The Spice House also has locations in Evanston and Geneva:

1941 Central St
Evanston, IL 60201
847-328-3711
M-F 9am-6:30pm; Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 11am-3pm

577 S 3rd St
Geneva, IL 60134
630-262-1777
M-F 10am-6pm; Sat 10am-5pm; Sun 11am-5pm

Bass Pro and Cabela's stock huge amounts of barbecue and smoking supplies, including equipment, wood and seasonings.

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, www.basspro.com
709 Janes Ave., Bolingbrook, (630) 296-2700
6112 W. Grand Ave., Gurnee, (847) 856-1229
6425 Daniel Burnham Drive, Portage, Ind., (219) 787-6800

Cabela's, www.cabelas.com
5225 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates, (847) 645-0400
7700 Cabela Drive, Hammond, Ind., (219) 845-9040

More details

No secret about the meat place west of Rockford...I posted in under live bacon blogging. Here you go:


Eickmans Processing Co
3 00 Pecatonica Rd S
Seward, IL 61063
815-247-8451

swine dining wrote:One thing I've found, pork shoulders from non-factory farms tend to be lean. If your source can do custom cutting, I'd ask them to leave 1/4" fat cap.

Grace,

I've also found local organic type pork such as Wettstein, Gunthorp etc to be lean, delicious, but lean. Far as custom cutting, I've not had much luck

Enjoy,
Gary

I was very happy with the Twin Oaks pork I smoked on Sunday. Tim Ifft delivered a beautiful bone-in 10.4 lb. shoulder with a 1/4" snowy-white fat cap (at my request). Yield was just over 50%, a bit better than the usual raw v. pulled return on factory farmed shoulders. In raw form, the meat was deep rosy pink to red, and after about 12 hours on the WSM, it was juicy, almost smooshable in spots, and had an excellent ratio of darker meat to the stringier white stuff. Oh, and it tasted pretty good too

Grace

swine dining wrote:I'll be test smoking bone-in pork shoulder butts from Twin Oak Meats, Hoffer Farms, and hopefully Gunthorp Farm in the next month. If I have any great revelations, I'll be sure to post them in this thread. One thing I've found, pork shoulders from non-factory farms tend to be lean. If your source can do custom cutting, I'd ask them to leave 1/4" fat cap.

Twin Oak Meats
Tom and Amy Ifft
815-692-4215
www.twinoakmeats.com
orders@twinoakmeats.com
Fairbrury, IL

Ex-Cel Corned Beef
1009 W Lake St
Chicago, IL 60607
312-666-2535
Fresh Packer Cut Brisket/Corned Beef
Bill -Owner

Please note the hours of operation at 5 AM to 1 PM. KNowing this will save you lots of disappointment.

Regards,

Hey LTH WSM-Smokers,

I was wondering if a scaled down pork-shoulder cook (one pork butt 10 lbs range) requires any adjustments to cooking time, wood chunk quantity, or vent positioning from GWiv's Step 5 instructions calling for two pork shoulders. Any other pointers would be appreciated. Thanks!

Rob C.

the economies that are offered by
costco
sams club
both offer choice meats, multiple locations, and superior pricing
and restraunt depot
aldi aslo has decect goods and excellent pricing


in all three you need to be a member
if you are not find a friend and check it out

im not for sams in rural areas
but in the big ciy i say its all fair game
and

mostly though i am a costco fan

great stuff
fair prices
good company

for the speciality markets

pulina market is great
and elburn market is even greater for encased meats
zimmers wild game is always interesting (try the lyon bacon )

Rob C wrote:Hey LTH WSM-Smokers,

I was wondering if a scaled down pork-shoulder cook (one pork butt 10 lbs range) requires any adjustments to cooking time, wood chunk quantity, or vent positioning from GWiv's Step 5 instructions calling for two pork shoulders. Any other pointers would be appreciated. Thanks!

Rob C.

Not really. It takes just as long to cook one as it does to cook two (perhaps it will cook ever so slightly faster, but not enough to make a difference in any of the cooking parameters).

Hi,

I cook a minimum of two pork shoulders. Whatever we don't eat promptly is portioned into freezer bags for another day. The time and materials make it worthwhile going whole hog everytime. In fact, I will take my own advice and prepare some pulled pork for dinner tonight.

Regards,

baby ray wrote:and restraunt depot....
in all three you need to be a member

According to the Restaurant Depot web site, membership is free, but you must present a business license or proof that you represent a nonprofit.

OK you BBQ Pork Butt enthusiasts. I finally did a good pork butt on the smoker yesterday. Tender, falling apart, nice crust. Here is the question. How much crust do you leave in the mix? Just a little for flavor and texture? Maybe more for a more "rustic" taste? I know this is a subjective sort of question, but I'd be interested in hearing what you all have to say. One more thing I learned from this last smoke event. The more fat, the better the payoff. Yummm.

razbry wrote:OK you BBQ Pork Butt enthusiasts. I finally did a good pork butt on the smoker yesterday. Tender, falling apart, nice crust. Here is the question. How much crust do you leave in the mix? Just a little for flavor and texture? Maybe more for a more "rustic" taste? I know this is a subjective sort of question, but I'd be interested in hearing what you all have to say. One more thing I learned from this last smoke event. The more fat, the better the payoff. Yummm.

I leave all of it that isn't scarfed by the chef during the pulling process in the mix.

I cook a minimum of two pork shoulders. Whatever we don't eat promptly is portioned into freezer bags for another day. The time and materials make it worthwhile going whole hog everytime. In fact, I will take my own advice and prepare some pulled pork for dinner tonight.

