The Great January Audio Gear Exchange

[Dan]

That is done really well, thanks for the email.... I am going to try that this weekend, my sons go to a private academy and my wife and some other parents and local business owners donate funds to cover tuition so some of the exceptional public school children can attend, and this weekend they are meeting to go over some of the applicants...

We are probably going to have 15-20 people here, so should I do a few small ones or a single big one? By butcher will cut me anything I want, we entertain A LOT, when I call him, he set his phone to ring with the ABBA's money money money {true story, he actually made me call it while I was there one day to show me, I didn't know whether to be offended or what?}....

I would say you probably want 12-15 lbs of brisket precooking depending upon how much your friends eat, other main course items etc. My experience with the brisket is that people eat a lot of it cause it is so awesome. How you do that depends upon the size of your smoker racks. Briskets have two parts, the flat and the point. If your rack is big enough you can do the whole thing as one but it is awkward to handle unless you have a very large sturdy spatula/lifter. Also the point is thinner than the flat so it doesn't cook evenly but many consider the burnt ends of the point a delicacy, I do. 12- 15 pounds would be about three flats or two whole briskets depending upon the size.

A word on the rub, don't skimp on the salt, it has a lot to do with the tenderness. Leave it on 24-48 hours in plastic wrap in the fridge prior to the smoke. Swerd seems to get a good result in an 8 hour smoke, I usually need 9-10 for some reason even though our gear and recipe are the same. I always measure the internal temp. 185 is minimum and 190 to 195 is better.

If Swerd gave you the sauce recipe, I highly recommend it although the ingredient list is long. You will never buy a bottle of sauce again. I triple the batch and freeeze it in very small gladware containers. My wife will drink it out of the bowl with a straw!

 

[Swerd]

We are probably going to have 15-20 people here, so should I do a few small ones or a single big one?

I agree with everything Dan said.

I can fit two large brisket flats (about 5 lbs. each) on my smoker. That fed as many as 18 people.

Tell the butcher to leave about ¼" of fat on the flat brisket instead of trimming it lean. When you smoke it put the fat side up.

 

[Rickster71]

Thanks
You guys are making me hungry just reading this.
My stomach actually hurts .

 

[Swerd]

Thanks
You guys are making me hungry just reading this.
My stomach actually hurts .

So when are you getting some Phils ?

I stocked up on beer for this event, Dan brought more, and most of its left over. There's everything from a Belgian Abby Ale assortment, to Brooklyn Lager, Sam Adams (light & cherry wheat), Dogfish Head IPA 60, and some other odds & ends. At the rate I drink beer, it's gonna last a while.

 

[Rickster71]

So when are you getting some Phils ?

It's not like I'm not trying.
Since we saw these at the FL GTG: (see post 297) http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/general-av-discussions/79067-audioholics-2012-gtg-event-live-demos-meet-greet-free-prizes-food-drink-30.html#post917991
Pretty sure they were the Sound Scape 8's with the beautiful wood work.
I've been slowly talking to my wife. I have to sell some speakers first.

I stocked up on beer for this event, Dan brought more, and most of its left over. There's everything from a Belgian Abby Ale assortment, to Brooklyn Lager, Sam Adams (light & cherry wheat), Dogfish Head IPA 60, and some other odds & ends. At the rate I drink beer, it's gonna last a while.

Oh sure...good beer, my other weakness.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

So when are you getting some Phils ?

I stocked up on beer for this event, Dan brought more, and most of its left over. There's everything from a Belgian Abby Ale assortment, to Brooklyn Lager, Sam Adams (light & cherry wheat), Dogfish Head IPA 60, and some other odds & ends. At the rate I drink beer, it's gonna last a while.

It's not like I'm not trying.
Since we saw these at the FL GTG: (see post 297) http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/general-av-discussions/79067-audioholics-2012-gtg-event-live-demos-meet-greet-free-prizes-food-drink-30.html#post917991
Pretty sure they were the Sound Scape 8's with the beautiful wood work.
I've been slowly talking to my wife. I have to sell some speakers first.




Oh sure...good beer, my other weakness.

Ok Rick, we gotta do a road trip to MD! Good food, beer and speakers...We might never leave! (hopefully Kurt comes up to give us stuff.)

 

[Dan]

Ok Rick, we gotta do a road trip to MD! Good food, beer and speakers...We might never leave! (hopefully Kurt comes up to give us stuff.)

I'm also working on a decent bourbon and tequila collection now that I've given up beer

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I'm also working on a decent bourbon and tequila collection now that I've given up beer

Dan Dan he's our man...!

 

[majorloser]

Ok Rick, we gotta do a road trip to MD! Good food, beer and speakers...We might never leave! (hopefully Kurt comes up to give us stuff.)

I got the trailer hitch up right now. Loserwife will never miss me.

 

[adwilk]

Anytime I see where there is pictures of an event where Alex attended, I have to wonder about what the pictures will be.

Now I'm just waiting to see what Adwilk will do with the latest picture of Alex.

I'm waiting for the testing from the lab to confirm, but I think I found the original, non-photoshopped version of that photo. Stand by.

 

[adwilk]

Results were inconclusive. You be the judge. Its pretty clear why he left so early. Photo ops and autographs.

 

[Swerd]

Its like you removed a layer of dirt from my camera lens I didn't even know was there .

 

[ImcLoud]

I would say you probably want 12-15 lbs of brisket precooking depending upon how much your friends eat, other main course items etc. My experience with the brisket is that people eat a lot of it cause it is so awesome. How you do that depends upon the size of your smoker racks. Briskets have two parts, the flat and the point. If your rack is big enough you can do the whole thing as one but it is awkward to handle unless you have a very large sturdy spatula/lifter. Also the point is thinner than the flat so it doesn't cook evenly but many consider the burnt ends of the point a delicacy, I do. 12- 15 pounds would be about three flats or two whole briskets depending upon the size.

A word on the rub, don't skimp on the salt, it has a lot to do with the tenderness. Leave it on 24-48 hours in plastic wrap in the fridge prior to the smoke. Swerd seems to get a good result in an 8 hour smoke, I usually need 9-10 for some reason even though our gear and recipe are the same. I always measure the internal temp. 185 is minimum and 190 to 195 is better.

If Swerd gave you the sauce recipe, I highly recommend it although the ingredient list is long. You will never buy a bottle of sauce again. I triple the batch and freeeze it in very small gladware containers. My wife will drink it out of the bowl with a straw!

I ordered 3 flats he said would be around 4 lbs each...

I agree with everything Dan said.

I can fit two large brisket flats (about 5 lbs. each) on my smoker. That fed as many as 18 people.

Tell the butcher to leave about ¼" of fat on the flat brisket instead of trimming it lean. When you smoke it put the fat side up.

Swerd, I ordered it today, and the butcher said the exact same thing, he leaves a layer of fat... You guys know your meat...

My smoker is serious, its an amerique digital, it has meat probes that I can stick in the roast and while its cooking it will test the temp and when it reaches the limit I set in it shuts the smoker down and sounds the alarm.... I once cooked 4 chickens, 3 prime ribs and a bunch of baby back ribs all at the same time!!!! If anyone is ever in the market for a smoker, I highly recommend it..... AmeriQue Model SM066 | Cookshack

thanks for your recipe, I will let you know how it turns out, Im usually pretty good with following recipes...

 

[Dan]

That looks like a sweet smoker. You could easily do a fourth flat since you have 4 racks. I don't think you could do a whole flat and point on one rack. What wood do you plan to use. I have had good results with oak, cherry and pecan. I have not liked hickory, I think I'm doing something wrong. It may have to be pre burned to work well.

You go electric easy to control. Swerd and I go paleolithic with charcoal. Me make fire, cook meat grunt!

 

[KEW]

I will wait until I log some serious hours on the Phil3's before I give a real review, but I can say I am delighted to have these speakers in my home. I had high expectations and was still amazed at what a complete package the Phil3's represent.
Based on what I heard in Murphy's room, I do not expect to add subs. The bass was as solid and tight as I ask for with music. Every sound I heard was extremely clean and well composed.
The Phils were being driven by a 120WPC Van Alstine amp (pretty sure it is the Synergy 240 with compact chassis). I'm sure this amp is comfortable with impedance drops, but at ~32 pounds, it is no freak-beast ... just good refined electronics!
Because the efficiency is not real high, I was thinking the dynamics might be a little restrained with such a "normal" amp, but the Phils play hard with gusto! They have great zest for resolving challenging music, and I am simply thrilled with them!
Usually, in life, there is the value-item that is practical, representing exceptional value for the money; and there is the lust-item that offers incredible no-compromise performance for an outrageous $ premium. For me, the Phils seem that rare case where the value-item performs at the lust-item level.
I certainly believe there are other speakers out there that equal or better the Phils, but not for my pay-grade.

Meeting Dennis Murphy was a joy. It really makes a difference that he does not have his own personal agenda. While I don't pretend to have the experience needed to understand the details of what he does, it was clear to me that he is committed to "Truth in Audio" and refreshingly free of the ego and arrogance typical of people who start companies.

 

[ImcLoud]

That looks like a sweet smoker. You could easily do a fourth flat since you have 4 racks. I don't think you could do a whole flat and point on one rack. What wood do you plan to use. I have had good results with oak, cherry and pecan. I have not liked hickory, I think I'm doing something wrong. It may have to be pre burned to work well.
I can fit two large brisket flats (about 5 lbs. each) on my smoker. That fed as many as 18 people.


