Orion Cooker

[dfergie]

The Plan:
5 lbs chicken wing pieces

Rub:
2.5 Tsp. garlic powder
2.5 Tsp. onion powder
2 Tsp. onion flakes
2 Tsp. ground sage
2 Tsp. ground red pepper
1 Tsp. crushed red pepper
1 Tsp. black pepper
3 Tsp. brown sugar
3 Tsp. cane sugar
2 Tsp. seasoning salt
1 Tsp. sea salt
3 Tsp. Parsley flakes
3 Tsp. Italian seasoning
2 Tsp. Oregano
2 Tsp. Cumin
2 Tsp. Cilantro

Other: Outside temp 47 & breezy...
Mesquite / Hickory (mostly Hickory) Chips
About 6 oz of water in drip pan plus marinate...

Applied 8 oz. rub on chicken 27 Hours ago then added marinade.

Marinade: Added 8 oz. Budweiser, 2 oz. Maple Syrup, 2 oz. GV Spicy Mustard and 3 oz. Krafts Hickory Smoke BBQ Sauce mixed with 2 oz. Apple juice & 2 oz. Apple cider vinegar...

Sprinkled rub lightly over chicken after placing on rack...

Ignition 4:38 pm

 

[dfergie]

The Plan:
1 - 8.52 lb. Brisket (cut in half)

Rub:
2.5 Tsp. garlic powder
2.5 Tsp. onion powder
3 Tsp. onion flakes
2 Tsp. ground sage
1 Tsp. ground red pepper
1 Tsp. crushed red pepper
1 Tsp. black pepper
3 Tsp. brown sugar
3 Tsp. cane sugar
3 Tsp. seasoning salt
1 Tsp. sea salt
3 Tsp. Parsley flakes
3 Tsp. Italian seasoning
2 Tsp. Oregano
1 Tsp. Cumin
2 Tsp. Cilantro

Marinade: 16 oz. Miller Beer, 10 oz. Apple Juice, 6 oz. Apple Cider Vinegar

Cut Brisket in half cover with rub and place into 1 gallon freezer bags, add marinade and rest of rub and place in refrigerator for a Tuesday or Wednesday cook...(will pour out marinade and add rub sometime before the cook)


Pulled Brisket halves and let dry & warm up... applied rub to both and let set for close to an hour...
poured about a cup of marinade into a bowl and heat with 1/8 th of a stick of Butter substitute then injected some into both halves...
Drip Pan: Marinade to within a half inch of the top...
Mostly Hickory Chips with a few Mesquite mixed in...
Full Pan of charcoal & 16 on top... Kingsford regular and Mesquite (burns better)

Outside Temp: 34 with breeze on and off...

Ignition: 1:20 pm

Checked at 5 pm 188 avg temps on upper Brisket, leaving till 5:20...pulled at 5:20 and wrapped both in foil...

Notes: Add charcoal 1 and 2 hours into cook, ran out of coals and added wood scraps at 3:50 and 4:15...

 

[Skyhi]

It's been too cold and snowy around here to use the orion.

Let us know how the brisket turns out. I've only done one and I didn't really like it....unlike other foods, it didn't hold a candle to brisket from an actual smoker.

 

[dfergie]

Yeah I'm going to approach this one a little differently, marinade and rub for one and going to try to keep temps down and cook longer than before...

 

[HD MM]

It's been too cold and snowy around here to use the orion.

Let us know how the brisket turns out. I've only done one and I didn't really like it....unlike other foods, it didn't hold a candle to brisket from an actual smoker.

Hmmm, really?

I've cooked many briskets before with multiple methods. My favorite so far is through my Weber Bullet. Of course I've never had one done on an Orion either. You'll have to drop-off a few slices the next time you do one in you Orion if your in my neighborhood.

 

[dfergie]

It's on... added info to my last post...

 

[dfergie]

Not bad at all... just a slight trace of the Apple cider vinegar, the smaller and thinner one came out slightly dry but not bad...next time will marinade longer and with slightly more Apple cider vinegar and pull quicker...

 

[funkinjeff]

I feel you folks in places it's too cold to use your Orion, but I live in San Diego, and it was 73 degrees today, and my daughter's fifth birthday, so we busted out some good stuff. I picked up a 8.5 lb bone in Boston butt from the butcher, and while I was tempted to use the rubs I've read on here, I just used a pre-made one called butt rub and let it sit overnight. At 7:30 this morning, I was ready to get things going. I used 3/4 Mesquite and 1/4 Jack Daniels chips, and a half of a Boulevard Brewery NutCracker Ale in the drip pan, and put the pork on the middle rack.

