Anyone own a smoker?

[SumDay]

I forgot to share our Italian Sausage idea. A friend gave us the idea. He buys a couple of lbs. of either mild or spicy Italian Sausage, and pats it into a long roll/cylinder shape, sort of like a loaf of french bread. Then he smokes it for an hour or so, wraps it in foil and lets it "settle" in the refrigerator. Then he slices it and serves it with cheese and crackers. Our tailgate friends give us heck if we forget to bring it to a game. It is DEEElicious.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

My electric uses soaked chips (30 min), and then also has a pan of water in addition to the pan for the chips

timo, as mentioned, I also have the Masterbuilt but nowhere does it say anything about soaking the wood chips. Is this something you decided to try on your own? I gather from al the comments that everything goes by the trial and error method. I saw on some website that soaking the chips is not recommended because it can cause the temperature to vary. I'm just about ready to shut mine down for the first time. It was in the process of being "seasoned". Going to wait until tomorrow to smoke something as time is running out today.

Thanks for all the feedback. I am going to print out some of the recipes for future use.

 

[audreyh1]

Soaked chips - that's what my electric smoker specifies.

 

[kaneohe]

Soaked chips - that's what my electric smoker specifies.

hmmmmm.......that's interesting. I have the same Little Chief and I don't recall them specifying that unless they've changed. Here's a manual I dug up
p. 12 talks about the chips but doesn't specify soaking as far as I can find....
http://www.smokehouseproducts.com/downloads/LCRB.pdf

perhaps I missed it somewhere.

 

[JPatrick]

5. One of the best tricks DH learned was to smoke the meat in the smoker for 2 hours, then wrap it in foil and finish it in the oven at a low temp. After a certain period of time, the meat won't take more smoke, and you run the risk of drying it out. There are lots of variations to this method, so eventually you'll find the one you like.

+1 on the above. We use this method for brisket adding a nice helping of sauce before it hits the oven. Works/tastes great.

Another tip--I use a 16" X 16" piece of tile as the smokers resting place on the deck.

 

[scrinch]

I haven't heard anyone mention brining fish before smoking in the electric smoker with wet apple or plum (backyard) chips. I use a salt-brown sugar-garlic powder basic brine, and sometimes add chili pepper. I sprinkle coarse black pepper over the fillets prior to smoking for 60-70 minutes. Mmmm. My favorites are yellowtail and salmon.

 

[ChiliPepr]

If you like pulled pork pick up a Boston Butt and some rub and follow the directions on this web site. It one of the easiest items to smoke and always turns out great.


Perfect Pulled Pork From Pork Butt Recipe

I have used this recipie several times and it comes out great!

I would stay away from quality cuts of meat and steaks... the higher the fat content the better.

I have never used and electric, but my smoker is gas and I love it.

 

[audreyh1]

I haven't heard anyone mention brining fish before smoking in the electric smoker with wet apple or plum (backyard) chips. I use a salt-brown sugar-garlic powder basic brine, and sometimes add chili pepper. I sprinkle coarse black pepper over the fillets prior to smoking for 60-70 minutes. Mmmm. My favorites are yellowtail and salmon.

My posted recipe included brining.

 

[timo2]

timo, as mentioned, I also have the Masterbuilt but nowhere does it say anything about soaking the wood chips. Is this something you decided to try on your own? I gather from al the comments that everything goes by the trial and error method. I saw on some website that soaking the chips is not recommended because it can cause the temperature to vary. I'm just about ready to shut mine down for the first time. It was in the process of being "seasoned". Going to wait until tomorrow to smoke something as time is running out today.

Thanks for all the feedback. I am going to print out some of the recipes for future use.

You are correct - I couldn't find a reference to soaking the wood chips in anything from Masterbuilt or the Dadgum cookbook. I must have seen it on the Masterbuilt demonstration on QVC, possibly...I certaintly didn't dream it. It turns whether to soak or not to soak is a long running controversy. Here is an interesting link SmokingMeatForums.com - Smoker and smoking meat forums and reviews

I've had good results with soaking the chips, however. The chips put out the right amount of smoke for me, and I usually don't have to add new chips. I guess you could try it both ways, or not.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

timo, my first batch of country ribs is in the smoker now. Trial and error if I've ever seen it. For my first time I am doing about 4 lbs of country ribs at 225 degrees for three hours. So after I turned on the smoker I set the timer for three hours smoking time plus 30 minutes to heat up. This was from one recipe in their instruction manual. Some other recipes I saw indicate about one hour per pound so at this stage I'm guessing. Put in my second cup of wood chips already.

