Boneless Chicken thighs Season both sides with your favorite rub. But A cream cheese stuffed serrono pepper in it wrap all this in Bacon.
Sometimes we put rub on the outside and sometimes no rub but put BBQ sauce on them

This message has been edited. Last edited by: IndianaMike,

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Not an entree but curing and then smoking your own bacon does save money but the real advantage is the incredible taste.
Once you start making your own bacon you will never go back......

Would you mind posting your recipe/process (perhaps in another thread so as not to tangent this one too much).

I've tried it, and while good...it frankly isn't worth the effort to me. But then, I don't eat a ton of bacon. If you've got a better/easier method for it that would be great.

A nice fat chuck roast smoked like a pork shoulder makes great pulled beef.

Your favorite meatloaf recipe. Having leftovers tonight ourselves.
Takes the recipe to another level.

quote:

Originally posted by IndianaMike:
Boneless Chicken thighs Season both sides with you favorite rub. But A cream cheese stuffed serrono pepper in it wrap all this in Bacon.
Sometimes we put run on the outside and sometimes no rub but put BBQ sauce on them

Another favorite of ours. Marinate them in a gallon bag with a can of Adobe Chilies. Remove and dust with your favorite rub.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Your favorite meatloaf recipe. Having leftovers tonight ourselves.
Takes the recipe to another level.

A zero dollar change to smoked meatloaf that increases the surface area of crust and increases smokiness is to smoke as individual portions instead of a single loaf. I mold mine in silicone jumbo muffin pan, take the individual meatloafs out of the pan, and place the individual meatloafs on my BGE's grate. Ends up being six individual meatloafs instead of one meatloaf.

Try butterflying chicken drumsticks. Below is the first recipe I tried, but you can use any sauce you want, they go great in any sauce. I've done bbq, thai sweet chili, buffalo, teriyaki etc. I've had people try them and have the same reaction I did. "I never knew I could like chicken drumsticks so much."

https://overthefirecooking.com...alabama-white-sauce/

Someone mentioned pork loin on page 1. We like to smoke a pork loin, then slice it up as thin as possible. Makes the best sandwiches. Better than anything you’ll get at a supermarket deli. Cheaper too!

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
Your favorite meatloaf recipe. Having leftovers tonight ourselves.
Takes the recipe to another level.

A zero dollar change to smoked meatloaf that increases the surface area of crust and increases smokiness is to smoke as individual portions instead of a single loaf. I mold mine in silicone jumbo muffin pan, take the individual meatloafs out of the pan, and place the individual meatloafs on my BGE's grate. Ends up being six individual meatloafs instead of one meatloaf.

I like that idea.
I will say, for some reason, the smoke comes through more the next day when I eat leftovers. Maybe it's because the day I make it my snout is numbed by the cooking smoke and loses it's acuteness.
But ground beef has been a bit high in my neighborhood. Pork and chicken seems be the best by cost around here.
*I just got done eating meatloaf w/ a spicy cherry chutney

My choices for cheap meat to smoke are:

Chuck roast
Chicken thighs
Tri-tip

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
So you think the smoke flavor is just a happy by product then?

What a strange question. Being budget friendly and having a smoke flavor isn't a mutually exclusive proposition or an accident. The OP is asking about budget friendly ideas on the smoker so I focused on the meat selection aspect of smoking with the goal of tasty, budget friendly food. The smoke flavor is part of tasty as the exact cut of meat, cooked at the identical temperature, seasoned identically in a smoker vs oven will produce different results.

.

It’s not strange at all if you consider I don’t have much background in cooking and have always been interested in how people figured out what edible to eat versus what will kill you along with how to prepare the food before you eat it.

I thought my question was in the ballpark of the OP so it wasn’t taking away or hijacking the thread but allowing more information to come out.

Obviously, cooking with wood isn’t original. But from my POV, it was genius to figure low long heat is the key to make tough meat tender.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
It’s not strange at all if you consider I don’t have much background in cooking and have always been interested in how people figured out what edible to eat versus what will kill you along with how to prepare the food before you eat it.

I thought my question was in the ballpark of the OP so it wasn’t taking away or hijacking the thread but allowing more information to come out.

Obviously, cooking with wood isn’t original. But from my POV, it was genius to figure low long heat is the key to make tough meat tender.

Ahh. They were actually much more inquisitive than you're imagining. They didn't just figure out that low n slow made tough meat tender, they figured out that different smoking woods produced different flavors and some woods paired better than others with various meats. They also figured some woods weren't low n slow (e.g pine), and other woods produced nasty chemicals (e.g. black walnut).

Some of it was originally regional due to what grows naturally such as West Texas BBQ is all about the mesquite and beef. Some areas like Central Texas had both oak and pecan, and figured out that oak was awesome for beef but pecan was better for poultry and pork.

Now, there are meat and wood pairing charts all over the internet such as this one:


Personally, I use oak lump charcoal and keep 3 or 4 woods on hand to add some chunks to change the flavor profile:

hickory - my go to wood for beef, pork, and lamb

cherry - chicken and turkey

alder - salmon

pecan - it's my change of pace wood for beef, pork, and chicken. Don't always keep on hand.

I never liked apple wood for poultry and ultimately gave it away to my neighbor. He used it on pork butt and produced some delicious pulled pork with it.

I use an oak/pecan blend. Works with everything.

OP, if you like ribs, spare ribs are usually quite a bit cheaper than baby back ribs. After you trim the ends off, you can throw then on the smoker and you'll have some burnt ends to snack on while the ribs are finishing up.

Look for sales and specials on meats; Pork butts, shoulders and cushions are great and easy. If you find roasts, or better yet ribeyes or roasts when they go on sale its great as well as chicken. Sausage is a great quick smoke, and try getting a full chub of bologna and smoke that into burnt ends, its cheap and great

I was looking at the BBQ thread thinking about this one. I think Boston butt is my favorite smoke and the easiest. My wife is sick of it, so I try to pace myself. Several times a year our local grocery store has butts on sale for under $10. I usually buy a few.
Also, pre seasoned Costco St. Louis ribs are delicious! 3.5 hours to a temp of 195 ish. I could eat these weekly! $26-28 for two large ribs!

So as far as smoking goes, tatortodd made a very valid point that has been glossed over in this thread.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
…has a steeped history in using cheaper cuts of meats, breaking down the connecting tissue with low n slow smoking technique, and transforming them into something delicious…

This is the most important statement in this entire thread. You can take any cut of beef or pork, even the most tough, nasty pieces. Smoke them, and in some cases break out a pot or some foil and braise them. (Think of the 321 rib method, that’s just braising in foil).

So buy what is on sale, any big roast, London broil, chuck, (whole brisket ~$2 a pound at Costco), between smoking and braising on the smoker, you should be set.

Also, if you get a brisket and have some time, making pastrami is pretty easy. I posted a recipe Here..

Buy boneless chicken thighs or bone them yourself

Mix well:
2 heaping tablespoons Walkerswood jerk seasoning paste
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil

Place chicken and marinade into gallon ziplock bag and mix well. Let marinate 1-2 days then smoke or grill with some wood chips.

I like to serve with a little sour cream or ranch on the side to help cool the heat of the jerk seasoning. Delicious

When you see a picture and recall you read some on Sigforum, that's Sigforumemory . Yeah, I could live on chuck roast burnt ends.

Sirloin cap/picanha