4 hours passed, and it was ready to take out, throw on the cutting board.

This made room for the chicken wings which spent the night soaking in Stone Brewery's Ruination IPA curry mustard (with enough left in the bottle to smother the wings once they were cooked) on the bottom and middle rack.

While those cooked, it was all about pulling the pork on the cutting board, which only required a large fork due to the tenderness of the meat, and a knife only to trim the fat. This went into the crockpot with Stone Smoked Porter bbq sauce and mixed to keep warm until the birthday lunch was ready. After 45 minutes for the wings, I did throw them on the grill for a quick blackening just for flavor and texture. It kept the meat tender, but gave a nice crust that I enjoy with my wings.

All said and done, everything was awesome. I have lurked this board for recipes, and you have given me inspiration for some great meals. As my first post, I hope I'm not overwhelming, and hope to post more in the near future.

Cheers!

- Jeff

 

[dfergie]

Great First Post!
Welcome to SatelliteGuys!...
That looks like some good eating

 

[funkinjeff]

Great First Post!
Welcome to SatelliteGuys!...
That looks like some good eating

Thanks, bro. It was your recipes that prompted me to choose 5 lbs of wings along with everything else, so I'm glad to contribute. That curry mustard sauce was a good change of pace for the wings... Cheers!

 

[dfergie]

Your Welcome... might do wings tomorrow (even though I haven't got any marinading yet) going to reduce heat factor on my rub(do like my last brisket rub) and maybe add a little more brown sugar or something...

 

[shadowhawk2020]

Thanks, bro. It was your recipes that prompted me to choose 5 lbs of wings along with everything else, so I'm glad to contribute. That curry mustard sauce was a good change of pace for the wings... Cheers!

I have to second this, I am doing my first batch of wings today on my newly modified holiday cooker (adding a second rack). To go along with a pork butt, and 2 whole chickens.

 

[dfergie]

The holiday cookers do not come with racks? (looking at your mods at the Orion site)

 

[shadowhawk2020]

The holiday cookers do not come with racks? (looking at your mods at the Orion site)

One rack, plus the turkey stand...

 

[dfergie]

Thanks... I knew they had another cooker, but didn't pay any attention to the specifics on it... same amount of charcoal as the other? (if less, might be worth looking into for smaller cooks and doing the same mods)

 

[shadowhawk2020]

Thanks... I knew they had another cooker, but didn't pay any attention to the specifics on it... same amount of charcoal as the other? (if less, might be worth looking into for smaller cooks and doing the same mods)

Nope, same amount of coal.... Only reasin I ended up with this one is it is what I got as a gift. The only benifit is that it is more mobile...


I am doing 5 lbs of wings later how long would you reccomend?

 

[dfergie]

Check them at 1:15 - 1:20 depending on your weather (wind, temp etc.) on mine the bottom and middle rack wings usually get ready sooner than the top, but with yours you should be alright if the cooking times are the same as the bigger models. I need to do a cook its been a few days

 

[shadowhawk2020]

Check them at 1:15 - 1:20 depending on your weather (wind, temp etc.) on mine the bottom and middle rack wings usually get ready sooner than the top, but with yours you should be alright if the cooking times are the same as the bigger models. I need to do a cook its been a few days

I have been averaging about two cooks a week, usually a Butt and some chickens. I decided to do some wings tonight for a get together at my wifes friends house.

Thanks for the tip

 

[funkinjeff]

No pictures this time, but I've been itching to get the Orion fired up, and I've been itching for some good chili, so my brother in law and I put our heads together and came up with this plan:

-About a 4 lb pork tenderloin, cut in half on the bottom rack.
-1/2 hickory, 1/2 Jack Daniels smoke chips.
-Blind Pig IPA in the drip tray, with onions and veggies for the chili soaked in the beer during the cooking process.
-2 jalepeno and 1 jabanero pepper placed on top rack after 1 hour, 15 minutes cooking of meat, peppers cooked for 30 minutes.

Inside, we cooked the tomatos, 3 cloves of garlic, and a dash of a light and dark chili powder in a pot.

Once the meat was pulled, we cubed about 3/4 of it, and took a fork to the other 1/4, which resulted in the meat being ground into a fine, powdery, texture. We added the meat, the vegetables, and the beer from the drip tray, and floated the peppers.

This cooked for 1 hour more, and once it was ready, we pulled the peppers, and it was one of the best chili's I've had. :

 

[dfergie]

God that sounds good...