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

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 :)
 
hard to fairly judge from a picture but you might need to crack your inlets open a bit further judging by the white stuff spewing from your purple beast. 😉 unless of course you have been elected the Pope of BBQ. 🙂

“Pope of BBQ” 😂

Yeah, man. I’m still having trouble dialing this cooker in. I think I’ve only cooked on it two or three times so far. First time I fired it up, I filled the charcoal basket and dropped two starter tumbleweeds on top and lit it that way. Left the lid open and the intakes wide open until the coal were definitely lit, and it still took almost 3 hours for the white smoke to stop. The next couple of times that I used it, I dumped a fully lit chimney starter of coals on top, and it did the same thing. I’m having trouble getting that nice, thin blue smoke that we all aim for. I’ve tried both lump and briquettes; no difference.

I’m hesitant to try putting the tumbleweeds BELOW the charcoal (and lighting it from the bottom) because I think, since the flames will be going straight up, it’ll be nearly impossible to get the temp down once the entire charcoal basket is lit. I could be wrong though. Might be worth a shot
 
Beef “Dinosaur” Ribs 😎🔥

D6380579-3B45-4FF0-BDFD-B336163E7D40.png

450F239F-77E7-4A02-9B06-F6BBF5A48711.png

32D28C53-21E4-47BB-87C3-9575B0A7B754.png

C408621D-04D0-43AF-9B3D-0900E964756A.png

C4556C0D-7C64-4A77-A28C-E58D46BFFDF9.png

38426197-E4E7-47DB-B858-1D092FF82649.png

8A987911-100E-410A-88E5-7A0FD179BEEF.png

Smoked low and slow on my WSM, between 225-250°F, over charcoal with post oak and cherry chunks, for about 12 hours.

Thanks for looking 🍻
 

Attachments

  • FDC5917F-FFFB-4856-835E-79F55307DFAA.png
    FDC5917F-FFFB-4856-835E-79F55307DFAA.png
    913 KB · Views: 53
Last edited:
Thanks, bud. I smoked these on my WSM over B&B Charcoal briquets and chunks of post oak and cherry wood. Used these 2 rubs:

786A0C70-FF25-4412-BA52-60DA670E4224.jpeg
Never heard of that rub, gonna have to try it out. Have you tried any rubs from Chupacabra, Kosmos, Sucklebusters or Meat Church? Right now I’m liking the Chupacabra but looking to add something else to the rotation.
 
Have you tried any rubs from Chupacabra, Kosmos, Sucklebusters or Meat Church?
Lol, yup 😉

4A809130-E13C-4063-B71D-DA73309FEC67.jpeg

59386A3B-D1F7-4C7C-ABB3-5CE55A719368.jpeg

83E93FDB-A008-4D44-994B-305A8FF87647.jpeg


Go back one page to see some spare ribs I made with Kosmo’s stuff 🔥👍🏻

DEE0F9C6-893D-49D7-A07A-8E6FEC7340CC.jpeg

EF219B03-5B31-45FD-80B6-767F74701CDE.jpeg


Meat Church has some bangers too. Their “Honey Hog” and “Honey Hog HOT” are great on pork, and their “Holy Cow” is amazing on brisket. Their chili seasoning is BOMB too! I love their stuff. They just came out with a “Texas Sugar” rub (I think that’s what it’s called) very recently and it’s been getting rave reviews. I’m looking forward to trying that one soon.

8212502B-EC7A-428D-95C9-231DE19B7204.jpeg


The only one of these that I’ve tried from Sucklebuster’s so far is the “Texas Brisket Rub” (on a brisket). I’ll give it another shot but, I was kind of underwhelmed. Meh. I forgot I even had that “Sugar Daddy” one, haha. I’m going to have to try that on some ribs or pork belly soon!


Never tried Chupacabra though. If you’re looking to give those Hook’s rubs a shot, use promo code “IRON MIKE” at checkout for 15% off your order, lol. The owner is a super cool guy who offered me an ambassadorship on Instagram. Believe me, I never would’ve accepted if I didn’t really like their products.


Let me know if you’ve been eyeing any other rubs lately. There’s a chance I’ve already tried them. These are all full of rubs, glazes, injections, sauces, thermometers, gadgets, etc. lol 😂
CEBA4DBB-26F9-487F-91BC-9C9B8932ED29.jpeg


I’ve been busy… 😎🍻
 
Last edited:
And to think, I knew you when you bought your first tool box. My, how you've grown young man! :rofl:
 
Holy Guacamole man, you have quite a selection. I’ll give your Hooks a shot even though it’s from Utah😜 Yes please try the original Chupacabra and let me know your thoughts. I’ll send one if needed but you gotta try that one.
 
