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Smoking Food Thread

leiquin...i have the same smoker...did 2 beer can chickens today myself...4.5 hours, hickory and apple wood...very tasty stuff.

good luck with your new smoker
 
I had some problems with keeping the temperature in the right range but overall, the beer can chicken smoking was a success.

The beer can bird is reason alone to own a smoker. The hardest part is finding a beer I want to buy that comes in a can.
 
Smoked a butt in that same gourmet electric. it was absolutely perfect. Forgot to take pics.
 
Forgot to take pics.

:rulz:

The weather turned out so nice this weekend, that I decided against smoking the brisket and beef ribs. Instead, I worked in the yard all weekend. I'll try to get around to it this weekend.
 
:rulz:

The weather turned out so nice this weekend, that I decided against smoking the brisket and beef ribs. Instead, I worked in the yard all weekend. I'll try to get around to it this weekend.

I understand your concerns with foil on the smoker. With the foil pan, the meat is uncovered and sits in the pan with its own juices and the drippings from the mop sauce which includes vinegar and apple juice as well as some other stuff. Since it is uncovered, it is still soaking up the smoke but sitting in the drippings and mop sauce, it is a lot more moist than if it sits directly on the grate.
 
Ribs turned out pretty good yesterday - had a great bark on the outside, but the rub I used didn't carry a lot of flavor IMHO.

I couldn't get the butt past 180 - maybe I called it quits too early...I ended up with chopped pork instead of pulled - turned out pretty good though. Sandwiches all week!

Also, I made bacon wrapped, pimento cheese stuffed jalapeno poppers on the grill to go with dinner. They were, in a word, AWESOME.
 
So, should I make any other modifications to the smoker other than drilling a hole at the bottom?

What is the best type of fuel to use?

What is the best way to add fuel to the smoker?
 
So, should I make any other modifications to the smoker other than drilling a hole at the bottom?

What is the best type of fuel to use?

What is the best way to add fuel to the smoker?

The airhole will allow air to rise through the coals vertically, which will help quite a bit. Tuffalo can also give you some pointers that he did with his. IIRC he used a grate to create some separation between the coals and the bottom of the pan.

Definitely always use lump charcoal, it just works better. If you are only smoking things on the top rack, rather than putting the water pan where its supposed to go, set it on one of the lower racks. It'll free up some space to add coals to the pan.
 
This is going to sound dumb: do the lump coals need to be added pre-lit or will they catch fire once added to the coals?
 
Charcoal-Chimneys.jpg


Pick up one of these to get them started initially. If you want to just maintain temperature, add them unlit if you notice your temps starting to slide. If your temp drops quite a bit and you need some instant umph, light some more in the chimney and add them after they've been lit.
 
Yeah. I've got the chimney for lighting them. I didn't have a lighter in my house so I was having to purposely catch rolled up paper towels on fire held in tongs on my electric stove.

I kept using the chimney to light the briquettes. Any idea on how much charcoal I should be putting on at what interval?
 
Yeah. I've got the chimney for lighting them. I didn't have a lighter in my house so I was having to purposely catch rolled up paper towels on fire held in tongs on my electric stove.

I kept using the chimney to light the briquettes. Any idea on how much charcoal I should be putting on at what interval?

I don't smoke anything but edible meats, but I've got three lighters in my house. One for grilling and two for the emergency kit to keep their buddies the candles company.

I usually load up an entire chimney at first light and then add 7 briquets every half hour (at the same intervals I sop mop my smoking butt).
 
Honestly it varies from smoke to smoke. A lot of it has to do with what you are cooking and factors having to do with the weather. I make a habit of checking my temps every 30 minutes.
 


I've got 3 of them :couch:.
One I use strictly for the temperatures gratelevel in the smoker, and the other two for meat probes.
 
Last question of the day: Do you keep the probe in the meat the entire time? I think I screwed up by checking the temp to frequently and losing heat in the smoker.
 
On my wireless thermometers, yes. Once I get it in position and make sure its not on a bone, I dont touch it. Most times, I wont even open the lid on the smoker until its finished unless there is a problem, or people want to see the meat.
 
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?


I haven't tried this place just yet, as I just found this website last week.

http://www.ncagr.gov/ncproducts/ShowSite.asp?ID=1745
 
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