Who's smoking meat this weekend?

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_BullDog_ said:
Why choose? Have a Weber grill and a Weber smoker so that covers most of my cooking needs.
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I have a 36 in griddle, webber gas, electric smoker, kingsford charcoal, and new pizza oven on the way. It's getting a little tight to add another charcoal smoker! It's like a used home depot sale. But yeah I agree wholeheartedly with specific tools. I know that wsm is nice too. In this case if the Weber performer could kill two birds with one stone would be nice. I will probably seek kamado some day anyways so only curious.
 
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applescrap said:
I have a 36 in griddle, webber gas, electric smoker, kingsford charcoal, and new pizza oven on the way. It's getting a little tight to add another charcoal smoker! It's like a used home depot sale. But yeah I agree wholeheartedly with specific tools. I know that wsm is nice too. In this case if the Weber performer could kill two birds with one stone would be nice. I will probably seek kamado some day anyways so only curious.
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As I've said before, my plan when I bought my current grill [Kamado Joe Big Joe, later added a Joe Jr] was that I wanted "one grill to rule them all". My old gasser was on its last legs, so it was going bye-bye. And I had a propane smoker, but I figured if I got the right grill, I could just sell that [and I did].

The key to a kamado is that it does everything well. It grills well indirect and direct. It smokes well. It becomes an oven and can do just fine at baking and as a pizza oven. It sears well.

It has drawbacks. I don't think it smokes as well as an offset. It's much harder to set up indirect/direct "two-zone" cooking unless you have a larger grill. Grate real estate isn't the best. And obviously it doesn't change temp easily--200# of ceramic holds heat and doesn't like to change. And it's a lot more work using charcoal than a gasser. Oh, and it's not cheap!

But if you want *one* grill that does everything, a kamado is great. If you've got a bunch of specific tools already, a kamado may end up being superfluous.
 
HoppyDaze said:
Knives! This is a great place to dip your toe in the world if good steel. My next knife:

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kobl2nagy24.html

Learn to use a whetstone instead of sharpening steel and you can make anything sharp as hell
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NGD said:
Please don’t post links like that again, I only have so much money and very little self control. [emoji106]
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What he said! I'm not too happy that you posted the link, but I'm sure my mood will change when my knifes get here. ;)
 
I really don't understand this anti-steel attitude. Stones are made to sharpen dull knives, steels are made to keep them sharp.
 
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another weekend, another pork butt

3C56C5F7-5A46-4D18-A915-6973DA226D2A 2.jpg
 
newb smoker here.
have an electric smoker I got from work.
last week I smoked chicken tenders with chili-lime rub. too long. oops.
turns out tenders were too thin for my temp gauge to register properly.

this week it's whole chicken breasts with whole potato's and some veggies.
 
NitrogenWidget said:
newb smoker here.
have an electric smoker I got from work.
last week I smoked chicken tenders with chili-lime rub. too long. oops.
turns out tenders were too thin for my temp gauge to register properly.

this week it's whole chicken breasts with whole potato's and some veggies.
Click to expand...
Good luck! I pull poultry at 165. Smoked whole turkeys and they come out awesome.
 
PianoMan said:
Good luck! I pull poultry at 165. Smoked whole turkeys and they come out awesome.
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I smoked for 2hrs and chicken breast still wasn't 100% done.
Same with the baked potatoes.
it felt like if I left it longer bad things would happen.
every recipe I read said chicken should be a fast smoke and not an all day slow smoke.
I threw it on the grill.

I think today i'll try again on my own schedule without hungry kids wigging out and let it go for longer.

but, I have a feeling my electric smoker just can't do thick pieces of meat.
I know wings and tenders are good though on it.
 
S-Met said:
Chicken 155
Turkey (domestic)155
Turkey wild shot 160-165 as more dark meat.

