Ninja Woodfire Grill

[fwafwow]

Cooking chicken wings tonight on the new toy.

FWIW it looks like you didn't trim your brisket flat down at all,, so if you were shooting for 205 in the point you probably roasted out the flat a little? edit: nevermind it looks like you bought the flat only, no point. Not uncommon to find them seperated out but if you can find a whole packer brisket you'll probably be happier in the future. You essentially bought the less desireable part of a brisket.

Yep, one of several ways in which I still have to learn. Mrs. fwafwow purchased the flat from Costco. She said she didn't think they had the "full" brisket, at least when she was there.

I would get an aftermarket temp probe. Generally the one's built into pellet poopers aren't as accurate as a good aftermarket.

I have two ThermoWorks. I used one (the hand probe) to confirm the temp from the Ninja provided probe. Or are you saying an aftermarket that plugs into the Ninja?

Pellet grills always cook hotter than the temps you set them to because of the "forced air" nature of the fan so even though you set it for 225 it may have been closer to 250 or 275 with it constantly blowing indirect (but close to direct being so close to the source) heat onto your protein. Just something to keep in mind.

Good to know. I think the way this works is that the pellets aren't the source of the heat - just the smoke, but the point remains valid to consider due to the air fryer fan function.

best brisket rubs are usually salt, pepper and maybe a little garlic. 2:1 coarse pepper/coarse sea salt.....

I'm looking forward to making one soon.

Like SWOHTR said, There's no great template for brisket because they can very so much but "usually" I'll smoke until i hit 160-175 internally in the point and then wrap in butcher paper, I'm almost exclusively pulling it at 203ish. Ive found if you go much beyond 205 it starts turning into shredded beef, doesn't matter if it's on my pellet pooper or offset.... but looks/feel trump what my read outs are everytime.

Thanks. I figure I will do lots of briskets, so each one hopefully gets better.

Mrs. fwafwow purchased a pork shoulder that I will do soon. After I finish all of the brisket and wings...

 

[svivian]

5hrs to cook a brisket… that’s criminal!

 

[fwafwow]

5hrs to cook a brisket… that’s criminal!

I know. Now I know to go low and slow, but will look for more explicit instructions before next time.

The wings above we easy, and according to Mrs fwafwow, very tasty.

Pork butt Friday or Saturday. Any mistakes I can avoid, please let me know!

 

[Dos XX]

I trim a lot of the fat off the pork butts. Some of it is a hard kind of fat that won't render. I probably trim more aggressively than some, but there is so much fat marbled in the meat that it will have plenty left to keep it moist and tasty.

I like to make carnitas on the smoker. I juice 4 big oranges and 2 limes the night before the smoke and mix the juice together. This will be used later during the smoke. Rub the butts the night before the smoke with Mexican herbs / spices. I can dig up my mix recipe if you are interested.

Then smoke them for 5 or 6 hours. I don't look for a temp. I just want them to be the right color, mahogany like with how much bark I like formed. Then double wrap the butt in heavy duty foil, but before you close the foil, pour the citrus juice over the butt. It needs to be wrapped well enough that the juice doesn't leak.

Continue to smoke until you can pull it. It should take another 2-4 hours, depending on the temp. Again, I don't go by temp. When I can pull the bone out of the butt freely by hand, it is done.

Let the butt rest in the foil. When you are ready to pull it, get a glass baking dish and poke a hole in the foil with your thermometer probe, allowing the juice to run into the dish. When all the juice is out, pull the pork and put in the dish in the juice.

Serve on corn tortillas with purple onion, fresh cilantro, and salsa.

The first pic shows what the butt looks like when it is ready to wrap.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Cooking chicken wings tonight on the new toy.

Yep, one of several ways in which I still have to learn. Mrs. fwafwow purchased the flat from Costco. She said she didn't think they had the "full" brisket, at least when she was there.

I have two ThermoWorks. I used one (the hand probe) to confirm the temp from the Ninja provided probe. Or are you saying an aftermarket that plugs into the Ninja?

Good to know. I think the way this works is that the pellets aren't the source of the heat - just the smoke, but the point remains valid to consider due to the air fryer fan function.

I'm looking forward to making one soon.

Thanks. I figure I will do lots of briskets, so each one hopefully gets better.

Mrs. fwafwow purchased a pork shoulder that I will do soon. After I finish all of the brisket and wings...

