Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

That's too bad you had to leave at the stage when you wanted to be there and probe for tenderness. What temp were you running? On a side note I like hot and fast briskets, especially for flats or smaller whole. 300 degrees for cooker and wrap after bark set. Usually about 5 hours to get done. Pull off brisket and vent to drop temp. Re wrap and into cambro at least 2 hours.

 

I don't wait in the line when Brown's is up the road, BUT Franklin's does theirs "hot and fast", not at 225. I'd say at the moment they're probably regarded as "one of the best" in the country. At least the top 5. So, if it's good enough for them....Good enough for me!

Sounds like @spencermarkd you didn't get it up to ~205, and maybe your rest wasn't as good either? I don't think a BGE holds temp much when they're off, and smoking temps don't lend themselves to carryover cooking. You might get a couple degrees out of it, but not the 10+ you'll see elsewhere (I've seen a recipe for Beef Wellington that pulls at 85 internal, and it carryover cooks on the tray up to 145 with the pastry dough and leaving it on the steel pan when you take it out, I think it was this one, but there's a paywall screen blocking me from making sure https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cooksillustrated/articles/2618-mastering-beef-wellington).

Cooking is only half the battle (maybe less, using some level of automation like a pooper or BGE). Gotta rest it - I throw it in a Yeti (knock off ) cooler to rest. Pork butts, at least. I've only done a couple of briskets, just not my usual.

 

Temp was probably 225-250 for the first half, and then when I started getting nervous on time I went up to 275 ish. Next time I'd do 275 the full time.

Yeah, I shut it down too much when we left. Probably could have kept it open more but I was afraid of it getting too hot while gone unexpectedly. In my rational head I know temps had been steady and it would have been fine, but you never know.. big pan full of hot fat and all.. Grill was probably 150 still when we got back from dinner, and from there I rested it in a pre-heated yeti for another hour and a half. Between the two I figured it was a decent enough rest.

Learning experience for sure! Still looking forward to lunch

 

This reminds me. I think your tabletop unit is rated to 500°? I saw two people in the last week crank it to 450° and it peeled inside and out. Just a heads up

 

Ooo good to know. Bake in was 350 or 300 can't remember. I have a propane grill I'd use for grilling at those temps anyway but now i won't consider it an option.

 

One of the things I like about mine, most of it is stainless steel so worst thing I'm getting is some discoloring

 

25 lb of smoked jalapeño cheddar, venison sausage

 

OMW

 

Sausage is making the turn right now at 145 puffing at 185-90 should be 2 more hr

 

Man that looks really good.

 

First personalized order of the season is on its way! 19 ish lbs. hitting smoke in 3 hours.



The first 50 ish lbs. goes for sale in the next few days.

 

So far, these racks get a 9/10. I wish they locked a little better, but they carried just fine. I should be able to fit ~80 lbs. of cheese on this smoker with them turned perpendicular.



LANEJOY 3-Tier Stackable Cooling Racks for Cooking and Baking Stainless Steel Wire Cooling rack Oven & Dishwasher Safe (15 * 10 * 3 inch LYW03)

$35 LANEJOY 3-Tier Stackable Cooling Racks for Cooking and Baking Stainless Steel Wire Cooling rack Oven & Dishwasher Safe (15 * 10 * 3" LYW03)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYDPJC75

 

And don’t forget the crowd favorite: butter!



Reuse the wrappers by placing them back in the refrigerator for safety. It keeps the remaining butter bits cold and bacteria from growing any faster.

 

What smoke wood are you using for the butter?

 

Appreciate the recommendation on the zerk bullet hinges. Going to replace both for good measure (lets be real, really replacing both because of my ocd- needing them to match). Cant wait to get the offset back up and running. Planning on cleaning her up and giving her a fresh paint job in the spring when its consistently warm again here in Connecticut.

 

your mileage may vary but butter is not as suseptable to bacteria
https://www.wellandgood.com/does-butter-go-bad/

 

I only use red and white oak for cold smokes, but loads of people use fruit woods and/or pecan.

 

Good to know, thanks! I’m at the mercy of my customers, so I do my absolute best to maintain the same safety precautions across the board. Gives them peace of mind.

 

Yeah I'm a fruit wood fan for hot and cold smokes. Usually a mix with fruit and oak or hickory on hot smokes. Going to give smoked butter a try!

 

I strictly use post oak and pecan for hot smokes, unless otherwise requested. Good luck, it’s great for eggs, on toast, or anything else butter is used for