Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

You are doing good.
My advice for your pork and smoke ring.
I always rub all my pork products with regular mustard( the yellow bottle for sandwiches) THen apply your rub. Wrap it, let it sit overnight in the frig.

As far as smoke rings...I know a few folks that "Cheat" with chili powdered. It adds a deep red ring. Chili powdered is a good cheap base for rubs...that and brown sugar..and then add all your speciality spices to that...that way your meat will be 100% coated in dry rub.

 

I have heard brisket technically only needs a few hours of smoke to develop the flavor and just really needs heat to finish it. I would say you can get away with this process(although I am not sure about overnight or total time involved).

 

Thanks! Good to hear im headed the right way.

Ill give mustard a try for my next meal. The mix i used did have brown sugar in it but no chili powder. Im not really worried about appearance, just thought it was cool. As long as it tastes great!

 

I use brown sugar and paprika for my base with chili powder being added sparingly with my other ingredients like onion salt, pepper, etc. Yellow mustard always goes on first before the rub for a couple reasons, 1) it helps the rub adhere better and 2) more importantly, the vinegar in the mustard acts as a tenderizer and helps to make for a better end product. Like someone said earlier, apply everything a day before to help it along.

Edit: this is for my butts and briskets

 

It had paprika also
Heres the mix i used.

Sounds like mustard will be a standard then. I do try to put rub on a day early to let it absorb into the meat but i didnt happen do it this time (missing spices for the rub).

But thanks for the tips guys!

 

I got this out of a magazine a long time ago and first used it when I started smoking. Although I now only use kosher salt & pepper on my briskets, I recently used this on a Boston Butt and it came out great. It has never done me wrong. You can definitely taste the spice/heat, but it is not overpowering.


Davis Dry Rub


Ingredients

1/2 Cup paprika

1/3 cup ground black pepper

1/4 cup salt

1/4 cup chili powder

1/4 cup ground cumin

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cayenne pepper

Directions


1. Ina small bowl stir together paprika, black pepper, salt, chili powder, cumin,brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cayenne pepper. Transfer to a small airtightcontainer or bag. Store at room temperature up to 6 months. Makes about 2 cupsof rub.

 

Nuttin special...8# Pork Butt @ 225*-Pecan/cherry pellets ...took almost 14 hrs on this puppy to hit 198*....Arizona Ranch dry rub...got to use my new Xmas Bear claws to pull it....makes easy work...

 

Over the holidays I tried a recipe from a buddy of mine. Smoked chicken breast wrapped in bacon. I will use a different rub next time though. The rub I used, Stubbs, clashed with the bacon. Still, the chicken was tender and very flavorful. I probably left it on a little to long, but for the first time using this recipe I was pleased.

 

^^ Looks tasty. I need to try that out, thanks for the idea!

 

Thanks man and you're welcome.
I did brine the breast before they went on. My solution was 4 cups cold water, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup kosher salt. Worked out well.

 

Dinner.

 

Do you guys scrub your grates after each use? I've become a fan of smoking but I hate the cleanup.

 

All depends on what you smoked before them, and the amount of sugar in your rub.....sugar tends to "gum" up and get cooked on....also depends on how much fat is in it....more fat less sticking....when I do hafta' clean the grates, I just throw em the laundry sink in hot ass water and let 'em soak overnight..usually just rinses off the next day...I have Stainless Steel grates which helps....and if I'm in a hurry (which is most the time) I preheat the smoker long enuf to kill whatever is left, wipe with a oiled paper towel...and throw it on....having died yet...

 

I've been cleaning the left over food off the grates, and then also scrubbing the black off so that I can still see chrome. Is it safe to say it is OK to give them a quick clean to get the food off but ok not to scrub down to chrome?

Will that left over blackness affect future cooks at all?

 

Grates - never...that is all the seasoning. If it is flaky build up on the walls..that is creosote and should be removed (gently scraped or burned off) once or twice a year.
I clean the ashes out ASAP, since those and grease make lye and that's not good.

Ever seen clean grates at a great BBQ joint? Nuff said.

Mine looks like this all the time:

 

Any thoughts on ribs in a cheap Brinkman smoker? I have one of the racks where you stand the ribs upright. Mostly I need help with time in the smoker.

Thoughts on a decent rub, either home made or OTC would be appreciated as well.

 

I keep mine pretty clean. Will run the grate in the dish washer if it gets gunked up. The drip pan I keep clean Tim foil on. I keep mine clean but I also use it every day minus the two days I work a week. Other than that I usually have something in mine so it's kept clean.

 

I brush mine a couple time with a wire bristle brush prior to firing it up just to knock off the big stuff. If I'm feeling motivated I'll rub some oil on them prior to throwing the meat on.

Allotta brown sugar & paprika. Alittle chili powder, pepper, onion/garlic salt, cumin, cayenne. Mix and match and take good notes and you'll come up with something solid after a few attempts. Also vv mustard

 

Everyone has their own special ingredients for their rubs,,and the usually change with what they are smoking...the Dry Rub Primo posted is a great base for just about any rub...
Also the Brinkman is a decent start-up smoker which can produce some quality results....key to smoking is learning your smoker, and trying different methods/techniques...
I drool about owning a Lang Smoker....someday...
http://langbbqsmokers.com/lang60/