jimswside wrote:sounds good heads red, and burt. Its good to see some other folks smoking some meat around here & posting about it.

just dont wait for pics..im not into taking pics of my food

jleblanc05 wrote:A couple years ago I used to drive to Dekalb Super Walmart for the full brisket as that was the only place I could find them in the 'burbs. I saw some in there (Crystal Lake) a couple of months ago, so I assume they still have them. They ran .99 lb pretty often and are about 15 lbs.

yea I knew about the Super Walmart it just wasnt worth it for me to drive that far to get them since i was more than happy with cooking flats from Sams at the time..and at that time i only used full packers for competitions so we got packers through Paulina Market who sponsored our team .

Head's Red BBQ wrote:
just dont wait for pics..im not into taking pics of my food

thats cool, I just enjoy reading about bbq, as well as looking for pics. The bbq forum I belong to is good for both.

Head's Red BBQ wrote:

jleblanc05 wrote:A couple years ago I used to drive to Dekalb Super Walmart for the full brisket as that was the only place I could find them in the 'burbs. I saw some in there (Crystal Lake) a couple of months ago, so I assume they still have them. They ran .99 lb pretty often and are about 15 lbs.

yea I knew about the Super Walmart it just wasnt worth it for me to drive that far to get them since i was more than happy with cooking flats from Sams at the time..and at that time i only used full packers for competitions so we got packers through Paulina Market who sponsored our team .

I cant envision driving from Gurnee to DeKalb for anything! LOL

Like I said; I don't "like" cooking flats, but I do it all the time. Like you said Bill, it a matter of uniform thickness. I saw some in the meat counter at Sam's that had 2" thick points, and 1/2" centers. Absolute garbage for smoking, or anything else for that matter.

My neighbor is doing his 2nd brisket ever, and asked me to help him get it going. I'm thinking he needs me more at the 8-10 hour mark than the beginning, so that I can make sure he doesn't pull it out too early like last time!

Is there such a term as premature esmokeulating???

abf005 wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote:

jleblanc05 wrote:A couple years ago I used to drive to Dekalb Super Walmart for the full brisket as that was the only place I could find them in the 'burbs. I saw some in there (Crystal Lake) a couple of months ago, so I assume they still have them. They ran .99 lb pretty often and are about 15 lbs.

yea I knew about the Super Walmart it just wasnt worth it for me to drive that far to get them since i was more than happy with cooking flats from Sams at the time..and at that time i only used full packers for competitions so we got packers through Paulina Market who sponsored our team .

I cant envision driving from Gurnee to DeKalb for anything! LOL

Like I said; I don't "like" cooking flats, but I do it all the time. Like you said Bill, it a matter of uniform thickness. I saw some in the meat counter at Sam's that had 2" thick points, and 1/2" centers. Absolute garbage for smoking, or anything else for that matter.

My neighbor is doing his 2nd brisket ever, and asked me to help him get it going. I'm thinking he needs me more at the 8-10 hour mark than the beginning, so that I can make sure he doesn't pull it out too early like last time!

Is there such a term as premature esmokeulating???

the super thin flats seems to be a trend with briskets in the last couple years along with very lean pork butts..in my conversations with a beef and pork farmerat the farmers markets I was told its a matter of the animals getting rushed to market way to soon
saw some packers today had like 6 inch points and 1/2 flats ..looked more like a butchering issue than anything else

btw - anywhere from Gurnee is a hike no?

Head's Red BBQ wrote:
the super thin flats seems to be a trend with briskets in the last couple years along with very lean pork butts..in my conversations with a beef and pork farmerat the farmers markets I was told its a matter of the animals getting rushed to market way to soon
saw some packers today had like 6 inch points and 1/2 flats ..looked more like a butchering issue than anything else

btw - anywhere from Gurnee is a hike no?

There's taking a hike and then there's having to take a vacation to go there!!

