Backyard chefs, please reply.
- Thread starter PJ-Hunter
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http://www.thesmokering.com/default.jsp
Also, check out the Bradley Smoker forum, most of the recipes on there can be found on The Smoke Ring (since they are a member of The Smoke Ring) but whatever.........
The biggest thing witht he propane smoker is monitoring your temps, you don't want it to get too hot. Too cold is easier to deal with then too hot especially if you are smoking something like Salmon or Chicken.
Keep the bowl full of water, soak the wood chips before adding them to the water bowl since propane smokers put out a metric-buttload of heat.
Apple, cherry, and Alder are the best for fish or chicken. Mesquite, Hickory, etc are better for when you want a "bold" flavor.
You only want to smoke for the first ~ 1/2 the time you want to cook, otherwise you can over-smoke the meat. I ruined a batch of chicken and a salmon filet exactly that way.
Eh, thats all off the top of my head. Just expiriment, the only big thing you need to worry about when it comes to diferences between smoker and BBQ is time.
Also, check out the Bradley Smoker forum, most of the recipes on there can be found on The Smoke Ring (since they are a member of The Smoke Ring) but whatever.........
The biggest thing witht he propane smoker is monitoring your temps, you don't want it to get too hot. Too cold is easier to deal with then too hot especially if you are smoking something like Salmon or Chicken.
Keep the bowl full of water, soak the wood chips before adding them to the water bowl since propane smokers put out a metric-buttload of heat.
Apple, cherry, and Alder are the best for fish or chicken. Mesquite, Hickory, etc are better for when you want a "bold" flavor.
You only want to smoke for the first ~ 1/2 the time you want to cook, otherwise you can over-smoke the meat. I ruined a batch of chicken and a salmon filet exactly that way.
Eh, thats all off the top of my head. Just expiriment, the only big thing you need to worry about when it comes to diferences between smoker and BBQ is time.
Buy a brisket, cover it in a mixture of Lawry's season salt, little brown sugar, any other spices you like (chile powder, garlic...) and let it sit in the fridge overnight (not in a plastic bag, loosely covered). Pull out the next morning, pat it down with paper towels, and let sit and dry (covered in a towel) for about 1-2 hours. Smoke for 4-6 hours depending on temperature, slice about 1/4 inch thick against the grain and enjoy.
Pretty much any non-resin wood is good. DO NOT use pine!!! Apple, hickory, I've even used Russian Olive and plum off the trees around when I ran out of wood...
Pretty much any non-resin wood is good. DO NOT use pine!!! Apple, hickory, I've even used Russian Olive and plum off the trees around when I ran out of wood...
Not that much too it, but you have to work within the limitations of the cut of meat. A big hunk of elk butt can be docotored up and flavored, but there is only so much you can do with it. I usually buy mesquite or Hickory chips for red meat and pork.
Probably the biggest factor is the cut of meat. A poor cut of meat can't be fixed, but you can fix it up with tenderizers (papain), by curing, and marinading or rubbing. Throw a nice primerib, brisket, or ribs on there and it's hard to screw it up. Careful where you buy your meat. Walmart has about 1 acceptable brisket for every 3 bad ones, so it's a crapshoot, especially when the meat is vacum packed. Better stores tend to get better meat. If it's a Xmas dinner or you want to impress, then go to a specialty store and pay by the ounce! Grocery store meat is rarely "Choice" grade even if they say it is. The good stuff is hard to find there.
Yep, not too much smoke. About an hour or two is fine. Meat can only absorb stuff to a fairly shallow depth, like a quarter to half inch, so you can soak and smoke something for days and it's not going to do much to the center of a thick cut. Not to say you can't do thick cuts, they actually slow cook very well, just don't expect the center to pick up the flavors. You can inject stuff to add flavor, but the meat tends to dry out some from juice exiting the injection hole.
