Ibarbeque is outstanding, if you don't feel like doing it yourself - even then, the cornbread, greens, sweet potato pie! The best.

I like to o smoke chuck roasts to medium rare and slice them for dinner. They are good that way as well

I see your Maine DOT shirt. I am also from Maine and retired from state government in 2012 and moved to The Villages. I cook all the time and have a Yoder YS-640 pellet grill. I have cooked tons of food on that grill and would love to connect with you.
John

John,

Two issues.
1. I'm up north for the most part until we drive down in April. We're flying down end of Jan for a week, then back. We're probably driving back to NJ in May to get the NJ house ready to sell.

2. Unfortunately, I'm not from Maine, originally from a farm in Ohio, moved to NJ when I was 28. We live in the mountainous NW part of the state. My town typically gets the highest snow totals in the state since we're 800 feet above the surrounding valleys.

I've been to Maine though! I love it up there cept black fly season. I've even been there in the winter. As to the t-shirt my company does, among many things, business to business gifts and the shirts were a return. Nice shirts, couldn't just toss 'em :)

All that rambling aside, yeah, I want to connect with others who appreciate a good meat smoke! You've got a great smoker! I want one of those or one with more granularity in the temperature control. Before the Zgrill, I was struggling with temps(was using charcoal on a weber pot) and smoke(wood chips) and had a few extra bucks. A friend suggested I look at the Zgrills. It's been great. I've done half a dozen briskets, a handful of chickens, a bunch of pork ribs, several beef ribs and now a chuck roast. Lots of cheese too. It's an excellent smoker for the price, but I can appreciate the quality ones like a Yoder. I may put this Zgrill at our current villa and do a better one at whatever new place the wife decides on.

My goal is to get as close to central Texas BBQ as I can manage. Aaron Franklin and the Lockhart family both have heavenly brisket. I'm not there yet, but approaching :)

What pellet smoker do you use? I had to sell mine prior to moving here...btw---after you go to Lockhart --try Stiles Switch in Austin.
Their beef ribs can't be beat.

I bought a Zgrill on Amazon. 7002b. I've not had a lick of trouble with it. My understanding is that the company that built the Traeger smokers branched out on their own when the patents expired. I'm not sure if that's a legend or the truth, but they look very similar for way less money and they seem to have everything worked out.

I would really like to get a Yoder or similar better quality smoker because it gives you a bit better temperature control. That said, I've put my temp probe right next to the zgrill's probe and it holds temp within a degree or two. One morning a month ago it was 38 degrees and it did just fine holding temp.

The hopper can hold a 20lb bag of pellets, and I've never used a whole bag for one cook, even on a 14 hour cold overnight brisket cook.

One of my goals when we finally come down for good is to do a long road trip and we'll get through central Texas and I'll get my wife hooked on the best BBQ. Right now she likes it, but it's not like she's begging me to smoke something every week. I do anyway though :)

I'll do a little more research---Traegers quality went down through the years...I had a higher end Camp Chef that I enjoyed, but the new wifi ones with the sear plate on the side are a little rich for me and the new Webers are really having some quality issues as well...I had s pellet smoker, a charcoal Weber. a gas grill, and a La Caja China-pig roaster, that I had to sell prior to moving...my wife is putting her foot down telling me I can only buy one more for here.

In no small part to Frank D'Angelo's raving review we'll be getting the Camp Chef when we move to The Villages.. Already have the wife's approval. She gets the kitchen she wants and I get my smoker.. :coolsmiley:

https://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-Woo...s%2C383&sr=8-3

I took a class on cheesemaking last year. My mozzarella wasn't perfect but the ricotta from the whey was great.

Hey....That’s exactly how I make mine! I typically add potatoes and carrots before I put it into the oven as well and everything comes out so tender and delicious!

I grew up in a farm area and there were two local places that made cheese. One of them had a kid around my age that I was friendly with and we nicknamed him Lindy. Loony Tunes always made fun of Lindberger cheese, and the cheese shop always had a funny smell to it so the kid ended up with a nickname. Anyway, I remember as a kid thinking "All that work, you can just buy it at the store". lol. I now wish I had paid attention! Heck, I'd work in a place like that for a month for free just for the education.

This place is great. Best BBQ in the area.

I wonder if this would work in an InstaPot.

I've heard of other people using pressure cookers for Briskets. I'd have to try it though. There really is no substitute for breaking down of the connecting tissues except time and heat. Less time and more heat doesn't do it. I suspect you can make it taste really good, I suspect it will also be tougher than a low and slow. How much? Hard to say, but sometimes there are no shortcuts.

I agree.

I have done it low and slow in the oven for years. When I was young we were fed on cheaper, tougher cuts of beef to feed big families. The Dutch oven with the lid and the 275 temperature for five or six hours make them fall apart tender. Don't forget to brown them first and don't forget about a half cup water. Try not to peek at it a lot to keep the steam in. The Lipton onion soup dry mix on top adds rich flavor.

Y'all trust me on this. People give good comments on my roast as well as my grandchildren. ;)