Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

you just now getting started? damn thats going to be late eating. (what about 10 ish or so it will be done?

 

It's only a bit after 4:00pm there.

 

oh well damn. it’s 7:40 here.

 

Yep, good ol west coast time. 15 minutes till i pull em and rest em.

 

Hope you got some white sauce for them.

 

lol. i was not paying any attention to where you lived lol.

 

Ok so anupdate on my smokin' weekend: on friday i smoked 2- 1/2 turkey breasts. Rubbed them with poultry seasonig, garlic powder and pappy's. Smoked them for 3 hours and they turned out great. Made some turkey bolognese and chili and of course sandwiches. Will allso make enchiladas. So the 2 breasts gave my wife and i at least 12 frozen meals if not more.
Yesterday, thanks to polymerheads help, i smoked a 8 lb. Pork butt. Had it rubbed with mustard, then pappy's. Smoked it for 5 hours ad finished in the oven for 4 hours.pulled part like a dream.
Thi will also become sammies, enchiladas and possiby some chili colorado...

 

Onanother note, i use a vertical smoker barrel, basically a taller version of polyheads keg.i am going to cut the side down low and add a hinged door so that i can easily add more 'coal if smoking for longer periods.

 

Sweet! Any photos?

 

No i cant get them to upload from my tablet i will keep tryin.

 

I haven't smoked before so what would be the best inside temp to pull it?

 

Squirrel's response was addressing the internal temp for a fatty. If you're asking about pulling pork, I have the best results when I pull the butt off the smoker when it hits 195*, wrap it in foil (if it isn't already), then in a towel, and then put it in a cooler for 1-2 hours to rest. Once its done resting it pulls apart super easy.

 

I did my first brisket (flat cut) on the Big Green Egg yesterday...it was fantastic.

I made a nice rub out of garlic powder, sea salt, cumin, pepper, freshly diced ancho chiles, and celery seed. I rubbed the meat thoroughly and then coated it in a nice layer of mustard with diced jalapenos. I smoked it (with a plate setter) at 225 for 10 hours. I used a drip pan filled with hard cider under the brisket. I took it out and let it rest in organic beef stock for 2 hours...and I have to say it was amazing.

- Mark

 

I have cooked for 15 hours on half bag of charcoal, and still could have gone a couple more hours. If you have good air control you shouldn't need any more coal. Btw cutting a door in the barrel will leak air, and potentially screw up any control you did have.

 

^^^ this is correct. I usually smoke at about 225*. Low and slow is the name of the game.

 

What the best way to keep the cooking temp up while in cold weather? Its currently around 35* here right now and im struggling to keep 200* while cooking. I've already added more coals

 

It's a bitch in the cold sometimes. I just keep throwing hot coals in the box until it hits the temp I'm looking for. Good luck.

 

What are you cooking on, a pill smoker? Move it out of the wind if there is any, also they make "smoker jackets" for this reason. Many times I've taken a big beach towel and wrapped around my pill type smoker held in place with a clothes pin, works great. No, it will not catch on fire, remember, your only looking at 200*.

 

I'm cooking in one of these.

I'm right at 200

 

If you've got food in there now, wrap a beach towel around it. Notice: it will smoke up and or stain your towel, but will help with he temps. Is it windy?