Temps for cooking range from 120 degrees to 250. The lower and slower the better for tough cuts. Get a good oven thermometer and meat thermometer. Beef is done when the internal temp hits a range of 140 to 170 (rare to well). Pork and Lamb 160 to 180, and poultry 180. You want to pull the meat when it's about 20 degrees cooler than you want it, cuz it will cook for awhile after. With good cuts, there's no point to overcooking, it just dries the meat out. With poorer cuts (a Walmart brisket or elk butt), the extended cooking helps to break down the connective tissues that make it chewy. I'll smoke these meats for an hour or two, then wrap them in aluminum foil or an oven bag to finish them off. Throw some celery, carrots, taters, etc, and maybe lay some bacon on top to add fat and flavor and cook 2-4 hours at 160 to 180 degrees. The veggies come out pretty tasty and add great flavors. You can make gravy out of the juices if you want, it helps with an elk butt! Makes a nice dinner and you can shred the leftovers up for some fairly tender mexican food filler. Wild game is lean so it doesn't have that juicyness (inter-tissue fat) we get with beef so it needs some doctoring up to please picky eaters.
Aside from the back bone cuts, I mostly grind my game into burger, sausage, or make Jerky. That Hi Mountain jerky cure is my favorite. Most super-markets have it. I've done my own jerky recipies, but the Hi Mountain stuff is a lot better. Make a jerky slicer or buy one, this helps a lot. Home smoked jerky is the bomb! No need to dry it into shoe-leather either. Does need freezing if you don't dry it out though.
Seasonings I use on a red meat rub are garlic powder or garlic, onion powder, black and white pepper, sage, celery powder, ground coriander, cardamom, ground mustard, ground cumin, whole fennel, thyme, and rosemary. Or just buy a pre-made rub. Spices are tricky, use sparingly until you get the hang of it.
Pork ribs are always a hit. I make mine by covering with a pork rub and rolling them up and stuffing in a oven bag. Slow cook for 4 to 12 hours at 160 degrees. I cook mine in a dutch oven on my woodstove, but the smoker will do the same. Take them out of the bag and smoke for an hour, then toss them on a hot BBQ to crisp up and finish off. Sauce, if any goes on at the very end. Better for full ribs as the baby backs don't need that much cooking. Any other ideas, I'd love to hear them too!
Probably the biggest factor is the cut of meat. A poor cut of meat can't be fixed, but you can fix it up with tenderizers (papain), by curing, and marinading or rubbing. Throw a nice primerib, brisket, or ribs on there and it's hard to screw it up. Careful where you buy your meat. Walmart has about 1 acceptable brisket for every 3 bad ones, so it's a crapshoot, especially when the meat is vacum packed. Better stores tend to get better meat. If it's a Xmas dinner or you want to impress, then go to a specialty store and pay by the ounce! Grocery store meat is rarely "Choice" grade even if they say it is. The good stuff is hard to find there.
Yep, not too much smoke. About an hour or two is fine. Meat can only absorb stuff to a fairly shallow depth, like a quarter to half inch, so you can soak and smoke something for days and it's not going to do much to the center of a thick cut. Not to say you can't do thick cuts, they actually slow cook very well, just don't expect the center to pick up the flavors. You can inject stuff to add flavor, but the meat tends to dry out some from juice exiting the injection hole.
Temps for cooking range from 120 degrees to 250. The lower and slower the better for tough cuts. Get a good oven thermometer and meat thermometer. Beef is done when the internal temp hits a range of 140 to 170 (rare to well). Pork and Lamb 160 to 180, and poultry 180. You want to pull the meat when it's about 20 degrees cooler than you want it, cuz it will cook for awhile after. With good cuts, there's no point to overcooking, it just dries the meat out. With poorer cuts (a Walmart brisket or elk butt), the extended cooking helps to break down the connective tissues that make it chewy. I'll smoke these meats for an hour or two, then wrap them in aluminum foil or an oven bag to finish them off. Throw some celery, carrots, taters, etc, and maybe lay some bacon on top to add fat and flavor and cook 2-4 hours at 160 to 180 degrees. The veggies come out pretty tasty and add great flavors. You can make gravy out of the juices if you want, it helps with an elk butt! Makes a nice dinner and you can shred the leftovers up for some fairly tender mexican food filler. Wild game is lean so it doesn't have that juicyness (inter-tissue fat) we get with beef so it needs some doctoring up to please picky eaters.
