Smokers

[charliepff]

My wife and I have been talking about getting a smoker. We are not sure on the size or what brand yet. I was wondering if meets that are frozen are ok for smoking and where everyone gets there beef. I have not hunted in years so I do not have that luxury. The next question is how long does the meat stay good after smoking it?

 

[deepNdirt]

My wife and I have been talking about getting a smoker. We are not sure on the size or what brand yet. I was wondering if meets that are frozen are ok for smoking and where everyone gets there beef. I have not hunted in years so I do not have that luxury. The next question is how long does the meat stay good after smoking it?

By us using our smoker/grills we are mostly doing it with intent to eat the meat soon after, not really in the since of preserving the meat as one would do in a old fashion smoke house, although I would think that preserving meat could be done in the smaller smokers, kind of like jerky or such, perhaps someone else has used their smokers in such a technique to preserve meat and will share their technique with us...

On another Note; I have an opportunity to score a old LP tank, not the typical horizontal type but the kind that stands vertical, it is about 4 ft wide x 5 ft tall, has anyone ever built a smoker from this style tank? if so I would certainly like to see your design, I have seen a smaller forms of them, although not certain if i should build from it as a vertical smoker or have it built horizonally...
example of one below,

 

[jinman]

Tim, I think with that size bottle, I'd put it horizontal with a wide opening door and maybe put a 20 lb or 40 lb bottle attached on the bottom as a firebox. That's the traditional way they are built here. You could also put it on a axle with a tongue so you could tow it around with your tractor to wherever you want it.

 

[whistlepig]

Dave, that's the same smoker as the Masterbuilt Smoker. That was my first smoker and I loved it, but after about three years of sitting out in the weather, the heating element quit working. I haven't ever checked to see what is wrong with it because my darling wife bought me another one that is larger, stainless steel, and has glass in the door so I can look in and see what is going on without opening the door. I like the Masterbuilt smokers a lot, but there are some things you will want to do that are different with them and a traditional wood smoker.

The wood chip drawer is a big plus, but I've found I prefer to add dry chips rather than water soaked chips. When you are smoking on low heat, adding additional water soaked chips can extinguish your smoldering chips and then the heating coils don't stay on long enough to get the chips going again. When you are smoking at 200 to 225 degrees and the smoker is up to heat, it doesn't take much heat from the coils to maintain that temperature and it's not enough to get the chips going. Therefore, the smoke is reduced dramatically. I actually make it a practice to use dry chips and then open the big door every hour to baste the meat. I leave the door open until the inside temperature drops to 150 or lower. That way when I close the door and add chips, there will be a full heavy smoke cycle as the heater brings the smoker back up to full temperature.

With that smoker, you won't have to worry about the outside of your meat turning black from smoke tar as in a traditional smoker. You can leave meat in the smoker for 6 hours or longer and it will not have to be wrapped to keep it from turning black like some smokers. Your meat will have a dark coating, but not the heavy black tar you see in regular smokers. I find ribs are tender and delicious after 5 hours at 200 degrees. If you then raise the temperature to 225 or 250 for an addtional hour, the ribs will fall off the bone and be delicious. I've done one brisket, but those take a long time at low heat, maybe up to 10-12 hours, to be fully cooked and tender. I prefer to do pork, ribs, chicken, and ham. Those are all easily cooked in 4 to 6 hours.

I think you'll love your smoker and even cleaning isnt' too bad if your line your water pan with heavy foil before adding water/wine/beer. If you have a big container to soak the racks in soapy water, they come clean easily. Of course the inside of the smoker becomes very seasoned and nasty looking, but that's just the nature of a smoker. Run it up to 250 for an hour before smoking to sterilize the smoker and there will be no worries. Let us know how it turns out.

I've added some photos of my smoker in use. The first is with a brisket and ribs before smoking and the second is when I took the ribs out and kept smoking the brisket for a few more hours. They were all delicious.:licking:

This is good information to have and I appreciate it. I was told by a friend to clean the racks but never the inside of the smoker. The tip on opening the door and let the temperature drop so the burner will fire up and generate more smoke makes sense. That is the first I time I have heard that. I have concerns about keeping the smoker outside. I am going to buy a cover for it and it will be stored on a deck that is covered. Some have told me to foil the ribs after they cook a couple of hours. Looks like you do well with out the foil. I am going to try ribs first. I would like to try brisket but from what I have read brisket is a bit more involved to smoke. I appreciate the pictures! You are making me hungry!

 

[2LaneCruzer]

My wife and I have been talking about getting a smoker. We are not sure on the size or what brand yet. I was wondering if meets that are frozen are ok for smoking and where everyone gets there beef. I have not hunted in years so I do not have that luxury. The next question is how long does the meat stay good after smoking it?

As the previous poster indicated, most of us intend to eat the meat soon after it has been smoked...however, I've found that a slab of smoked ribs for instance, can be kept frozen and will be just as good after being thawed and reheated. The key is taking your time heating them up; try to rush them and they will sometimes be greasy. Baby backs heated in the microwave are pretty darn good!

 

[jinman]

This is good information to have and I appreciate it. I was told by a friend to clean the racks but never the inside of the smoker.

Dave, you may find that your smoker puts out plenty of smoke. On my larger smoker, they actually reduced the size of the chip tray by 1/2. It has a glass window and I can easily see when there is heavy smoke inside. It actually doesn't take a lot of smoke to flavor the meat. I would say to check your ribs every hour to make sure they aren't getting too dark on the outside and they won't take very much smoke after about 5 hours. Sometimes, I take the ribs out at 5 hours and lightly rub them down with yellow mustard mixed with olive oil and wrap them in foil. I then put them back into the smoker for another hour to 1-1/2 hours. The mustard and olive oil won't be visible when you take the ribs out to eat them, but they will be a lot more moist. I'm sure you will come up with your own method. What I've found is that there is no such thing as bad smoked ribs, only good, great, and unbelievable.

