That pork looks killer, Mike!
food MikeUSMC: "Bury Me in Smoke"
- Thread starter MikeUSMC
- Start date
I'm gonna have to try the carnitas! I just grabbed an 18" weber Smokey mountain. Hopefully I can find some time to get it cleaned and re-seasoned this weekend. But with mothers day being the same day as the wife's bday this year, and a soccer game here in a minute, I probably won't be able to cook anything yet. I have a 7lb pork shoulder-butt in the freezer though!
I’m there [emoji16][emoji106]MikeUSMC said:MAIDEN COOK!
Well, I think I'm a lot closer to figuring this new rig out than I was for the seasoning burn. Pretty sure I was right about that thick, billowing white smoke issue too. Starting out with 2 layers of charcoal in the firebox results in too much ash buildup, and it won't fall down into the ash pan, choking off the fire. This time, I started with a full chimney of hot charcoal (as a bed), and started throwing splits on top of that. Seemed to work out great!
Anybody who's followed this thread knows that I've made Malcom Reed's pulled pork carñitas recipe more than a handful of timesThis might've been the first meal I made on my whiskey barrel too. So damn good!
Started with a 10lb bone-in Boston Butt, seasoned it, then threw it in a 2.5 gallon bag with onions, oranges, limes, garlic, and a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Topped off with orange juice to marinate overnight in the fridge
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Took it out the next morning, hit it with some "A.P." seasoning (salt, pepper, granulated garlic), BBQ rub, ground cumin, Ancho powder, and ground cinnamon
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And, we're off! Tried staying as close as I could to 275*F. Rajun Gardener, you were right about the temp swings, man. I was letting it get down to 250ish, then add a few splits, and it'd get close to 300* then settle back down. Thanks for the tip very much!
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Look at the color on that! And look at that delicious fat, sizzling away! Mmmmm.....
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About 5 hours in, and I put it in a pan with the braising liquid (50/50 OJ/tomato juice) and some more citrus and onion and garlic. Covered in foil to braise
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Few hours later, internal temp to 198*. Smelling good in the 'hood!
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Pulled
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Man that looks great [emoji106]
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YEP, he's hooked.MikeUSMC said:
Andy.... dude..... you're HOOKED! And I love it!!!
That's gotta be, what? 5 or 6 grills/smokers in the last 2 months?! You're a madman, haha!!!
Almost time for an intervention
Andy, you might as well start looking for a drum now, you have all those Webers for parts and a lid.
Man he does it right.
Don't rub him the wrong wayMikeUSMC said:
Well, I was stressed out of my God damned mind, but I made it out of Memorial Day weekend alive! 
My wife turned 40 a couple of weeks ago, so I threw her a huge birthday party. Biggest party I've ever hosted, by far, and I've definitely never cooked for that many people before! 120 people (including kids) came , and a lot of people helped me out IMMENSELY with bringing side dishes, and helping clean as the party was going on. I can't thank them enough for that, especially since I was running on fumes by the end of the night, haha. Fired up the big smoker at 9pm Saturday, threw the briskets on at 10pm, and the pork on at 3am. Slept from 3:30-5am..... in an Adirondack chair, next to the smoker, so I wouldn't wake my wife up that early, haha. Guests came at 2pm on Sunday
Couple of random pics of the yard setup:
This is the corner of the yard that I was chained to all day, hahaha. Coincidentally, I was set up right next to all the kegs 
Ok, now the pics you guys all care about
I ended up making:
-150 bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños (on the whiskey barrel)
-3 briskets
-4 pork shoulders
-3 whole chickens
-16 racks of St. Louis style ribs
-smoked baked beans
-smoked mac and cheese w/ bacon and panko crumbs
-grilled boneless chicken (marinaded in Italian dressing)
-grilled burgers, hot dogs, etc.
Plus, guests brought more side dishes and desserts than I could count
Not even exaggerating a little bit..... this was easily THE best brisket I've ever had in my entire life
Dude....
It.
Melted.
In.
Your.
Mouth.
Check out that smoke ring!
Thanks for watching! Cheers!
My wife turned 40 a couple of weeks ago, so I threw her a huge birthday party. Biggest party I've ever hosted, by far, and I've definitely never cooked for that many people before! 120 people (including kids) came , and a lot of people helped me out IMMENSELY with bringing side dishes, and helping clean as the party was going on. I can't thank them enough for that, especially since I was running on fumes by the end of the night, haha. Fired up the big smoker at 9pm Saturday, threw the briskets on at 10pm, and the pork on at 3am. Slept from 3:30-5am..... in an Adirondack chair, next to the smoker, so I wouldn't wake my wife up that early, haha. Guests came at 2pm on Sunday
Couple of random pics of the yard setup:
This is the corner of the yard that I was chained to all day, hahaha. Coincidentally, I was set up right next to all the kegs
Ok, now the pics you guys all care about
I ended up making:
-150 bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños (on the whiskey barrel)
-3 briskets
-4 pork shoulders
-3 whole chickens
-16 racks of St. Louis style ribs
-smoked baked beans
-smoked mac and cheese w/ bacon and panko crumbs
-grilled boneless chicken (marinaded in Italian dressing)
-grilled burgers, hot dogs, etc.
Plus, guests brought more side dishes and desserts than I could count
Not even exaggerating a little bit..... this was easily THE best brisket I've ever had in my entire life
Dude....
It.
Melted.
In.
Your.
Mouth.
Check out that smoke ring!
Thanks for watching! Cheers!
DAMN, Told you!! 
It took all this time to recover?
Awesome cook dude, now it's time to start an underground BBQ joint!!! You already have a huge customer base so no reason not to.
It took all this time to recover?
Awesome cook dude, now it's time to start an underground BBQ joint!!! You already have a huge customer base so no reason not to.
awesome party and awesome food and all i can say is i want all the burnt ends!!!!! the bark on the meat looks amazing. that celebration is a memory that you and your wife will have for the rest of your lives. congrats on throwing that big of a cookout!!!MikeUSMC said:Well, I was stressed out of my God damned mind, but I made it out of Memorial Day weekend alive!
My wife turned 40 a couple of weeks ago, so I threw her a huge birthday party. Biggest party I've ever hosted, by far, and I've definitely never cooked for that many people before! 120 people (including kids) came , and a lot of people helped me out IMMENSELY with bringing side dishes, and helping clean as the party was going on. I can't thank them enough for that, especially since I was running on fumes by the end of the night, haha. Fired up the big smoker at 9pm Saturday, threw the briskets on at 10pm, and the pork on at 3am. Slept from 3:30-5am..... in an Adirondack chair, next to the smoker, so I wouldn't wake my wife up that early, haha. Guests came at 2pm on Sunday
Couple of random pics of the yard setup:
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IMG_8511.JPG
This is the corner of the yard that I was chained to all day, hahaha. Coincidentally, I was set up right next to all the kegs
IMG_8503.JPG
Ok, now the pics you guys all care about
I ended up making:
-150 bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños (on the whiskey barrel)
-3 briskets
-4 pork shoulders
-3 whole chickens
-16 racks of St. Louis style ribs
-smoked baked beans
-smoked mac and cheese w/ bacon and panko crumbs
-grilled boneless chicken (marinaded in Italian dressing)
-grilled burgers, hot dogs, etc.
Plus, guests brought more side dishes and desserts than I could count
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IMG_8494.JPG
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Not even exaggerating a little bit..... this was easily THE best brisket I've ever had in my entire life
IMG_8496.JPG
IMG_8497.JPG
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Dude....
It.
Melted.
In.
Your.
Mouth.
Check out that smoke ring!
IMG_8500.JPG
Thanks for watching! Cheers!
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Was there a Porta-John cuz no way 150 peeps using my facilities... after that food........
Yes, I think I see a dual next to the bouncer
Yes, I think I see a dual next to the bouncer
Great job on all that food, and congrats for pulling off such a huuuge party for your wife's 40th. Now that's a memorial day weekend BBQ right there!!!
Haha, yeah dude! It was an absolute necessity, especially since everyone in my neighborhood (myself included) has septic systems (no city sewer). No way I was gonna chance this party turning out like the wedding rehearsal scene in "Meet The Parents"The Hot Pepper said:Was there a Porta-John cuz no way 150 peeps using my facilities... after that food........
Sure did, man!Rajun Gardener said:It took all this time to recover?
A bunch of my Marine buddies came up and stayed with us for the weekend again. Great times! Party was on Sunday so everyone could "recover" on Monday, but we ended up turning the knob back up to 11 on Monday too Monday morning mimosas quickly turned into screwdrivers, which quickly turned into shots and beers, haha Next thing we knew, it was 10pm on Monday Nuff said? I'm sure you understand how easily that can happen Thanks again for the compliments, everybody!
midwestchilehead
eXtreme
Go big or go home. You did both! Great work, Mike.