Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

my first smoke was a whole chicken. I brined it overnight in water, salt and brown sugar. woke up and rinsed and dried it. added some dry rub. and smoked it. was pretty simple.
lately I have been smoking ribs using the 3-2-1 method and they have come out great. I put a dry rub on overnight in fridge. throw on smoker for 3 hours, then wrap in foil with some margarine and apple juice in there and back in with no smoke for 2 hours. then unwrap, add some of my home made North Carolina vinegar based BBQ sauce, and back into smoker for 1 hour with smoke. more work than the chicken but well worth it

 

Yeah my butcher laughed when I said I was cooking it as 1 steak.

Thanks, my uncle actually makes them. He picked up wood working after he retired. I have 3 different sizes.

 

The good thing about smoking is that it is hard to really mess things up if you have a decent working smoker and stick to the basic rules for time and heat.
Chicken is a good start, but I would also suggest ribs (either baby back or spare ribs), and the fool-proof pork butt. With the butt there is a stall that you have to get through, but once you are familiar with that it is smooth sailing.

It seems like brisket can be a little more tricky; I have not done that much and the couple times it was a little drier than I wanted it to be.

For recipes, I would suggest just a basic rub to begin with. If you don't find anything on previous pages here, Google is always a good bet. Most basic recipes will be just a mix of something like a cup of brown sugar, table spoon each of different chili, pepper, cayene, garlic, onion powder etc.

 

Awesome. Thanks a lot for the input guys. After reading up a bunch on the internet yesterday I'm still craving some ribs! I think that will be my first meal. I'll check back in and let you guys know how it goes.

 

Ribs come out amazing. Make a dry rub with brown sugar salt spices. Plenty of recipes online. Do the 3-2-1 method and your good to go. Make sure u strip membrane off back side of ribs and leave in fridge overnight with rub on them. I made a vinegar bbq sauce. Boil a cup or cider vinegar. Cup of ketchup. 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Cayenne. Red pepper flakes. Worchestershire to taste. Boil then simmer a half hour. It's a good north Carolina sauce. Good luck man

 

Gonna have to call this texas sushi

 

Is that ground pork? If so, they already have a name and they look damn tasty!

 

It's ground beef. Just brushed them with bbq sauce. 15 more min and I'm eating them haha.

 

Nice Wanted to make sure you were aware of fattys, which I'm sure you are.

 

I'm trying it different ways because I have a buddy that won't eat real sushi and he's from Texas. But this I have a feeling he will eat haha.

 

Oh hell yes he will! Here is one of mine. Making me

 

Your bacon wrap game is far better than my roll!!

 

Haha, good thing it all tastes the same!

 

Turned out amazing.

 

^^^Looks really good!

 

Elk roast for dinner.

And 5lbs of chicken quarters for the next few days.

 

Damn, that Elk looks awesome.

 

OK Devin you are the official Co Cook. For our meets. Looks good buddy.

 

Hey guys I own a vision grill kamado. Have done ribs, ham, pork butt, Turkey and a brisket. But I have never heard of a fatty, please explain? Doing another brisket this Sunday I wasn't happy with my first one.