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VIDEO: BBQ Bob shows us the Cyber Q wifi unit

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:55:50 +0000

We caught up with BBQ Bob the other day and he gave us a look at the newly released Cyber-Q wifi unit. Hit the jump for the video

Review of the Meadow Creek TS-60 Smoker

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:30:48 +0000

The Meadow Creek TS-60 is built like a tank. The smoker itself weighs 425lbs minus the trailer.

As you can see here this unit has a charcoal basket in which we definitely had problems pulling out.

Charcoal / Wood basket

We were able to maintain a temp of 300 degrees for 3 hrs off of one split of wood and 10lbs of charcoal. We were able to maintain the temperature as long as we added a split every hour thereafter.

Here is a few photos that will give you the idea of the guage of metal and fasterners you’re dealing with which accounts for this smoker’s awesome ability to hold the temperature .

Open lid Note the thickness in metal

Fastener although opened here, it helps keep the heat in

We put a 15lb brisket on the bottom grate which is deeper than the top grate. We put 2 pork butts on the top grate but we found that all 3 could fit on the bottom grate as well. We was also able to put 3 racks of st. louis cut spares on the top grate and enjoyed the fact that we didn’t have to spin or flip them to make sure of an even cook thanks to its reverse flow draft.

Our meats were actually off but check the rack real estate!

The heat was controlled by the dampers on either side of the firbox(pictured below). These dampers did get hot after some time but that was expected. They control the temperatures on this bad boy quite effectively

Dampers to control temperature

Smoke stack with damper to allow smoke to escape

Removable ash pan to allow for easy dispose of ashes

Trailer option comes with a mini storage unit idealy for wood spits

We placed some spare spits of wood on the firebox as they were on deck prior to going into the firebox and they actually caught on fire thus confirming some of the leakage in the firebox. We were told after our first day of use and being disappointed with its fuel consumption that the newer models have an insulated fire box. The amount of lost heat from the firebox alone begs for the aforementioned insulated firebox. As far as the meat, our meat came out awesome and it’s a pretty good cooker

Pros

Heavy gauge tank like build helps ensure even cooking

Cook area is impressive, even better than it looks

Cons

Very heavy on fuel consumption(due to non insulated fire box)

Charcoal basket can be difficult at times to pull out especially when fire exists

VIDEO: The Train Smoker

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:54:00 +0000

We were at Pork in the Park in Salisbury Md this weekend and our neighbor had a smoker disguised as a train. John was nice enough to allow us to explain it. Check it out!!!

Kingsford to release groundbreaking propane tank!!

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:47:13 +0000

We’ve been hearing grumblings as of late regarding a groundbreaking product from kingsford. We’ve double-checked our sources and indeed we have confirmed this to be rock solid.

What you see here is a Hickory infused propane tank brought to you by the great minds at Kingsford!! Word on the street is that you can look for this to be revealed on Memorial Day weekend. We also hear that there may be more word on this within a few days. At the time of this posting there is no other place on the internet reporting this other than a video from Clint Cantwell of Smoke in da eye. Members of the press are required to credit www.huckshut.com for this article. See the video from Clint below.

Updated: Are we looking at the BBQ Pitmasters Season 3 judges?

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 04:01:28 +0000

Well it sure looks like it to us. Looks like Myron Mixon is back as a judge and now Tuffy Stone is as well. We’re not sure who the other guy is all the way to the right but we’ll update this post once we’ve figured that out.

**The 3rd judge is Aaron Franklin**

Photo Credit: Nancy Duncan Montgomery

Thermapen Releases New Color….Blue is still faster :)

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:50:27 +0000

This may be news to some and not others but Thermapen, just this morning released a new color thermapen that looks similar to one that stayed on the beach too long. What better time than now for this color to come out when those of us on the east coast are having summer temperatures prior to the official start of spring!! No word in yet on if it is faster than the blue one. Go ahead post in the comments below which one you think is faster.

And the winner of the Gamechangers contest is………..

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:54:04 +0000

The winning entry was announced on our livestream on wednesday night as promised but we figured we’d publish it here for those that weren’t streaming. We would like to send congrats to Wesley Gustin who’s winning entry can be read after the jump.

“I would have to say The cookers…. Green Egg and WSM’s etc.. Fantastic indirect heat grills. When i first started 22yrs ago a person had to be an apprentice to a “pitmaster” for several yrs learn the art of controlling a fire .. cooking on open pits on the ground, in a firebox, hut pits in extreme conditions.. making their own coals from wood and no use of commercial charcoal… no digital thermometer’s.. and after you learned this only a Pitmaster could determined whether or not you have graduated to the title Pitmaster… nowadays just buy a WSM and enter a contest and you can call yourself one. We did a experiment.. Got A 14 yr old boy gave him a WSM and he started the fire and held a constant temp of 250 for 10 hrs all by reading the directions and playing with it for a few hrs . then the following try’s we had him try to do the same on a offset and he could not get the temp up and when he did get it hotter it was well over 300 and could not maintain a even temp….. we then tried to get him to make his own coals and cook in a pit dug out of the ground and that went Horrible… So we called him a WSM Master But no where near a pitmaster. That is one of the things that i liked bout last season of pitmasters where Mixon made them cook a whole hog on a block pit…. so i think the modern day Cookers are most definitively the biggest game changer. A close second would be the whole appearance judging.. i have seen where a contest came down to a final slim % point and a Cook would lose cause of his appearance score, who cares on how well you can stack your product into a box with lettuce… the best bbq joints in the country serve their Q on Butcher paper with a couple of slices of bread.. “blind Judging” Should be just that…”blind” should come down to taste.. and how well it was cooked.. if it is cooked right… it will look great!”