Anything more is a dry bird. Don't fear the pink and moist.
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my gift from work has a low,med,high.
temp guage warm, ideal, and hot. lol.
it barely gets to hot and smoke comes out the sides of the lid.
I know it's cheap, but it was free and probably going to end up as a gateway smoker for me since I think i'm hooked now.

this is what I have.
[img[https://content.haycdn.com/mgen/master:MEC130.jpg?is=400,400,0xffffff[/img]
 
NitrogenWidget said:
I have a feeling my electric smoker just can't do thick pieces of meat.
I know wings and tenders are good though on it.
Click to expand...

I've done a whole turkey in my electric Masterbuilt and it came out awesome. A local grocery store sells a 10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters for just $2.99 at least once a month. I'll dry brine them then throw it all in the smoker the next day and they are done in a couple of hours. A few get served for dinner that night and the rest get stripped of meat, vacuum sealed, and frozen. It's a great meat to have on hand for fast weekday dinners (chicken tacos, enchiladas, soup, etc.).
 
bleme said:
I've done a whole turkey in my electric Masterbuilt and it came out awesome. A local grocery store sells a 10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters for just $2.99 at least once a month. I'll dry brine them then throw it all in the smoker the next day and they are done in a couple of hours. A few get served for dinner that night and the rest get stripped of meat, vacuum sealed, and frozen. It's a great meat to have on hand for fast weekday dinners (chicken tacos, enchiladas, soup, etc.).
Click to expand...

I smoked some chicken again last night.
I lowered the temp a little and increased the time and put the thinner pieces on the top rack.
Also cut the giants breasts in half to make them thinner.

Eating the chicken now for lunch and it's amazing.

I think I was just too impatient.
 
NitrogenWidget said:
I smoked some chicken again last night.
I lowered the temp a little and increased the time and put the thinner pieces on the top rack.
Also cut the giants breasts in half to make them thinner.

Eating the chicken now for lunch and it's amazing.

I think I was just too impatient.
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Always a learning curve. In my estimation no one born a pro at it.
I have been very fortunate, some items not as tasty or presentable as others, but all have been edible. Never had to throw any food away
 
Buck*49 said:
Always a learning curve. In my estimation no one born a pro at it.
I have been very fortunate, some items not as tasty or presentable as others, but all have been edible. Never had to throw any food away
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That's probably what I like best about the smoker. On occasion I have gotten distracted while cooking and burnt whatever was on the stove/grill/oven, but that never happens with the smoker. That takes a lot of the stress away!
 
Here are some pork belly burnt ends and ribs I smoked and took to my friend in Fargo this past weekend.

IMG_5568.jpg
IMG_5171.jpg




My friend is the Tour Manager for Beb Seger and he put us in front of first row. We were between the metal crowd fence and the stage. Fantastic seat. This guy can still "bring it" at 74!!
IMG_1320.jpg
IMG_1334.jpg
 
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bleme said:
I've done a whole turkey in my electric Masterbuilt and it came out awesome. A local grocery store sells a 10 pound bag of chicken leg quarters for just $2.99 at least once a month. I'll dry brine them then throw it all in the smoker the next day and they are done in a couple of hours. A few get served for dinner that night and the rest get stripped of meat, vacuum sealed, and frozen. It's a great meat to have on hand for fast weekday dinners (chicken tacos, enchiladas, soup, etc.).
Click to expand...
Here's a 22# turkey I smoked at Thanksgiving. It turned out fantastic. We also did one in our oven. No comparison on being juicy. This one on the smoker won hands down.
IMG_5335.jpg
 
orono said:
Here's a 22# turkey I smoked at Thanksgiving. It turned out fantastic. We also did one in our oven. No comparison on being juicy. This one on the smoker won hands down.
View attachment 644562
Click to expand...

Brine it and stuff it with apples and citrus and it will be so damn juicy..really almost impossible to overcook on the smoker...mmmm
 
NitrogenWidget said:
my gift from work has a low,med,high.
temp guage warm, ideal, and hot. lol.
it barely gets to hot and smoke comes out the sides of the lid.
I know it's cheap, but it was free and probably going to end up as a gateway smoker for me since I think i'm hooked now.

this is what I have.
[img[https://content.haycdn.com/mgen/master:MEC130.jpg?is=400,400,0xffffff[/img]
Click to expand...

