Got the pecan, hickory and charcoal in the WSM

Have duck breasts brining, couple of filets have been seasoned, chuck eye marinating all going on the BGE later this afternoon.

Roasting asparagus and brussels sprouts with a balsamic glaze

Strawberries and blueberries for dessert

Happy 4th to all

Might as well make this the official 4th of July cooking thread. Have a 9lb brisket on my BGE. Beans and slaw for sides. Dammit it's a muggy, hot B outside.

Was gonna start a thread to share my experience yesterday but instead will just post this here


Used the 22.5 inch weber kettle as a smoker for the first time yesterday.

Two racks of babybacks brined overnight in an apple juice (couldn't find apple cider), salt, garlic and pepper brine

Took them out, dried them off and put rub on at 6 am.

Prepped the pit with a shite ton of charcoal on one side of the grill with soaked hickory chips spread throughout.

Covered half the bottom grate with foil, put the water pan on the foil, then a rib rack over the water pan

Put 15 lit charcoals on the pile of unlit with a handful of soaked hickory chips.

Got temp to 225 and put two racks of ribs on the rib rack as far from the coals as possible

It was kinda tough to keep the temp between 225 and 250 with the kettle but it gave me something to do fooling with the bottom damper (was using a probe thermometer placed near the rib rack to monitor temp)

Anywho, 2 hours on, then another 2 hours wrapped in foil, was gonna do another hour unwrapped but the ribs were already falling apart so put sauce on them, wrapped them in foil then wrapped the foil in a beach towel and put it in an ice chest for another hour


They were perfect

Would pick up a bone and the meat would fall off from its own weight

Next time will try to find Apple cider for the brine and will use wood chunks instead of soaked chips


One of the racks still on the pit and the other about to be wrapped in foil



One of them after coming off the pit for the final time and being basted with BBQ sauce. Bout to rewrap then put in the ice chest

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I was confused on a few things...wrapping, brining, and not having cider vinegar.

I've never brined ribs but yeah, I wouldn't suggest using any vinegar for brining. I do utilize cider vinegar in my spray bottle however.

Burgers, hotdiggity dogs on the grill, baked beans in the smoker, smoked boudin out and cooling for the smoked boudin dip with ritz cracker. Wife is making guacamole, and prepping salmon for the smoker. Said at least one of us should eat healthy. Daughter took my side.

Happy 4th everyone!

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In the last hour or so, temp has climbed to 160. I'm just past 7 hours now, plan is to take the 5 pound shoulder to 10 hours. Thoughts on the "Texas Crutch" foil wrap to push through the stall, or just wait it out?

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Sounds like you're past the stall so it may not be necessary. Some people wrap in foil regardless of the stall when it reaches a certain temperature. Definitely wrap in foil while letting rest.

https://virtualweberbullet.com/porkbuttselect.html#plateau

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It's common for a pork butt to reach a temperature plateau of 155-170°F during cooking—a point at which the internal temperature stops rising and stalls, sometimes for several hours. It's thought that this has something to do with the amount of moisture in the meat and the conversion of collagen to gelatin discussed above.

Do not despair, because this is when the meat is starting to "cook through doneness to tenderness." With some patience and a 225-250°F cooker temperature, the pork butt will eventually move beyond the plateau and the meat temperature shall rise again.

If you're cooking a very large pork butt and running short on time (or patience), you can kick the cooker up to 275°F without doing any harm. Or, if the pork butt has reached 160-175°F, you can wrap it in foil and finish it in the cooker or in the oven.

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To answer your question, crutch it my man. It's a butt and is mighty forgiving. You don't Have to crutch it but it will help speed the process along. In my opinion it's more important to get the butt to 200-2005 degrees than it is to say "hey, I made this awesome pulled pork and didn't have to crutch it!" A butt that doesn't get to the right temp won't be pull-apart tender.

Ribs coming off in 45 minutes. Have to mix the BBQ sauce and honey. Potato salad is ready and in the fridge. Should have time for one more Sailor Jerry and Diet Rite. If I don't have time, I will make time.