All things smoking…

I picked up my first smoker last fall and I am hooked. I have done 7 cooks so far and everything has turned out surprisingly very well. I cant wait until it warms up more so I can start doing some longer cook again.

What type of smokers you using? Whats your favorite type of meat to smoke? Any accessories you wonder how you lived with out?

Toss in a couple pics or some words of wisdom.

I am using a 22 inch Weber Smokey Mountian love the cooking size, it maintains steady temps and has a huge coal pit for long cooks. I have a cheap Taylor probe thermostate that works awesome for under $20. My favorite thing to smoke is ribs I could eat them every day!

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Masterbuilt electric that I bought when it was on clearance a few falls back. Some people don’t care for electric, but I haven’t had any issues. Briskets are my favorite, but require such a long cook that I don’t do them often. Smoke lots of salmon.

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Does your electric hold temps well? Brisket is the only thing I havent tried yet. Waiting for some warm weather and longer days for my first run.

out_fishing wrote:

Does your electric hold temps well?

Yes, holds temp very well. According to my wireless thermometer, it stays within a +/- 5 degree range.

I also have a Weber Smokey Mountain. It does indeed do a great job of controlling temps. I have cooked turkeys, ribs, pork butts, chicken breasts, summer sausage, fish, hard boiled eggs, pizza, meatloaf, beef roast..I am sure there are things I am forgetting. Anything that needs between 160 and 400 degrees can be cooked in there.

Im alittle nervous to try fish in mine. Some sites I read say you can taste the fish on the next cook. What have you guys found?

Sounds like you need to buy two smokers…where does the madness end.

castle-rock-clown wrote:

Sounds like you need to buy two smokers…where does the madness end.

Might save that one for the wife when I think I am in need for a new one.

BBQ Guru – Cyber-Q for your Weber Smokey mountain. Set it and forget it. My Buddy at work has one for his. I want one but they are spendy!
https://bbqguru.com/

I love getting a mess of beer, waking up early and throwin a brisket on my weber bullet and just doin it. Haven’t found something I don’t like smoking but briskets are definitely where it’s at. Brined or not, 215-220 on the charcoal for most of the day depending on weight and you are in the money

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Fisherpaul wrote:

BBQ Guru – Cyber-Q for your Weber Smokey mountain. Set it and forget it. My Buddy at work has one for his. I want one but they are spendy!
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<P>https://bbqguru.com/ </P>

I have been eyeing those too, they look awesome. my co-worker has one and loves it. I was about to pull the trigger on one after this christmas but then I just had to put a grand into one of my cars.

As much as I want one they cost as much as my smoker but to be able to use them for night smokes would be great. Also it kinda takes the fun out of it too since I get out of a lot of choirs on the weekends by saying I have to stay close and “watch” my smoker!

That looks good smackemup. are you just a salt and pepper kinda a guy for your brisket or do you do a mixture of spices?

Mine is a Landmann Propane 3605BGD (Big Block)

•Easy Access Door
•Cool grip wire handles
•4 cooking grates
•Push Button ignition
•Porcelain coated steel water pan
•Cast Iron Chip box
•Dimension: 21″ x 29″ x 45.2″
•Weight: 91.3 lbs.
•Cooking Area: 1257 sq. inches
•Removable drip pan
•grease deflectors, note the one on the door

•3 vents
•slide out smoker box tray

There is nothing I haven’t smoked with the exception of fish. Meats veggies and cheese included.
In the pics you will find Prime Rib, Mac and Cheese, and my go to temp gauge.

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Here is the rib with M&C

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And my goto probe

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I used to have a Brinkman that I used a lot but it finally died so I got a BGE have done 4 cooks on it everything turned out good but I still need to dial in the details a little better. The BGE sure does not need the attention that the brinkman used to while cooking. Regarding smoking fish I have never noticed a overlapping taste from smoke to smoke. Heck I have more than once smoked brisket and fish at the same time. The fish just comes out first. I would think the hard core guys may have different opinions but for me it works out fine and I have never had any complaints.

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I’ve never had cross-taste issues. I do clean my racks and water pan good when done with it, no matter what I smoke.

I like to focus on getting a good piece of meat, that is gonna go a long way in how it is going to end up. I keep it simple, kosher salt, black pepper, chili powder, about one to one ratio on those, throw in a little brown sugar, garlic powder, or anything else you like. The other big thing for me is hawking the temperature and making sure the charcoals don’t get out of hand while I’m sneakin a quick 20 minute nap in. Everyone will tell you something different, but salt, pepper, chili powder, and a little brown sugar is a good baseline. You can add basically anything from there. The “green” fresh ham in the last few pictures Might be one of my favorites. Cooked that baby at deer camp a couple years ago to go with the potato dumplings! Good times

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I have a Traeger pellet grill with a digital temperature gauge. It keeps pretty close to what you set it at. Some folks call them cheaters because they are so easy to use. Briskets are where it is at. If you like the beef taste there’s nothing better. They take a while to cook, but they are worth it. I rub it one night and put it on the next night and smoke it until the next day without touching it. I do recommend buying and using a remote internal meat thermometer. It takes the guess work out. I would use one regardless of the smoker you use.

