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Cooking with a Weber Grill and the Smokenator — 18 Comments

  1. I never did the foil wrap at the end, (newbie smoker here), mine is a propane which is kinda overkill for one guy, so this looks perfect for one person. Bagged mesquite is a little pricy up here, but worth it. I was eating an apple when I started watching, felt like pulling a bag of Jerky out by the end

    • What I loved about this set up man is how far a bag of wood chunks goes. One bag might get you though a session with a side box, I used about 6 small pieces here and it was plenty. Hell I am going to have to start splitting chunks just to fit them in the thing. The efficiency is amazing.

    • I have the same problem here in Oregon Brent.

      Good BBQ/Smoking wood in anything other than Alder can be expensive/difficult to source.

      I found the foil packet method works well with pellets as well as chips.

      A 20lb or 40lb bag of mesquite pellets for a pellet smoker is often way cheaper per pound than buying those little bags smoking chips.

  2. I think I might have to go grab one of these now. Thanks for the video Jack. Even on the holiday weekend you think of your audience. I appreciate all you do and hope your memorial day has been a good one! Dave from AZ

  3. Sweet setup. Do you marinade or just dry rub? Have you raised black australorps before? Your hybrids are intriguing.

  4. Jack, off topic, can I ask you about venomous snakes?
    I’m watching the new show on Animal planet called American River Renegades, where it films 4 or 5 men who make their living on different rivers in the USA, when it came to the Louisiana man Mike, the show was saying he had 7 species of deadly snakes to contend with, growing up in East Texas and not being a snake lover I thought we only had 4 deadly snakes in the USA, Rattlers, Coral, Copperheads and Cotton Mouths. Am I missing some or is it just TV over dramatizing?
    I know there are a bunch different types of rattlers but I have never seen a rattler in the swamp, to tell the truth I have never seen a rattler down here in my neck of the woods and have never heard of anyone killing one, are their really 3 types of rattlers in the Mississippi Delta swamp? or am I missing something?
    Thanks!
    Shannon

    • Well it is either one, BS or two possibly a technicality.

      In the US we have rattlers, cottonmouth, copperhead and coral snakes. If you get bit by a coral snake you are in for a world of hurt you are also completely stupid and deserving of it. They hide, they don’t want to bite, they have small mouths and need to chew a bit to get a good bit of venom in.

      They are also the only North American member of the cobra family so again bad juju but I have never heard of a legitimate bite from a coral I guess there is a feint possibility that one could step barefoot on one and get it on the toe but you could also win the lottery with a found ticket.

      So we know that this is basically reality TV BS but East Texas does have

      Copperheads
      Cottonmouths/Water Moccasins
      Rattlers and
      Corals

      Copperheads though are not common and calling them deadly is a streach. Every death from one (there are VERY FEW) is either from anaphylaxis or those religious nuts that think god will save them and worship with snakes in their hands. Yes get tagged 4-5 times, get no medical support, get bit on the tongue (seriously), get bit by 5 of them, you may very well die.

      The only hot snake that ever tagged me was a copperhead and it was a legit bite. I was not handling the snake I stepped on it fishing. It sucked, I spent a night in the ER, I was not happy but my life was never in danger and it was big for a copper head.

      So corals and coppers are a stretch, and again both are not very common but they are there.

      Go into the swamps and back waters and you will find plenty of moccasins. That said most of the “bad ass Texas rednecks” I know are completely snaketarded (yes I made a word up) and they think any large dark colored water snake is a cottonmouth and they think if you are in a boat and the damn thing swims toward you that it is “charging you”, I shit you not so now we have the mentality of the locality down.

      But here is the snake most of these people are SURE are deadly moccasins.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerodia_rhombifer

      Common name Diamond Back Water Snake. If you image search you will see they are a mimic of the cottonmouth. They are everywhere here, I have seen 500 for every one cottonmouth I have seen and again these tough snaketarded rednecks kill them and claim all sorts of heroics for doing so.

      So I know I am blathering on but if we include species we get

      In “East Texas”

      1. Coral Snake – deadly if you are stupid, really stupid and can find them

      2. Copperhead – will bite the shit out of you, venomous but deadly under normal conditions is a stretch

      3. Moccasins/Cottonmouth – definitely on the deadly list, very willing to bite but often mistaken for a harmless snake that out numbers it hundreds to one.