Sounds real logical on the meat; high demand and the cost to raise an animal to full maturity. I think there's movie out on that exact topic, just cant remember the name.

abf005 wrote:
I cant envision driving from Gurnee to DeKalb for anything! LOL

its all relative, I drive about 800 miles a week just commuting(I know not very "green" of me.. ). So I figure if I need to drive somewhere far for good product, or a meal its all good.

Like tomorrow, Ill drive a good hour out of my way with traffic just to go to Caputos on Route 59, just to get BB ribs on sale, to get some of their great produce, and what I think is the best deli counter around. I know I will be happy I did it when I am eating those ribs Saturday, and when I have a nice sandwich with mortadella, and "gabagool" on Friday night.

Hey all. Just looking at the thread, and decided to pipe up. I have a WSM, went through Gary's training program last summer, and have been doing a little "freestyling" this summer.

For a Memorial Day lunch, I BBQ'd some chicken legs. Marinated them in hot sauce, and put them on the day before the party at about 220 until they hit 165 or 170, about 2 hours. Refridgerated overnight (just to hold them), then grilled them til hot on the day of the party and served with more hot sauce and blue cheese dressing. The chicken doesn't really get as mushy as pork or beef from being left overnight and reheated, and the grill crisps up the skin nicely. Plus I think legs hold up to smoke better than white meat, which can get overpowered easily.
These were a definate hit, and a great way to do make-ahead BBQ.

For a July party, I did 3 boston butts. I get my meat from Schmeissers in Niles, and they are happy to always dig one out from the back with the fat cap still totally in tact. Funny, the first time I asked for that, the butcher mis-understood and came out with one with all the fat removed. I corrected him, and got the fattiest ones they had. I put them on for what ended up being 12 hours at a range of 190-235. I used a rub of hot paprika, arbol chile powder, cumin, brown sugar, kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. I just like the way those traditionally sweet spices work with pork, but you can't go overboard -- maybe 1 tbs of cinnamon for a cup of rub, and a 1 tsp of nutmeg. These came out great. Pulled easliy. Everyone raved, and I enjoyed the hell out of them.

Did a brisket on the 4th of July. Another Schmeissers full packer cut with the WHOLE fat cap. I basically put the thing on at 5 AM, tended to it a bit, then went out (I know, crazy while doing a brisket). I got held up a bit, and when I got back at 4pm the smoker was at 310 degrees. Amazingly it was still one of the best briskets I had done. Although I have only done 4 of them, the other 3 packer cuts from god-knows-where. I contribute the success to the amount of fat on the cut, which protected and moistened the meat. BTW, I do throw a chunk or two of mesquite on when I do a brisket. It just seems more Texas. Plus my briket rub is heavy on the black pepper and cumin, and without the sweet spices.

My most recent smoke was 4 racks of spare ribs from Costco. These turned out amazingly well. I put them on at 11am for 6pm dinner. Normally I fill the coal ring with hardwood lump and some hickory chunks, then lite a half chimney and dump it on top of the unlit charcoal with another hickory chunk or two (as per Gary's instruction, well, he says lite a full chimney, but I find that the fire gets too hot too quickly that way). This time I decided to only fill the ring half full because I knew a full ring would burn for at least 12 hours, and I didn't expect ribs to take anywhere near that long. I dont' know if it was the day (relatively wind free and very humid), the amount of charcoal in my smoker (less than usual), a bad batch of charcaol, or the fact that 4 full racks of spare ribs basically covered both grates from wall to wall (restricting airflow), but the smoker held at around 160-180 for most of the day, even with the vents all wide open. I was able to get the temp up to 210 for a couple hours near the end by removing the door on the side of the unit. At 8pm, with our guests on their 4th drink in our 3-hour cocktail hour, I finally pulled the ribs. Delicious. Honestly the best ribs I have ever had. Almost all of the fat had rendered in my completly unbutchered slab (tips still on) and the meat was the perfect texture of tender with a little pull. Apparently low and slow can be done VERY low and slow.

