Mutton on WSM 14.5

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SitDown
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 7:48 am
Location: West Auckland, NZ

Mutton on WSM 14.5

Post by SitDown »

Am new to the 14.5 WSM style of grilling

For xmas, I put on a 2.5kg bone in mutton leg with a med onion size piece of manuka (t tree) wood for smoking
Marinade as follows
1/4 cup oil, tbs lemon juice, 3 cloves garlic crushed, 1 1/2 tbs tomato paste, 2 sticks fresh rosemary leaves roughly chopped, 1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves chopped, 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves chopped, tbs honey, tsp paprika, zest of lemon, pinch of chilli flakes, in the fridge overnight
7hrs at 225f plus an hr foiled resting
During the cook, the temp got to 148 & sat there for a few hours, target temp was 160f, I ran out of time towards the end, I foil wrapped on the WSM for the last hour, the temp slowly creeped up to 152f. I needed it out for resting
It didnt come out how I have read on the interweb. Result was a little dry & stringy. The flavour from both the marinade & the meat was lovely. The following day heated up left overs, the mutton toughened up
Unsure what happened or what to do ?
I have another bone in mutton leg to do at a later stage... not until I straighten up my mistakes
Baby Q + Rotisserie
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KBBQ
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Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2015 8:27 am

Re: Mutton on WSM 14.5

Post by KBBQ »

cook it longer m8
SitDown
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 7:48 am
Location: West Auckland, NZ

Re: Mutton on WSM 14.5

Post by SitDown »

For this cut of meat, would there be a length of cooking time on the grill, once passed, foil it for the rest of its cook till internal temp is reached ?
Seems my next cook might go 10 hrs plus
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Davo
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Re: Mutton on WSM 14.5

Post by Davo »

Yep...that what it takes sometimes, I've done up to a 15 hour cook on my 18.5 WSM with 2 pork neck and one chuck roast sitting on around 225F all the time, the only work to do is to monitor the water pan every few hours and you might have to throw in a few extra non lit coals every hour or so when checking water.

The 14.5 incher is a pretty small unit so it should be economical to use as it doesn't have the heat mass to keep to temp.

To get the long cooks you need to use the Minion Method to get the best results.

I only use heatbeads as they give me the consistency I require all the time.

For the minion Method, fill up your charcoal basket about 85-90% unlit heatbeads

Light up a full charcoal starter chimney and pour onto the unlit (even if they are heaped, that's ok)

fill up water pan to the rim with hot water (make sure the pan is in it's right place firmly sitting in the mid section and already placed onto the bottom section before pouring the water in the pan)
after the waterpan is full, put the grill grates on (no food yet) and then the lid, close the vents on the bottom to about 20% open all round, if it's a bit windy, the wind will make the fire burn uneven so close off the vent in the direction facing the wind.
It should settle for about 225-275F, these temps are ok for smoking bbq. throw a chunk of smoking wood of choice in the fire through the side door and you're ready for the cook.

The idea of the minion method is to make the fire burn down instead of up, it's a slower process and each bead will catch on eventually giving an even heat for a long time. You may find after a few hours, if the smoker temp is declining, just open the vents just a tiny bit to let more oxygen inside...the top lid vent stays open all the time otherwise you may end up with a creosote sooty film on your food which is not good.

Anyway...give that a go.

Cheers

Davo
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SitDown
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 7:48 am
Location: West Auckland, NZ

Re: Mutton on WSM 14.5

Post by SitDown »

3rd attempt with a mutton leg, this time 2.2kg bone in, using this rub sitting in the fridge over night (did not brine)
This morning, grill sitting at 225f, mutton straight on the grill from the fridge (did not bring to room temp) a few lumps of hickory on the coals
At the stall 149f, double wrap in foil with about 3tbs red wine for good measure
Rested at 203f in its foil on a plate sitting on the bench... about 30-40mins (ran out of time)
Result - unsure how to compare it as I balls it up twice before. Sliced up nicely, tender as. Probably 2 cups of juice in the foil, skimmed off the surface fat, then poured off into a pan, thickened with flour over med heat. Tasted lovely, sort of "different" texture, like it was dry, but was not
After this experience, if I was to do this again, this will be done in a roasting tray with a juice base, then into the wsm for a more juicier end result
The time from when the meat went onto the grill till taken off at the end was about 8.5hrs
Lovely smokey flavor, tasty & moist... unusual texture tho. this was matched with par boiled spuds cooled off then into the baby Q as crispy baked spuds, plated with steamed veg & the full flavored gravy.... 8/10 8)

my maverick 733 is not all that accurate around the 220 - 250f, out by 25ish, then is out less as temps go upwards, so am still finding my way... read that as - an extra 2 beers down the hatch for the variance
Baby Q + Rotisserie
GA + Rotisserie
WSM 14
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