Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Smoked turkey is really good so you guys know !!!! I have already smoked 2 or 3....

 

Aye agree I have done many. But all meat on a stick taste good especially when smoked

 

I started smoking Salmon in the 70's with an electric Little Chief smoker in Washington State and salmonids are still my favorite overall. Living in Mn. it is now trout, it is like candy. Normally I practice C&R however come Labor day there are a few streams where trout do not carry over because the streams freeze solid so figure no since letting them go to waste. Time to harvest:

Saturday


Sunday


Monday


And several other days of limits to that. They have been in the freezer since then and will be smoked in a few weeks.

HOWEVER I feel you need a dedicated smoker for fish which I do. If you do it you will understand why the smell never goes away and ruins other foods.

 

Do u brine the turkey the day before? I would like to do a turkey breast on my weber kettle soon?

 

I do. The wife wanted a smoked turkey breast with no notice the other day so I did it with reservation. Sure enough - not nearly as moist or flavorful.

 

Agree with PolyHead, a cheap porkbutt is hard to beat. However, may favorite thing to smoke is, (and I get more uuuh's and ahahh's) over smoked cheese than ANYTHING. It's just a matter of "waiting" till its cured after the smoke, that's the hard part...

 

cold iron, what type of brine do you use. i'm not a salmon guy, walleyes are my passion. smoked walleye is indeed candy to me.

 

I was curious too. The guides in Alaska took our sockeye and did a 2 hour brown sugar brine then smoked for 24 hours - it almost too intense to eat by itself. Makes a great cream cheese dip though!

 

i use a apple juice and brown sugar.

 

Happy Thanksgiving and I hope everyone's Turkey turns out perfect today!

For years I did the standard:
1 gal water
2 cups soy sauce
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
smoke with Alder.

About 4 years ago tried something different and now for all fish I use (no wonder it taste like candy)
1 gal water
1 cup Grade B dark maple syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
And then before smoking will baste with maple syrup on the flesh side. It normally takes 2-4 hours to smoke depending on the thickness of the fish. Much of it gets eaten as soon as it comes out of the smoker the rest I peel the skin and pull the meat off the bones. Then refrigerate it until Christmas Eve when I will make a cream cheese pate just like Polymerhead said.

I brine most things before it hits the grill or smoker. Do a lot of steaks on charcoal and prefer prime cuts 1.5" thick and sprinkle kosher salt on both sides of those about an hour before grilling. One of my favorite meals is 1.5" thick pork chops brined for 2 hours in a 1 gal. plastic bag with a lot of maple syrup mixed in with the brine. Cook and smoke over a drip pan basting with maple syrup every once in awhile.

I don't have a cold smoker so can't do cheese. I do buy a lot of smoked cheese so need to fix that someday.

 

About 4.5 hours in. Estimating around 11 hours. 19.5 lb turkey. Nothing fancy, just soy sauce and honey glaze. This is the second year doing it. Last year it was really just curiosity/ a test. We had a regular turkey in the oven just in case. Turned out so good last year decided to do away with boring oven baked turkey and go all smoked. Happy Thanksgiving all.

 

Just fired up, err, plugged up my smoker, gonna do a 12lb ham on sugar maple dust, for a late lunch. I'll try to remember to snap some pics.

 

I like to brine the turkeys, i also like to cook them below something else that will drip on them and baste them. Last year, the brine i did was a simple brine with water salt and sugar, but then we cut up onions, carrots and celery and put some peppercorns in as well. It was a very good brine.

 

thanks for the reply cold iron. have to find some grade b dark maple syrup and try it.

 

And all gone. My first turkey smoke was a success! It was so good and moist I don't know if I ever want a traditional turkey again. Every one loved it and I used the cherry the last hour it was perfect.

 

Take that, throw it in a pot, boil off any remaining bits of meat, add veggies of your choice and make an awesome turkey carcass stew!!

 

A 16, 14, and 12 pounder in a 14 hour brine, then to fridge for a day of drying...



bacon/butter paste under skin with a lil slathered on the bird with a few veggies and butter in the hull.

On the Rec Tec at 10 and 11 pm Wednesday night at 250 degrees with an added welding blanket due to the 13 degree temps. Breast side down for a couple of hours..

Midnight and temps are holding on grill and climbing to exit the danger zone..All from bedside table..

5 am Thursday morning and all is great. Temp still 251 on Rec Tec and birds were all at 178 to 181. Into the house we go and double checked with manual probe and the birds were at 180. Double wrapped in foil, wrapped in blanket, and cardboard box for transport to work. Open at 9 and into oven at 400 for 10 minutes to crisp back up.


Served and demolished...Great flavor, nice even smoke taste, very moist and tender. My first turkey smoke and the best smoke I have had since getting my Rec Tec...

 

Been "beer canning" the turkey for years. Moist and great flavor.

 

I'm going to smoke my first pork shoulder on saturday... wish me luck!

I've already done a brisket, and ribs (twice) on my weber performer kettle.

 

Good luck! Just remember, pork shoulder is slicable and amazing at 175, but it's pullable and incredible at 195.