I find that while learning this BBQ thing, there can certainly be happy accidents, not the worst of which is 3 hours of drinking on an empty stomach. I do find that BBQ is a great way to do a ton of food, relativley inexpensively, for a party. And that, at least among my Chicago native friends, I am a BBQ god. . . which is nice.

jimswside wrote:

abf005 wrote:
I cant envision driving from Gurnee to DeKalb for anything! LOL

its all relative, I drive about 800 miles a week just commuting(I know not very "green" of me.. ). So I figure if I need to drive somewhere far for good product, or a meal its all good.

Like tomorrow, Ill drive a good hour out of my way with traffic just to go to Caputos on Route 59, just to get BB ribs on sale, to get some of their great produce, and what I think is the best deli counter around. I know I will be happy I did it when I am eating those ribs Saturday, and when I have a nice sandwich with mortadella, and "gabagool" on Friday night.

wait a minute now..arent you the guy who says he buys all is meat from his local butcher even though he is bit higher to support the little guy...angelo caputo has come a long way from being the little guy...

MelT wrote:Hey all. Just looking at the thread, and decided to pipe up. I have a WSM, went through Gary's training program last summer, and have been doing a little "freestyling" this summer.

For a Memorial Day lunch, I BBQ'd some chicken legs. Marinated them in hot sauce, and put them on the day before the party at about 220 until they hit 165 or 170, about 2 hours. Refridgerated overnight (just to hold them), then grilled them til hot on the day of the party and served with more hot sauce and blue cheese dressing. The chicken doesn't really get as mushy as pork or beef from being left overnight and reheated, and the grill crisps up the skin nicely. Plus I think legs hold up to smoke better than white meat, which can get overpowered easily.
These were a definate hit, and a great way to do make-ahead BBQ.

For a July party, I did 3 boston butts. I get my meat from Schmeissers in Niles, and they are happy to always dig one out from the back with the fat cap still totally in tact. Funny, the first time I asked for that, the butcher mis-understood and came out with one with all the fat removed. I corrected him, and got the fattiest ones they had. I put them on for what ended up being 12 hours at a range of 190-235. I used a rub of hot paprika, arbol chile powder, cumin, brown sugar, kosher salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. I just like the way those traditionally sweet spices work with pork, but you can't go overboard -- maybe 1 tbs of cinnamon for a cup of rub, and a 1 tsp of nutmeg. These came out great. Pulled easliy. Everyone raved, and I enjoyed the hell out of them.

Did a brisket on the 4th of July. Another Schmeissers full packer cut with the WHOLE fat cap. I basically put the thing on at 5 AM, tended to it a bit, then went out (I know, crazy while doing a brisket). I got held up a bit, and when I got back at 4pm the smoker was at 310 degrees. Amazingly it was still one of the best briskets I had done. Although I have only done 4 of them, the other 3 packer cuts from god-knows-where. I contribute the success to the amount of fat on the cut, which protected and moistened the meat. BTW, I do throw a chunk or two of mesquite on when I do a brisket. It just seems more Texas. Plus my briket rub is heavy on the black pepper and cumin, and without the sweet spices.

My most recent smoke was 4 racks of spare ribs from Costco. These turned out amazingly well. I put them on at 11am for 6pm dinner. Normally I fill the coal ring with hardwood lump and some hickory chunks, then lite a half chimney and dump it on top of the unlit charcoal with another hickory chunk or two (as per Gary's instruction, well, he says lite a full chimney, but I find that the fire gets too hot too quickly that way). This time I decided to only fill the ring half full because I knew a full ring would burn for at least 12 hours, and I didn't expect ribs to take anywhere near that long. I dont' know if it was the day (relatively wind free and very humid), the amount of charcoal in my smoker (less than usual), a bad batch of charcaol, or the fact that 4 full racks of spare ribs basically covered both grates from wall to wall (restricting airflow), but the smoker held at around 160-180 for most of the day, even with the vents all wide open. I was able to get the temp up to 210 for a couple hours near the end by removing the door on the side of the unit. At 8pm, with our guests on their 4th drink in our 3-hour cocktail hour, I finally pulled the ribs. Delicious. Honestly the best ribs I have ever had. Almost all of the fat had rendered in my completly unbutchered slab (tips still on) and the meat was the perfect texture of tender with a little pull. Apparently low and slow can be done VERY low and slow.

