New Smoker - what to smoke????

Here's the Maverick ET-73 as it comes out of the box.

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I used a guitar stand to hang the transmitter. Lousy picture as you can only see the outline.

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Then I take the receiver with me to the kitchen where I can do other chores without having to walk outside to monitor the temperatures.

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I need to look into getting that model for mine. The one I got is only a single probe which also works great in my oven though the new range has a meat probes built right in. The one you have would also work well on my grill which the thermometer on it is only good for getting it up to heat and not much more. I've been using the instant read type on the grill and the oven type on the smoker till I got the Maverick ET-72 which I really love. I will look over at B, B & B to see if the ET-73 as I do want to get another one. I just hope you can use a couple together and their signals don't cross them up.
 
I can use one of my mand-held manual thermometers to check the temps while cooking the meat. Want to make this process as painless as possible.
 
Looking at your picture of your setup do you have the chips on the bottom with the water bowl on top? If not that is the way they go in all of these regardless of who makes them. Wood near flame, liquid above.
 
I just saw Emeril do something I just know has got to be wrong. He is doing a smoked brisket using his Emerilware stove top smoker. He cooked the brisket first in the oven with a gravy. He then took the cooked brisket into the smoker while he reduced his sauce down.

According to every thing I've read on using a smoker meat will only absorb smoke up to a point based its internal temp which varies with types of meats. Hence smokers are designed to cook at low temps and slow allowing the meat to absorb the smoke before reaching that point which is below being rare. Smoking cooked meats seems strange based on what I've read, but I could be wrong on this.
 
There is so much conflicting info on smoking meat it's kind of funny. In fact, most "true" BBQ gurus will tell you that stale smoke is a very bad thing, yet you see the Iron Chefs and Emeril using the stove top and oven smokers with no ventilation.
 
Yes and I've used a smoke top smoker in my oven as well with no problem. You only start the wood for the most part on top of the stove (15 to 20 minutes) then it goes in the oven to cook which would heat the whole thing. They all also recommend soaking your wood before using it as well which we covered here once before. As said then it will depend on how far the smoke travels and cool and gives the creosote taste you often mention. Cold smoking doesn't form that taste either which is really cool smoking and doable with an oven top smoker. Here is a site with tips on smoking on a stove top or oven by Cameron.

http://www.cameronscookware.com/Tips.aspx
 
Yep to each his own, try different things and if you like the results great, if not change your method. The journey is 1/2 the fun.
 
Sherman said:
I can use one of my mand-held manual thermometers to check the temps while cooking the meat. Want to make this process as painless as possible.
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I remember JoeC saying something similar way back when in one of these threads... and it looks like he's a convert now. :thumb:
Using a remote thermometer is a great convenience and allows you to monitor temps from afar and without opening the smoker up, losing heat. Or use it on your grill or in your oven... these things rock. And that my friend makes using them painless.

My Maverick transmitter came with a wire hanger, Buzz. I can't see your pics to see what you're talking about...
 
chowhound said:
I remember JoeC saying something similar way back when in one of these threads... and it looks like he's a convert now. :thumb:
Using a remote thermometer is a great convenience and allows you to monitor temps from afar and without opening the smoker up, losing heat. Or use it on your grill or in your oven... these things rock. And that my friend makes using them painless.

My Maverick transmitter came with a wire hanger, Buzz. I can't see your pics to see what you're talking about...
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I didn't buy one till my oven thermometer went out of whack. The Maverick was actually cheaper than the oven thermometer it replaced. I always new how good they are but had never seen them as inexpensive as the Maverick's are.

Warren has a bunch of them that 1 cost more than 5 maverick's would, which is a little out of my price range. He has them connected to everything including his computer so he tracks them all at the same time via a lap top. But then Warren is nuts when it comes to his cooking, baking and equipment. Though all I can say is the food is fantastic he puts out. :smile:
 
Nice looking smoker Bizz. If you need some wood for smoking, let me know. I have some cherry chunks and jointer chips that I will be happy to send your way free, if you will pay for the postage.
 