Aside from the back bone cuts, I mostly grind my game into burger, sausage, or make Jerky. That Hi Mountain jerky cure is my favorite. Most super-markets have it. I've done my own jerky recipies, but the Hi Mountain stuff is a lot better. Make a jerky slicer or buy one, this helps a lot. Home smoked jerky is the bomb! No need to dry it into shoe-leather either. Does need freezing if you don't dry it out though.
Seasonings I use on a red meat rub are garlic powder or garlic, onion powder, black and white pepper, sage, celery powder, ground coriander, cardamom, ground mustard, ground cumin, whole fennel, thyme, and rosemary. Or just buy a pre-made rub. Spices are tricky, use sparingly until you get the hang of it.
Pork ribs are always a hit. I make mine by covering with a pork rub and rolling them up and stuffing in a oven bag. Slow cook for 4 to 12 hours at 160 degrees. I cook mine in a dutch oven on my woodstove, but the smoker will do the same. Take them out of the bag and smoke for an hour, then toss them on a hot BBQ to crisp up and finish off. Sauce, if any goes on at the very end. Better for full ribs as the baby backs don't need that much cooking. Any other ideas, I'd love to hear them too!
Try some beans on there too. Just put em in a disposable foil pan for about 6 hours. 2 large cans of beans,a dash of liquid smoke,a splash of mollasses,a 4th of a cup of Famous Daves Pit Barbecue Sauce,and 1 teaspoonof Bubba's Hot Sauce. Now this was a secret recipe until I posted it here but it is the best Smoked Beans I've ever had !! >>>>.
Not much of a smoker.........well of food
Had a place where the signature dish was a smoked pork chop..we went thru about 150 a day. Ever since then I am all smoked out.
Some good tips here...well except for the liquid smoke...buy a really good, maybe expensive, BBQ/smoking cook book as a reference and then build up your repertoire from there.
Does this mean your Muff will be packed with smoked meat this winter?
Not much of a smoker.........well of food
Had a place where the signature dish was a smoked pork chop..we went thru about 150 a day. Ever since then I am all smoked out.
Some good tips here...well except for the liquid smoke...buy a really good, maybe expensive, BBQ/smoking cook book as a reference and then build up your repertoire from there.
Does this mean your Muff will be packed with smoked meat this winter?
Maybe I'll swing by a book store at the Show. Now, the Muff pot thing, that is an idea.
You get thanks for that
A quick view For your taste buds >>>>.
My favorite is smoked salmon. Take a big filet, skin on, soak in a brine of 1 cup salt, 1 cup brown sugar. Soak for 2 days. Pull out filet, pat dry, let sit on counter for an hour to dry. Push in some whole peppercorns, then put on the smoker. Pile with brown sugar. Smoke for about 2 hours. Best smoked salmon you will have! I get orders for this all the time.
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SKYJMPR
Active member
Another tip, smoke some salt...buy kosher or sea salt (big grains is what you are after), spread in a thin layer on a piece of foil on the smoker. Smoke for about an hour, or until it is dark enough for you, shaking/stirring every half hour or so. Using the salt on other dishes will add a definite smoke flavor.
A quick view For your taste buds >>>>.
looks like a Traeger...havent done ribs yet...but makin 45lbs of jerky next week....guess what's in my backpack this year?
Didn't you have some in your pack last year that you made?
that was batch #4, not my best. Final proto-type is more refined and user friendly.
that was batch #4, not my best. Final proto-type is more refined and user friendly.
It was good though. Have you made a spicy version yet?
#### Yep you caught me !! Another thing to put on the Smoker is Cheese !! Put a brick of Pepper Jack and a brick of Swiss on Sunday and the family just about has it gobbled up already !!! >>>>.
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