I find that while learning this BBQ thing, there can certainly be happy accidents, not the worst of which is 3 hours of drinking on an empty stomach. I do find that BBQ is a great way to do a ton of food, relativley inexpensively, for a party. And that, at least among my Chicago native friends, I am a BBQ god. . . which is nice.

MeIT..you get it!

nice write up too..I haven't bought ribs from Costco in awhile ..are they still using Swifts? if so those are really good

Head's Red BBQ wrote:wait a minute now..arent you the guy who says he buys all is meat from his local butcher even though he is bit higher to support the little guy...angelo caputo has come a long way from being the little guy...

I should be clear, I buy all my beef from my local butcher(cant beat his handcut beef anywhere I have found), he rarely carries spares, and his pork, and chicken is just ok.

There is a butcher in Morris I want to try who gets some spares & other pork, but you have to order the spares, and some cuts early in the week since he only gets in 2 - 3 hogs each week to butcher. One of these Fridays I will give him a try.

Otherwise I buy my pork, and chicken on the way home @ Brookhaven & sometimes Caputos.

IMHO, all of the above options( in regards to their quality & being locally owned operations) are better than Costco, Sams, Jewel, etc. for meat.

MelT wrote:I find that while learning this BBQ thing, there can certainly be happy accidents, not the worst of which is 3 hours of drinking on an empty stomach. I do find that BBQ is a great way to do a ton of food, relativley inexpensively, for a party. And that, at least among my Chicago native friends, I am a BBQ god. . . which is nice.

This passage damn near brought a tear to my eye. Thanks, for the evocative and thoughtful post.

=R=

jimswside wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote:wait a minute now..arent you the guy who says he buys all is meat from his local butcher even though he is bit higher to support the little guy...angelo caputo has come a long way from being the little guy...

I should be clear, I buy all my beef from my local butcher(cant beat his handcut beef anywhere I have found), he rarely carries spares, and his pork, and chicken is just ok.

There is a butcher in Morris I want to try who gets some spares & other pork, but you have to order the spares, and some cuts early in the week since he only gets in 2 - 3 hogs each week to butcher. One of these Fridays I will give him a try.

Otherwise I buy my pork, and chicken on the way home @ Brookhaven & sometimes Caputos.

IMHO, all of the above options( in regards to their quality & being locally owned operations) are better than Costco, Sams, Jewel, etc. for meat.

i agree on Jewel but Sams and Costco always carry Choice or better and you cant beat the availability and selection ..anyway whatvever works for ya

Head's Red BBQ wrote: ..anyway whatvever works for ya

I agree with that statement, for the record my butcher only gets choice and above as well. Plus it is cut to order. The pre cut/pre packaged meat @ the Naperville, and Oak Brook Costco's I have visited just didnt look that good(not neatly cut), not as bad as Jewel and the big chains, but not great either.

Ill stick to buying my tires @ Costco & buy my beef from a family outfit.

SHould be a great 3 day weekend for smoking.... warm, & sunny.

