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View Full Version : Finally got my Shirley dirty


pjtexas1
12-19-2015, 10:29 PM
look ma...no pans.:laugh: the smell coming from the baffle plate was something else!

did a cook today for a friend's family. 15 year old birthday party. i cooked a grad party for them last year. this year they wanted the same thing except more. cooked 8 select briskets from 10-15LBS and 30LBS of sausage. they bring me the meat and they normally come by the house when it is ready and pick it up. but this time i stopped by to see how the food turned out. only got a few picks. really funny how quick the food goes once the line forms and everyone starts making plates. they requested that we slice it really thin and then in half because it was going too quickly.:tsk: the only knife we had was 1 electric so it was a little bit of an issue keeping up. i left about an hour after they started serving and they had 2 briskets left. was really nice to see everyone enjoy the food and a few of them even remembered the brisket from last year. pretty busy day but it was really nice to finally fill the shirley up. actually had enough meat to fill 3 racks.

pretty even temps side to side
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pre-cook
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just put on the cooker
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about half done
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ready to wrap
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lots of sausage
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smoke ninja
12-19-2015, 10:32 PM
Way to fill'er up PJ :thumb:

Springram
12-19-2015, 10:35 PM
Looks like all turned out well. So...no pans this time...any thoughts on this other than a little more clean up duty this time?

pjtexas1
12-19-2015, 10:36 PM
Way to fill'er up PJ :thumb:

thanks! that's my specialty:heh:

BBQ Freak
12-19-2015, 10:39 PM
nice job and looks like it came out great . I too enjoy watching people liking my food more than eating it , just a great feeling doing something awesome .

pjtexas1
12-19-2015, 10:43 PM
Looks like all turned out well. So...no pans this time...any thoughts on this other than a little more clean up duty this time?

temps seemed to be a little more stable. at the Tx bash htrisna pointed out that the pans seemed to deflect some heat as it came from under the baffle plate into the cook chamber. probably not a big issue with a couple pieces of meat but didn't want to take that chance with a big cook for someone else. i haven't done the cleanup yet but there was about half a gallon of fat that came out of the drain during the cook. i guess i could have put pans on the baffle plate to keep the baffle plate clean but wanted to try it at least once with no pans. also some spills on the ss table that i had to clean up twice during the cook. not really used to doing that. i will probably keep using pans for small cooks but not with bigger cooks.

Fwismoker
12-19-2015, 10:46 PM
Lots of good eats Paul!

pjtexas1
12-19-2015, 11:00 PM
nice job and looks like it came out great . I too enjoy watching people liking my food more than eating it , just a great feeling doing something awesome .

Lots of good eats Paul!

thanks guys! i could get used to this. much different cooking for 100 or so than just a few friends and family.

sylntghost
12-19-2015, 11:08 PM
Very nice. I could tear up that sausage.

cheez59
12-19-2015, 11:08 PM
Cooks like that make buying s big smoker worthwhile. Great job!

Papa Don
12-19-2015, 11:14 PM
Very nice!
Did you notice a difference in flavor? More smoke taste, less smoke taste, etc...
I have a feeling that my cooker would run better (better smoke) with a full smoker.

pjtexas1
12-19-2015, 11:14 PM
Very nice. I could tear up that sausage.

my friend buys Slovacek's every time i cook for him. really good stuff.

Cooks like that make buying s big smoker worthwhile. Great job!

you are spot on! this was the kind of cook i have been waiting for.

BBQ_MAFIA
12-19-2015, 11:18 PM
Happyness us a full smoker!

Nice cook.

pjtexas1
12-19-2015, 11:23 PM
Very nice!
Did you notice a difference in flavor? More smoke taste, less smoke taste, etc...
I have a feeling that my cooker would run better (better smoke) with a full smoker.

definitely a better smoke flavor. i used post oak and some hickory that Paul and Tyler gave me when i picked up the cooker. just the aroma around the yard was so much better with all that fat hitting the hot baffle plate. i probably should have let a brisket or pork put drip on the baffle plate sooner. that smell is just awesome. i don't have a ton of cooks on the Shirley yet so this probably helped speed up the process of getting it seasoned up so it will smell good just from the sun hitting it.

