Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Best thing about a quality pooper is the butts go on at 10 PM, you go to bed till 4 or 5 to check them and add pellets, then back to bed till 8-9 AM.

 

Or, an electric with a Amazn dust maze, with out the need to to check at 4-5 or add anything. Just sleep to 8-9am....

 

Pooper and butts in the same sentence. I thought my 5yo wrote this.

 

Sorry for the late response. This was in the brine for about 14 hours or so. Outside of the standard stuff it has rosemary, thyme and garlic in it to add some flavor. Smoked it for about 2.5 hours or so then turned up the heat on the Traeger and roasted for about another 2.5-3 hours, took it out tented it and let it rest for about 30 mins. This is a 24lb bird. Sliced it and you could see the juices in it. Opinion from everyone who ate it was VERY good. Already been asked to do another.

Once I figure out where to host the picture I will upload a pic of it.

 

When I smoked my turkey I completely filled up my smoke tube (12 inch) with hickory but it didn't stay lit, so I just left it in there. Flash forward to last night and I'm going to grill a burger. Pull it out of the freezer, mix up some worchestersire/soy sauce/rub/garlic concoction and pour it over the burger. Then I remebered the smoke tube and thought "why not light the tube and put the semi frozen burger in the smoker" to cold smoke it for an hour or so? So I did...

It was a cold, still night out and after an hour I went out to check. The whole back yard was filled with smoke. It look like the foggiest day you've ever seen! My flashlight beam couldn't hit the back fence it was so thick. The tube burned like that for 6 or 7 hours. I can't imagine what the neighbors yards look like or what they were thinking!

 

well this bad boy was at my doorstep when i got home from work! (luckily i live in a decent neighborhood)

i was looking into thermometers and found this one. Has anyone used it?

ThermoPro TP07 Wireless Meat Thermometer for Cooking, Digital Grill Thermometer with Temperature Probe, Smart LCD Screen BBQ Thermometer for Grilling, Oven Safe Food Smoker Thermometer for Kitchen

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014DAVCP4...TF8&colid=14LWXXQGAPEPZ&coliid=I1KK5ODR3GNMSV

 

Never looked into that one. My brother in law swears by the thermapen. But that doesn't offer monitoring.

 

A buddy brags about how good his burgers are from a very similar process (I've never had one). So, how were they?

 

I know many who have the Maverick ET-372 including me. Owens BBQ is a good place to look for one. Has two probes one for chamber temp and one for the food.

And I do swear by the Thermapen. Best out there for last minute checks.

 

The thermapens are a great tool for cooking, i use mine a few times a week. Most restaurants and even the county health inspectors use them as well.

 

The one I posted is a 2 probe one with a wireless remote. The reviews look good

 

My

$35 Maverick ET-73 ] - White

Maverick ET-73 is crapping out after 4 years of use. One of the probes is dead. The design of the hanger/stand and battery compartments wasn't the greatest, but it was reliable. I think I'll try something else instead of getting a new probe.

Whatever you do, get a dual probe. It's critical to watch the smoker temp and the meat temp, and analog therms on a smoker can be off by 50 degrees or more.

 

Ok guys .. I've been spying on this thread for a while and am about to pull the trigger on a small smoker. What is the first meat I should smoke do you think? I might do a small 3 lb brisket or so.

 

Welcome! Your first try should absolutely be a pork shoulder, because it's so hard to fail. Getting brisket right is pretty advanced stuff. Check out my pork shoulder steps on page 1 for general instructions, though everyone has their own technique. If you get impatient and pull the shoulder too early it will still be delicious as chopped pork, but if you have the patience to cook it until the internal temp reaches 200 to 204 degrees and let it rest for at least an hour after, it will be a whole 'nother experience. Next-level stuff.

 

I got grilling down for sure I am just wanting to smoke .. I've read your guide a hundred times or so lol and it looks easy but I am sure I will fail. We will see though! Thanks ..

 

You should just make your way into Houston and I can show ya.

 

I MIGHT TAKE YOU UP ON THAT OFFER M8

 

U BETTER. OR ILL BASH YA HEAD IN I SWEAR ON ME MUM.

 

They are good. The key is to not overcook them (but isn't that so no matter how you grill them?). I aslo use grill grates...

If I have time I take a piece of bread, maybe a bun, and pinch off a bunch of little pieces. Soak them in just enough milk that they absorb it but none left over. Mix that in the hamburger. I also add 1 egg white. This is for 1 poung of hamburger. Makes the juciest, tastiest burgers.

 

I like stuffing about 1/8lb of breakfast sausage into 1/4lb beef patties. The fat from the sausage keeps the burgers moist and flavorful. You can change up the flavor by using different types of sausage or change the ratio.