And I'm not meaning cigars (although that'd be fun). I'm talking about firing up a smoker, putting meat on that bad boy, and in a few hours be in a carnivore induced coma.
I've never smoked any meat. I've grilled, but I want to learn how to smoke and what's the best kind of smoker to use to smoke meat.
Since you are just starting out I would go with one of these
http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-810-7080...B0009WG6RA
You can typically find one cheaper in one of the big box stores, but that was the first link I opened.
It's electric, so you have more of a consistent heat level, thus helps you better determine how long it is going to take, how many wood chips you want to add and what type, etc. You can go to any of the various smoking forums out there and they'll suggest gas or charcoal, but IMO if you are just starting out the smart thing is to limit the number of things you have to worry about until you get the hang of things.
Honestly, I have used my bullet smoker at the FD to cook my guys supper when I finally transferred to a slower station and didn't have to worry about running all over creation the whole shift. Set it up outside under the canopy shed and if we caught a run it would be fine for a little bit by itself as long as we got back before it was time for it to be done.
As you get a better handle on how things work smoking-wise you can change up if you so desire. I ended up getting one of the grills with the offset smoke box, but I typically only use it when I am smoking more meat than the bullet smoker will hold, but not enough to fire up the burn barrel and cinderblock big pit.
This is what I have, but evidently they no longer make it and replaced it with a cheaper built model that's not anywhere as good.
http://bbq.about.com/od/smokerreviews/gr...10904b.htm
I dislike smoke flavor. It makes food taste like my clothes smell after a bonfire.
With that said, I have a friend that runs a small town restaurant,
he would use liquid smoke… same flavor, less hassle.
I asked him if that makes his food seem less authentic, and he
said that his costumers don’t expect him to churn his own butter.
I just put hickory chips in a tin foil packet/pouch and lay it on the grate directly over the fire. I never place whatever I'm cooking on that grate. Poor mans smoker I reckon. The best chicken I make is marinated in Dales for 20 minutes, much longer and it's too salty, and cooked between 300 and 350 for between 70-90 minutes adding chips to the pouch as they burn up. YUM!! Everyone raves about it.
Posted from the shallow recesses of my feeble mind.
Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
(07-24-2014 09:46 AM)AngryAphid Wrote: [ -> ]I dislike smoke flavor. It makes food taste like my clothes smell after a bonfire.
With that said, I have a friend that runs a small town restaurant,
he would use liquid smoke… same flavor, less hassle.
I asked him if that makes his food seem less authentic, and he
said that his costumers don’t expect him to churn his own butter.
i feel it's cheating. he's not running a dairy. so i assume his patrons know he doesn't smoke his own meat?
(07-24-2014 11:26 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ]Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
(07-24-2014 01:23 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 11:26 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ]Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
Wood is a personal taste. I usually use either apple or cherry. They add a milder smoke flavor to whatever is being smoked.
(07-24-2014 01:42 PM)GrayBeard Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 01:23 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 11:26 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ]Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
Wood is a personal taste. I usually use either apple or cherry. They add a milder smoke flavor to whatever is being smoked.
I like fruit woods. But it really depends on what I'm making as to what wood I use. Mesquite works for a lot of dishes though. But nothing works in all cases. That's true with wood, as well as life in general.
I've got a Weber Smokey Mountain, 22.5". My dad and brother both have electric, and they make great bbq very easily. But they have much less ability to change the conditions of the cook. I appreciate that the WSM allows me some flexibility in how I want to cook, especially temperature, but once I get it set it'll stay where I want it for a very long time.
(07-24-2014 09:46 AM)AngryAphid Wrote: [ -> ]With that said, I have a friend that runs a small town restaurant,
he would use liquid smoke… same flavor, less hassle.
I asked him if that makes his food seem less authentic, and he
said that his costumers don’t expect him to churn his own butter.
Liquid smoke does NOT impart the same flavor as real smoke on meat. I do use it for two things: In bbq sauce, and when using a slow cooker. It's not a bad substitute, but it's not nearly as good as the real thing.
(07-24-2014 09:54 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote: [ -> ]I just put hickory chips in a tin foil packet/pouch and lay it on the grate directly over the fire. I never place whatever I'm cooking on that grate. Poor mans smoker I reckon.
