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Smoking Food Thread

I got one of these for my birthday:
852-7080-0-l.jpg


Thanks Drummer :thumbsup:

Then I modded it according to what this guy did : http://home.comcast.net/~day_trippr/smoker_mods.htm

I'm using it for the first time today. I've got it going hotter than needed for any cooking to burn off anything on the inside. I want to cook a beer can chicken later today. What will be the best way to cool the thing down to 225? I don't have any water in the water pan right now. Any idea how filling it up will affect the temp?
 
TSY, if you're around, do you wrap your pork butts in foil? I'm seeing conflicting opinions. One guy recommended spritzing them with an apple juice/rum mixture (I would use bourbon).
 
Elquinto, you can open the lid and the intake door to let the coals burn faster to decrease the temp, but you'll have to add more coals later. Another option is to get a spray bottle, open the door and spray the coals to put some out to get you to the temp you want.

Cav, I'm biased, but I don't use foil at any time when I smoke. Im of the opinion that if you do that, you might as well cook it in the oven, but many people use that method with success.

I put off smoking the brisket until tomorrow. The weather turned out well, and worked in the yard instead. I also picked up a rack of beef ribs to do as well.
 
I'm not going to foil it. I'm pretty concerned because it's barely gotten to 140 degrees and it's been on for just under 5 hours. How screwed am I?
 
You're fine. If you keep your cooking temp steady, you'll eventually get it up. You've hit the pork plateau. It could sit there for hours with little to no change in the internal temp, then shoot up 40 degrees in the span of an hour.
 
Awesome. Thanks. I'm freaking out. I'm also running out of charcoal. Had to have some friends pick some up.
 
briquette's

I was in a time crunch this morning. I planned poorly.
 
I'm not going to foil it. I'm pretty concerned because it's barely gotten to 140 degrees and it's been on for just under 5 hours. How screwed am I?

I experienced this too early on.

Invest in a sop mop and a marinade injector. TSY's rec on apple juice injections is money.
 
Rubbed some ribs and a small butt to be smoked tomorrow. Winning.

Observation: Very few threads where rubbing small butts is considered acceptable posting behavior.

Question #1: When you're smoking a pork butt, what's your target temp in the chamber?

Question #2: Any suggestions on where to get smoking fruit woods in the Triangle area?
 
Observation: Very few threads where rubbing small butts is considered acceptable posting behavior.

Question #1:When you're smoking a pork butt, what's your target temp in the chamber?

Question #2: Any suggestions on where to get smoking fruit woods in the Triangle area?

In regards to your observations, I saw a shirt at a BBQ place in Nashville along the lines of "If I rub your rack, will you pull my pork" and I wish now I would have picked it up...

#1 - This is the first time I've smoked a butt, so I have no real experience here, but I'm aiming to keep the smoker between 225-250 (I also have ribs on the smoker). Ultimately I'm looking for 190F internal temp...

#2 - I live in Charleston, so I can't really help ou out on where to get fruit woods in the Triangle. I've been using hickory wood chips purchased at Target. I've seen fruit wood chips at Lowes, but not large chunks.
 
Observation: Very few threads where rubbing small butts is considered acceptable posting behavior.

Question #1: When you're smoking a pork butt, what's your target temp in the chamber?

Question #2: Any suggestions on where to get smoking fruit woods in the Triangle area?

Unless I'm smoking something like fish, I keep my internal temp between 250 and 275.

Do you have an fruit orchard anywhere near you? Getting their prunings are how a lot of people get their wood.
 
Hmm... I was having a hard time keeping my smoker at 225... any thoughts?
 
Did you do any mods to it, or just use it as is out of the box?

If you didn't mod it, my guess is you had airflow restriction problems. Easiest fix is to drill a 3/8" hole in the center of the burn pan.
 
Unless I'm smoking something like fish, I keep my internal temp between 250 and 275.

Do you have an fruit orchard anywhere near you? Getting their prunings are how a lot of people get their wood.

That's a good idea, but do you ever worry about chemicals and pesticides on the wood?
 
Only mod that I did was the new thermometer.

Yeah, you need to drill a hole in the burn pan. The design restricts airflow to the coals, keeping them from burning efficiently.

That's a good idea, but do you ever worry about chemicals and pesticides on the wood?
Yeah, I could see where that could be a concern. My guess would be to ask the orchard and see if they use chemicals. All of the pecan and apple that I've used in the past were from neighbors who didn't spray anything.

You can order online, but you'll pay for that premium.
 
I had some problems with keeping the temperature in the right range but overall, the beer can chicken smoking was a success.
 
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