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It's All About The Smoke
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For those of us who love smokers as much, or more than we love grills.
Members: 260
Latest Activity: Jan 6
Tips
Tips;
My smoking basics 101. I recently answered a question on the forum as to who makes the best and reasonably priced smoker. I really don't care who makes the smoker, unless it's a total piece of trash, I really do believe that after just a few runs I could learn to make good smoked meat on just about anybody's equipment. As long as the smoke is forced to travel through the food chamber to get out, and there is a decent means to be able to control the amount of air that is allowed to enter the burn area and smoke out of the food area, I believe I could probably make decent smoked food in it and I have even toyed with the idea of digging a very old time in ground, or making a brick smoker. Granted, either would be immobile.
If the smoke isn't forced to enter the food chamber, you don't get smoked food and the purpose of the air inlet control to the burn area is a means to control the temperature of the fire. The, "Golden Rule" of smoking meats is, "Low and Slow", meaning, low temperature for a long period of time. If the temperature is too high, your either going to have to remove the meat from the smoker because, it's cooked, or your going to ruin it by leaving it in too long and over cooking it. I personally like to keep my smoker pretty cool until the end when I am trying to cook the meat so I can eat it. I have no problem starting a smoke early in the morning and running the smoker all day to finish in time for dinner in the evening. I'd say some where between 120-130 degrees F is about right for most of my smoking.
The outlet control allows me to control how much contact the smoke has with the food and to insure the whole food chamber is filled with smoke. If you let it flow through the chamber too fast, you may not do a good job of smoking all your food very good, especially if you have a pretty full smoker. By restricting the out flow of the smoke, you force it to fill the food chamber and you get a good smoke to all of your food.
My last tip to smoking is, Mop Sauce. I'm a big believer in a mop sauce. The use of a mop sauce helps prevent the drying out of your meat during smoking and if your trying to smoke a piece of meat for 6-12 hrs. and particularly the more lean the cut of meat you are trying to smoke the more you risk making smoked jerky. The use of a good mop sauce helps to keep the meat moist for the duration of the smoke. One of my favorite mop sauces is a mixture of apple juice and olive oil in a spray bottle. Don't try running anything pulpy or spices through a spray bottle, it will clog it up.
Those are my basics, there is an endless list of variations of where you can go from there, different types of wood. I even once used Mulberry and it did have kind of an interesting fruity flavor to it. Some people use dry rubs, some not. Some people like to pre boil their ribs, I don't. There are a zillion different marinades and bar-b-que sauces and we all have our own taste buds we have to deal with.
Have Fun With This Folks
TTFN,
Chuck
My smoking basics 101. I recently answered a question on the forum as to who makes the best and reasonably priced smoker. I really don't care who makes the smoker, unless it's a total piece of trash, I really do believe that after just a few runs I could learn to make good smoked meat on just about anybody's equipment. As long as the smoke is forced to travel through the food chamber to get out, and there is a decent means to be able to control the amount of air that is allowed to enter the burn area and smoke out of the food area, I believe I could probably make decent smoked food in it and I have even toyed with the idea of digging a very old time in ground, or making a brick smoker. Granted, either would be immobile.
If the smoke isn't forced to enter the food chamber, you don't get smoked food and the purpose of the air inlet control to the burn area is a means to control the temperature of the fire. The, "Golden Rule" of smoking meats is, "Low and Slow", meaning, low temperature for a long period of time. If the temperature is too high, your either going to have to remove the meat from the smoker because, it's cooked, or your going to ruin it by leaving it in too long and over cooking it. I personally like to keep my smoker pretty cool until the end when I am trying to cook the meat so I can eat it. I have no problem starting a smoke early in the morning and running the smoker all day to finish in time for dinner in the evening. I'd say some where between 120-130 degrees F is about right for most of my smoking.
