SMOKENSTEIN... I'm alive... Holy Cow

RollingHome

Well-known member
So Dennis from CA. turned me on to the ORIEN Cooker and I just fired it up today and holy cow ! I used 3 chimneys of charcoal. I used 2 handfulls of cherry wood chips for smoke... I did 3 pounds of boneless chicken breast and they turned out perfect (1 hour 15 minutes) ! After the chicken, while the coals were hot I threw on 2 filets of Talapia 6" long ( 20 minutes) and 2 sweat potatoes 6" by 2" girth (1 hour), The sweet potatoes were evil... need I say more ! Then since we still had heat I threw on a dozen golf ball size potatoes for morning home fries. Them critters will sizzle all night and we'll get em in the morning for slice and dice. This ORIEN cooker is turning out to be the best thing since sliced bread... Next we want to try a roast beef without wood chips for all natural flavor. The food steams in it's our juices because it cooks like a convection oven, only it's powered by charcoal ??? Really weird concept, but really works well.... Yeah Dennis ! Yeah ORION COOKER ! Signed, Smokenstein... your best smoker yet !:cool:
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
So you have an ORION Cooker too Jim ! Way too cool, so you're a smokenstein also ! What types of ribs should I tell the meat cuter (butcher) I want. Baby back, or 1/2 rack or ? I assume they are beef but/or are they pork ? So many posters have stated the ORION ribs are the best they've had, I just gota try em ! I think I need what you have pictured on your site but what are they called ? As I've stated on the forum I'm still new at this food stuff so I apprecite any help you can give. In advance thank you. ta
 

DennisZ

Well-known member
Tom
Glad to see you like the Orion, not many that don't! My favorite ribs are pork baby backs or Saint Louis Style (Jims look like either big baby backs or small St Louis), both cook in about the same time. I did a 9 lb boston butt last weekend for pulled pork, man it was goooood! Sounds like you got about the most bank for your buck on the coals as anyone I've heard of. Keep malin the smoke!

Dennis
 
They're baby-back pork ribs Tom. Not the best ribs I have ever had but very good ribs for 1 hour 10 minutes!

Hey Dennis - glad to see you still on the forum. Maybe you can make some Heartland rallies as an SOB "Friend of Heartland"? Love to have you. Yeah man, the pulled pork was AWESOME! Okay guys, I need to put the Orion back in the back of the truck again.

Nancy just told me to pick up a Boston Butt at Sam's Club today - so I guess I'm making pulled pork tomorrow :)

Jim
 

DennisZ

Well-known member
Jim

I've been thinking of trying to make the So Cal Rally in Buelton, have to see what my back to work schedule looks like during that time, but I should be able to make it. I retired at the end of April, but I'm going back to work part time for a few months next month, so we'll see haow it all plays out.

Good luck with your Boston Butt.

Dennis
 
Hey Dennis,

Doesn't going back to work during retirement mean doing so on "your terms" :) Let them know your availability as your presence and tri-tip is required in Buellton.

Say, I got a 16 pound Boston Butt at Sam's Club today! Hope I can fit the ginormity of that butt on the smoker rack.
 

DennisZ

Well-known member
Jim

You sure you got a Boston Butt, not a Whole hog, thats one big Butt. You might have to slice that big boy up to get it to fit... What times dinner??

Dennis
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Guys, I've read in the ORION manual "Boston Butt"... ? Duh, what is it ? I've asked several people and no one knows. The meat cutter is 1/2 hour away. Does this cut have another name ? Today Smokenstein (except we did not use chips) did 2 beef things (roast beef maybe - 4 pounds each rack). WE put spiced galic rub on one and lemon pepper on the other. Then 2 yellow fin tuna steaks, nah, we didn't like em done this way, too dry (maybe with wood chips), we like to quick sear em in an electric frying pan. 1 eggcorn squash (perfect, 1 hour). 1 eggpant (sliced 3/4 inch), 2 red bell peppers, 8 carrotts, 1 onion. All on 10 pounds of charcoal bricketts. ALL the veggies were perfect, all was delish. Patti is bailing my butt out, she is really knowledgable in the kitchen, but I'm learning. Then we made our own barbie sauce (2 types)... to die for. Put 1/4 cup of Jack Daniels in one and cooked off the alcohol ! damm, what we won't do for flavor ! What a great thing for a couple to do together and have fun. Can't wait to take the ORION Cooker out on the road to have our camping buddies over for a meal... Pure unadulterated fun ! Jim, sounds like we re-lit your ORION flame, have fun ! Tom
 
Well Tom, if your not just the Big-O man today or what :). Nice work.