I do own an electric smoker, but use the Traeger. I’m in no way connected to Traeger, but I do like it. Even my wife can smoke and grill like a champ.

Don’t forget the smoked nuts, cheese, salt, peppercorns, jerky, meatloaf, salmon roe, chicken legs, pork chops, tenderloins……..

Wait a minute, if it is food, it is almost all good smoked!

I went old school and cheap with mine. A 50 gal. Barrel and a 300 gal. fuel oil tank for bigger jobs. I use a mix of fruitwoods and hickory and am able to regulate temp. pretty well. I have done many weddings DU banquets etc. and can serve upwards of 275 people.

Another guy with a digital masterbuilt. Love it though I dont get the bark a wood or charcoal smoker gives ya. Like others I’ll smoke everything from beef, fish, sausage, cheese to macoroni and cheese. One thing, catfish sure make a mess the last cat surecwas messy but the brown suger glaze from brining on it was awsome.
I have 2 small picnic hams, injected, curring as I speak two seperate curring recipe. I like the smaller roast as there is more surface area. Plan on cutting out the bone butterflying the meat then rolling tying it. Have not decided what I will add to the role yet.. 4 more days of cure to decide. Apple butter glaze on one the other maybe a honey glaze.

I bought the same smoker a little over a year ago, I love it. I too have had very good success. I haven’t tried a pork butt yet but it’s on the list for this spring along with brisket. Enjoy

Art Green wrote:

Don’t forget the smoked nuts, cheese, salt, peppercorns, jerky, meatloaf, salmon roe, chicken legs, pork chops, tenderloins……..

Wait a minute, if it is food, it is almost all good smoked!

My buddy smokes cheese. It’s fantastic!

I have a Masterbuilt electric smoker with digital settings. I also have a char-griller barrel type smoker/grill with the side fire box. Each has it’s own purpose. I use the Masterbuilt mainly for smoking sausage which I make all year long and slow cook items like brisket and Canadian bacon for example. The Char Griller I use for grilling mainly but I have used it for smoking as well using the side fire box. I also have not notices any carry over from smoking fish. good luck.

Has anyone ever used a Lyfe Tyme smoker? I see a few of these on Craigslist for about 25% of the cost of a new one. Maybe they’re there for a reason?

out_fishing wrote:

What type of smokers you using? Whats your favorite type of meat to smoke? Any accessories you wonder how you lived with out?

I’m using an electric Cookshack. The wood chips I add sit above the heating element so I don’t have to use pellets.

I run two thermometers or more if needed. Several go into the meat and one hangs in the air of the smoker to measure just air temp.

I used to use charcoal but that gets pretty labor intensive on a 12 hour shoulder. Constantly lighting more coal to feed the beast, adjusting dampers for changing wind and temp fluctuations, etc…Nope, electric for me.

Shoulders are easy. Pretty hard to ruin those. Brisket is much more of a challenge. 2 hours on the smoke, then wrapped in foil with whatever favorite liquid you desire until tender. Don’t over smoke your meat. Too much smoke on a long session, and you can make the meat somewhat bitter.

I think the best advice is to let the meat rest for more than an hour wrapped after it is done cooking(most meats besides ribs). Especially the pork shoulder and brisket. Letting those volatile juices make their way back into the meat slowly is so key to a moist meat. Remember, food only needs to be about 120 degrees at service time. I wrap mine in foil, then in old bath towels and place is a mini cooler to rest. Sometimes, I will let a shoulder or two rest for 2-3 hours like that and it is still plenty hot come service time.

biggill wrote:

Has anyone ever used a Lyfe Tyme smoker? I see a few of these on Craigslist for about 25% of the cost of a new one. Maybe they’re there for a reason?

I dont have any experience with the lyfe tyme pits but from a BBQ forum they seem to be decent for the money. Here are a few reviews.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21266

Just had some fresh smoked sturgeon last night. Neighbor caught one last week on the rainy and smoked it up. Pretty darn good stuff. Then again is there a bad smoked fish. Might have to get a little more serious about keeping one next spring.

I built this UDS acouple yrs ago…I can fit 5 10lb pork butts in it…I can go 12-14 hrs on 12lbs of charcoal @250 degrees…When the meat is done, I close all the vents & when it cools down there is 3-4 lb of charcoal left…

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