The outlet control allows me to control how much contact the smoke has with the food and to insure the whole food chamber is filled with smoke. If you let it flow through the chamber too fast, you may not do a good job of smoking all your food very good, especially if you have a pretty full smoker. By restricting the out flow of the smoke, you force it to fill the food chamber and you get a good smoke to all of your food.
My last tip to smoking is, Mop Sauce. I'm a big believer in a mop sauce. The use of a mop sauce helps prevent the drying out of your meat during smoking and if your trying to smoke a piece of meat for 6-12 hrs. and particularly the more lean the cut of meat you are trying to smoke the more you risk making smoked jerky. The use of a good mop sauce helps to keep the meat moist for the duration of the smoke. One of my favorite mop sauces is a mixture of apple juice and olive oil in a spray bottle. Don't try running anything pulpy or spices through a spray bottle, it will clog it up.
Those are my basics, there is an endless list of variations of where you can go from there, different types of wood. I even once used Mulberry and it did have kind of an interesting fruity flavor to it. Some people use dry rubs, some not. Some people like to pre boil their ribs, I don't. There are a zillion different marinades and bar-b-que sauces and we all have our own taste buds we have to deal with.
Have Fun With This Folks
TTFN,
Chuck
Discussion Forum
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Comment Wall
Comment
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Comment by Dan Bettan on May 17, 2011 at 8:50am -
Dick, you smoked and finished it on the spit. That had to be incredible.
Mike, remember, if you cook a lot, and I mean a lot, that green egg will eventually pay for itself. It uses far less charcoal than a regular smoker. Think half a chimney or less for a long cook like pulled pork or brisket, versus 2-3 chimneys or more for the same cook.
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Comment by Dick Drew on May 17, 2011 at 7:14am -
A big tenderloin that I smoked and finished off on my grill.
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Comment by Mike Stockman on March 8, 2011 at 2:33pm -
Hay there.. My bro-in-law is wyning about his "LIL' Green Egg" now that something I don't think of that as a non investment..Cost is down right crazy & I think I probably could blow my money on something for the wife and mmyself on than by a green egg,,the real problem is they are too costly out of my league altogether more or less..They cook ok like anything else but there not for me ..A common smoker like a Weber is more down to earth cost is less & you'll save money in the long run to boot ..Like they say TOO EACH THERE OWN !!
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Comment by Eddy Cloud on December 6, 2010 at 9:27pm -
My dad used that and walnut hulls for years and they worked well. I've never done that, but I don't see why not.
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Comment by Sheldon Holsopple on December 5, 2010 at 7:50pm -
Got a "rookie" question, is it ok to use the shell of the pecan for either smoking or cooking, if not why. Thanks.
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Comment by Dan Bettan on September 7, 2010 at 1:40pm
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You rock, TT. Thanks for the input on this.
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Comment by Two Tales on September 7, 2010 at 1:33pm -
180 tp 200 F...when I hot smoke I do not use garlic in my rubs...if I want garlic in those I put it in the brine and or inject it into the meat...another thing some woods like fruit and oak tend to give the meat a hard flavor if it gets to dense...this can even happen at the cooler temps...
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Comment by Dan Bettan on September 7, 2010 at 1:26pm
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Hey TT, when you say low temps when you use garlic, how low do you mean?
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Comment by Two Tales on September 7, 2010 at 1:21pm
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Dan,
If galic scorches, it's bitter tasting..that said I only use garlic in my rubs if I smoke at low temps....I have also found that some garlic powders are sort of bitter to start with...(different less expensive brands) other than that I have not noticed any unsavory flavor from using garlic
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Comment by Dan Bettan on September 7, 2010 at 10:17am
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OK, smoke fans. I have a question. I've been starting to notice that garlic and garlic powder don't do too well on the smoker. They seem to give the rub or paste an acrid taste. Or maybe it absorbs the smoke too much. Has anyone else run into this issue? I thought this issue may have been related to olive oil, but now I'm thinking it's this. Any thoughts?
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