And yes, you've rekindled my Orion fire.

Tom and Dennis, very busy today. Butt or baby pif as the case may be is still in the garage fridge. I'll open the bag on it tomorrow to see what I really have. The folks on the Orion forum think i have to have 2 butts in the package. Hope so.

Jim
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Ole Ray LeTourno sounds like he found some serious marinade stuff I may want try on the Big O. This forum is just a wealth of info and fun... My only beef now is, I just wish I could forget the waist line and and do a Roman feast type thing !
 

SmokeyBare

Well-known member
Boston Butt is:

http://www.cookthink.com/reference/1895/What_is_Boston_butt

Boston butt is an American term for a fatty cut of pork from the upper shoulder of a hog.
So why the funny name? Legend has it that the term was popularized around the time of the Revolutionary War, when cheaper cuts of pork were stored and shipped in barrels known as "butts."
Perhaps understandably, Bostonians don't use the term Boston butt, but it's in common use elsewhere in the country. Barbecued or smoked Boston butt is popular in the American South. Inexpensive Boston butt is a good cut for making pulled pork, since it is marbled with fat that keeps the meat moist during the cooking process.

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/beefporkothermeats/ss/cutsofpork_2.htm

Despite what its name might indicate, the Boston butt comes from the upper shoulder of the hog. Consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade and upper arm, the Boston butt is a moderately tough cut of meat with a good deal of connective tissue.

Ya got to Luv Da't PIG Meat !
Marv
 
<hijack>
Let the games begin!

Not really - but, I am about to smoke some serious butt in the morning. I'll update this post #14 as I go along, then when I am done thoroughly hijacking Tom's thread, I'll move it to my own. Thanks Tom :)

29-July:
Done deal! Last night, I:
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  • Opened the bag and patted the butts dry
  • Seasoned them down with Famous Dave's Rib Rub
  • Covered them in plastic wrap, slid inside a tall kitchen garbage bag
  • Refrigerated overnight
Today, I:

  • Removed butts from refrigerator and let come them warm up for maybe 1.5 hours
  • Prepared the smoker (added 1/3 Hickory and 2/3 Apple wood chips and about 15# of Matchlight charcoal)
  • Added large (10#) butt to middle rack
  • Added small (7# butt to top rack)
  • Placed top on smoker, lit charcoal and went back to work (8:15 am)
  • Check temperature of meat and shot IR temps of coals and smoker at 10:40 and 11:25
  • Used air mattress pump as blower to blow ash from coals, then added remaining 1 pound of charcoal (10:40 am)
  • Removed butts from grill at noon with internal temps between 200 and 220, then wrapped each tightly in heavy foil for about an hour
  • Pulled/shredded pork by hand with double pair of rubber gloves (HOT meat - still!)
  • Decided to cook meat a bit longer, in a full-steam table pan, covered, in a low oven (300) for 90 minutes to cook it even more tender
  • Added a large bottle of BBQ sauce to the meat, mixed it in, let it cool some, then bagged it in 2 gallon size Ziplock freezer bags
I started with 16.9 pounds of but and yielded only 7.5 pounds of meat. I removed about 2-3/4 pounds of bone and fat while pulling the pork. That's almost 6-3/4 pound of shrinkage during the cooking process. So only a 44% yield. Oh well - it's a WELL marbled cut - so lots to render out :) What I have should yield about 30, 4 ounce sandwiches.

<hijack>


</hijack>
 

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RollingHome

Well-known member
You're not hijacking my thread Jim, this is really fun for me. I really am learning some good info here. I just hope I don't screw up my weight loss diet which is (was) going well. My entire life I wanted to do this, now that I have the time I am elated ! This is a real igo booster to me to know I can cook edible foods which do not cause harm to others. Tom
 

RollingHome

Well-known member
Jim, I see exactly how you will do your Boston Butt, how many chips and what type. Thanks for the details. Let us know how it turns out. Also how you served the finish product (pulled, cut or whatever) This is exactly the type of meal I want to prepare, what better then to learn through someone else. Patti and I are experimenting with BBQ sauces. First time out of the gate we seem to hit on some winners. I'll post what we came up with. We want to perfect our 'trade secret' and then have friends over for the feast... Wow, this is fun ! Can't wait to take it on the road to our next family gathering or CG adventure !
 
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