Product Review: THE BIG MEAT SLICER

George_Hensler — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:10:10 +0000

Mike Fay is the President of the Mid Atlantic Barbecue Association. He is also the pit master for his own barbecue team Aporkalypse Now. In his spare time, he cooks with Jack’s Old South BBQ Team. When he is not cooking BBQ, he is thinking BBQ. So it is of no surprise to me that when he contacted the folks at Wusthof knifes with an idea he had for developing a knife for use by competition BBQ teams, they were more than receptive.

When Mike asked me to test drive the new knife I was a bit apprehensive as I am a self proclaimed electric knife kind of guy. I will freely admit, anytime I need to slice, if possible the Cuisinart is coming out. So what I am saying here is the test is being conducted by a manual slicer challenged person or MSCP for short. I guess in today’s politically correct world it is still ok to refer to one as slicer challenged, if not, I apologize in advance for any of you who may be offended. For those that are not offended, just give me a minute, I’ll get around to you sooner or later.

First few tidbits from the designer, the knife is “34cm (14inch) long thin bladed slider 54mm deep at the heel with a radius cutting edge hollow ground to reduce drag. The advantage to the radius is that the whole blade edge isn’t engaging the object to be sliced at the same time allowing for even less drag, yet still making a continuous cut with no saw markings.”

Mike goes on to say, “The other plus to the radius design on the blade is that when you make a draw cut (pull the blade toward you) the physiology of your arm causes your elbow to lift up, causing you to change the angle of attack of the blade. On a straight traditional slicer you either end up cutting with the very tip of the blade or break your wrist to allow the blade to remain flat, reducing your leverage. The radius blade allows you to maintain maximum leverage by not having to break your wrist while the cutting edge still tracks parallel to the food.”

I don’t know about all of that arm tracking and angle of attack on the meat but here is what I do know. I cooked a brisket flat and pork butt to act as test specimens for my scientific experimentation. I first tried my hand with the brisket. Keeping in mind I am self admitted MSCP. I was able to slice the brisket into various thicknesses with one draw of the knife, from very thin to, as contest cuts go, very thick. Mike had told me the knife was designed to cut on the draw, not going forward.

I did find it necessary to hold my thumb in the vicinity of the cut on the side of the meat closest to my body to avoid tearing the bark. I found with a little practice, I was able to produce slices of even thickness, all with just on stroke, just like he said. The same held true when I cut the pork. I first sliced the money muscle, then a few other choice muscles, all with similar results.

Being from Maryland and a proponent of pit beef sandwiches I thought what the heck, why not give the blade a go on a nice hunk of pit cooked top round. Years ago, at the numerous “Bull Roasts” held around the State, the ONLY way to slice the beef was with a blade. Knife skills were needed to get thin slices and those using an electric meat slicer were thought to be serving lesser product. In the past 15-20 years most pit beef cookers have all went to deli slicers. With this move knife skills for most went away as well.

I am happy to report the “Big Meat Slicer” tore through the top round like a champ. The knife turned out mound after mound of prime sandwich slices. That is, once I got the hang of it. After using the product for a day or two it seemed even I, a known MSCP, could slice meat like the butchers of yesteryear. That is really saying something, about the knife I mean.

Aspect comparison with other popular knives

Overall, the knife performed as advertised if not better in my humble opinion. With a little practice, even I was able to turn out a decent slice, time after time. My only suggestion would be to include in the accompanying paperwork some instruction noting the knife is designed to cut on the back stroke. If you purchase one, be sure to add an order for a large sized blade cover, chances are, you won’t have anything large enough in your current knife bag, this thing is the Ultimate Big Meat Slicer for sure.

Wusthof Ultimate Big Meat Slicer

$139.000

Available at www.mabbqa.com

George Hensler – Who Are Those Guys Blog

A sneak peek at the new BBQ Guru wifi unit

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:54:33 +0000

We don’t have any specs in particular but what you are looking at is the latest pit temp control device from the fine folks at the BBQ Guru. We hope to have a review for you coming up on the near future.

In the Hut: Episode #34

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:30:54 +0000

In this episode, the crew talks about pitmasters season 3, competition chicken, past and future event and more!! Listen after the jump.