Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Thanks Dennis! You want some garlic this year?

 

Oh shit! I totally forgot! PM inbound...

 

I approve.

 

Me too! I've never done anything like that. I'll have to try it.

I've been cleaning out last year's venison over the last couple weeks. Wasted about 4 lbs of roast on a jerky experiment that just didn't work - don't put cinnamon in your jerky, folks!

This weekend I turned another 4 lbs into jerky using hi-country seasoning, my old standby. It made about 2lbs of jerky, which fills about 80% of a gallon Ziploc. I had to just to get my confidence back!

Today, I fired up the smoker for a 10 lb pork shoulder. I cut it in half, hoping for more bark. I also added some leftover undried jerky that didn't fit on the over rack last night. I just tried some and yum! Smoked jerky is really, really good. Makes me wish I had a rack-type smoker so I could make smoked jerky in volume.

I'm smoking over hardwood briquettes as usual, but my smokewood is new. I was given about 100 lbs of wild cherry sawn into 10" logs. It's newly cut, but since it's trunk wood (4-6" in diameter) it's producing some great thin smoke split into quarters. I was worried it might be like throwing a cedar bough on the fire, but it's working great! Smokewood is at least $1 a pound in the grocery store (even though the stuff I buy is produced locally) so I was really pleased!

 

Wow. That looks imcredible!

 

So this past weekend was my college buddies annual get together at a friends ranch, I was excited to use by buddies large trailer smoker. It turned out to be a huge disappointment. I think it is contaminated. The smoke never smelled right and the brisket tasted bitter.
My smoker has this permanent sweet BBQ smell when it is not in use..even with the lid closed. I mean it smells really good. My friend's trailer smoker did not smell natural...more a chemical smell. to it. I am guessing it has a creosote build up. Anyone ever experience this? My friend says he only uses it once or twice a year. I think he has been running it with mesquite, or unseasoned oak or he has been cooking a bunch of greasy steaks/burgers over the fire box grill.

Here it is:



It looked OK..but I thought it tasted terrible...everyone else liked it. But I took some leftover to my Dads and he asked.."what he did you smoke your brisket with?".


But on a smoking side note..I broke out my Dutch Oven and made the most awesome peach cobbler. I recommend everyone trying it. It is so simple.
Warm up the Dutch Oven, pour in 2-3 cans of canned peaches (juice and all). Let that get hot. Then slowly pour on top Yellow Cake mix. then cover the top of the cake mix with butter(real) pats. cover for 45 minues...serve with ice cream for best results.

 

My guess is he tried to clean it. He may have seasoned it with a undesirable wood.

 

This, or possibly green wood?

 

A friend of mine smokes using green wood over charcoal with good results. I don't know if that could carry over.

 

I ruined a smoker full of stuff about 15yrs ago using some green hickory. Or at least that's what I thought was the problem. Meat was almost black with a sharp chemical taste (inside meat was fine). Have never had it happen again, and never used green, sap filled wood again either.

 

My friend just uses twigs sparingly over charcoal. I can see how using sappy green wood would have bad results though. I smoke with seasoned wood. Hickory is my fav.

 

Hickory is the very best IMO, with pecan a close second. Some people like a lighter smoke flavor, so I will use some apple, cherry or peach. Sugar maple is a good balance between. For me, their is no such thing as "too smokey".

 

I love cherry for pork. Also, mulberry is a great one for chicken

 

Never used or even heard of using mulberry. We have a mulberry tree on the property line. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks

 

Smells like cotton candy

 

Huh, mulberry... Never even thought about that. You must not like a ton of smoke? I like the fruit woods, cherry, peach or apple on chicken. But for pork, it's hickory, or maple.

 

I love smoke if this is any indication. This was with apple. Pork going amazing with apples of all type. I only used mulberry twice before I got my traeger. But that cotton candy flavor and smell is awesome.

 

Traegers are the shit IMO. My brother has one, very nice!!!

 

I prefer oak or mesquite. Do a lot of chicken and pork tenderloins, shorter cooks.

Plain smoked chicken:


Sauced smoked chicken:


Smoked shoyu (Soy sauce for you mainlanders) chicken bowl:


Smoked pork tenderloin, Hawaiian sweet bread bun, pineapple, sauce:

 

That first pic is chicken?