Who's smoking meat this weekend?

[betarhoalphadelta]

Thanks for the reply. I'd like to try something a little different. I like using the chunk charcoal, but I'm not married to it. I don't need to have it available as a regular barbecue because I have a 24in weber for that. I would like to get into cold smoking too but not sure which is most capable of that.

Got it. I think you can go a couple of different ways. And it sounds like one of your concerns is capacity, so that may make a difference too.

I'm assuming you're ruling out an electric or propane cabinet smoker? Sticking to more traditional designs?

So I can think of several options:

• Kamado -- I'm going to say you rule this out because while it's an amazing "do it all" device, it's probably not the top when it comes to a dedicated smoker. Not a criticism; I own two. The Big Joe is my primary smoker and it does everything well, but to smoke you need to keep the fire just barely smouldering, which is not how traditional smoking occurs in offset smokers.
• Pellet Grill -- Also suggesting you rule it out because it's also very multifunction, it's probably not the top option when it comes to a dedicated smoker. Not a criticism; I own one. But I use it more as a weeknight grill, and find the kamado is a better smoker. They still put out excellent food tho.
• Gravity-feed charcoal smoker -- Something like this. I have no direct experience with this, but I think you end up with actual charcoal + smoking wood, it can give you more grate area than a kamado, and it IMHO will more effectively work indirect like an offset, but gives you the set & forget advantage of a pellet grill. There are also more dedicated (and expensive) versions, which are very popular on competition BBQ circuits.
• Offset smoker -- Tons of options here. Idea is that you have a separate firebox from the cooking chamber, and this allows you to run a hotter fire while keeping the cooking chamber at a reasonable temp. With a large enough design and appropriate fire management, this can be a true stick-burner (i.e. entirely fed with wood), or you can primarily use charcoal in the firebox with smoking wood added. This is the opposite of set & forget, of course. This is the one that you have to tend to constantly, but many will argue that it--especially as a true stick-burner--is the most pure BBQ that you can get. There are also offsets with more horizontal single/double rack cooking chambers and others with more vertical multi-rack chambers, so there are a lot of options as far as capacity. Only problem here is that to get something built with heavy steel (and thus better insulated), you're gonna spend.
• Various drum-style smokers -- Obviously you already have experience with WSM, and the UDS, or pit barrel cooker, etc are all the same concept. Cost-wise it is a lot more manageable than kamado or pellet, and may run a little hotter fire since it's less well insulated, but it's very manual and takes a little more tending/watching to make sure you're keeping your temps stable.

What sort of budget are you talking?

 

[shoengine]

Got it. I think you can go a couple of different ways. And it sounds like one of your concerns is capacity, so that may make a difference too.

I'm assuming you're ruling out an electric or propane cabinet smoker? Sticking to more traditional designs?

So I can think of several options:

• Kamado -- I'm going to say you rule this out because while it's an amazing "do it all" device, it's probably not the top when it comes to a dedicated smoker. Not a criticism; I own two. The Big Joe is my primary smoker and it does everything well, but to smoke you need to keep the fire just barely smouldering, which is not how traditional smoking occurs in offset smokers.
• Pellet Grill -- Also suggesting you rule it out because it's also very multifunction, it's probably not the top option when it comes to a dedicated smoker. Not a criticism; I own one. But I use it more as a weeknight grill, and find the kamado is a better smoker. They still put out excellent food tho.
• Gravity-feed charcoal smoker -- Something like this. I have no direct experience with this, but I think you end up with actual charcoal + smoking wood, it can give you more grate area than a kamado, and it IMHO will more effectively work indirect like an offset, but gives you the set & forget advantage of a pellet grill. There are also more dedicated (and expensive) versions, which are very popular on competition BBQ circuits.
• Offset smoker -- Tons of options here. Idea is that you have a separate firebox from the cooking chamber, and this allows you to run a hotter fire while keeping the cooking chamber at a reasonable temp. With a large enough design and appropriate fire management, this can be a true stick-burner (i.e. entirely fed with wood), or you can primarily use charcoal in the firebox with smoking wood added. This is the opposite of set & forget, of course. This is the one that you have to tend to constantly, but many will argue that it--especially as a true stick-burner--is the most pure BBQ that you can get. There are also offsets with more horizontal single/double rack cooking chambers and others with more vertical multi-rack chambers, so there are a lot of options as far as capacity. Only problem here is that to get something built with heavy steel (and thus better insulated), you're gonna spend.
• Various drum-style smokers -- Obviously you already have experience with WSM, and the UDS, or pit barrel cooker, etc are all the same concept. Cost-wise it is a lot more manageable than kamado or pellet, and may run a little hotter fire since it's less well insulated, but it's very manual and takes a little more tending/watching to make sure you're keeping your temps stable.

