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Old 04-21-2013, 11:22 AM   #21
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pork ribs (are there any other kind?).
Bison back ribs are fabulous on the smoker.
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Old 04-21-2013, 11:54 AM   #22
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Question to all you "smokers". Do you use the wood chips dry or do you soak them in water. I've read all the instructions on the smoker use and on the three packages of wood chips I bought and nowhere does it mention soaking the chips. Our SIL said he soaks the chips and then dabs up excess water with paper towels. The only place it mentions water is in spraying the chips in a charcoal smoker if they burn up too fast. And it specifies that this does not pertain to electric smokers. To soak or not to soak, that is the question.

Right now the smoker is on and in the "seasoning" process where I let it run at 275 and then add chips for the last 45 minutes.
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Old 04-21-2013, 12:30 PM   #23
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My electric uses dry and replace when burned up, which is every 45 mins or so. I generally add more every hour. I think they suggest dry so they burn completely rather than smolder and die out. Once you get the hang of smoking it is fun to do different meats at the same time (mine has three racks). The drippings baste the meats below. Good luck.
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Old 04-21-2013, 12:48 PM   #24
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Mine is charcoal fired and both chips and hunks of wood are pre-soaked before I put them on the fire.
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Old 04-21-2013, 12:53 PM   #25
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My electric uses dry and replace when burned up, which is every 45 mins or so. I generally add more every hour. I think they suggest dry so they burn completely rather than smolder and die out. Once you get the hang of smoking it is fun to do different meats at the same time (mine has three racks). The drippings baste the meats below. Good luck.
My electric uses soaked chips (30 min), and then also has a pan of water in addition to the pan for the chips
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Old 04-21-2013, 01:10 PM   #26
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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.
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Old 04-21-2013, 01:43 PM   #27
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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.
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Old 04-21-2013, 05:01 PM   #28
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Soaked chips - that's what my electric smoker specifies.
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Old 04-21-2013, 06:24 PM   #29
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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.
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Old 04-21-2013, 09:48 PM   #30
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 02:22 AM   #31
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 05:47 AM   #32
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 08:31 AM   #33
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 08:34 AM   #34
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 12:56 PM   #35
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 01:07 PM   #36
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 02:07 PM   #37
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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.
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Old 04-22-2013, 03:47 PM   #38
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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...
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Old 04-22-2013, 05:59 PM   #39
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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.
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Old 07-20-2013, 11:38 AM   #40
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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!
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