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What should I cook with my grill's smoker box?
I have a Weber Summit S-670 grill that has a built-in smoker box and burner, and despite having this grill for a couple of years I have never before used that accessory. With the traditional grilling weekend coming up I figure I should give it a shot but I have no idea on what to make. What kind of easy or idiot-proof recipes would you recommend?
Pork ribs! They're delicious, take smoke well, don't require a thermometer for checking doneness, and can be flavored in hundreds of ways.
I have an aftermarket smokerbox that I rest against the "flavor bars" over the burners of my weber. My only tips are to go for something strong like hickory wood and go for chunks of wood instead of small chips or pellets. Larger pieces smolder slower and don't get set on fire as much. Though you should always have a spray bottle filled with water nearby in case a little blaze starts!
Sounds good! I'm intrigued by your statement about not needing a thermometer, can you explain a little more about that?
A quick run-down on pork ribs can be found from the ever-informative Meathead Goldwyn on his site AmazingRibs.com (Despite the name, the site is a goldmine of science-based and tested info on all things BBQ. He's saved my hickory smoked bacon numerous times over the years thanks to his book "Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling".)
There's a lot more information about rib doneness, timing, and temps on the page so do give it a read through: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/pork-ribs-recipes/are-my-ribs-ready-yet/
Relevant excerpt:
The bend test
Of course you will call me out on his mentioning of a oven thermometer on that page. It's true. Though in my defense, your grill and mine have thermometers on the lid.
Just know that the temp on the lid is usually hotter than down by the meat. For instance, my weber genesis 2 is about 75 degrees too warm compared to a thermoprobe placed next to the meat so I just mentally subtract that value from whatever I see on the lid to get to my desired temperature. But since nearly all good BBQ is done using an indirect "two-zone" method, it suffers temperature tomfoolery pretty well.
Last thing, here's a (cheekily stolen) copy of Meathead's crowd-pleasing "Last Meal Ribs" recipe with pretty much all of the supporting technique info combined into one page: https://cookingdeluna.recipes/2010/06/17/craig-meathead-goldwyn-last-meal-ribs-how-to-make-the-best-barbecue-ribs-youve-ever-tasted/
Good luck!
People often say this (people have a lot of strong opinions), but just know that... if you want... you can totally use a thermometer. I use one of those Bluetooth ones that report to an app on your phone. Make a good-faith, best-effort stab (heh) at getting it into the thickest part of the meat, and it will let you know with about 100% accuracy when you are ready to do a manual check.
Plus it also tells me when to add more charcoal. So I spend way less time stressing about temps, and I can just do the bend test at the end.
Pork shoulder (any fatty cut of pork really) is an ideal first candidate. Its cheap, takes smoke well and has a very forgiving window of time for 'done'. IME Ribs can be finicky (more so than shoulder anyways).
Crispy chicken thighs are the best thing I have ever smoked. This recipe is the closest to what I did. A little extra effort to pan sear them first but so worth the effort.
That sounds great! One of the problems I've had with grilling chicken is the rubbery texture and it sounds like this would fix that, and maybe also fix the "squeaking" because I'm always paranoid about not cooking the chicken long enough.
I have only pan seared in combination with slow smoking but my god. Best chicken I have ever made. A good meat thermometer is definitely your friend for keeping chicken moist.
I used to spatchcock a couple turkeys for our friends-giving every year when I ate meat. So easy and delicious. Always spatchcock every turkey you cook, otherwise you are waiting for it to cook for no reason!
I love a spatchcocked turkey, even just in the oven. It's so good we usually buy an extra after the holidays when it's cheap, and I used to hate Thanksgiving turkey.
Beans
I've never actually done this, but I'd like to.
Thanks for the link!