Newbie smoker questions

[Alabama Tom]

Hello, first time visiting this site and looking for any help; I have just bought my first smoker and would appreciate any advice or info on cooking or just experimenting with my new cooker. thanks

[texasgirl]

Welcome to DC, Tom. What kinds of meats do you like? I love smoked brisket. There are quite a few guys here that can tell you how to smoke pork too. I love smoked meats, they're the best tasting, imo.

[pdswife]

Welcome to our world!

[Alabama Tom]

Thanks for the welcome, hopefully I'll be using my new cooker alot and fixing plenty of ribs and chicken and maybe even some seafood.

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by Alabama Tom

... I have just bought my first smoker and would appreciate any advice or info on cooking or just experimenting with my new cooker.

If you could tell us what make/model cooker you got you'll get a lot more information that is specific to what you are using. There are a LOT of smokers out there - and they all behave a little differently even when they are very similar.

[Andy M.]

Welcome aboard!

[Raquel]

Hi Tom,

I'm new too. What kind of smoker do you have? We bought our Texas-style BBQ 3 years ago, and absolutely love it. I've cooked everything from whole chicken to brisket to pork shoulder. Let us know a little more of what you have and what you like.

[240brickman]

Aloha `auinala, Tom!

Welcome to the Board, AND to the wonderful world of sssmokin'!

I don't know what kind of smoker you've purchased, but I'd recommend the "lump" variety of smoking wood, as opposed to the "chips". The lump wood burns longer, and you don't need to refuel your firebox as often (whether your rig is gas- or charcoal-powered).

{I do use the chipped wood, on occasion, but it's mainly for "quick-smoking" things on my regular gas grill}

As for "what to smoke"...depends on what you like. Anything from vegetables, to fruits, to larger roasts, to seafood, to poultry...etc etc etc. It's not really hard to do, but it does require a little bit of knowledge, some persistence, and LOTS of patience. Chances are, your first-ever attempt at smoking will produce results that are (at the very least) tasty and enjoyable. With practice, you'll be cranking out stuff that your neighbors will line up for! And believe me: the neighborhood will know when you're cooking on your smoker. Some kind of telepathy, I think.

These guys have some excellent information that's sure to help you out:

http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/toc.html

Aside from the recipes, they've got TONS of technical expertise.

Good luck.....let us know how things go (and be specific!)

--J

[dashingdoxie]

I am smoking in a cast iron made smoke with the stack and no firebox, just indirect heat with charcoal and soaked hickory. Doing pork spare ribs and boneless beef ribs. 1st time ever

[MJK]

Tom,

the thing I like to do best in my smoker is salmon. Carp work too but require more attention to detail in the cleaning.

Brine the salmon fillet in two gallons of water with 1 cup kosher salt and 1 cup brown sugar dissolved in it. Brine over night in refrigeration.

Smoke over applewood for about a half a case of beer. Never used a cold smoker though so it may take longer (3/4 to a whole case). Good luck and welcome aboard.

MJK

[vagriller]

Originally Posted by dashingdoxie

I am smoking in a cast iron made smoke with the stack and no firebox, just indirect heat with charcoal and soaked hickory. Doing pork spare ribs and boneless beef ribs. 1st time ever

Is there brand name on the smoker? Do you have any pics of it?

[ella/TO]

My son in law asked me to find if anyone has any T & T recipes for a Big Green Egg smoker.....any and all appreciated...thanks

[dashingdoxie]

l smoked spare ribs and beef ribs and they turned out wonderful. Tomorrow going to smoke a 3 1/2 lb pork butt!!!!!!

[goboenomo]

how long does your smoker take to finish the ribs?

do all smokers use wood chips?
the one at my work uses chips and take 2.5 hours smoking time and then it's held for 30 mins im not sure if holding is any different
i think it means that the heat is off but the smoke is still going and heating the ribs

but i could be wrong

[ronjohn55]

When I cook them on the smoker here at the house they generally take from 4 to 6 hours. Of course, I use an approach that probably isn't practical for a business model - They're done when they're done.
Kind of hard to tell that to a paying customer who's showing up for lunch or dinner.

John

[goboenomo]

Originally Posted by ronjohn55

When I cook them on the smoker here at the house they generally take from 4 to 6 hours. Of course, I use an approach that probably isn't practical for a business model - They're done when they're done.
Kind of hard to tell that to a paying customer who's showing up for lunch or dinner.

John

Yes, that makes sense.
I was just wondering if restaurants used different models that cooked them alot faster by using more heat, or different techniques.

[YT2095]

rather than start another newbie thread on smokers/smoking, if it`s ok with all I`ll post a few of my questions in here too.

1) when you smoke something, can you eat it right away or do you then have to cook it?
2) can you use smoked chilis (not to dryness) in a fermentation to make chili sauce afterwards, like the old Tabasco type fermentation?
3) what do you neighbors say when you run a smoker for upwards of 8 hours?
mine would go Ballistic! :(

the only smoking experience I`ve had is the Hickory chips on a BBQ with a lid and with Salt (that I did indoors in the oven and stunk the whole house out for weeks).

as a Scientist, I realise the potential dangers of excess polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, but non the less I throw caution to the wind and would Also like to make my own Liquid Smoke, anyone ever tried this before?
curiosity is getting the better of me :)

EDIT: and I also did the tinfoil in a wok with rice, tea and brown sugar smoker indoors too (a Disaster!)

[goboenomo]

well
1) You can eat them right away. I know this because the managers at my restaurant taste them when they are done in the smoker, to make sure they are done. And also because the line cooks have taken them straight from the smoker and served them.

I dont know about 2.

3) The smoke mostly stays in the smokers itself. I don't see much coming out of it at all. When you open it, thats when you get alot! Don't keep your face too close... and take off your glasses so you can see.

[Andy M.]

When barbecueing, you have to accomplish several things:

1 Smoking to add that flavor to the meat
2 Cooking the meat to a safe temperature for consumption
3 Cooking the meat beyond safe to "pullable" or "falling off the bone" level.

For ribs. smoking and cooking can happen together. For larger pieces, such as a butt for pulled pork, you need a few hours of smoke and several more hours of cooking to accomplish #s 2 & 3.

[goboenomo]

I'm not sure what my mom does exactly, but she puts the ribs in a big roast pot in the over for a few hours, maybe they are on some type of rack over water or something, im not sure, but when it's done she has my dad put it on the BBQ for a while.