Tom_H
Veteran Member
jbrumberg said:
God, I got a good laugh out of that one.
Smoking sausages
- Thread starter czechsonofagun
- Start date
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God, I got a good laugh out of that one.
Justaplain
Gold Member
Has anyone tried the "7 in 1" smoker that is on the market??. Question for "Bird". Can you control the heat on your rig when you are mainly smoking. I guess they call it cold smoking. bcs
jbrumberg
Elite Member
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- Cummington, MA
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Justaplain:
You should try to maintain temperatures in the 220 to 230 degree range for smoking sausages. Internal temperatures should be around 170 degrees. Jay
You should try to maintain temperatures in the 220 to 230 degree range for smoking sausages. Internal temperatures should be around 170 degrees. Jay
Chuck52
Veteran Member
I thought I'd give my results with a Smoke Hollow electric smoker here in case anyone is looking into getting one. Why electric? I know straight wood is best, probably followed by charcoal, then gas, and finally electric just before solar. However, I can't do the straight wood and the cost of charcoal is usually as much as the meat. I already have a gas grill, which isn't good for smoking because of the design, and I could have gotten a gas smoker, but I didn't see why it should make much difference where the heat comes from as long as you can get smoke.
Anyway, I found the Smoke Hollow electric smoker at my local Ace, and it seemed maybe a bit better built than the WalMart black box smokers, so I bought it. Sams has a nice looking but expensive electric smoker that even has a touch pad control with all kinds of features, but I figured it was maybe a bit too complex for my taste....touch pad just has to die sometime. The Smke Hollow just has a plug with a rheostat like an electric skillet. Inside the insulated black box is a decent sized heating element, and right over that is a water pan and a covered pan to hold wood shavings. If you follow the directions for use, you will get absolutely no smoke. The wood pan is at least an inch above the heating element, and after a couple hours any wood shavings in there will only get toasted. I figured that out by "smoking" some Italian sausages. Then I did a turkey breast and put some wood chips right on the heating element. Works great! The box is tight enough that the wood smolders but never gets enough oxygen to flame. What worked best for me was rounds cut from a limb of a Bradford pear I trimmed, which by the way is the only useful thing about Bradford pears, IMHO. I cut 3 inch rounds about half an inch thick, and two of them provided enough smoke to do the turkey just right. This Saturday I smoked four slabs of baby back ribs the same way. Thsy came out perfect. It is easy to control the temperature to 220-240, though I think the rheostat on the controller is just that and not a thermostat...just reads Low, Med, High. But you preheat on High until you get to the right temp and then turn down the rheostat to maintain that temp. The temp seems pretty stable until the water needs replenishing or if the meat starts drying out. I don't know how long the heating element will last with me setting wood chunks on it, but so far it doesn't seem to hurt it. So....for the wood challenged, electric can work.
Chuck
Anyway, I found the Smoke Hollow electric smoker at my local Ace, and it seemed maybe a bit better built than the WalMart black box smokers, so I bought it. Sams has a nice looking but expensive electric smoker that even has a touch pad control with all kinds of features, but I figured it was maybe a bit too complex for my taste....touch pad just has to die sometime. The Smke Hollow just has a plug with a rheostat like an electric skillet. Inside the insulated black box is a decent sized heating element, and right over that is a water pan and a covered pan to hold wood shavings. If you follow the directions for use, you will get absolutely no smoke. The wood pan is at least an inch above the heating element, and after a couple hours any wood shavings in there will only get toasted. I figured that out by "smoking" some Italian sausages. Then I did a turkey breast and put some wood chips right on the heating element. Works great! The box is tight enough that the wood smolders but never gets enough oxygen to flame. What worked best for me was rounds cut from a limb of a Bradford pear I trimmed, which by the way is the only useful thing about Bradford pears, IMHO. I cut 3 inch rounds about half an inch thick, and two of them provided enough smoke to do the turkey just right. This Saturday I smoked four slabs of baby back ribs the same way. Thsy came out perfect. It is easy to control the temperature to 220-240, though I think the rheostat on the controller is just that and not a thermostat...just reads Low, Med, High. But you preheat on High until you get to the right temp and then turn down the rheostat to maintain that temp. The temp seems pretty stable until the water needs replenishing or if the meat starts drying out. I don't know how long the heating element will last with me setting wood chunks on it, but so far it doesn't seem to hurt it. So....for the wood challenged, electric can work.
Chuck
HomeBrew2
Banned
Chuck52 said:
I'll last just fine. I've been doing it just way for many years.