This is what I was going to recommend to gdunn. You can get started with smoke without buying a smoker. Depends what kind of bbq you have, but putting a smoke box on the coals or burner definitely works as long as you've got the ability to apply heat indirectly, a decent lid and a way to ventilate (too much smoke will definitely make the meat bitter). If you've got a kettle style bbq, Weber makes basket charcoal holders that work great but there are other simple ways to keep the heat source away from the meat. Unfortunately, a lot of gas grills don't do indirect heat very well.
I think the best wood depends on what you're cooking. For short cooks I can't tell the difference between most woods. I like fruit woods or pecan for pork, hickory for beef but you have to be careful because it can be strong. Mesquite even more so.
Well luckily, a guy I work with has a smoker and told me he rarely uses it. If I wanted to take it for a spin one weekend let him know and I could come borrow it.
I wouldn't mind having a good smoker.
Posted from the shallow recesses of my feeble mind.
(07-24-2014 01:23 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 11:26 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ]Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
You can put soaked towels in there for humidity. You just changed them out ever hour or so. BTW, that should have read 50 gallon drum. I am not sure why I wrote 10. We do entire hogs in this sucker.
(07-24-2014 04:36 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 01:23 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 11:26 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ]Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
You can put soaked towels in there for humidity. You just changed them out ever hour or so. BTW, that should have read 50 gallon drum. I am not sure why I wrote 10. We do entire hogs in this sucker.
Minor details. I followed your mistake too. Although I slipped a digit, instead of typing the wrong digit.
It would look rather ridiculous, an 8' bar over a small drum like that.
(07-24-2014 04:51 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 04:36 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 01:23 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 11:26 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ]Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
You can put soaked towels in there for humidity. You just changed them out ever hour or so. BTW, that should have read 50 gallon drum. I am not sure why I wrote 10. We do entire hogs in this sucker.
Minor details. I followed your mistake too. Although I slipped a digit, instead of typing the wrong digit.
It would look rather ridiculous, an 8' bar over a small drum like that.
LOL it would be a little George Foreman smoker.
(07-24-2014 07:30 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 04:51 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 04:36 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 01:23 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 11:26 AM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ]Hickory is the best wood to use. The smoker we use is a home made contraption made out of a 10 gallon drum and a truck axle.
I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
You can put soaked towels in there for humidity. You just changed them out ever hour or so. BTW, that should have read 50 gallon drum. I am not sure why I wrote 10. We do entire hogs in this sucker.
Minor details. I followed your mistake too. Although I slipped a digit, instead of typing the wrong digit.
It would look rather ridiculous, an 8' bar over a small drum like that.
LOL it would be a little George Foreman smoker.
It doesn't have the grease catcher. So George wouldn't put his name on it.
(07-24-2014 08:21 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 07:30 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 04:51 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 04:36 PM)oklalittledixie Wrote: [ -> ] (07-24-2014 01:23 PM)bitcruncher Wrote: [ -> ]I much prefer mesquite over hickory. I've made a 10 gallon drum smoker myself. It's at my mother's place up in WV. I didn't use a truck axle though. I had an 8' iron breaker bar that fit the bill nicely. I even built it with a mist spritzer, so you get plenty of smoke flavoring. Now if I can just figure out a way to automate the amount of spritzing, without putting out the fire...
You can put soaked towels in there for humidity. You just changed them out ever hour or so. BTW, that should have read 50 gallon drum. I am not sure why I wrote 10. We do entire hogs in this sucker.
Minor details. I followed your mistake too. Although I slipped a digit, instead of typing the wrong digit.
It would look rather ridiculous, an 8' bar over a small drum like that.
LOL it would be a little George Foreman smoker.
It doesn't have the grease catcher. So George wouldn't put his name on it.
Have to put one side up on cinder blocks and let the grease drain off the side. You'd have to make sure to watch it or it would tip.
(07-24-2014 09:54 AM)TigerBlue4Ever Wrote: [ -> ]I just put hickory chips in a tin foil packet/pouch and lay it on the grate directly over the fire. I never place whatever I'm cooking on that grate. Poor mans smoker I reckon. The best chicken I make is marinated in Dales for 20 minutes, much longer and it's too salty, and cooked between 300 and 350 for between 70-90 minutes adding chips to the pouch as they burn up. YUM!! Everyone raves about it.
Posted from the shallow recesses of my feeble mind.
Mix hickory chips and apple chips... That is what you'd call a GREAT combination!!!
One of my best friend's in Florence smokes all kinds of stuff and it's all good.
Interestingly, he smokes whole heads of cabbage and it's amazing.
![[Image: k40775.001?$uslarge$]](http://images.qvc.com/is/image/k/75/k40775.001?$uslarge$)