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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 :)
 
Long day yesterday, and a short night, lol. Slept from 12-4am ;)
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😈 ”The Devil’s Meat” :rofl: Apparently, that’s what a lot of competition guys call it because chicken thighs are the one meat that keeps them up at night, worrying, the night before a competition :lol:
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I swear, the amount of prep work that goes into these freakin’ things hurts my back more than Ironworking, hunched over the kitchen counter all day
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I saved the bottom right tray in my freezer. I wanna do a couple more practice runs before my very first competition I have coming up next month
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Couple of Boston Butts, brined in salt, pepper and garlic in root beer overnight
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2 Briskets (roughly 17lbs each)
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I finally got around to getting a meat grinder (with a sausage making attachment) online. I wasn’t expecting much, since it was only $20 and made of plastic but, I’m surprisingly impressed! I got 6 brisket burgers out of the trimmings :party:
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Been rolling since 4am
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:cheers:
 
Mike reading your thread reminds what a unique place THP is and how many great people are involved.
I went through your whole thread and now I'm starving and wish I was going to the states this year missing my family there and missing the lovely people I met over the decades and you are making me miss the food so much but also your amazing smoking and prep techniques,well done buddy keep the flag flying.💯👍
 
I went through your whole thread... also your amazing smoking and prep techniques,well done buddy keep the flag flying.💯👍
Wow! Thanks, @talas ! I’ve come a loooooong way since I started this thread :lol: I literally cringe at some of my cooks in the earlier pages :doh: It is kinda fun for me to look back and see how much my techniques have changed over the past couple of years. I try to learn something new (and usually do!) every single time I cook. I’m extremely passionate about it, if you can’t tell, haha! It’s become a borderline addiction ;)
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Maybe @Walchit can recommend a good BBQ support group :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Anyway, this is what everything looked like right before I wrapped it today.
Briskets:
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Pork shoulders:
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All of my temp probe alarms are just starting to go off so everything is about to get yanked out and thrown in a the cooler to rest. Weird, but two 17lb briskets and two 8lb pork shoulders finished at the exact same time, lol. Cook lasted about 8.5 hours, running at 275*F :party:

Time to throw on the ribs and chicken thighs... ;)

:cheers:
 
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Long day yesterday but everything turned out ok 👍🏻

Pork shoulder
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Ribs kinda got away from me while I was inside slicing the brisket
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Brisket
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I was in too much of a rush to make burnt ends so I just sliced up the point muscle. You can’t really tell from the pic but it was super juicy
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Flat muscle, sliced
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I saw this “thumb grinder” in a video somewhere so I grabbed one. It finely grinds the rub to give the chicken thighs a little more “pop” after you glaze them. Nifty little gizmo, lol
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Dem thighs tho :lol: 😍
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Thanks for looking, everybody
:cheers:
 
Brisket pics:
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@Ashen, where you at, buddy? 😉
Burnt ends:
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did you buy a laser cutter for those slices? lol.

I love burnt ends at a BbQ place but can't bring myself to not eat the point first as slices. Montreal smoked meat as me hooked on the full fat end of the brisket 🤤

instead I have been scratching the burnt end itch with pork belly or little smokey hot dog burnt ends
 
Did a big cook for my Ironworker buddies last Saturday. Had to pull an all nighter in the rain 😬 I’m getting too old for that shit, lol :rofl:

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My buddy came over and helped me put up a makeshift gutter because I didn’t want the exhaust under the tent, and the rain kept pouring into the cooking chamber. Talk about a nightmare, hahaha
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“Feed me brisket and tell me I’m pretty!” ;)

Too hectic to get pics of the food, but everybody enjoyed it... and I enjoyed my 12+ hours of sleep when it was over 😁

Thanks for watching!
:cheers:

(P.S.- Hey, @The Hot Pepper, I know this was just a “soft launch”, and that you’re probably busy with more important shit lol, but can this thread get moved to one of the “Cooking” areas instead of “Wares”? Or, better yet, are we getting a BBQ subforum back in the future? If not, no worries! Just curious. Thanks! 😁)
 
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