Jason TQ
12-20-2015, 06:11 AM
Man that was a lot of meat. A lot of times instead if draining the grease I'll let the smoker cool a good bit so the fat on the baffle gets a little firmer and the I just scrape it out. Makes disposing easier.

Mattb82
12-20-2015, 06:27 AM
Looks awesome. My Shirley will be ready next month and I can't wait. The baffle plate putting off the smell sounds great!

Tango Joe
12-20-2015, 07:02 AM
Darn nice cook, that was some serious meat going on there.

bbqlearner
12-20-2015, 07:41 AM
Awesome cook! Learning tons from this thread. Thank you.

oifmarine2003
12-20-2015, 07:55 AM
Nice job! Everything looks great!

htrisna
12-20-2015, 09:04 AM
I did a gumbo cook last month where I smoked the sausages in pans. The grate probe is above the pans and apparently the heat got blocked by those pans and drove the Stoker to have the pit run way hotter than what the temp reads. The first batch of chickens ended up more charred than I expected.
http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii530/htrisna/bbq/CE2B1DF3-6E88-408E-A228-DEC0FD85EEE5.jpg (http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/htrisna/media/bbq/CE2B1DF3-6E88-408E-A228-DEC0FD85EEE5.jpg.html)

So even though I do like the no cleanups of pans, once again this experience reminded me that it messes with the convection and smoke distribution inside.

chicagokp
12-20-2015, 09:25 AM
That's a lot of grub! Looks like good eats!

Doog
12-20-2015, 10:16 AM
PJ I would say you got it pretty dialed in...nice cook!!
Nice to see a smoker full!!

Smokin' Greene
12-20-2015, 10:18 AM
Looks great Paul!

pjtexas1
12-20-2015, 10:30 AM
Happyness us a full smoker!
I agree. Can't wait to do it again.
Nice cook.

Man that was a lot of meat. A lot of times instead if draining the grease I'll let the smoker cool a good bit so the fat on the baffle gets a little firmer and the I just scrape it out. Makes disposing easier.
I didn't think about that. At the temps I was cooking at I was afraid that it would burn too much and give the meat a funny flavor. I'll try it next time.

pjtexas1
12-20-2015, 10:43 AM
I did a gumbo cook last month where I smoked the sausages in pans. The grate probe is above the pans and apparently the heat got blocked by those pans and drove the Stoker to have the pit run way hotter than what the temp reads. The first batch of chickens ended up more charred than I expected.

So even though I do like the no cleanups of pans, once again this experience reminded me that it messes with the convection and smoke distribution inside.

Can't thank you enough for that advice. Made that big cook go better. In my cabinet it doesn't make any difference. I'm thinking since the heat is coming down instead of across it works better in the cabinet.

pjtexas1
12-24-2015, 02:39 PM
And here's why I like to cook in pans. But I will admit that it smells darn good in the sun and it was easy to clean up with a spatula.
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firefighter4634
12-24-2015, 02:54 PM
Wow, thats a whole lot of some fine looking food.

darkoozy
12-24-2015, 03:38 PM
Wow, thats some nice cook!!!! The brisket looks awesome! How many people you feed? Thats a ton of meat :)

pjtexas1
12-24-2015, 03:56 PM
Wow, thats some nice cook!!!! The brisket looks awesome! How many people you feed? Thats a ton of meat :)

Thanks! Fed a little over 100. Last year we ran out with 6 briskets and a lot less sausage. They had 2 left over and used those for a small party the next day. I know they wanted to have at least one extra because they put it aside.

SmittyJonz
12-24-2015, 03:59 PM
:clap2:

BBQ Freak
12-24-2015, 06:45 PM
And here's why I like to cook in pans. But I will admit that it smells darn good in the sun and it was easy to clean up with a spatula.
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but with the left over grease after scraping your next cook will have that added extra little flavoring . :biggrin1:

Jason TQ
12-24-2015, 07:14 PM
And here's why I like to cook in pans. But I will admit that it smells darn good in the sun and it was easy to clean up with a spatula.
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Yeah 2 minutes and a paint scraper is all it takes when it is still warm. The drain works great but sometimes I just scrape every other cook.