I was going to run this by you, reading the ingredient, Im thinking apple wood would give it a sweet earthy taste? what do you think? I can also do a mix apple and cherry or apple and oak

I have it all though, I have on a rack by my smoker, Oak, hick, apple, pecan, misquite, cherry, maple, alder {Great for fish!}, guava, Kiawy, and I just got some old wine barrel pieces... {I had to go out to the garage to look, I didn't know them all off the top of my head lol} Don't forget, I have a habit of overdoing it with flashy nonsense, lol... But at least Im man enough to admit it ....

I could try the wine barrel chunks, but I have never used them before and hate to throw up a hail marry with guests...

I know Im lazy with the electric, but its in the garage and once I seen this smoker at the pool store in action, there was no going back....

 

[Dan]

I'm like you in that I keep a lot of various wood around (oak, pecan, mesquite, cherry apple, peach, pear, nectarine, sassafras, walnut, mulberry, olive, grapevine) Swerd did apple last weekend and it was fine, apple is mild you may have to use more. I have also used combinations of oak and cherry since oak can be strong (I only use it on beef). Apple and cherry might be really good... so many choices. Mesquite is never a bad choice either. As for sweetness, there is plenty of sugar in the rub and sauce. Also after the briskets go in foil there is no need to keep the smoke going.

 

[Swerd]

The Phils were being driven by a 120WPC Van Alstine amp (pretty sure it is the Synergy 240 with compact chassis). I'm sure this amp is comfortable with impedance drops, but at ~32 pounds, it is no freak-beast ... just good refined electronics!

Because the efficiency is not real high, I was thinking the dynamics might be a little restrained with such a "normal" amp, but the Phils play hard with gusto! They have great zest for resolving challenging music, and I am simply thrilled with them!

Wow, even your first impressions are a fun read.

The amp Dennis used was an old Hafler DH-220 that was rebuilt by Frank Van Alstine a few years ago. He kept the chassis, heat sinks, and transformer, but replaced all the rest. Its equivalent to the present day Synergy 240 amp except for the more recent features in the Synergy models. It handles anything Dennis has tried.

At the local audio show last July, Dennis used his Phil 3s (those clear finished maple speakers you saw last Saturday) with two different top-of-the-line amps from Van Alstine, the Synergy 450 (225 wpc), and FetValve 600R (300 wpc). For what its worth, in that large room, I thought the 450 was excellent, and the added power of the 600 made little or no difference.

 

[Swerd]

I was going to run this by you, reading the ingredient, Im thinking apple wood would give it a sweet earthy taste? what do you think? I can also do a mix apple and cherry or apple and oak

I have it all though, I have on a rack by my smoker, Oak, hick, apple, pecan, misquite, cherry, maple, alder {Great for fish!}, guava, Kiawy, and I just got some old wine barrel pieces... {I had to go out to the garage to look, I didn't know them all off the top of my head lol} Don't forget, I have a habit of overdoing it with flashy nonsense, lol... But at least Im man enough to admit it ....

I could try the wine barrel chunks, but I have never used them before and hate to throw up a hail marry with guests...

Irv

That smoker looks like it ought to do well. The more control you have over temperature the better the results. I like how its insulated, you can easily use it in the winter. I also would guess that the panels and door fit tighter, causing less moisture loss as you smoke. The Weber smoker is uninsulated and leaks profusely. That's why they added a large bowl you can fill with water, to keep from drying things out too much.

Choosing different types of wood is part of the fun of smoking. I, like Dan, prefer just about any fruit wood. Apple and cherry are easy to find and work very well on everything. I've also tried and liked mesquite, maple, pecan, and alder. I think cherry, mesquite, or pecan would be my first choice for beef; cherry, apple, or maple for pork; and apple or maple for chicken or turkey; cherry, apple, or alder for fish. But there's a lot of room for personal preference in these matters. I've also found that a stronger wood like pecan can work well on lighter meats if you use less of it.

I don't like hickory or oak. They both make a bitter creosote-like taste on food when I used them, hickory more than oak. I am told by other more experienced smokers that you can avoid that bad flavor by pre-burning hickory or oak. Essentially you have to make charcoal out of them by putting them in a separate place, and burning them until they are blackened, and then putting it in the smoker with the food. I've never bothered with that. I've never tried oak barrels that had been used for wine or whiskey. I wonder if they might be too much.

Good luck with your smoked briskets! And let's hear about your results. You may be the first to try that recipe after both Dan and I worked on making it work well in our hands.

Richard

 

[STRONGBADF1]

This thread is Bipolar.