Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Skinless or skin on?

 

Skinless from the store.

 

Yes.
I know, I know, I am to be shamed and scorn heaped upon me.
I haven't gotten that heavily into smoking yet, largely due to temperature control issues. I'm working on that. Also,it's raining all the damn time lately.

 

Don't let the rain and cold stop ya, especially once you learn to control the fire in the pit..

Have you done a biscuit test on your pit to find the hot spots?

 

You’re good.

Ovens all swing temps - whatever you set the temp to is just an average, you can see 50 degrees hotter during heat cycles, and 50 degrees colder during cool cycles. It continues to get hot/cold, hot/cold, hot/cold throughout the cooking time.

Totally normal.

 

That's precisely the problem- controlling the fire in the pit.

I am dealing with a secondhand (craigslist) horizontal offset smoker, with skads of air leaks. I need to figure out how to seal the firebox to the smoke chamber, the perimeter of smoke chamber, the doors, etc. I think red RTV might work, but in truth I haven't remembered to address this issue when it isn't raining. Then after that, I need to blast it and paint it with something heat-resistant.

Also, I purchased fire rope (wood stove product) to seal the hatches, but need to figure out a way to secure it.

Then I can worry about the biscuit test. As it is now, there's no sense in worrying about that.

I really want to do this soon, but weather is not cooperating!

In a few years when this unit has burned through, fully intend to build my own unit- my son is taking a welding class in school and learning quite a bit. I own welders but haven't embarked on that sort of project yet (though I did build my SAS Blazer).

 

Yessir, that was my experience yesterday. QUITE maddening to see it swing all over hell and half of Georgia when I am cooking an expensive roast.

But the results- sooo worth it. I am salivating here, thinking about having a nice prime rib sandwich on toasted bread (what kind?) with horseradish mayo and mustard....
BTW, made a second round of Alton Brown's Baked mac-n-cheese. I omitted the onions (seriously, why would you do that to mac-n-cheese???), and substituted 1/3 of the cheddar for gouda. Also substituted the other 2/3 of the cheddar for a mixed-cheddar product (but honestly can't say it was definitive in the results). I think I need to make one more change to the recipe- halve the panko and put it on first, THEN the cheese atop it so it crusts well. But it was a definite hit yesterday.

 

No shame in switching to the oven if necessary. There are still plenty of lessons to be learned regarding tenderness, time/temps, and such to be learned by cooking in the oven. Hell, I take plenty of oven-proven recipes out to the smoker. Same concept, different vessel.

Keep plugging away at getting the smoker in tip-top shape, along with your fire-tending skills, then take the party outside when it is good to go!

 

Yessir, that is the plan!
I also need to make an order with this Pitfaced fellow, apparently. The Amazingribs rub was very good (at least on the end piece), but I'm curious about this guy's product... let me see if I can find his site...

EDIT: I do have to tell on myself, though- I own a DIY trashcan smoker. I ran it one time with an electric hotplate. It worked well enough to make a pretty fair showing of my first brisket, though the plate had trouble keeping temps up. I am investigating going electric with a stronger element, or going with a firebox arrangement. Of course, this wouldn't be used for grilling temps- the zinc in the galv would start leaching out into the smoke/food around 700 degrees. Might just say to heck with it and purchase a PoBoy smoker, or an UDS...

 

I know a guy who knows a guy.

 

I thought you were the guy....

 

I am .

I know @Misplaced Nebraskan and he knows me, so it's technically true.

TWRub10 when you're ready!

 

Oh hell, Pitfaced makes UDS as well....

Hmm., not sure they are for sale.. can't find prices... maybe it's being blocked by our network at work.

 

Cooked alot great bbq on a COS like that.

Learn to love the temp swings. And let the meat tell you when it is done. Alotnof my cooking would have a bell curve type ramp as the temps would start out low then swing up and back down...

 

Buying a ThermoPro (on advice of a lot of you here, mainly because I kept seeing it in the pics I was drooling over!) has been a huge boon to my cooking. Everything from the roast I cooked last night, to the mac-n-cheese I reheated in the oven to make sure it was nice and warm inside without being overdone.

I think it's time I found a barrel I can make an UDS out of.

 

This is exactly what I'm looking to do this weekend! What rub did you use? Looks amazing!

 

@Misplaced Nebraskan can't be trusted

Pitfaced Spicy. Thank you. Love making them and highly encourage all to do them

 

and, done! Ordered the small containers of the original and spicy rubs. Can't wait!

 

He doesn’t sell them “YET” but we’ve been reeling him he should. I’m sure if you ask nicely he can get a quote together for.

His rub is damn good, many of us here have been using it for a while now and swear by it.

 

Ya @Misplaced Nebraskan is kinda shady.