Other than the BB ribs, tomorrow, and the meatloaf on Sunday, I am debating sides, appetizers, and Mondays meat.

slainte

I gotta admit I dont frequent Costco as much as Sams and Restaurant Depot..only because the hours there are pretty bad for me
I have a business account at Sams so I can get in there earlier and have built a good relationship with the butchers there. I use Sams mainly for my regular meat and Restaurant Depot for my larger volume buys (case meat) . I like that I can pick out my own cases by pack date there.
and hey I have no problem at all with people shopping at Caputos..it keeps them in business and in turn helps me keep selling product to them.
My whole point to begin with was that i have heard that that "support your local butcher" and "dont buy meat where you can buy tires" mantra countless times from people on different bbq forums etc.. who in fact dont really practice it. I wasnt saying NOT to buy from the local little guy.
Believe me If i had a good butcher in town id probably use them more but i dont . Im a little guy too and hate to see people buy STRICTLY with the pocket book when one can offer a better product at a bit higher price. lets face it though ..where to buy meat is just another in a long line of arguments with BBQ'ers along with cooking on wood vs charcoal s gas vs electric..sauce vs no sauce..therms vs no therms
meanwhile I got 6 butts that are just hitting around the 16 hr mark and are ready to come off. The Backwoods held rock steady all night at 230-235 all night..perfect cooking weather . Round two later today/tonight

Head's Red BBQ wrote:and hey I have no problem at all with people shopping at Caputos..it keeps them in business and in turn helps me keep selling porduct to them.

cant beat Caputos deli section, thats the main draw for tonight(need some fresh mozz, and other items I cant find out west) as the BB's arnt really a great price $3.49/lb. I think a good price is $2.99/lb and under.

btw there were only a couple bottles of your sauce on the shelf last time I was there, $4.50/bottle... well done...

I am thinking of trying my own version of a bbq spaghetti side that I will finish in the smoker. Also doing monikers(a chunk of cheese rolled up in ground chuck, and wrapped in bacon) for Saturday.

Sunday I may try the bacon wrapped cheese and bacon stuffed avocado on the smoker as a side to the smoked meatloaf.

Monday Id like to do a fauxstrami, but not having a slicer is the only drawback(I am good with a carving knife, but not as good as a meat slicer).

All in all 3 fun days of cooking, eating and drinking planned.

jimswside wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote:
btw there were only a couple bottles of your sauce on the shelf last time I was there, $4.50/bottle... well done...
.

thanks for the update !

Head's Red BBQ wrote:My whole point to begin with was that i have heard that that "support your local butcher" and "dont buy meat where you can buy tires" mantra countless times from people on different bbq forums etc.. who in fact dont really practice it. I wasnt saying NOT to buy from the local little guy.

I buy from the local butcher, direct from the local hog farmer, Costco, Farmer's markets, Peoria Packing, Caputo's (one of the few places to consistently get rabbit) and even the (very) occasional purchase from Jewel. Where I buy meat, or pretty much anything else for that matter, depends on the particular circumstance.

Limiting oneself to a single source does not seem reasonable.

Gary 'it's all good' Wiviott

G Wiv wrote:

Gary 'it's all good' Wiviott

like the new moniker Gary.

G Wiv wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote:My whole point to begin with was that i have heard that that "support your local butcher" and "dont buy meat where you can buy tires" mantra countless times from people on different bbq forums etc.. who in fact dont really practice it. I wasnt saying NOT to buy from the local little guy.

I buy from the local butcher, direct from the local hog farmer, Costco, Farmer's markets, Peoria Packing, Caputo's (one of the few places to consistently get rabbit) and even the (very) occasional purchase from Jewel. Where I buy meat, or pretty much anything else for that matter, depends on the particular circumstance.

Limiting oneself to a single source does not seem reasonable.

Gary 'it's all good' Wiviott

glad we are in rare agreement

BTW -the pork I cooked last night for demos was from Restaurant Depot and the pork im cooking tonight for guests tommorow is from a pig farmer in Mich.. Nate Robinson of Jakes Country Meats .. he sells at Logan Square Farmers Market as well..check him out..a very friendly guy with a great pork product....

So here's a question: Is there a local source for Kosher packer brisket or other smokeworthy cuts? I have a thin brisket point in my freezer right now that I got some months back from Hungarian, but there's not much fat cap on it. My future daughter-in-law keeps Kosher, and although I'm yet to get to lesson 3 on the GWiv Method, I want to be able to eventually give her a new food experience.