      4. Timber Rattlesnake – these are bad boys, we had them all over the mountains of PA, they were our primary concern. They do exist in East Texas, they are not very common though. In years of fishing and camping in East TX I have not seen one, never even saw one killed or dead on the road. There were plenty in Arkansas around where we lived though.

      5. Western Diamondback – Will bite if molested, does account for likely more legit bites in this state than any other. Certainly can and on occasion does kill people. Exists in East Texas but not that common in the eastern third of the state, prefers semi desert prairie, not a lot of that in East TX but it is there.

      6. Massasauga Rattler – found in East Texas though the snake itself is practically a threatened species. In the 30s famed herper and author of The Keeper and the Kept, Carl Kauffeld set out to collect all rattlers of the Americas for the Staten Island Zoo where he was head curator of reptiles. It was the most difficult one to get from North America and he scoured the nation to find a few. I’d bet this man has never even seen one! I have only ever seen this snake in the wild once, I considered myself very lucky to have. You’d have to corner one or step on it to get bit, they are shy and reclusive. That said, toxic venom on par with most other rattlers.

      7. Pygmy Rattlesnake – Quite common in much of East Texas and pretty quick to bite. They are a small snake and have a sort of Napoleon complex about it. Everything wants to eat them and they are constantly on guard. Most legitimate bites from this guy come from Florida where they are very common, they end up in flower pots and such and the owner is fiddling with their plants and bam! Painful and almost never “dry bite” they are too paranoid. Fortunately they can only get so much venom in and while VERY SERIOUS a bite seldom results in death or even long term serious issues as long as medical treatment is sought quickly. Honestly if the guy has a garden in the east Texas woods this would be the most likely statically thing to tag him.

      As far as “deal with” though on the number 7, I am calling a steaming pile of Fing bullshit.

      Likely he never once saw a coral if he did he was likely turning over logs and tin and stuff and it was no threat unless he messed with it. Coppers are there but not common. I’d bet a c-note he never found a Massasauga in his life. Western Diamonds are at the edge of their range in East Texas, http://www.pestproducts.com/images/wdbrsnk.jpg

      If the guy was a river and swamp rat (likely he was) in East Texas he did likely have to watch for cottonmouths and likely “saw tons of em” though most are harmless and not what people think they are.

      Technically though there are 7, welcome to “reality” TV.

      • The river guy didn’t say it was the narrator, so I guessed it right LOL total BS to make it sound good for TV LOL!

  5. Great minds think alike…I did a slab of ribs and a pork butt with my smokenator today.

    I am still very happy with mine. I have actual been meaning to email you an update about it. I have done 6 pork butts, 10 chickens, and one slab of ribs. I have no complaints.

    Chris

  6. Appreciate the video, Jack. I’ve been jockeying a small cheap grill for the past two years. Time to upgrade. Found your video quite helpful and hunger inducing. And yes, Keith Snow’s Low & Slow is where it’s at. As a matter of fact it’s time for me to order some more.

  7. Enjoyed the video. Have been thinking about getting the Weber Kettle. This made the decision to get one easy.

    Great coverage of your livestock.

  8. Jack,
    I noticed you’ve got a Commercial Char Broil grill. I recently bough a two burner version. Any grilling advice for the grills? I haven’t cook on the grill a lot, but my hamburgers, and steaks come out great. I grilled chicken and found I had a hell of a time getting my grill to a proper cooking temperature. Any pointers? Thanks man.

    • I just searched your podcast as I remembered an episode (1212) about grilling. I’ll check it out to see if you’ve spoke on your specific grill. Either way, thank you for what you do, bud.

  9. tried watching this video on new computer without flash, so used closed caption. Hilarious !!!!! They can’t translate Smokenator. ” Civil war been over 40 years.” Try it out!

  10. Any particular place to buy the smokenator? Amazon has a huge shipping fee attached.

  11. My ribs experience: As a Building Inspector, when on a Final Inspection on a big chain restaurant, I always asked the kitchen mgr how they get the ribs fall off the bone tender. Most say they pressure cook them in advance. Grill and sauce them when the order comes up to get them hot. Most people never know.

    Our favorite method we use at home. I got this one from a guy who tows a big BBQ behind his truck and does moderate size events. Timing is like your method, but instead of wrapping them in foil, put them in a pan with a can of any cheap beer. Cover with foil. They continue to steam and get more tender. They’ll stay that way for a long time if dinner has staggered times. Just before serving, throw them on the grill for a bit, sauce them if you want, and serve tender ribs. The beer gives a earthy hoppy flavor I like.

    My 2 cents.