🥓 BACON WRAPPED SMOKED OREOS 🔥

You’re just gonna have to trust me on this… 😂

Regular sliced bacon (not thick cut), wrapped around a double stuffed Oreo, and hit with a light dusting of Kosmo’s Q “Honey Killer Bee” rub:
3E7AB529-5B71-4FA0-9F68-D438FF0E001E.jpeg

FAF6B982-2396-476B-9E6C-4FF23E47EAC3.jpeg

E345401E-C0CE-46EB-8643-4A3ABE748716.jpeg

F0A6AF6B-857D-441B-AB5F-5B04452F15E2.jpeg


These were absolutely delicious and, obviously, ridiculously easy to make. The only things I’d change next time would be:

1. Try this again with the peanut butter Oreos

or

2. Use these original flavored Oreos, but glaze them with a really sweet BBQ glaze towards the very end of the cook

Don’t knock it ‘til you try it! 🔥
Thanks for looking! 🍻
 
My first stab at making Beef Wellington 🔥
(Christmas dinner)

330A14A6-9020-4581-B036-E0575F397C3F.jpeg

8A1FD2B3-A3B4-4CAC-B80B-DEA82755EEC8.jpeg

82AC636A-522C-4E9C-897D-9C6B09DA6F57.jpeg

11F63903-39F1-46C9-AED6-6B1B0162E1CF.jpeg

82FF712A-15E0-4FE6-BA22-CEB88E8D9AC8.jpeg


Didn’t get any preparation pics but, I seasoned and browned the tenderloin in a cast iron skillet, then set it aside to cool. Laid out about 10 slices of very thinly sliced Jamón di Parma (“fancy” prosciutto, lol. $26/lb 😳) on some Saran wrap. Blended a pound of cremini mushrooms in the food processor, then cooked them in a frying pan to get the excess moisture out. Spread the mushroom “paste” onto the prosciutto, and dropped the beef on top of that. Rolled it up (tightly!) in the Saran wrap, and put it in the fridge for a little bit to “tighten up”. New layer of Saran wrap on the counter, and laid out a sheet of Pillsbury crescent roll dough. Placed the meat onto that and brushed the edges of the dough with whipped egg yolks. Using the Saran wrap, I rolled the puff pastry around the meat, trimming any excess dough, and pinching the seams tightly. Brushed the entire thing with more egg yolks, then sprinkled with coarse pink Himalayan salt. Baked at 400°F until it hit an internal temp of 126°F. Served with a creamy horseradish sauce on the side.

Even though this still came out delicious, and the beef literally melted in your mouth, I still think I’d change a few things next time…
For starters, I think I’d try cooking it at 425° next time, for a shorter amount of time, and I’d also pull it out of the oven to rest at a lower internal temp too (115°ish, maybe?). I think that would get me the “wall to wall” pink on the inside that I was originally aiming for. Also, I would use less coarse salt next time because my 12 year old son thought he found a “tooth” in his food :rofl:

Either way, it still came out good. Thanks for looking, everybody 🍻 I hope everybody had a happy holiday!
 
Last edited:
@MikeUSMC

there are versions that use crepes instead of puff pastry for the outer wrap.

the upside is you don't have to worry a out cooking the puff pastry through and ruining the cook on the meat . you can flavour the crepes too.

I'm not particularly a beef tenderloin fan but venison Wellington is damn fine.
 
I smoked this brisket earlier this year but, I’ll be damned if it wasn’t one of my best to date. I got extremely lucky with the marbling on this one too; it was only a “Choice” grade cut.

E9516802-3176-4AEA-A755-BB49AD9FF9B3.jpeg

676E1EDC-E227-42B0-84F3-08BF7C0F929B.jpeg

7DD5863F-4EF1-41B0-A6DA-9C5FF6372C35.jpeg

D7B2ECA0-66AB-4355-985B-487340F22207.jpeg

61A7E3AE-AB78-453C-AE7C-0DF8339EFFCD.jpeg


All of the usable trimmings got ground into burger meat, and the unusable stuff got rendered down into beef tallow
F056D2E2-9CE6-4717-AC76-F56C5907990A.jpeg

A1575C21-665A-4F83-BBF3-006F6665DCBC.jpeg


Thanks for looking 🍻
 
Back
Top