Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Yes please.

 

Wasn't supposed to snow this morning why I did the pork butt yesterday. Need to let the pooper cool off uncovered. And don't want to take a chance of the pellets getting wet.



Bastages. Right after I took this picture this morning my phone dinged, google pictures from one year ago, March 3 2019.



Damn, never mind... Was thirties below last year several times and spent a month without getting above zero. Erh did I say never mind....

But I am looking forward to being able to move stuff around down to the yard to make room for a 26" kettle. Going to be awhile but I miss the REAL smoke flavor over pellets, just saying

Not that I haven't been using the pellets LOL. Ordered a 6 pack of grease catcher liners today think it was about time



Huge advantage with the Pit Boss. Kettles and the WSM grease freezes fast in the cold and can't scrape it out until it warms up again with a fire. Which can cause a grease fire especially with wings.

Looking at some of my other pictures over the years realize have almost 2 months to go yet before out of the woods as far as snow goes

HEY! Everyone at work begs me to make that for Christmas Pot Luck it is my favorite hot dish

Although I use the crock pot and last few years Instant Pot to make it. I use the mini tater tots. For some reason a lot of people up here don't care for green beans but that is my favorite. So for work I mix peas and corn. But some even complain about the peas. Can't please everyone...

 

What pellets are you using?

 

First bag was lumberjack competition. Then some Pit Boss apple. The last two 40 lb. bags have been Pit Boss Competition blend.

Kind of feel like the kid in The Emperor's New Clothes. Kind of... Many others have said the same thing. One reason the A-MAZE-N AMNPS tube and tray is popular, to add more smoke for pellets. If pellets gave the same smoke density as wood you would not be able to eat it after hours of smoking. With charcoal and wood chunks have enough experience with them that after a couple of hours I don't want any more wood smoke. So pellets are a compromise, don't want the taste of smoke too strong. But even after 12 hours it isn't strong or rather distinct enough. For me.

In one of the pictures I posted to the left of the Pit Boss is the

A-MAZE-N AMNPS Maze Pellet Smoker, Hot or Cold Smoking, 5 x 8"

maze pellet tray I just bought it but haven't used it yet.

Used a pellet tube smoker on the gasser quite a bit and used the variety pack of pellets from

$39 BBQr's Delight Wood Smoking Pellets - Super Smoker Variety Value Pack - 1 Lb. Bag - Apple, Hickory, Mesquite, Cherry, Pecan and Sugar Maple

BBQrs Delight. But never really ever came close to the Weber smoker tray with wood chips soaked in water. Still torn, love the convenience of a pellet pooper but miss the distinct taste of wood chunks.

 

Try the Pit Boss Hickory pellets. That's pretty much all I use now. They add more smokey flavor than any others I have tried. I did the tri-tips this weekend and Bison burgers (my favorite) and didn't even fill up the A-MAZE-N tube.

Oh yeah, it started raining hard just as the tri-tips were finishing and after just last week, having to pull the smoker apart to clean out the pellets, I put that cover on ASAP.

 

I agree on the pit boss hickory pellets. I've tried a lot of pellets and they are easily my favorite. Still want to try pitboss mesquite though

 

What temps are you running at? It’s odd when I used good pellets I can taste little to no difference in the smoke from my pellets or when I ran full wood pits. Lesser quality pellets yes completely different with almost no wood smoked taste.

 

I've been running the Pit Boss Competition pellets for awhile and I am happy with them.. I actually appreciate the lighter smoke taste.. but I think that's true with the pellet process...

@Cold Iron - did I miss your thoughts on the Vampire Pork?

I have swapped out the Competition blend for Mesquite when I do a brisket but it's more of a PITA than anything. Luckily with my vertical smoker I have a drain for the pellets that fits a 5 gallon bucket.

 

Y'all know a smoke tube can be used for things other than pellets, right? When I did my ribs over the weekend, I added cherry chips to the pellets I had in my tube, and it was still smoking 5 hours later. It's on the left in this picture, and worked well.

 

Here’s the smoke tube I’ve been using in my pitboss...
LIZZQ Premium Pellet Smoker Tube 12 inches - 5 Hours of Billowing Smoke - for Any Grill or Smoker, Hot or Cold Smoking - Easy, Safety and Tasty Smoking - Free eBook Grilling Ideas and Recipes

$13 LIZZQ Premium Pellet Smoker Tube 12"es - 5 Hours of Billowing Smoke - Hot or Cold Smoking - for Any Grill or Smoker - An Easy and Safe Way to Provide Smoking - Free eBook Grilling Ideas & Recipes

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZRR7XD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PV7xEb1H9Q9F8

 

I use the extendable one. Some days 12" is enough... Some days I like the full 18"...


Its definitely overkill and only gets partially filled most times.

 

Mine is 12" and I get 4-5 hours of good smoke out of it.. I often fill it when smoking salt.. because it can handle that.. but the 18" might get used to the full potential on cold smoking things like that.

 

Venison salami going down soon and will get that.

 

We use the wifi version...

 

Try one of the dust mazes from A-MAZE-N, you can even fine tune the amount of smoke by how full you fill it and lighting one, or two ends. The sawdust goes a long way.

 

https://www.wideopeneats.com/franklin-barbecue-pits/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=partner&utm_term=womtx&utm_campaign=womtx&fbclid=IwAR2jjhcwBKmg9BCOvv59CNZnUc2LTal3yEFeoi5txPBDS0kzVI-hKEzVxHY

Overpriced, and no wifi. @Misplaced Nebraskan I'm assuming you're on the waiting list?

 

Aaron?...

 

Good thing about having a neighbor with a smoker is when he returns the dish you used to bring him some pulled pork he fills it with smoked goodies. Today was smoked pistachios. I’ll have to ask what seasoning he tosses them with before going on the smoker: