Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Hey Primo where do you buy your wood? I've bought from Villareal,Paulan and Mtn View here in helotes.

 

I think I got mine from Paulan.....My friend got a load there that was super seasoned...it was awesome...I don't live in the area and when I went out there, what they had on hand, it didn't seem as seasoned.....it was just OK....I got a 1/3 cord for $50 (fits perfectly in a shortbed).
I ended up cutting all mine in half with a chop saw..the shorter pieces work better with my smoker. I got my load in November..so another 3 months I think it will be totally seasoned to my satisfaction.
Which place did you think was better?

 

I was thinking about this today..I bet you can make an awesome smore!


Smoke the full sheet of graham crackers..then toast your marshmallow over the fire as usual. then add the chocolate and marshmallow for a quick toast in the smoker...probably come out extra gooey ..that is why I said start with the full sheet.


Otherwise you just wash some can biscuits with butter, then roll in brown sugar/cinnamon ....smoke on some foil or in a pan.
Or you could do the same thing with a canned pizza dough instead of biscuit. Or roll up canned croissant dough with the same recipe.

 

Haha yes I'm serious. Any cookie recipe will do. Just crank up the temp to 325-350 and enjoy! Anything I make in the oven, I also make in the smoker!

 

Price wise I think Paulan is best. I really liked the wood I bought at Villareal...though it was more expensive. When I did my last turkey the owner let me get a handful of cherry which was great!! MT View was good smaller pieces and more expensive. Last time I went to Paulan I got 50 pieces oak/mesquite for 20. Large splits I did cut them down seem to burn better smaller splits. I'd really like to find some post oak.1/3rd of a cord seems a like good amount.Thats what im gonna do next time. I need some wood bad right now!!! Probably get some in a week or so.
Here is my smoker
http://youtu.be/3gr1qvlnyXk

 

That is a really nice smoker. What do you usually make with it? You should get the 1/3 of cord...that way you can prep your small pieces and then be seasoning it to your satisfaction. I spilt my odd pieces to make my kindling.


-Primo!

 

Briskets...what else is there?...jk Done some buts Turkeys...really like to do briskets though.

 

I shop @ the HEB Alon Market...i just noticed they have Prime 1 briskets in a different section...the whole packard style is marbled. It looked like a giant ribeye....that is what i am getting next.

 

Sounds good!! I can usually find CAB briskets mixed in with regular select, most of the time I'll just ask the butcher what they have in the back.

 

Just wanted to say hi and post a few pics of the BBQ's I have built in this last year. The first is mine that I built from a bunch of scrap & junk I had laying around, cost me about 300$ in additional materials. The second is one I built for a friend's anniversary gift to her husband. The third pic is me coking up our non-traditional Christmas dinner of BBQ beef & pork ribs and a bone-in New York roast done with Texas brisket rub.

 

smoked some cheese 2 weeks before christmas, first time doing it. said to cold smoke it but it was -15 outside so i just hot smoked it, came out good, we still have some, been shredding it for tacos and baked potatoes.

 

Some bacon woven deer roasts. I set it in a big bowl of ice for about 6 hours and change the ice a few times in between to get he blood out. Then I marinade it with a garlic and herb overnight, a mild rub on top and then on goes the bacon. The bacon helps get some flavor into the deer meat. Gotta brush the bacon about once and hour with melted butter to keep it from burning up.








Final Product!

 

WOW! Looks great! I'll be over for dinner lol

 

Who doesn't love bacon!? lol

 

Webber Smokey Mountain with digital controller.



Brisket, partially cooked...



Ribs... BRITU style...

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Smoked pork shoulder, pre-pull.

 

Shawn:
What does the digital controller do and do you like your SM smoker?

 

I gotta find me one of them brisket recipes. I never did one of those and man do they look good!

 

I love my Weber SM!! The digital controller is a DigiQ DX I got from bbqguru.com. It has a pit probe and a meat probe. You set the pit temp to whatever you want it to be (ex: 250 degrees) and the meat temp to what you want it to be when done (ex: 200). Insert the meat probe into the meat (sounds dirty, don't it?), and I clip the pit probe onto a wooden skewer and stick it in one of the shoulders.

The fan will kick on and off in order to maintain the smoker at the set temperature. When the meat hits the set temp, the unit beeps to let you know it is done. You can get really sophisticated ones that'll send you a text when it's done.

 

So I cook my first Prime Brisket this morning...it cost $3.98/lb which is double the normal cost of brisket in Texas.



Just a light Kosher Salt & Pepper. It looks like a giant Ribeye. Look at that marbling!


That sought after deep rich mahogany color!


7.5 hours over oak at 225*-250*
As the commercial used to go... "It don't get no better than this!"


This time, I ran my smoker "Straight Pipe"...full open intake & exhaust....it made for a hotter fire which I made smaller....but made for some very clean smoke. My best brisket yet.