Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

A lot of variables to consider if you want that smoke ring; time, temp, and introducing the cleanest smoke possible in the first 3-5hrs. Biggest disbeliever in a water pan, feel like we’re all wasting water. We do it cuz other people we see are doing it. Although if it’s working keep on doing it, just for discussion. I ditched the water a while a ago.

Not an expert on pellet smokers so maybe they just work differently.

Enjoy some baby backs!

 

That big round muscle in a deer hindquarters. Not sure what it’s called lol

 

Just for discussion:

All of the smokers I have are vertical and were designed with a water pan. I use it because that's the way it was intended and if all the fat from a brisket, pork shoulder, chicken etc dripped down it would be dripping right into either the burner or the burn pot depending on which smoker I am using.

If I were to use the smoker without water in the pan the fat would collect in the pan and burn to the pan and/or catch fire.

If I were using an offset or grill type smoker I wouldn't use a water pan. I don't use one on my gas grill.

It really comes down to design and preference and we all know there's more than one way to do things and still come out with great food.

 

Ok besides pork belly burnt ends, how else can I cook these?

 

I saw those at Costco the other day... Asked myself the same question. Still haven't come up with an answer.

 

I've smoked belly, without curing, for bacon. It's not as pink as store-bought but tasted fantastic after crisping it up.

I've done belly tacos a bunch too. I've always just pan fried the belly. Maybe 1/2" thick by 1" long or so. Keep them all going til the fat is mostly rendered out, they're crispy on the outside but not cracklin' crispy all the way through. I make a red chile sauce or you could toss them with some doctored up enchilada sauce. Tasty!

I like a bit of cabbage & cotija cheese. Fry up some corn tortillas with cheese on the outside. Man, I already had dinner but second dinner is sounding pretty good

 

Spatchcocked Cajun injected smoked whole turkey.


Breaks down so nicely with very little waste compared to a "normal" turkey.

 

Its going to be a great weekend ..... pulled pork on Football Sunday

 

I'm not even sure where the water pan for my WSM is, been a couple of years since I've used it Used to wrap it in Aluminum foil without water. Then read where Hary Soo uses the bottom heat shield wrapped with foil so went with that. The cover for the water pan by itself works well too.



It is high enough from the coals that the fat doesn't flash off and burn. And gives a lot more room to work with the coals if needed or add more wood.

But yeah you need a pan or something between the meat and fire with a stock WSM. But if you add the Cajun Bandit stacker then you have the equivalent of a Pit Barrel Cooker\Ugly Drum Smoker.



And can let the juices hit the fire. The juices add their own smoke and give it a unique flavor profile which I really like.

Sliced fatty prime ribeye.



Adding the CB rotisserie on top of the WSM is just far enough away to not need the water pan and makes one hell of a turkey with the juices falling on the coals and burning off.

Marinade, skewer, grill and baste. Pinoy Pork Skewers, AKA Filipino Street Food. I even found some banana ketchup to use but it isn't required.



https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...icks-techniques.229517/page-963#post-16950691

 

I smoked up some Costco pork belly in slabs last weekend, just rubbed them down with salt, pepper and sugar and put them in the pellet pooper for 7 hours. Once its done slice it up like bacon and fry it up! Got pics over on the Foodies thread https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/foodies-bs-thread.151840/page-650#post-18939863

 

Here's the design of my vertical pellet smoker.

As you can see, the water pan goes right over the burn pot that's covered by the black box at the bottom.

While it does have a drain hole at the bottom, the drip tray is only about 3x4 inches and about 3/4 inch deep. It would not be able to handle the drippings from any piece of meat so I run the water pan.

The water pan itself is notched and louvered around it to help spread out the heat and smoke and there is no way I'm running it dry. With the louvers in it, it's difficult to say the least to try and cover it with foil.

The water pan debate can go on forever similar to the charcoal, propane, stick burner and pellet debate.

Don't even get me started on the rub debate, the brine debate, the injection debate or the 3618 variables that come into personal tastes in smoking.

Hell some people here would never own an Inferno color Tacoma, but I do and it gets stared at and positive comments all the time.

 

I have the same one only the smaller version. Its fantastic!

 

ONE thing that can NEVER be debated though is fat cap UP or DOWN on a brisket. I mean there is only ONE right way to do it.

 

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

wrong, not fat cap up or down. meat sideways

 

Rotating brisket? Rotisserie style?

 

This needs to happen

I did think to myself the other day why no one scores the fat on a brisket like a lot of people do on a pork shoulder.

 

duh...being that Im Filipino, i should know this
I know the sound of banana ketchup sounds gross, but its really not bad hahah.

 

Down of course.

Would try if I had the rotary device. Wonder who has one and could try it?

I’ve inadvertently done it. Can’t say it helped one way or another, except to help get a ring in the exposed sections.