Charcoal Reviews...

Tired of the "Blue Bag" charcoal that burns fast and makes a ton of ash? Don't like that funky taste that some charcoals can produce? Looking for some lump charcoal, but don't have the time to test out various brands? The check out the new link added over on the right: The Naked Whiz. The Naked Whiz is a scientific, comprehensive, searchable database of charcoal, both lump and briquette. Give it a look. You might find something better than what you currently use...

The Stumps Baby

I tried many smokers over the years:  Bullets, Weber Kettles, CharBroil Silver Smokers, etc...

I was never happy because they were hard to regulate the heat and needed numerous modifications to work in a semi-acceptable way.

Then, I started doing some research and found the gold standard...  Stumps Smokers.

I started with their smallest vertical gravity fed smoker, the Stumps Baby:

Produced in the good old USA by the good folks at Stumps Smokers in Centerville, GA.  It is an amazing piece of equipment.

It came professionally packaged:

I have the older 4 rack Baby.  The newer models have 3 racks inside:

Charcoal chute holds 5 lb of lump charcoal:

The ash pan is a convenient place to place your wood chunks for smoking (or you can add with your charcoal in the chute).  The ball valve on the ash door regulates the air flow through the smoker for temperature control:

The cook chamber is insulated to keep temperature steady, no matter what the outside temperature might be.  All of the doors have high temp gaskets to keep the cooker at your desired cook temp.  No issues with air leakage which makes temp control in my older smokers next to impossible:

Any grease from cooking flows out a drain into a drip pan on the bottom:

The outer shell is pained with high quality automotive paint.  So, you can wash and wax to protect that shine.  No rust issues with the Stump if you take care of your smoker:

Even dogs like them... ;)

So, if you are in the market to upgrade that back yard smoker, do a little research I know you'll love a Stumps...

BBQ Spare Ribs

Did some Super Bowl rib practice as well... 4 half racks.  Sprayed down with balsalmic vinegar: 2 with Butchers honey rub, 2 with my knock off Rendezvous Rub. Overnight happy time. After happy time... Ruben over at BBQ Guam likes 2/3 Sweet Baby Rays 1/3 Catalina Dressing. So, I sauced one of each with that and sauced one of each with my Yuengling Lager BBQ Sauce. 4 hours at 250 with peach and hickory. Glazed. 30 more minutes. The unanimous winner was Butchers Honey/Yuengling Lager Sauce. Sweet, tangy, with a nice bite... Oh, and I did a pizza for the picky kids...

Brisket Tutorial

Well, this past Sunday I did a brisket practice so that we can improve our scores in this category.  Our brisket kept us out of the top 25.  So, here is what we did:

Injected brisket with T-Bone Bobs Steak Marinade.  Recipe available off of the Triple D website:

Light coating of All Purpose Rub.  Works on just about anything:

Ingredients:

1 cup Sugar
½ cup Paprika
5 Tbsp Kosher Salt
3 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
3 Tbsp Chili Powder
3 Tbsp Celery Seed, Ground
3 Tbsp Onion Powder
2 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper
1 Tsp Dry Mustard
½ Tsp Paprika
½ Tsp Ground Thyme
½ Tsp Cayenne
¼ Tsp Tumeric
¼ Tsp Onion Powder
¼ Tsp Garlic Powder
¼ Tsp Cornstarch

Metrics:

Difficulty: Easy
Yield: ½ Quart
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Keywords: Rubs
Attribution: cjm22380 (Stumps Forum)

Wrapped in Saran Wrap, put in frig for overnight happy time...

Next morning.  As you see, the rub forms a nice paste all around...

Sunrise on the hill...

Brought the smoker up to 250 and threw some pecan chunks in the ash pan and placed on the middle rack...

Cooked until the Thermapen went into the brisket like butter, about 210 internal for this brisket.  As you can see, nice dark bark on the outside...

Wrapped in foil and a towel and placed in a cooler and let rest for 3 hours.  Pulled out and sliced against the grain...

Nice and pull apart tender with a smoke ring as well.  

Enjoy the pics,

Bill