Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Just make enough to share, or let them put something of there own on.

 

Just to give you an idea of smoke production. This pic is when I "seasoned" my smoker the first time but is the same smoke amount as when I start it up each time. You get this for about 5 minutes then it decreases to almost no visible smoke. Unless you use an optional smoke tube to add more smoke, in which case you will potentially have that smoke cloud going most of the time.

 

My neighbors close their windows when I start smoking.

 

Mine tend to come outside to see what is smelling so good

As for the Traeger, I can say their reputation got trashed by sub par products when they first moved production. Now they have fixed those issues and the quality seems to be back up and damage to the rep is being undone. I ended up getting one after much going back and forth and have had it since the start of June. 0 problems (well one which was very small and was my stupidity, was remedied in about 5 minutes) with it and once I got a good brand of pellets is putting out some darn good food.

 

Check the measurements of a Camp Chef pellet smoker, I have zero complaints. It still may be too big, I'm not sure.

 

Getting ready for the End Of Summer BBQ this Saturday!

 

I'll be right over.

 

I'll keep the beer cold and the women warm...

 

Oh my god!!!!!

 

Trying to figure out what to smoke for the weekend. Been tossing around smoking a pizza since we were talking about that but we ordered pizza last night so now I need to figure something else out. Might do some wings or possibly some ribs.

 

Skip wings.. Do some bone-in chicken thighs.

 

Pork loin? That's on my list but haven't done it yet.

 

Brisket is coming along nicely. It's hit the stall but there is 4 1/2 hours before we eat so I'm going to wait it out vs wrapping it. Ribs went on about 45 minutes ago. I really wish I had metal fab skills. The rib racks out there suck. They can't hold up a full rack worth a damn. I would like a narrower slot for the ribs (with a wide space between the slots for air flow) and longer, square support bars so the ends of the ribs are supported and don't flop over.

 

Brisket is resting in the insulated cooler and holding nicely at 190. Ribs are finally layed out and have about 2 1/4 hours to go. The smell is unbelievable!

 

Thanks @ryanjboutin for the tips

 

alright guys, my one day wife says she wants smoked food ...

what would you recommend? I am a beginner...

i have a 18.5 weber kettle with no temp gauge , would that work well for me? or should i be looking into a vertical smoker like a master built?

Next questions if you say i should get a new smoker, Propane or charcoal?

How do you go about seasoning it when its new also?


Thanks a lot guys

 

Keep it in the family, get a Weber smokey mountain.

 

Electric with a smoke generator.

 

I'll always recommend a charcoal smoker augmented with fruitwood for smoke over an electric or propane, but I'm willing to put the time in to tend a fire and I like doing it that way. If you think you'll do more cold smoking of cheese and whatever else, an electric might be better. But if you're going to use a smoke generator with pellets or dust, you can do that just as easy on a charcoal smoker with no fire. I think I'd avoid a propane smoker just because I always tend to run out of propane at the wrong moment. Plenty of people use them though.

 

How we do brisket in central Texas

Prices have really come down...I was able to pick up some Prime Brisket at $3.30/lb...cheapest I have ever seen it.
Just Salt & pepper, oak, & Time. No foil, no mopping, no meat thermometer







I wasn't using my usual Lyfe Tyme. I was just using a friend custom trailer smoker. It is a pain in the ass to use, it wasn't made correctly...but it smokes well for large groups