Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

i'm using a mini electric brinkmann smoke & grill. it has done a great job thus far, but it is a pain the the ass lifting the the whole top (consisting of water bowl, and meat) off in order to add wood.

I've only ever done ribs at the same time with other stuff, with limited room. I had to cut the rack in half and use the upright stand. The last batch I did the 3-2-1 method and it left me with some awesome tasting ribs

 

Me too. I use a ceramic dish to separate the meat from the heat in my egg-style smoker, and that gets replaced a couple times a year. Catches all the grease.

 

Thank You for the help. I will try out the rub and mustard.

My Brinkman is getting up there in age. Not bad for a $26 smoker. I do not smoke meats too often but it has worked well for me over the years

 

I clean the grates almost to bare metal. Give the burn pot and loading drawer a quick scrub. And I clean the drip pan to bare metal. The black on the inside of the smoker is known as "seasoned"

 

If nothing else, my drip/water pan gets scrubbed clean after every smoke....I've seen people not clean the pan out, refill it with water.... it can get pretty funky after a few smokes, and the steam comin' off it is putrid, 'specially if you smoke a lot of fish....

 

This...

 

I was thinking about a couple of things today.....I think most of us on here use 1 of 4 types of smokers
1. Traditional side fire box
2. Electric (Traegers & similar types)
3. Propane
4. Single chamber, (green egg, Keg, homemade, indirect on a grill)

Did I miss anything?

All the clean up questions/comments also got me thinking, I guess our clean up depends on your fuel and what you cook.

I only use 100% oak the entire time. My smokers has a drain for the grease (which I capture in old bleach bottles), so what little is left carbonizes/dries and never goes rancid. It usually stays hot after I am done for 1-2 hours. In fact for about a 15ft radius my smoker smells like the sweetest BBQ joint all the time, friends & family will ask to go smell that area, it smells so good.
I only use my smoker for Brisket 95% of the time, and an occasional Boston butt and ribs, chicken. I use my natural gas grill(which I never clean) to do my steaks, burgers, fish. I use that pretty often, so everything cooks off clean..and there is no smell. The entire inside is completely seasoned, and I would not think of cleaning it.

That is just my style, but I guess what everyone does depends on your situation & style.

 

Chicken for dinner tonight. Flattened out some breasts, added butter, cheese, various spices, turkey cold cut and a little chiracha and glazing vinegar. Rolled up and covered with bacon.









Baked potatoes - cut almost all the way through, brush with melted garlic butter every now-and-then during grilling. I don't have a smoker, so I had a foil pouch with apple wood chips on the grill to get some smoke.

 

Nice work.....Now go buy a smoker dammit...all that food would have turned out nice after 2.5 hrs. @ 225* with some pecan/cherry smoke....

 

The creosote left behind(Seasoning) also helps to seal the smoker, so I only brush the grill. Never clean anything to bare metal. Mine is a modified Char-griller which is known to have major leaks/ insulation issues. After the creosote built up it sealed up much better.
I said I was going to try fish but I never did. Nothing but oak and mesquite for wood, and only chicken, pork, or beef gets smoked.

The rub spices listed above are generally what I use too. I've been playing with some jalapeno powder lately with some good results.

 

I know - a smoker has been on the wish list for a long time. I used to have one but it eventually rusted through, so I am doing some research on a replacement.

 

In the above recipe would it be ok to use a smoked paprika rather than a plain paprika?

I am going to take off the membrane then use a yellow mustard coating and apply the dry rub on top of that and let them marinate Thursday and Friday before smoking them on Saturday morning. Does 6 hours sound about the right amount of time?

 

Smoked paprika should be just fine.

That sounds like a lot of mustard, but everyone has their preferred style.

Also, that's a long time to marinate. What I see happening is the ribs losing moisture, having been unsealed and put back in the fridge for two days.

I'd take them out, apply rub and let come to room temp while you get the fire going. Then do the 321 method.
3 hours smoked
2 hours wrapped in foil (can add a little butter, honey, more rub etc)
1 hour sauced
If not up to temp, bring them up to temp.

 

Thank you Wes. What temp should I try to maintain for the 3 hours?

 

Think Lang..or Texas Smokers.....(might hafta' get a second job tho)..$$$$$$

http://langbbqsmokers.com/lang60/index.html


http://texasoriginalpits.com/grills-smokers.html/

 

Tom..all smokers are different, and perform/cook at diff temps...but a range between 220*- 240* works well with the 3-2-1, or 2-2-1 method on Ribs...

 

Thanks Doc. I cannot remember the last time I smoked ribs. I usually did a turkey, for my dad, and simple roast beef or pork for my family. Saturday will be a fun day.