Posted: 5/21/2011 12:05:06 PM EDT
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i see all of you talking about and posting images of some mouth watering food from smoker, and i want in on it!
A buddy of mine gave me his old smoker ( only used it once ) last year and i don't really know how to use it. what I'm looking for is what kind of wood do you use and where you get it and how to use it? what kind of meats can you smoke and what kind you can't? how long do you smoke the meat for ( pork/beef/fish )? any info/help will be most appreciated. |
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walmart has 10 pound bags of hickory or mesquite chunks for $5, best deal around i've seen. otherwise you can use pretty much any fruit hardwood (i.e. apple, pecan, pear, cherry) you can get chunks or chips any lots of places like home depot, menards, any many other hardware / grocery stores as for how long, depends on the meat. the most important part is the internal temperature. i picked up a maverick thermometer model et-732 (two temp probes and a long range wireless receiver). there are a lot of great smoker websites i.e. http://forum.texasbbqrub.com/ see http://forum.texasbbqrub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=59 for recipes then there's cold smoking, which i have yet to get into http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75692 |
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I hear there are one or two guys on here who do a little smoking of fine meats.. Chicken (whole) 3 hours. Apply rub inside and out. 235 -275 temp. Cherry or apple. Chicken (spatchcocked) 1 hour. Apply rub both sides. 275 temp. Cherry or apple. Tri-tips. Whole. 2 hours. Rub. 250 - 275 temp. Oak, mesquite, hickory Pork Butts/shoulders. 12-15 hours. Rub all over. 235 temp. Maple, apple. Brisket. 8-12 hours (size dependent). Rub. 235 temp. Oak, mesquite, hickory, pecan. Baby-back Ribs. 230 temp. 3-2-1 method (Google is your friend ~ 6 hours total) Rub, follow directions. Maple, apple, hickory (mix them all) Full Spare Ribs. 6 hours. rub. 235 temp. Same as above. Try this website too. GREAT folks on there. Go to Cattle Call and announce yourself. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=11 Good luck!!! ps. The above are my way of doing things bbq related. YMMV. |
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Here is where gun nuts and smokers meet. This board is an off shoot of gun boards where guys who love bbq hang out. Small and friendly place.
ricksrealpitbbq.freeforums.org/ |
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http://www.smoking-meat.com/modify-brinkmann-ecb-smoker.html
The only mods I have done are: Replace useless temp gauge with an actual thermometer (less than $10.00) Used a 13" weber grill grate in the bottom of the charcoal pan to keep the charcoal out of the ash ($7.00 new) Drilled approx. 10 small holes along the bottom sides of the charcoal pan to allow better air flow. I use a small watering can to add water to the water pan during use. Google the "Minion Method" - This is necessary if you want to do longer smokes like roasts, turkeys or butts *edit to make link hot |
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Quoted:
I need to give this a try too, smoked food is the best. I have an old gas grill I think ill try and turn into a smoker. Just get something like this. If you live near Racine go to Kortendicks and get the coal basket they sell. http://store.weber.com/Items/Accessories/charcoal/Detail.aspx?pid=1286 Just half full of charcoal and add wood chips/chunks on top after charcoal is burned down to a gray ash color and ready. It won't be a big fire but you would be surprised just how much you can smoke with a small contained fire like that. Just keep adding wood as smoke stops. If you do it right, even with a small fire you will only need to add wood once or twice in an hour. The nice thing about having two is if you are smoking something large if the fire burns down too much, you can just swap it out with the second one which would already be burned down to gray and hot coals and keep going. Truth is with most foods people typically smoke the smoke in the first hour or two is key. Then just continuing to cook low and slow. The other thing is it will be very easy for you to keep the heat to one side and use indirect heat for slower cooking while smoke circulates around the meat, you won't even need a water pan. The water pan is really more of a way to smoke with hotter, faster cooking fires when the fire is directly under the meat. If you want one, it will be easy to rig one way or another with foil pans. Cheap way for you to convert that old grill or get a trash can going |