Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Got a new smoker for Christmas. Just threw a 19 lb turkey in it. It was the smallest one they had on sale for 99 cents a pound. I'm thinking it will take 14-15 hrs to smoke at 225.

 

Shouldn't take near that I would think. You don't push poultry through a stall - I'd pull it off the smoker when the thickest part of the breast is 155 to 160 & let it rise a bit during the rest. A 14 hour turkey smoke would mean a seriously dry bird I would think!

 

I was going on the time from my previous pos brinkman. I will check the temp with my meat thermometer in 6-7 hours and see where it is.

 

just saw this thread ive been smoking for about 4 years on a highly modified ECB and just ordered a Big Poppa Smokers drum kit that should be here Monday, can't wait to get it. Im glad i found this thread. Also i use the maverick et-732 to keep temps and i have a weber 22.5 kettle to.

 

So I kept it on until it was at 165 then pulled it and let it rest with the breast facing down, wrapped in foil. It took 6-1/2 hours to cook and I let it rest for 1-1/2 hours. I just pulled it apart and it is the most juicy bird I have ever seen!

 

Fantastic! Good job.

 

I thought this would be very helpful to everyone:


For those of you not from Texas...Franklin BBQ in Austin is now considered the holy grail of BBQ . Lines form 2 hours before it opens and it sells out by 1:00. I personally have never ate there, but my friends who have, say it lives up to the hype. Here is a little overview of the place:
http://www.travelchannel.com/video/austins-franklin-barbecue


Now for the good stuff. PBS produced a series on Franklin....where he pretty much gives out all his secrets & recipes and walks you through from buying your meat, selecting your wood, mastering your smoker, cooking and serving it. He covers Brisket, turkey, ribs, and (texas style) pulled pork
http://www.youtube.com/user/BBQwithFranklin/videos


These videos range from 5-15 minutes each and are well worth your time, whether you are a beginner or expert smoker.

 

Awesome, I wanna check out those videos, but I think I would rather go to Stubbs and avoid long lines.

 

Both Franklin and J Mueller only used (kosher) salt & pepper on their brisket...neither has a "secret weapon"....the videos explain it is all about meat selection and a constant temperature.
I am going to try his Turkey central texas style.
It is all about simple recipes and dedication to the fire!

 

Yeah, my dedication to the fire goes with my dedication to the beer as well.

 

Great tips in these. One of the best is the value of a clean smoke, meaning a smaller fire that is allowed to burn hotter to maintain 250 deg is better than a larger fire that is choked off and only smolders to maintain 250. Much cleaner smoke taste that way without the bitter tannin-like flavors.


Don't agree on the fat-side-up technique on the pork shoulder though. Can't blame him for letting his brisket technique bleed through to his pork shoulder I guess, being from TX and all.

 

How do you do it?

 

I wasn't super happy with my fire management. the oak I bought was the standard 12" and could only be placed in my fire box length wise, so sometimes the fire would be too close to the cooker. I cut all of mine in half with a chop saw just like he did in the video (before I saw the video). so how I have all these standard shape 6" blocks of wood. So now I can build a hotter fire away from the cooker, next to the air intake...works perfect.
In San Antonio we have more Live Oak which is a twisted spindley Oak. Toward Austin and East Texas they have the massive Post Oak..which grow very tall and straight. What do y'all have out there?

 

Fat side down for a pork shoulder, especially on a vertical smoker like the BGE or my Akorn. It allows the bark to develop on the meat itself. Otherwise the best bark (the bark on top) develops on the fat layer itself and then the fat renders out or is scraped off and bark is lost. Also helps moderate the heat transfer on a vertical smoker.


Since he and I both only smoke unwrapped for the first 5 or 6 hours, the fat isn't rendered in that time and it doesn't do much to keep the meat moist, so I don't see that as an argument for the fat side up. On a long slow brisket cook, it does make a lot of sense to smoke fat side up.

 

I use a traeger. I was always taught fat side up on it myself.

 

We have a lot of hickory around here, I don't know of anyone who smokes with oak, even though we have a lot of white & pin oak in MO. Not saying it's wrong, of course, just a regional thing I suppose. I actually use lump charcoal (not briquettes) for heat and I add apple wood to generate the smoke, so I don't know what the lump is actually made of. Works well though. If I had land, I'd be stacking my own hickory for sure.

 

Thanks for the explanation, I'll try fat side down next time I do one. I have thought about losing bark on the fat so I hope it turns out good.

 

In fact, thanks for reminding me. I need to go get more pellets for the traeger. I am doing a pork loin tomorrow.

 

I've always done fat side up too. Will have to try it fat down next time!

 

I do fat up as well, but I usually leave a butt on the smoker until I see 195. Also, I take a knife and cut one inch deep slices into the butt in a crossing patteren before ever putting any rub on. This greatly increases surface area, hence, more bark.