 

[timo2]

timo, my first batch of country ribs is in the smoker now. Trial and error if I've ever seen it. For my first time I am doing about 4 lbs of country ribs at 225 degrees for three hours. So after I turned on the smoker I set the timer for three hours smoking time plus 30 minutes to heat up. This was from one recipe in their instruction manual. Some other recipes I saw indicate about one hour per pound so at this stage I'm guessing. Put in my second cup of wood chips already.

We like the "dadgum that's good' cookbook Dadgum That's Good! and I also noticed some recipes on the Master Built site.

 

[Lisa99]

However, for the last couple of years I've done nearly everything on the Big Green Egg, which is sort of a combination grill and smoker (technically called a kamado cooker), and this seems to be the ideal, at least for me.

+1 on Big Green Egg.

 

[HFWR]

Re: smoking steaks, I used to throw unsoaked wood chips in the kettle-style charcoal grill, then close the lid. The chips smolder due to low oxygen, and give a nice smoky flavor. But yeah, not "smoking" in the bbq sense...

Lazy gas griller these days...

 

[JOHNNIE36]

VIOLA! Just finished dinner with our first try at smoking country ribs. They were great. Even surprised my wife who is not a big rib fan. She ate these. I think I might have left them in a little too long (for me) but swhe likes things well done and she loved them. Now the next experiment is how to serve the leftovers but she told me she has the answer to that. We use a plastic steamer for baking and sweet potatoes in the microwave. Kind of like a rice cooker. She plans to just steam them a little to heat them up. Don't want to microwave them as they will toughen up.

Anyway, the first try on the smoker went great. Hell of a clean up though. I'm trusting the dishwasher. Also, I did notice a little leakage of drippings from somewhere at the bottom of the door. Looks like I'll just put an old throw rug down there and then pitch it when it gets ratty. I decided to keep it in the garage and just move it outside the mandoor when in use.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I started this thread in April I believe and went back today to review all the posts and to see if there were any late comers. Not much activity lately so I'll add one more to see if anyone feels like I do about the smoker. I QUIT!! Did up a batch today and I'm sick of all the work involved so we are giving it to our daughter and hubby. I started with it this morning at 8:30 and just finished with up with all the crap going into the dishwasher.

I think it took about half an hour to get the smoker set and up to temperature with the wood chips. The big pain in the a** comes after every thing is smoked and it's time for cleanup. You've got the drippings in the water pan, racks from the smokier to clean, pans from the prep of the meat, clean up the smoker itself and get it put back in the garage.

Forgot to mention that I always do this under a big umbrella so everything stays nice and dry in case it rains. That can happen because the whole process takes about three hours from start to finish, not including clean up. It's just too much so I'm done with it.

I'd like to hear from all you "smokers" out there as to where I can save some time. Even If I do this at my daughters house, I can't leave her with the mess. No wonder ribs aren't cheap!

 

[timo2]

I think it took about half an hour to get the smoker set and up to temperature with the wood chips. The big pain in the a** comes after every thing is smoked and it's time for cleanup. You've got the drippings in the water pan, racks from the smokier to clean, pans from the prep of the meat, clean up the smoker itself and get it put back in the garage.

My wife, who loves to use the smoker, would laugh at your post, and then be a little angry. 'See what women have to do to cook everyday" she would say, right before the litany of everything else she does that is hard work to achieve a desirable result for us.

What's that saying: if you can't stand the cleanup, don't cook anything'? oh wait, that's not it

 

[braumeister]

At the risk of repeating myself, I'll reiterate my Big Green Egg recommendation.

For the past couple of years, I have regularly done 3 or 4 racks of ribs (occasionally 5 or even 6) in my large BGE. Generally about six weeks is as long as I can go before needing another fix.

They are absolutely the best ribs I have ever had in my life, and that has been the (unprompted) reaction from everyone who has ever been my guest at one of these exercises.

Cleanup takes approximately two minutes (removing and discarding the aluminum foil I use to line the drip pan).

The smoking/cooking process takes about five hours (including prep time), but is super easy and almost entirely hands off.