Joel - there is a place in the area I remember coming across not too long agao but the name escapes me..if I can jog these old memory cells ill let ya know..sorry

JoelF wrote:So here's a question: Is there a local source for Kosher packer brisket or other smokeworthy cuts? I have a thin brisket point in my freezer right now that I got some months back from Hungarian, but there's not much fat cap on it. My future daughter-in-law keeps Kosher, and although I'm yet to get to lesson 3 on the GWiv Method, I want to be able to eventually give her a new food experience.

I have occasion to smoke kosher briskets a couple of times a year (one of my brothers keeps kosher and I aim to please). First of all, get ready to pay triple the normal price for less than optimal briskets. I get mine from Shaevitz Kosher Meats in Highland Park. You can call ahead and order whole packer briskets. Every time I place an order, I talk to the butcher and tell him that I need this brisket for smoking and I need it completely untrimmed. I always get assurances that he understands what I am asking for (they own a bbq place right next door to the meat market), but inevitably, the brisket comes trimmed in some manner or other and generally has a minimal fat cap. Having said that, with just a little bit of extra vigilance, smoking a kosher brisket is worth the effort, even though normal non-kosher briskets tend to be fattier and far cheaper. In any event Shaevitz is the place to get one when you need it.

Shaevitz Kosher Meats & Deli
712 Central Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 432-8334

Head's Red BBQ wrote:.... the pork im cooking tonight for guests tommorow is from a pig farmer in Mich.. Nate Robinson of Jakes Country Meats .. he sells at Logan Square Farmers Market as well..check him out..a very friendly guy with a great pork product....

Agreed! I talked to Nate a couple weeks ago at the Logan Square Farmer's Market - great guy. I bought some spare ribs that were great. Anyone interested in good pork should definitely check them out.

G Wiv wrote:Limiting oneself to a single source does not seem reasonable.

I've found Costco's beef and lamb to be good. Pork ribs as well, but I prefer Peoria since I can pick what I want instead of being stuck with whatever is in the package. I also like Sahar II (lamb), Chicago Meat Market, Paulina (sausage especially), and Sterling Goss.

Garden Fresh Market in Northbrook and Jewel in Highland Park both carry Glatt Kosher products (I've seen brisket at both places) but as Steve mentioned above, they are very pricey, relative to conventional products.

=R=

Garden Fresh Market
275 Skokie Blvd
Northbrook, IL 60062
(847) 272-0300

Jewel
1600 West Deerfield Road
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 579-0872

ronnie_suburban wrote:Garden Fresh Market in Northbrook and Jewel in Highland Park both carry Glatt Kosher products (I've seen brisket at both places)

I'm pretty sure the ones at Jewel are flats only. I haven't checked Garden Fresh. I definitely will next time the kosher bro is coming over. The Shaevitz ones are nothing to write home about, so I'd love to find a better source.

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Garden Fresh Market in Northbrook and Jewel in Highland Park both carry Glatt Kosher products (I've seen brisket at both places)

I'm pretty sure the ones at Jewel are flats only. I haven't checked Garden Fresh. I definitely will next time the kosher bro is coming over. The Shaevitz ones are nothing to write home about, so I'd love to find a better source.

I haven't shopped at either recently enough to say, so your info is more relevant than mine. I just remember seeing notably expensive briskets at both places.

=R=

couldnt ask for a better day, lots of sun, no wind, nice and warm, and the White Sox start in less than an hour.

Got the ribs on @ 1:00, along with the loaf of ground beef I am smoking for the sauce for my bbq spaghetti, italian sausage just went on. Moinkers are prepped and ready to go. Should be another good supper.

imho, kicked some bbq ass again today

great bb ribs:




moinkers:




brilliant imho bbq spaghetti:








thanks for looking at my days work. It was a great day, and a great supper

jimswside wrote:couldnt ask for a better day, lots of sun, no wind, nice and warm, and the White Sox start in less than an hour.

And a great win to boot!

All the food looks great.