Meat smokers?

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I had a charcoal cheapo bullet smoker for a while and went to the electric bullet.

I think theres a distinction in the process. If you like tending fires, have a lot of time on your hands, and you're into the "man and his smoker becoming one with the universe" thing, the charcoal version will work. I was using chunk mesquite charcoal and I had one hell of a time maintaining a constant temperature. If you just want to eat the food and treat the process like a slow cooker without liquid in it, the electric is pretty slick.

Set it and forget it. On a cold or windy cool winter day, you can put a big cardboard box over the whole thing and cut a little flap in it to check the temperature. Traps the heat beautifully and maintains a nice 190-220 degree temp. Done!

This new box model I got has a dual layer design and I see from prodding it a little that it has some yellow fiberglass looking insulation in between the layers. Maybe I wont need a box.

[Tomcat98]

Originally Posted by cute fuzzy bunny

So whats that sized for...2 or 3 burgers?

Holy cow. 110 gallons of smoked something. Back to the wholey cow... (saved you the trouble REW...)

The cooking area is one 55 gal drum slpit long side down the middle. I started with the little R2D2 looking charcoal smokers years ago. But here in Colorado I had a hard time getting the temp up with the wind and cold temps. So I decided to go wood and built this one. It is definately a conversation item as I live on a golf course and may golfers think it is a still.

True story, I had a buddy who was going to Missouri to help move some family members things. He said he would bring back a load of oak if I could find a place to get it. So I called the local chamber of commerce in this little town where he was going. The lady said "Joe down by the school sells firewood. She gave me the number and I called Joe. I told Joe I was in Colorado amd had a buddy that was going to be in the area and wanted to get a load. Joe says "Dude, we don't deliver to Colorodo." I said what about if I pick it up and you load if for $5 more. He agreed.

The things we do for good BBQ.

Tomcat98

[TromboneAl]

The part I bought for mine was a metal plate with a heating element. It wasn't quite strong enough for our 60 degree, shady, breezy weather, so I added a second element (one of those charcoal starter things).

You put a metal plate on the heating element, and periodically place new chunks of wood on that plate. It's kind of pitiful really, you have to spend a lot of time adding the wood, and monitoring the amount of smoke.

The thermometer on this model is totally inadequate, so I drilled a hole in the top and added a meat thermometer.

Here's a tip: don't bother soaking the wood chips or chunks. It really doesn't make much difference. Soak one overnight, and cut it open. You'll see that the water penetrates less than a millimeter.

[HFWR]

Yeah, I've never bothered with soaking the chips. If you keep the oxygen level low (i.e. keep the lid closed), the chips will smolder, providing plenty of carcinogens good smoke...

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Chips?

CHUNKS!

[HFWR]

Insert Tim the Toolman grunt here...

[cute fuzzy bunny]

It all worked quite well for me. I did brisket, some brats, a half dozen corn on the cob and the dozen ABT's. All came out tasty. The ABT's were surprisingly mild. I removed the seeds and membrane and the filling seems to have neutralized most of the rest of the heat.

In fact, if I made them again I'd probably increase the amount of spice rub and add a good bit of cayenne to the cream cheese. Maybe slip a little sliver of really spicy sausage in there.

As anticipated, all the innards came out of the box ready for the dishwasher, and the box itself wiped clean with a wad of paper towels and some ammonia spray cleaner.

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Just as a followup, this has worked very well for me and is highly recommended. Its apparently made by Brinkman, since a call to the listed Kenmore customer service line took me to Brinkmans customer support.

I've really appreciated being able to add/access food, water and chips on the fly very quickly and without having to remove the lid and then the top rack(s). With the four separate racks, I can load up each with food and then at the right time stick it in the smoker in 3 seconds, minimizing heat loss.

I also noticed that the arrangement allows for rib hooks or hanging fish racks to be hung from the top rack with excellent access. I could do four full racks of spare ribs or four whole fish in this with no problems. A little homemade heavy aluminum baby "coat hanger" hook inserted in a turkey would also let me get away with about an 18 pounder.

So now I know whats for thanksgiving.

On the last session I did baby back ribs, a chub of Jimmy Dean sausage with a rub on it, and another batch of ABT's. I put a LOT more spice rub into the cream cheese, mixed some minced little smokies in, and upped the green onions. I removed the pepper seeds but left most of the membrane in there, and used a thinner bacon that would crisp up more quickly. Perfect. A little spicier, more flavor, and overall an excellent artery clogger.

I glazed the ribs and the sausage "fatty" with hot jalapeno jelly...which generally isnt super spicy but has a nice mix of sweet and hot. I added a little cayenne and honey to the ribs glaze and straight jelly on the fatty.

I think the next time I'm going to do a chicken and set one of the jimmy dean sage chubs over it for some auto-basting...