Basic smokers for Us Noobs?

D

Derek

Banned
If we're going to smoke light, Would this smoker work for us?

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-810-5290-4-SmokeN-Electric-Smoker/dp/B000HVGDHQ/ref=pd_bbs_7?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1240974317&sr=8-7[/ame]

And if it does, does anyone have it.
 
Derek said:
If we're going to smoke light, Would this smoker work for us?

http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-810...7?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1240974317&sr=8-7

And if it does, does anyone have it.
Click to expand...

define smoke light?

that smoker is a good starter smoker. you can buy it at lowes or home depot for cheaper...

imho i would go to walmart and buy one of these ones..its easy to use and can be used in the cold michigan climate.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3342508&findingMethod=rr
 
BamsBBQ said:
define smoke light?

that smoker is a good starter smoker. you can buy it at lowes or home depot for cheaper...

imho i would go to walmart and buy one of these ones..its easy to use and can be used in the cold michigan climate.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3342508&findingMethod=rr
Click to expand...
That's funny Jeff, That's the one they're selling on some home shopping club for $299.99 before taxes.

As far as "light" smoking like I mean we wouldn't be filling up the whole smoker and probably smoking 1 or 2 things at a time.
 
Last edited:
Derek said:
That's funny Jeff, That's the one they're selling on some home shopping club for $299.99 before taxes.

As far as smoking like I mean we wouldn't be filling up the whole smoker and probably smoking 1 or 2 things at a time.
Click to expand...

then the one i posted is good for you... google that smoker, you will get many ideas on how and what to cook.
 
Of course, I would still want to be smoking large quantities of meat, even if I became single w/o kids. Use the leftovers! Smoked chicken = Smoked Chicken Tortilla Soup, or quesadillas, or enchiladas, etc. Smoked Pork = Smoked Pork Posole, or quesadillas, or enchiladas, etc. I rarely do beef, but you can make chili with leftover brisket (you might want to leave it a little underdone, so you can simmer it for awhile without it falling completely apart), or the quesadillas, enchiladas, etc. Just get some gallon freezer ziplocks and pack the stuff away and freeze. Be sure to enclose the juices/fat that come with the meat, so keep it moist when you reheat.
 
My smoker is about like the one WalMart sells that Jeff posted. I paid $88 for it on sale at Miejer's a few years ago and still going strong with it. It will do a little or a lot and I've done everything from a single salmon fillet to a couple of 12 lb turkeys in mine. I even smoke my red jalapeños in it turning them into Chipotle peppers.
 
BamsBBQ said:
define smoke light?

that smoker is a good starter smoker. you can buy it at lowes or home depot for cheaper...

imho i would go to walmart and buy one of these ones..its easy to use and can be used in the cold michigan climate.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3342508&findingMethod=rr
Click to expand...

So I did fatties on my offset last weekend after making the mods which now include - Charcoal basket that keeps the coals elevated so no ash build up around the coals, a baffle that forces the smoke down, metal trays along the bottom of the cooking chamber to evenly distribute the smoke, and a chimney extender that drops the bottom of the chimney to about the level of the grill grate.

All that being said, on a very windy night in St. Louis I had a very hard time getting the temp to 200. I had to add a pile of coals to the cooking chamber. And I had to jack with it for the 2+ hours I smoked those fatties and the beans. I'm getting sick of that.

So I'm thinking of going with one of these smokers and relegating my offset to just a big grill to do indirect cooking.

My question is, how does it hold up to weather? I don't want to have to haul it into the garage every time I use it....
 
Mine has sat out on my back porch now for 5 years and I keep it covered with the typical grill cover when not in use. No problems as of yet and it has had a lot of snow on my back porch during the winter months and rain now.
 
joec said:
Mine has sat out on my back porch now for 5 years and I keep it covered with the typical grill cover when not in use. No problems as of yet and it has had a lot of snow on my back porch during the winter months and rain now.
Click to expand...

I'm seriously considering this...

Bam, does it need any mods?
 
I use mine just as I got it. The only thing you want to do when you first get it is put some water in the bowl, fill the wood box turn on the gas and get it smoking till it stops about 2 hours. Now the inside is seasoned and it is ready too cook with.
 
joec said:
I use mine just as I got it. The only thing you want to do when you first get it is put some water in the bowl, fill the wood box turn on the gas and get it smoking till it stops about 2 hours. Now the inside is seasoned and it is ready too cook with.
Click to expand...

That is a given. Burn off any industrial residue from the manufacturing process....
 
The problem with converting mine is it just loses heat in any kind of wind. Whether the heat is gas or charcoal I am going to lose heat. The fire in the firebox was as hot as it has ever been with that raised grill basket but with winds gusting at 25 mph my heat was just gone
 
did you put any kind of seal in between the firebox and the cooker itself?

if you are losing heat, if it were my smoker, i would grab a bunch of tinfoil, crumple it up and make a gasket of sorts for the cooking chamber door. heat loss gone,maybe?... also i know it sounds simple but was your firebox intake facing the wind?.. too much air coming into the firebox no matter what kind of smoker it is, usually ends up with great heat loss and not being able to maintain temps.

just shooting you idea off the top of my head..hope they help

allen has the same smoker as you, maybe he can chime in when he shows up here
 
Hey guys, some one said that brine is advanced stuff?