They probably didn’t. I’ve seen some stores exclusively carry flats only. I don’t know if it’s a pastrami thing or why anyone would just want the flat but regardless some places that’s all you can get. Re aftermarket I just meant a probe separate from the grill, sounds like you have it covered.

I’m similar to dosXX and trim a lot on a butt. I’ll trim way down into the “crease” toward the blade. I think chef Tom Jackson (atbbq) has a few videos on cutting out all that connective tissue if you have time to watch his stuff

 

[BigE]

They probably didn’t. I’ve seen some stores exclusively carry flats only. I don’t know if it’s a pastrami thing or why anyone would just want the flat but regardless some places that’s all you can get. Re aftermarket I just meant a probe separate from the grill, sounds like you have it covered.

I’m similar to dosXX and trim a lot on a butt. I’ll trim way down into the “crease” toward the blade. I think chef Tom Jackson (atbbq) has a few videos on cutting out all that connective tissue if you have time to watch his stuff

Flat by itself is good for corned beef and pastrami, or the "boiled dinner" with potatoes, cabbage, carrots, etc.
Some people prefer the flat due to less fat compared to the point. Personally I buy the packer cut brisket with both parts. Then if I want to split it for other uses or smaller portions I can, or keep it together for a larger gathering in the smoker.

 

[fwafwow]

Pork shoulder/butt today. Good distraction from arguing about scopes.

 

[sndmn11]

Pork shoulder/butt today. Good distraction from arguing about scopes.
View attachment 663655

You need to lube it!

 

[Darryle]

You need to lube it!

The pork or scope? Asking for a friend

 

[sndmn11]

The pork or scope? Asking for a friend

El pig

 

[fwafwow]

You need to lube it!

It's a little late now (I'm at 3 hours), but please share more details. I used yellow mustard as the binder and a rub. First butt.

 

[sndmn11]

It's a little late now (I'm at 3 hours), but please share more details. I used yellow mustard as the binder and a rub. First butt.

Ohhh it looked like only rub. I use a mustard base sauce (Lillie's Q gold) on top of the rub. Either keep mopping when it stalls or wrap in butcher paper and leave alone.

 

[fwafwow]

Ohhh it looked like only rub. I use a mustard base sauce (Lillie's Q gold) on top of the rub. Either keep mopping when it stalls or wrap in butcher paper and leave alone.

I decided to go with the "no peeking" approach. Other than adding pellets, I haven't touched it. It's now at 194 degrees at 4.5 hours. This Ninja may be different than other smokers in that at least one source/chef said not to wrap meats on this as it negatively impacts the results. We shall see.

Wading down the rabbit hole of what temp is ideal...

 

[sndmn11]

I decided to go with the "no peeking" approach. Other than adding pellets, I haven't touched it. It's now at 194 degrees at 4.5 hours. This Ninja may be different than other smokers in that at least one source/chef said not to wrap meats on this as it negatively impacts the results. We shall see.

Wading down the rabbit hole of what temp is ideal...

194 under 5 hours is whack.

I did one last week for 22hrs!

 

[fwafwow]

194 under 5 hours is whack.

I did one last week for 22hrs!

I took it off at 200 at 4:45. Will report back.

 

[Dos XX]

I cook them until I can pull the blade bone out by hand. Probably over 200.

 

[fwafwow]

Seems pretty good to me.

 

[sndmn11]

Seems pretty good to me.
View attachment 663797View attachment 663798

Came back to see if it tasted like meat and see you are knifing a pork butt.

I'm confused

 

[fwafwow]

Came back to see if it tasted like meat and see you are knifing a pork butt.

I'm confused

Yeah, we are on keto, so I wasn't going to shred it and have it dry out and I wasn't going to put any sauce on it - so I sliced it. It started at 4lbs before cooking and I ate it all by lunch the next day, apart from a few slices Mrs. fwafwow ate. FWIW - my wife said it was amazing. "It melts in your mouth!"

It looks burned/black on the outside, but it wasn't. Just a really dark bark.

The Ninja isn't really a smoker. It's an electric grill and air fryer combination that also has a smoke infuser. That's why it's so quick to cook things that a real smoker would take much longer to cook.

Your question about how it tasted is a challenge - hence why I always refer to Mrs. fwafwow. I have not been able to smell anything since a TBI in Sept. of 2020, and I haven't been able taste "flavor" (anything other than salt, sweet, sour or umami) since around May of 2021. So I think it tasted good, but I really don't know.

 

[svivian]

@fwafwow you are from the south?!? What is happening here?!?

I’m coming down there to beat you up