 

[65fl]

I think you made a great choice for your needs, my friend has the same smoker and produces some really good Q. Enjoy it, and when you have the time start playing with rubs and sauces. I own a WSM and have never looked back, lately I've been smoking cheeses. Now that is a lot of fun and will get you tons of compliments.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

"when you have the time start playing with rubs and sauces. "

Truer words were never spoke. There's the whole issue of sauce or no sauce; rub or no rub, sweet rub vs hot rub, etc. I'm sure when you begin to think about seasonings, you can gets lots of suggestions. I personally do not use BBQ sauce (maybe rarely, then I use Woody's cooking sauce), except as a side. I use a rub called Bad Byron's "Butt Rubb". No sugar, just a tad hot. Second choice, Cains, but don't know if it's available everywhere. I also have my own simple recipe for dry rub, that I think is great; it's similar to Butt Rubb, but not as hot.

As a side note, there are more rubs and sauces on the internet than you would dream of. When in doubt, salt and pepper go a long way; with pork, add some granulated garlic. Good luck and happy smoking!

 

[HickoryNut]

I keep my smoker in the tractor shed connected to a stove pipe through the roof. It doubles as a heat source and makes for a great wintry day hideout. And people often comment that my tractor smells delicious, LOL.

 

[Maxfli]

I bought a Big Green Egg last spring and it has been great. I have done briskets and port butts and put a 20lb turkey on there for Thanksgiving. It is the right size for family cooking and is easy to manage. Easy is good these days. It will hold at a constant temp for hours. This summer was all about grilled vegetable. hoping for a better garden next year. Try this The ORIGINAL Online Community for the Big Green Egg

 

[whistlepig]

Dave, you may find that your smoker puts out plenty of smoke. On my larger smoker, they actually reduced the size of the chip tray by 1/2. It has a glass window and I can easily see when there is heavy smoke inside. It actually doesn't take a lot of smoke to flavor the meat. I would say to check your ribs every hour to make sure they aren't getting too dark on the outside and they won't take very much smoke after about 5 hours. Sometimes, I take the ribs out at 5 hours and lightly rub them down with yellow mustard mixed with olive oil and wrap them in foil. I then put them back into the smoker for another hour to 1-1/2 hours. The mustard and olive oil won't be visible when you take the ribs out to eat them, but they will be a lot more moist. I'm sure you will come up with your own method. What I've found is that there is no such thing as bad smoked ribs, only good, great, and unbelievable.

I picked up the Masterbuilt smoker at Bass Pro today. I am "seasoning" the smoker now. Masterbuilt recommend running the smoker @ 275 degrees for 3 hours with one cup of wood chips during the last 45 minutes. It's a well built little smoker. At 21 degrees outside it heated up from 21 degrees to 275 degrees in thirty minutes. It held the 275 degrees for three hours outside in the cold and in a slight breeze. I got some burgers and brats I'm going to smoke tonight. Baby backs marinating in the fridge for tomorrow. This is turning out to be a whole lot easier and more enjoyable than I thought it would be. My friend recommended the same foil method of cooking ribs as you have. Your advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[donn12]

check out TVWB.com for recipes

it is a weber smoker site but the BRITU ribs are incredible! they also have a salt turkey recipe that was a huge hit at my house on thanksgiving.

 

[whistlepig]

I smoked some Johnsonville brats and angus ground chuck last night. The brats were just plain excellent. I didn't care for the burger but the wife loved it. Definitely going to do the brats again next weekend. Got baby backs a smoking now. That's a six hour smoke. I bought the smoker just for ribs. Let you know how the ribs turns out. All smoked on a Hickory/Apple wood mix.

 

[dirtydan]

I smoked some ribs with pecan chips this afternoon and then finished them on the grill slathered with our own homemade BBQ sauce. Those were the best ribs I have ever eaten. I have a masterbuilt smoker too. I have also smoked hams, bacon, turkey, chicken and fish. I like it because it does not take constant attention. The ribs I only attended to about 4 times and added woodchips twice. you can really taste the smoke in the ribs. We have been making this sauce for a couple of years now and it is so much better than anything you can buy.. but that is just my opinion and my taste.
Dan

 

[whistlepig]

This my second weekend using the smoker. So far I have smoked brats twice (excellent), ribs twice (also excellent) and burgers. Both beef and and turkey burgers I have smoked. I'm not that big on the smoked burgers but the wife loves 'em. The ribs are truly fall off the bone tender. My first successful attempt at cooking good ribs after failing many times on a gas grill for years. But the smoked brats are the best of all so far. I have grilled brats for years and really like them. Smoked brats are ten times better than grilled.

 

[arsenix2001]

This my second weekend using the smoker. So far I have smoked brats twice (excellent), ribs twice (also excellent) and burgers. Both beef and and turkey burgers I have smoked. I'm not that big on the smoked burgers but the wife loves 'em. The ribs are truly fall off the bone tender. My first successful attempt at cooking good ribs after failing many times on a gas grill for years. But the smoked brats are the best of all so far. I have grilled brats for years and really like them. Smoked brats are ten times better than grilled.

Be careful with those brats on a smoker. Make sure they are chain store bought since those are usually cured. Same with sausages. Alot of mom and pop butchers can get you uncured meats. Reason being its a fair botulism risk. The meat is ground therefore exposing insides to bacteria. The smoker provides a low oxygen, slow to heat enviornment. And botulism is a nasty nerve toxin that once it forms in the meat during smoking cannot be "cooked out". Just use cured meats or keep that smoker on the hot side, 275-300. You want to bring those puppies up past 140 pretty quick. :thumbsup: