Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

I keep a couple shakers of premixed SPOG on hand at all times

 

I just freehand it. I didn't actually add any salt beyond the dry brine. Salted the chicken and left it in the fridge for 4 hours or so prior to cooking. The skin is nice and crisp with most of the cooking happening at 275F.

 

Ok so here's the latest update. We went to lowes to buy some charcoal, my wife still doesn't know yet that I already bought four twin packs already but we got two more. We get to the register and she says I need to add one of the grills outside that's on sale. So she bought me the chargriller that was on sale. My dad also bought one and we cooked on his last night. We cooked steaks which I knew would be something easy to start with. This is what we did and maybe I need to change things. I put a chimney full of charcoal to the top. Let it burn for about 15 minutes til they ashed over. Then I put the coals mostly in the middle making it a single layer for the most part. Some areas maybe two. Dang coals get really hot trying to move them around. Lol. I had bottom damper wide open and stack damper wide open. Temps was 500 degrees. I cook some potatoes wrapped in foil which were supposed to be done at 350 for an hour, which didn't happen at 350. So I waiting until 45 minutes later to put the steaks on and by this time I had closed both dampers to almost closed to see if temp would drop. Once I put steaks on, temp gauge read around 400 and stayed consistent there the remainder of the cook. Did I put the food on too early after I dropped the coals? Or should the temp dropped sooner than it did? Sorry for the long post. I need some charcoal cooking 101. My wife and I picked up some ribs to cook for tomorrow and know they have to be cooked lower that's why I'm trying to figure all this out. Thanks

 

If I'm doing steaks and baked potatoes it's an open grill thing with the intake damper at like
75% open (hot enuff to sear but not incinerate lol)
While the chimney's firing up I season and set the steaks out to get to room temp
Then I throw a couple potatoes in the microwave till they get kinda squishy like 6 min on hi. The key here is to not let potatoes get cold between microwave and grill, they get kinda mealy if that happens
Dump coals in grill when ready and brush some olive oil on potatoes and put them on grill to crisp up the skin
Once grill surface is up to temp throw ur steaks on
Meanwhile u can be prepping veg course
All this takes like 25 min start to finish, my little hibachi only needs like a half chimney of briquettes to make it happen but the big kettle takes a full chimney
Pull steaks and potatoes at desired doneness and enjoy

 

Taking a break from brisket today

Crawfish boil!!!

 

Had my first crawfish when I moved to Texas in march. Tasty little buggers.....but damn if it's a lot of work for that little morsel of flesh! Of course, there's probably a better method than mine to get them open!

 

New grill will burn a bit hotter until seasoned, meaning you'll get an interior coating built up after a few cooks which will help with maintaining temps. But sounds like main thing you're asking is how to get much lower temps, so answer to that is don't use full chimney of lit. For what you did yesterday, half chimney lit probably would have worked. For the ribs where you want low 225 for 5 hours, put full chimney unlit to one side of kettle, then dump 12-15 lit briquettes on top of that. They will very slowly ignite the unlit briquettes underneath over the course of 5 hours. Put ribs on other side of grill so they're not over direct heat. Leave top vent open about half, use bottom to control temp. Use both if windy.

 

And this today

 

Just bought this guy till I can find time to build a reverse flow smoker

 

That thing could be built into a reverse flow lol

 

True. But the reverse flow I want too build will have an insulated fire box with another smoke box above it.

 

Smoking the spicy goose snack sticks today

 

Seasoned the pit. Now time to smoke some Venison bratwurst and some salmon.

 

Looks like a little pair of bells are attached to the top. Would be unique timer/ temp gauge

 

Needs more ratchet straps

 

Smoked the bratwurst for 40 minutes around 180 degrees and finished off on the grill side above the coals.

Smoked the salmon at 180 degrees for 4 hours. It turned out amazing.

 

Did someone say burgers?

 

Tri tip, black bean/corn salad, French bread. Simple. Tasty.

 

I picked up 20 lbs of bacon today from the local butchers at my parents. While there, they had some nice looking ny strips, so I picked up 8 for the family dinner today. They were awesome. Just grilled them as the parents don't have a smoker.

 

I decided to try smoking hamburgers this evening along with brats & some bacon directly on the rack. I put the bacon closer to the fire box with the burgers in the middle & brats on the cooler side. Did it all at 220 for little more than an hour. Ended up putting BBQ sauce on top after about 45 mons then added cheddar & bacon. Turned out great.
Tomorrow's menu includes a Boston butt & 2 racks of baby back ribs which are marinating right now.