If you've never seriously looked into the Big Green Egg, I encourage you to do so. The best way is to attend an EggFest where you can not only see them in operation but also sample a wide variety of foods cooked on them.

There are EggFests all over the country every year. You can probably find one in your area here:
EGGfests | Big Green Egg - The Ultimate Cooking Experience

If you don't see one nearby, that may mean the closest one has already been held and you'll have to wait for next year.

EggFests are also a great opportunity to buy a BGE at a substantial discount from retail.

 

[poorcarver]

Gosh, it never dawned on me to clean the thing. I have an electric Masterbuilt which I use every weekend and often through the week as well. All I ever do is throw the water pot in the dish washer, otherwise, other than dumping the grease pan contents in the trash can, that is that. I must say that ribs get from six to eight hours at 215, pork shoulder is at least 12 hours. The usual is a brisket lower in the smoker and two whole chickens nearer the top, the chickens come at at 5 hours, the brisket stays for the rest of the day. Smoked chicken for salads and so forth, brisket for dinner. Turkey breast is great and faster than the whole turkey, also a whole big economy packet of chicken thighs go every well. Doing a whole big turkey is a bit of a time problem, but given that it is more or less done with no supervision whatsoever, and tastes wonderful it is well worth it.

I leveled mine up and the grease goes in either the water bucket or ends up in the grease tray to be dumped. And a hearty plus one on the "Smoke and Spice" cook book.

Sorry it did not work out for you.

 

[Lisa99]

+1 on Big Green Egg. The blacker it gets on the inside the better. Only thing I've cleaned in the years I've had it is the cooking rack that the meat sits on.

 

[hakuna matata]

+2 on the BGE. I love it, it doesn't rust, there isn't any clean up that I have done to be honest. I clean out the lower part when the burnt/used lump charcoal falls down there. Maybe once or twice a year (if I am doing a big smoke like a bunch of pulled pork) then I take it apart and vacuum inside getting all of that.

But basically just clean the grid off and put lump charcoal in there and go to town. I have to say I am very satisfied with my BGE. Doubt I would use anything else.

 

[dfarr]

I use a Bubba Keg which is the poor mans version of the BGE. I agree with the BGE owners that cleaning is not an issue and I love grilling and smoking everything on my keg. Also.... beer is a key ingredient whenever smoking anything. It solves the issue of it taking so long.

 

[brewer12345]

Make no mistake, it takes time to do it right. I use a Weber Smoky Mountain smoker and mine is the biggest one they make. I expect to blow a significant amount of lump charcoal every time I fire it up and that I will need to be around for the day when it is running. As a result, I run it every 6 weeks or so (more when I am brewing and out there all day anyway) and I try to load it up good to maximize my yield from the time and charcoal. Most recently, I smoked 2 turkeys, both about 14 pounds. Other times it has been 5 or 6 chickens, a turkey with a bunch of odds and ends (random sausage lurking in the freezer, salmon fillets, bison ribs, what have you), and so on. The only time I have gone small was Father's day this year when Dad and I limited out on rainbow trout in the morning and I wanted to smoke them up for dinner (they were fabulous).

As for cleaning, I clean the water pan when I am ready to smoke the next batch and the grates get dropped over the fire as the coals are burning down and then scrubbed with a BBQ brush. Can't imagine trying to clean the whole thing, as I no longer own a power washer. Keeping the hounds away from the bag of charcoal (they try to eat it; as Dave Barry said, "I am not making this up") and the meat is way more work than the cleaning.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Just to be clear, I don't clean the smoker itself, just the racks, the water tray and the drip pan. These all go in the dishwasher. It's just the entire mess and when I'm finished cleaning, my butt is kicked and I need a shower 'cause I smell like burned hickory chips. My wife got a kick out of all my bitching today but told me I smelled pretty good smoked. We did have a couple country ribs for dinner and they were good. Still not worth all the effort.

 

[brewer12345]

Just to be clear, I don't clean the smoker itself, just the racks, the water tray and the drip pan. These all go in the dishwasher. It's just the entire mess and when I'm finished cleaning, my butt is kicked and I need a shower 'cause I smell like burned hickory chips. My wife got a kick out of all my bitching today but told me I smelled pretty good smoked. We did have a couple country ribs for dinner and they were good. Still not worth all the effort.

Then get rid of the smoker and send out for delivery.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

The smoker is going to our daughters house tomorrow and from now on we will go Sonny's for our ribs.