I've been looking for peach wood now for about 6 months. I have bags of every one except the peach which I like mixing with apple for smoking turkeys.
 
joec said:
Looking at your picture of your setup do you have the chips on the bottom with the water bowl on top? If not that is the way they go in all of these regardless of who makes them. Wood near flame, liquid above.
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Ummm, yeah. If it wasn't set up that way you'd never get the wood near hot enough to smoke..

chowhound said:
My Maverick transmitter came with a wire hanger, Buzz. I can't see your pics to see what you're talking about...
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Nope, don't have a wire hanger. If you look at the bottom of the first picture you can sort of make out the doohickey that keeps the smoker probe off the grates. It's spring loaded with two holes to hold the probe and you stick it in between two grates and it snaps into place. The wires themselves are quite durable but the probes need protection from any kind of direct contact with anything other than air or meat.

The BoardSMITH said:
Nice looking smoker Bizz. If you need some wood for smoking, let me know. I have some cherry chunks and jointer chips that I will be happy to send your way free, if you will pay for the postage.
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David, what a generous offer. I'll take you up on it. PM on the way. Thanks.
 
Ok I do assume then you have a liquid in it also. Mine cleans real easy or I put a drip pan on a shelf below it. I do use tin foil in my wood chip box though as that can be a pain to clean out once it has cooled.
 
buzzard767 said:
Nope, don't have a wire hanger. If you look at the bottom of the first picture you can sort of make out the doohickey that keeps the smoker probe off the grates. It's spring loaded with two holes to hold the probe and you stick it in between two grates and it snaps into place. The wires themselves are quite durable but the probes need protection from any kind of direct contact with anything other than air or meat.
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I can see the wire hanger on your transmitter in the first pic. That's what I was talking about. I either hang that off a handle or on the lip of my wind shroud.
I also see what you meant by guitar stand now. Not playing guitar, it didn't click when I couldn't view the pics.

ooo, are we going to have the water; yes or no discussion? lol
 
I use chips, since that is what is readily available. And because my pit uses charcoal I wrap the chips in foil or else they would ignite and burn away too fast resting on the coals.
I can't comment on the use of foil pouches in a propane smoker.
 
chowhound said:
ooo, are we going to have the water; yes or no discussion? lol
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I think nearly everyone uses water or some other liquid. If you want a discussion, what do you guys think about this quote from another forum?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peavley
Hello everyone,
This site yall have here is great! I am a new member and I have a few questions for my pulled pork this weekend.
1. Do I put it in an aluminum pan during the smoke, or just when I wrap it with foil and put in cooler?
2. When I wrap it with foil, do I wrap it tight, or do I leave room between the meat and foil, just secure it air tight to keep moisture in?
3. If I am using Hickory chunks (from Wal-Mart) am I supposed to soak them first? How many bags of chunks will I need for a 6.5 lb bone in butt?

Thank yall very much for all of the knowledge and advice. I am looking forward to really getting in to this smoking stuff.

Thanks,
Steve
1. Wrap it in foil at about 165 internal temp and keep on smoking until it hits 195-200. Remove from the smoker, rewrap in freshfoil, wrap a towel around it, and let it rest in dry (ice free) empty cooler for at least an hour.
2. Tight
3. I don't soak, some do......take your pick. Less than one back will get you through assuming you are just using the wood for smoke and not for the heat.
 
buzzard767 said:
I think nearly everyone uses water or some other liquid. If you want a discussion, what do you guys thing about this quote from another forum?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Peavley
Hello everyone,
This site yall have here is great! I am a new member and I have a few questions for my pulled pork this weekend.
1. Do I put it in an aluminum pan during the smoke, or just when I wrap it with foil and put in cooler?
2. When I wrap it with foil, do I wrap it tight, or do I leave room between the meat and foil, just secure it air tight to keep moisture in?
3. If I am using Hickory chunks (from Wal-Mart) am I supposed to soak them first? How many bags of chunks will I need for a 6.5 lb bone in butt?

Thank yall very much for all of the knowledge and advice. I am looking forward to really getting in to this smoking stuff.

Thanks,
Steve
1. Wrap it in foil at about 165 internal temp and keep on smoking until it hits 195-200. Remove from the smoker, rewrap in freshfoil, wrap a towel around it, and let it rest in dry (ice free) empty cooler for at least an hour.
2. Tight
3. I don't soak, some do......take your pick. Less than one back will get you through assuming you are just using the wood for smoke and not for the heat.
Click to expand...

Yep, looks like questions followed by answers to me. :lol:
 
RobsanX said:
So did I. I can't prove it, but I think there is a column of hot air that rises from the chip pan, through the center of the smoker, and out the vent. The built in thermometer is attached to the door, so it stays cooler. You should be fine with your probe thermometer. Let us know if there is a significant difference.
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The build in thermometer indicates 240 when the Maverick is 220. Could be calibration, could be location. The Mav is at the rear right of the meat.
 
I'll discuss the water situation, chow. Among other things.

- I use sand in the water pan, and cover the whole thing with HD foil. Sand acts as a better heat sink than water does, and since water does nothing to increase the moisture in the meat, sand is a lot easier to deal with. Stripping off the foil after the cook is the easiest clean-up there is.

- Meat will absorb smoke for as long as it's in the smoky environment. What IS limited, however is the smoke ring - it won't develop any further after about 140 degrees. Lots of confusion about this over the years.

- I used to soak my wood chunks until I read not to, since the wood has to dry out before smokes, so why bother. I use chunks mostly, which do not flare up the way chips might, but a BBQ champion friend of mine layers chips and charcoal all the way up his charcoal ring, to keep a consistent smoke going throughout his cook.

- Um, what else? Oh, I use thermometers for almost everything I smoke (not ribs).

Lee
 
You don't think the water works, now that is interesting. It seems to evaporate in mine in about 4 hours of smoking.

As for soaking ones chips as the response posted by Buzz it really depends on what the heat source is. If the wood is your source of heat then no I wouldn't soak it. In my case as with these smokers the heat is the propane with wood their for the wood flavor only. Damp wood burns slower and produces more smoke plain and simple. Once the gas is set on these things they are pretty steady unlike charcoal which will lose temp over time. Also the wood chips soaked produce smoke for a good 2 to 3 hours while dry wood burn up in about an hour which means I need to open the smoker up more often to add wood which can also be painful.

Last but not least is I don't use chunks in mine as the one time I did they ignited raising the temp up to almost 350 deg in the blink of an eye and burned completely up in about 15 minutes.

I also never bother to take the temp on ribs as I can pretty well look at them and see if they are done. They have a pretty accurate built in thermometer in the meat will move up the bone at the ends.
 
buzzard767 said:
The build in thermometer indicates 240 when the Maverick is 220. Could be calibration, could be location. The Mav is at the rear right of the meat.
Click to expand...

Now you see what I mean. Interesting that the built in is higher, mine is always lower. Looking closer at the pics though, your smoker has a little different configuration than mine.

As an engineer, I love accuracy and precision, but I've just learned to cope with idiosyncrasies of my smoker, and my wife! :yum:
 
RobsanX said:
Now you see what I mean. Interesting that the built in is higher, mine is always lower. Looking closer at the pics though, your smoker has a little different configuration than mine.

As an engineer, I love accuracy and precision, but I've just learned to cope with idiosyncrasies of my smoker, and my wife! :yum:
Click to expand...

Ah that explains a lot there, engineer.

I worked at a Dupont plant in Texas for a couple of years. We got a job order for a 100' of flashing for a roof. The engineer specs. for the metal was in millimeters while metal comes in gages in the US. Well the mm fell dead between 24 and 22 gage metal so we went with the 22 gage, just a bit heavier. He turned the job down on first inspection due to us not using 23 gage which doesn't exist in the US markets. It set without flashing for a year until they finally changed engineers and we put back what we had once put up and was forced to take down. I just love the way engineers think. :mrgreen:
 
I'm not messing around on my next smoker it will be one from these people, though maybe not this particular model it will be one of the Digital types.
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Bradley-Digital-4-Rack-Smoker/dp/B000FJZ150/ref=pd_sbs_ol_13[/ame]
 
Looks like it turned out good Buzz, so how did it taste? You are correct in that assessment about that smoker I posted. Once this one is done that or one like it will replace it.
 
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