World so go find it if you need one. This thing comes with a 5 year warranty and I added another 2 years through Walmart for $16.  Enter your zipcode and snag one!! https://brickseek.com/walmart-invent...?sku=876324460
 
This thing is huge, it has 5 racks 22" wide by 14" deep, big enough to hold full size aluminum pans. There's no electric or gas heat, it actually burns the pellets.
 
I broke it in last night with a rack of ribs smoked 1.5 hours at 300 using hickory pellets, 1 hour wrapped and 30 minutes unwrapped, not bad for 3 hour ribs. I didn't trim the rack and the dog loved the tips!! There was only a slight smoke flavor but next time I'll follow directions and actually smoke them instead of baking them.
 
This this also cooks up to 450F so I'll also try a few pizzas.
100_3861.JPG

100-3858.jpg

100-3859.jpg

100_3860.JPG
 
Click to expand...
Did I mention we're having tacos today?
 
It's smelling good in here, I have the salsa simmering then I'll let it sit till serving time to meld all those flavors.
Roasted tomatillos, garlic, hatch peppers and onion.
100-5360.jpg

cleaned the peppers and diced ready for the whizzbanger
100-5361.jpg

In the pool with cilantro, salt and pepper
100-5362.jpg

Magic sauce
100-5363.jpg

simmering now to thicken and cook everything
100-5364.jpg
 
I'm not sure the brisket will be done when company comes over so I called an audible.
All the recent talk about fajitas made me crave some, I'm using the suggested marinade. 3 parts pineapple juice, 2 parts soy sauce and 1 part water.
100-5369.jpg

Cleaned up and seasoned, they were so long I had to cut these in half.
100-5370.jpg

FYI! A can of sliced pinapples will give you a cup of juice and the grilled pineapples should go fantastic in fajitas too.
100-5371.jpg

I used the last gallon ziplocks yesterday so in a container for a while.
100-5372.jpg
 
I played with the smoker while being lazy for most of the day.
 
I used SR's rub and it came out perfect.
Cooked a rack for 4.? hours unwrapped dry style except a few spritzing and reseasoned the last 15 minutes.
100-5559.jpg

Even the scooby snacks were good!
100-5560.jpg

Threw together a simple vegetable medley Au Gratin with a white sauce and cheese, baked a while then under the broiler
100-5561.jpg

Made a rice dressing mix for sides
100-5562.jpg

 
Sliced ribs after resting a bit
100-5563.jpg

 
Finally made a plate with rice topped with that dressing mix and a little hot sauce for good measure and some Head Country Apple Habanero for dipping.
100-5564.jpg

The ribs were on point, perfect chew
100-5568.jpg

And that Au Gratin was creamy and delicious,  it had a holiday flavor due to me adding a dash of pumpkin spice to the cream sauce! ;)
100-5569.jpg
 
Looks amazing! I'm actually glad I didn't get the pit boss, I feel like I have a better understanding of smoking starting out on that cheap kettle. Although it does look like it works very well
 
I made a small batch of tasso and it came out fantastic.
vlcsnap-2019-11-10-15h09m17s882.png

vlcsnap-2019-11-10-15h09m56s131.png

vlcsnap-2019-11-10-15h10m04s962.png

vlcsnap-2019-11-10-15h10m24s691.png

 
Ingredients:
1 pork butt sliced into 1" x 2" strips
andouille seasoning, I used Targil's from Opelousas La, it's perfectly spicy and the prices are cheap with reasonable shipping. It's not listed on the website so you have to call to get it. While you're ordering make sure to get all the other spice blends they offer. I'll leave a link below.
 
For the cure:
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of salt
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 tsp of cure #1, prague powder #1
1 gallon of water
 
Directions:
mix cure and add meat to a bowl or bag, make sure meat is covered and let sit in the fridge for 2 days.
After 2 days of brining, rinse meat to remove brine and pat dry with paper towels.
Season meat heavy with the andouille seasoning and marinate for 2 days in the fridge.
After 2 days remove and spread meat on a cooling rack to let the juices drip and dry for 2 hours, it's cured and won't spoil
Hang in smoker and let air dry for an hour then start smoking
Smoke the meat for 4 hours at 150 then bump the temp up to 200 for another 2 hours or till the meat gets to 165
Remove and let cool to room temperature
Vacuum package and freeze  till needed.
 
Here's a short video of the process, sorry about the lighting. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXZ3Ntium0s&feature=youtu.be
 
I didnt watch the video, I only have limited data right now, I need to get the internet turned on at the house, I miss YouTube.

I thought about a bucket for brining, but this one from bed bath and beyond looks pretty cool lol

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/the-briner-22-qt-ultimate-brine-container-in-white/5009955?skuId=63430875&gclsrc=aw.ds&&mrkgcl=609&mrkgadid=3254088494&rkg_id=0&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_brand_local&product_id=63430875&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&adpos=1o1&creative=233266395762&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=CjwKCAiAqqTuBRBAEiwA7B66hZUhUnQIk8fKLkOB-0XACyMru-YnU5aSS6gEhWGNTTykRRvecFepKxoCygcQAvD_BwE

I'm pretty broke right now, so a 5 gallon bucket might be what I end up using
 
Well I might just scrub out this 5 gallon pickle bucket I have. I liked the thing that held the meat down on that Briner. Seemed like it would make it really easy for me
 
You can also get bags for very cheap that will hold a Turkey, then place in a cooler with ice. The thing I don't like about a dedicated brining bucket is that I won't use it enough. Just another kitchen gadget to store away kinda like my Turkey deep fryer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top