I have an old Coleman electric smoker that a neighbor gave me. Said he never had any luck with it. I have played with it, never smoked anything on it. Issue I see is that element doesn’t seem to get hot enough to get chips to provide “blue” smoke. Internal temp maxes out about 240 degrees. I added some Weber Grill type air vents to top and bottom, added gasket to body to firebox interface, lid to body interface. All helped but still not certain it will smoke properly. Considering converting to charcoal?

837129E7-9715-4222-8BF5-EC8126FD2B53.jpeg
 
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Buck*49 said:
I have an old Coleman electric smoker that a neighbor gave me. Said he never had any luck with it. I have played with it, never smoked anything on it. Issue I see is that element doesn’t seem to get hot enough to get chips to provide “blue” smoke. Internal temp maxes out about 240 degrees. I added some Weber Grill type air vents to top and bottom, added gasket to body to firebox interface, lid to body interface. All helped but still not certain it will smoke properly. Considering converting to charcoal?
Click to expand...

240F should be good for most smokes, but if you are having trouble with getting proper smoke try this out:

https://amazenproducts.com/smokers/amazen-pellet-smoker5x8

I have one and it is great. Fully loaded, that will provide smoke for 12ish hours. It is also great for cold smoking - pop that in the smoker without any heat and you can do things like smoked cheese.
 
Buck*49 said:
I have an old Coleman electric smoker that a neighbor gave me. Said he never had any luck with it. I have played with it, never smoked anything on it. Issue I see is that element doesn’t seem to get hot enough to get chips to provide “blue” smoke. Internal temp maxes out about 240 degrees. I added some Weber Grill type air vents to top and bottom, added gasket to body to firebox interface, lid to body interface. All helped but still not certain it will smoke properly. Considering converting to charcoal?

View attachment 644793
Click to expand...

At least you have a thermometer that is useful.
what did you gasket the lid with?
I got smoke pouring out of my lid.

I think I will do as I said and turn down the heat to medium and put chunks on the element and let it go all day for chicken this weekend.
 
NitrogenWidget said:
At least you have a thermometer that is useful.
what did you gasket the lid with?
I got smoke pouring out of my lid.

I think I will do as I said and turn down the heat to medium and put chunks on the element and let it go all day for chicken this weekend.
Click to expand...
Ymmv, but for me personally that wouldnt be a problem, iiac you want the smoke going up through the food and exiting. I have never shut my vents and leave them full open, except maybe when it's cold and I am just finishing off something large. There is some debate around this, but I think smoke coming out of lid is ok.
 
Buck*49 said:
I have an old Coleman electric smoker that a neighbor gave me. Said he never had any luck with it. I have played with it, never smoked anything on it. Issue I see is that element doesn’t seem to get hot enough to get chips to provide “blue” smoke. Internal temp maxes out about 240 degrees. I added some Weber Grill type air vents to top and bottom, added gasket to body to firebox interface, lid to body interface. All helped but still not certain it will smoke properly. Considering converting to charcoal?

View attachment 644793
Click to expand...
Share a pic of how it works. The wood tray and or elements might just need bent a little towards one another. That amazenpellet smoker might be a perfect fix though anyways. Cook at 240 and add the pellet box.
 
OG-wan Kenobi said:
Where are you putting that in your smoker?
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The bottom rack of a cabinet style smoker, meat (or whatever else) above on the upper racks. I use the pellet tray if I am doing a really long smoke, because my electric cabinet will fill up with wood chip ash before something like a brisket is done. It is also great to supplement the smoke generated by the cabinet itself. I have the 40" Masterbuilt electric - found it on Craigslist for a steal.

Edit: Looks to be the same one as @JCasey1992
 
Sorry if this offends anyone, but what is the cheapest cut to buy to make pulled pork? My strange fiance only eats chicken & turkey, but I want to smoke this weekend and make pulled pork sandwiches for one. I know I can vacuum seal and freeze, but the smaller the better. Any recommendations?
 

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