Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

My wings are smoking and the pork shoulders right now. Hopefully its done soon. I lost temp for 40min - The full tank of propane was borrowed by my neighbor and never returned. SO I ran an errand came home saw temp was @39ºF and went to get the tank filled.

Not having a charcoal or designated smoker is a pain. Might be a spring investment for the fam. I have room next to my grill I could put it there.

 

I agree, having a dedicated smoke or a few is where it's at. If budget is a concern, I would highly recommend building a UDS(ugly drum smoker). It seems like just about everyone has one of these things and you can build one for about a hundred bucks. They cook incredible food and hold temps steady all night, which is nice for getting some sleep. I have a couple smokers and I'm still planning on building one when the weather gets better, I already have an unlined drum waiting in the wings. If you're interested in building one you should read the mother of all UDS threads over on the Brethren.

Another thing I would recommend if you're not looking to do a ton of food is a mini Weber Smokey Mountain. It's just a Weber Smokey Joe which you should be able to find on CL for $20 or less, a tamale pot $30 and a couple replacement grates, oh and a thermo. Here's some pics of mine. I've already had 2 racks of baby backs and a whole chicken in it all at once.











Last but not least, if you want to get into charcoal on a budget just buy a Weber kettle. Look for a 22" on CL ($40-$50) or just buy a new one. You can smoke anything on a kettle, you just have to set it up for indirect. I've seen full packer briskets come off of these. Matter of fact I just did a couple racks of ribs on mine the other day.

 

BDDFC that food looks good. The grill is an awesome idea to convert to a smoker.

 

http://vicepost.com/2009/04/06/hcc-keg-smoker-grill/
I was going to do one of these.



I can get kegs for free from college buddies. Matter of fact I know where there are 5 right now from this past weekend.

I wanted to do a 50gal drumm build. But same issue as half of the other MODs I want to tackle. No Welder.

So this one would be free to me minus some fittings and scrap tube lying around. Might be able to find a couple BBQ grates from people tossing grills too. Thermometers might be the most expensive part for me on this.

 

Thermometers are cheap.

 

exactly!

 

BDDFC, your stuff looks good. It looks like you have some good experience smoking! I agree with you that a dedicated smoker is the only way to go...I love my Weber Smokey Mountain. I just did 16 lbs of pork shoulder on mine for the Super Bowl. The great thing about it is how easy it is to maintain temps.

I'm surprised you don't foil...looking at your ribs, the color would have led me to believe that you had foiled them for the last couple hours. The group of people that I usually cook for have varied tastes, some like the foiled, sweeter ribs (brown sugar and honey in the foil) and some prefer the stronger, more smokey unwrapped ones. I personally think the foiled ones LOOK a lot better, but I agree 100% that sometimes the ribs get overdone, which I am not a fan of. Most people think "fall off the bone" is a good thing for ribs, when actually that means it's overcooked.

Since we are on the topic, here are some pics for comparison purposes for people who wonder about foil vs. no foil. I've posted these here before, but I think they give a good example of the end results. The top ones were foiled after 2 hours, the bottom ones were left unwrapped the entire 4.5 hours @ 225-240.



And just to contribute to the thread...here's the pork from this weekend. To me, the keys to good pulled pork are tenderness, a strong smoke ring, and bark, bark, and bark. I was happy with how these turned out, as was the crowd.

 

You do not need to weld to make a drum smoker. I read the "ugly drum smoker" thread on bbq-brethren.com, (at the time it was 300+ pages) and it is full of ideas, as well as others trials and errors. i have now made about 4 different drums, and they all churn out great bbq!

 

The ribs and pork look great, and as far as I'm concerned you have to do what works best for you and your cooker. Foil vs. no foil, it's just a personal preference, same as cooking low and slow vs. hot and fast. There really is no wrong way. If the food's good that's all that matters.

Yep, you beat me to it. You don't need a welder to build a UDS, I don't have a welder and I plan on making one myself. I just checked the UDS thread again, it's now 703 pages!

 

I need to source one of them first. Right now, since the kegs are free, they are my best bet. When I want to go camping with a smoker, the most compact too compared to a Drum.

Your right though, OI have seen many screw together ones. Piano hinges and all.

 

I really need a thermometer bc right now I just use the gauge on the lid which reads : warm, ideal, and hot. I can tell this time of year with the heat signature if it is hot enough but i would like to get the exact temp so I can judge how long to smoke.

 

Theres cheapie digitals on Amazon all the time. I would get 2. One for the meat and another for the actual temp/

 

Claypot smoker, Alton Brown style:

 

What is the black inside? Paint?

 

The ribs are on the smoker. Should be ready for dinner.

 

I have one of these without the smoker attachment. Uses charcoal.


Is there a good way to smoke food without the attachment? Can you give some steps what you would do?

I am not sure how to use the coal along with wood. What kind of wood should I use, and how to prepare the wood? Do you just put the wood on top of the coal? I have been using MatchLight, but don't think that will be a good idea with wood.

Thanks in advance!

 

I "think" it's just discolored/seasoned from use.

 

I think you can make it work, but it won't be as easy or efficient as if you had the smoker box. Basically get your heat source away from the meat, like maybe in one corner of the grill. I just put the wood on top of the charcoal, no soaking or anything like that. I always use Kingsford blue bag.

 

I was thinking about one of those thermometers that you aim and point.

 

Worthless for internal temps.