Can I put pork in for 18-20 hours? and then lather the bbq sauce on the stuff when it comes out?

And what wood combo would work for a smokey but sweet taste?


Thanks

Derek.
 
Derek said:
Hey guys, some one said that brine is advanced stuff?

Can I put pork in for 18-20 hours? and then lather the bbq sauce on the stuff when it comes out?

And what wood combo would work for a smokey but sweet taste?


Thanks

Derek.
Click to expand...

I never brine except some fish but not on meats as I prefer rubs applied the day before.

If I'm doing a pork should for pulled pork it takes me about 10 hours depending on the size. Brisket of beef is the only cut I would leave on longer as it tends to be a much tougher cut that pork.

Hickory, Cherry wood, Apple, alder, cedar etc tend to give a sweet smoke taste while Mesquite is stronger and more bitter tasting to me for example. Here is a site that might help with wood selections for a given type of meat including some blends. http://www.askthemeatman.com/woods_to_use_for_smoking_art_updated_9300.htm
 
i dont brine pork unless i am going to make canadian bacon or ham.. others do but i have no experience doing it that way.
 
Joe, Thanks man I will be looking at the site right after I do my chips.

Thanks Bam, I'll probably do rubs my self as well.

And as soon as I can, I will gather the folks so they can pick out a smoker at Lowels, Menard, Since I will be going over there to smoke.

The smoker will be too big for the apartment, and wouldn't be allowed to be used here.
 
Derek said:
Can I put pork in for 18-20 hours? and then lather the bbq sauce on the stuff when it comes out?
Click to expand...

Do you mean when it comes out of the brine? I wouldn't slather it till it had cooked a while. But you can most definitely brine pork and then sauce. The last time I brined pork I brined it for 12 hours, took it out, patted it dry, applied a rub and left it in the fridge for another 6 hours before cooking. Brining is great.

What kind of pork cut are you talking about?

Derek said:
And what wood combo would work for a smokey but sweet taste?
Click to expand...

Sweet maple, Apple, Cherry. Lots of options here.
 
GrillinFool said:
Do you mean when it comes out of the brine? I wouldn't slather it till it had cooked a while. But you can most definitely brine pork and then sauce. The last time I brined pork I brined it for 12 hours, took it out, patted it dry, applied a rub and left it in the fridge for another 6 hours before cooking. Brining is great.

What kind of pork cut are you talking about?



Sweet maple, Apple, Cherry. Lots of options here.
Click to expand...
Until we know what we're doing when we smoke stuff, We're going to start out with the basics, Pork roast, dogs, ribs, so on.


And when have a summer of smoking under our belts, I like to move on to center cuts for bacon and so on.
 
BamsBBQ said:
did you put any kind of seal in between the firebox and the cooker itself?
Click to expand...

The firebox is bolted to the cooking chamber by something like 8 bolts. But there is no specific seal per se

BamsBBQ said:
if you are losing heat, if it were my smoker, i would grab a bunch of tinfoil, crumple it up and make a gasket of sorts for the cooking chamber door. heat loss gone,maybe?... also i know it sounds simple but was your firebox intake facing the wind?.. too much air coming into the firebox no matter what kind of smoker it is, usually ends up with great heat loss and not being able to maintain temps.
Click to expand...

This may be the problem. The week before we grilled brats on the front porch in the rain. Since I stained my deck the day I did the fatties I just left it out front so no one would track deck stain into my house. The grill was perpendicular to my house. The side with the firebox was facing straight out into the wind. I didn't think about it till you said that.

BamsBBQ said:
just shooting you idea off the top of my head..hope they help
Click to expand...

I think you may have done just that. Thanks Bam
 
Derek said:
Until we know what we're doing when we smoke stuff, We're going to start out with the basics, Pork roast, dogs, ribs, so on.


And when have a summer of smoking under our belts, I like to move on to center cuts for bacon and so on.
Click to expand...

If you are doing a pork roast on the grill, but all means brine away...
 
I would one day like to get a dedicated charcoal smoker like the WSM. But in the meantime I'm thinking of making my own trash can smoker using an electric hotplate. Lots of folks have great success with their homemade trashcan smokers.
 
FooD said:
I would one day like to get a dedicated charcoal smoker like the WSM. But in the meantime I'm thinking of making my own trash can smoker using an electric hotplate. Lots of folks have great success with their homemade trashcan smokers.
Click to expand...

it is not recommended that you use anything containing galvanized products... there are lots of people on the internet who have shown they can use them, its just not worth the risk to make one.

why dont you make a UDS(ugly drum smoker), works better than a WSM, is as cheap to build as a trashcan smoker, and is more fuel effecient than any smoker than i have ever cooked on.

this is just one persons way to make one.. i am building one as well, in a thread here

http://www.cbbqa.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ugly_Drum_Smoker
 
FooD said:
I would one day like to get a dedicated charcoal smoker like the WSM. But in the meantime I'm thinking of making my own trash can smoker using an electric hotplate. Lots of folks have great success with their homemade trashcan smokers.
Click to expand...

For $69.97 at Home Depot you can get this one...

Brinkman.jpg


1500 Watts, water pan and two grates. For this cheap you can assemble it in 40 minutes, put the food on then go fishing and don't worry about it. I don't think you can build one this cheap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top