Pulled pork is the one standard BBQ meat that freezes and reheats well. Also, you're speeding up your learning curve doing two at a time, since they'll cook slightly differently and you have two to compare doneness on.

Here is a confession for you all. I usually use a lot of BBQ sauce on the finished product. On this last smoke of the Pork Butt I didn't have any BBQ sauce prepared or purchased, so I went au natural. What an epiphany! Subtle spicy breakthroughs of GWIVs rub, Blasts of the char crust. The delicate tang of apple/hickory wood. And juicy hidden pockets of mouth melting porcine fat. I'll never miss this experience again!

razbry wrote:OK you BBQ Pork Butt enthusiasts. I finally did a good pork butt on the smoker yesterday. Tender, falling apart, nice crust. Here is the question. How much crust do you leave in the mix? Just a little for flavor and texture? Maybe more for a more "rustic" taste? I know this is a subjective sort of question, but I'd be interested in hearing what you all have to say. One more thing I learned from this last smoke event. The more fat, the better the payoff. Yummm.

that crust is where a lot of the flavor is from all that carmelized rub..mix it in
i do try to leave out as much unrendered fat (if any) from the mix

.
Spring has sprung, seems appropriate to Bump the BBQ Survival Guide thread.............

Hot Dang Gary! That's an INCREDIBLE list!! How long did it take you to assemble that? Why don't you come on up to Montréal and we'll start working on one up here. But bbq is long and far between, unfortunately...

Geo

Gary,
Congrats on the Book and this is a great list! Good to see you the other night. However we did not have a chance to talk Q I hope we do in the near future. I went down for a 2 day seminar with Mike Mills of 17th Street fame and was just a great time! Thanks again for putting this list together!

Danny

When I cant get to Polancics, I have been getting some really good pork @ the Brookhaven markets in Darien, and sometimes Burr Ridge.

babybacks on sale @ $2.99/lb last week, and this week K.C. trimmed spares are $1.69/lb.

I also got a beautiful bone in pork loin there a few weeks ago.

www.brookhavenmarket.com

GWiv wrote:Chicago Firewood Company
790 N River Rd
Mount Prospect, IL 60056
847-724-3182

Nope -- no firewood there anymore. The lot now has signage for commercial parking and landscaping storage kinds of things (gravel, mulch).

anyone know what time Peoria Packing closes on Friday's? I need some BB ribs ans some links for this weekend.

I would call but it is tough for me to call from work, easier to use the net.

thanks.

jimswside wrote:anyone know what time Peoria Packing closes on Friday's? I need some BB ribs ans some links for this weekend.

I would call but it is tough for me to call from work, easier to use the net.

thanks.

I'm almost positive that they close at 5pm weekdays, 3pm on Saturdays, and this post seems to confirm that.

BR wrote:

jimswside wrote:anyone know what time Peoria Packing closes on Friday's? I need some BB ribs ans some links for this weekend.

I would call but it is tough for me to call from work, easier to use the net.

thanks.

I'm almost positive that they close at 5pm weekdays, 3pm on Saturdays, and this post seems to confirm that.

damn.. thanks for the info and link,

I see I could have looked at the first post on this thread for that info as well. my bad.

This is a great list and one that I refer to often, but I have one specific question: do you have a recommendation for a good source for baby backs on the north side? I am working my way through the 5 steps in Low & Slow, and while I expect that Peoria Packing is in my future for spares and shoulder, I have read here that Peoria's baby backs are often cut poorly. I have of course been to most of the north side butchers for other cuts and tend to prefer Paulina, but I've never bought ribs there so am wondering if anyone has any advice.

Thanks.

Paulina has good ribs. But if you have a Costco membership, I'd try them. Their ribs are very good, meaty, and pretty cheap.

casualcrit wrote:This is a great list and one that I refer to often, but I have one specific question: do you have a recommendation for a good source for baby backs on the north side? I am working my way through the 5 steps in Low & Slow, and while I expect that Peoria Packing is in my future for spares and shoulder, I have read here that Peoria's baby backs are often cut poorly. I have of course been to most of the north side butchers for other cuts and tend to prefer Paulina, but I've never bought ribs there so am wondering if anyone has any advice.

Thanks.

Costco is a good recommendation, but I'd also recommend Chicago Meat Market. Pricing and selection similar to Peoria Packing, but not self service and much better quality for loin back (baby back) ribs.

Chicago Meat Market
3021 N Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 777-7116‎

Another place for wood:
Reds Garden Center
Reds Garden Center
3460 Dundee Road
Northbrook, IL 60062

T. 847-272-1209
F. 847-272-1417

reds@RedsGardenCenter.com
http://www.redsgardencenter.com/wood.html

Oak, Hickory, Cherry, Birch, bundles to cords.
Looks like DIY for smoker-sized lumps, though.
I'll probably check 'em out this week.

Does anyone have any suggestions for orchards that sell prunings from their trees? I've heard people suggest going to orchards to get fruit woods but have never done it myself. I've exhausted my supply of Apple wood and am hoping to find something cheaper than chunks at Berger.

Ill add a meat source, perhaps not for the Chicagocentric, but great.

Sages Old Fashioned Meat Market
100 Gore Street
Morris, Il.

815-942-2700
www.sagesmeat.com

Sages has great pork, locally sourced, fresh, and all natural. Not cheap, but great bone in butts, and spares, as well as whole hogs

there is also a meat locker I have talked to a bbq buddy about in Newark, IL. local farmers pork and beef. Ill check it out and report back