Posted: 12/29/2009 7:30:02 AM EDT
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I'm a big fan of smoked meats. I love visiting Slow's BBQ in Detroit (good food, and great beer selection). Fast forward to Christmas, and I got an Smoke Hollow propane smoker from my brother. I assembed it yesterday, and plan to burn it out and season it today.
I've found the Smoking Meats Forum, but I like this site! So.... What do you recommend for an aspiring smoker to start with? I like it all, so what's the easiest to start with! Something that I'll likely not screw up. The smoker has a ton of surface area (3 racks), so once I get the hang of it, I intend to smoke and preserve. Can I just smoke a bird, brisket or pork shoulder and stick it in the freezer? Recommendations? How will it last? Tried and true recipes? Thanks! K |
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What do you recommend for an aspiring smoker to start with? Tried and true recipes? Anything you want. I think I've tried everything shy of a flip-flop on my smoker. I really enjoy smoked veggies....pretty much impossible to screw those up. Smoke some tomatoes, corn and peppers and make a salsa out of it. 
You'll just have to play around with it, and as far as I'm concerned, the sky's the limit when it comes to smoking. Invest in a good remote reading meat thermometer would be possibly the best advice I can offer. Keeps you from having to open the smoker and loosing all your heat, just run the wire for your remote probe through the vent. Of the hundreds of pounds of meat and other things I've done, besides jerky, this is bar none the spousal units consistent repeat request. Billy's Smoked Meatloaf (Don't ask me who Billy is b/c I don't remember where I even found the recipe) Two pounds lean ground beef One pound fresh Italian sausage, medium or hot One cup Kansas City Style BBQ sauce One cup rolled oats Two large eggs One large green pepper, finely chopped One large onion, finely chopped One tablespoon olive oil One teaspoon chopped garlic One teaspoon salt One-half teaspoon black pepper One-quarter teaspoon cayenne pepper(optional) Fire up your smoker. The temperature needs to be right at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for meatloaf. When smoking ground meat recipes, the internal temperature needs to rise above the danger zone as quickly as possible. Saute the chopped green pepper, onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft. Spoon the veggies out of the frying pan, and combine with the rest of the ingredients, mixing thoroughly. ________________________________________ The best way to mix meatloaf? Use your hand. Just get in there and start squishing...it's very effective, and it feels good too! Mix it up for about five minutes. The texture of the smoked meatloaf will be better if the ingredients are blended well. ________________________________________ Form the ground meat mixture into one large loaf, or several smaller loaves. I usually divide the smoked meatloaf recipe into four smaller loaves (don't ignore this, it turns out better, trust me). They cook quicker, and they make nice looking leftovers. Place the loaf/loaves into a shallow baking pan, and pop it into the smoker. Use your favorite wood for smoke. When the internal meatloaf temperature reaches 160F, it's done. Smaller loaves may be done in as little as two hours. A large loaf may take 3 to 4 hours. If you like, you can top the smoking meatloaf with ketchup (  )or barbecue sauce one-half hour before removing it from the smoker. I like barbecue sauce, myself.
Give the meatloaf at least fifteen minutes to rest before serving so it firms up a little. This smoked meatloaf recipe makes dandy sandwiches for the lunchbox. Enjoy. BTW: I just put them in pyrex baking dishes. Works great and cleans up easy even though they look horrible when you pull them out of the smoker. |