What sort of budget are you talking?

Thanks for enumerating the styles for me, that helps a lot. I think when it is time to upgrade my 24" weber grill I'll be looking at Kamados. As far as the smokers go, the offset and the gravity feed look like winners. My budget is $1000 so that gives me options.

 

[Mark3885]

My plan is to brine and smoke a 19 lb Turkey for Easter . Going to use my Even Embers Komodo style pellet grill. Going to brine for 12 hours and smoke until thigh temperature is 175F. I’m open to any suggestions or advice as I’ve never done a turkey on a smoker. Thanks

 

[redrocker652002]

Just read the last page of the thread. I have a propane vertical smoker that I like, but am thinking of going with an combo unit BBQ and Smoker. I saw some cool Youtube Vids where they used just an old style Webber kettle and put the chunk wood on top of the charcoal. Then used the other side of the grate to put the meat. Has anybody done that and how easy was it to do? I am not a super hands on kinda guy, but I like to stay involved while I am out drinking some home brew. LOL I was also looking at pellet grills as they are set and forget. But, then I can't justify sitting and doing nothing and drinking. LOL Any input would be great. Thanks in advance. Rock On!!!!!!!!

 

[DBhomebrew]

My plan is to brine and smoke a 19 lb Turkey for Easter . Going to use my Even Embers Komodo style pellet grill. Going to brine for 12 hours and smoke until thigh temperature is 175F. I’m open to any suggestions or advice as I’ve never done a turkey on a smoker. Thanks

I've done my Thanksgiving turkeys in a 24" Weber kettle (with a Smokenator 2000) for the last 12 or so years. I go for 12lb birds, spatchcocked, dry-brined. Heavily herbed butter gets spread under the skin all over. 325° for a couple hours until done.

I used smoke wood the first year. It was delicious, but we make stock and things with the carcass. Absolutely everything tasted of smoke. It was too much. Now I just use lump charcoal, no smoke wood.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Just read the last page of the thread. I have a propane vertical smoker that I like, but am thinking of going with an combo unit BBQ and Smoker. I saw some cool Youtube Vids where they used just an old style Webber kettle and put the chunk wood on top of the charcoal. Then used the other side of the grate to put the meat. Has anybody done that and how easy was it to do? I am not a super hands on kinda guy, but I like to stay involved while I am out drinking some home brew. LOL I was also looking at pellet grills as they are set and forget. But, then I can't justify sitting and doing nothing and drinking. LOL Any input would be great. Thanks in advance. Rock On!!!!!!!!

You can do it, as @DBhomebrew mentions above. There is even a kit for it: Smoker Kits for Weber Kettle and Gas Grills - SMOKENATOR

IMHO, as someone who previously owned a propane vertical cabinet smoker, is that I don't think I'd consider the weber w/ smokenator much of an upgrade. One thing I loved about that setup was the capacity, with multiple shelves, and temp control was a breeze compared to charcoal. The flavor primarily comes from the smoking wood, not the heat source, so I don't think you're giving anything up with propane. Heck, the electric cabinet smokers put out great food in the hands of a competent cook.

Unless you're space-constrained or have another reason you'd have to get rid of the propane smoker if you bought the Weber, I'd personally rather keep the propane for smoking and use the Weber kettle for grilling. You could even easily do this for 2-zone cooking with things like steak or tri tip where (depending on whether you prefer reverse sear or sear first) you use the Weber for searing and the propane smoker like an oven for slow gentle cooking, potentially with smoke added for flavor.

 

[Mark3885]

I have noticed that a pellet smoker gives a nice smoke flavor whereas wood chunks give off a tremendous amount of smoke . We won’t do anything with the carcass so I’m going with my original plan to see how it turns out. Any suggestions for a liquid brine? How much salt ?

 

[DBhomebrew]

As @betarhoalphadelta describes, I've got a vertical propane cabinet smoker standing next to my Weber kettle. I'm currently debating which will cook my 1/2doz beef ribs on Monday.

Liquid brine? I left those in the rearview. I just use dry salt now, so much easier, cleaner, etc. I find the texture of dry salted meat to be preferable to wet brined. You're going to need to dry out the skin before cooking, if crispy skin is important to you.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I have noticed that a pellet smoker gives a nice smoke flavor whereas wood chunks give off a tremendous amount of smoke . We won’t do anything with the carcass so I’m going with my original plan to see how it turns out. Any suggestions for a liquid brine? How much salt ?

You shouldn't be getting tremendous amounts of smoke, especially thick white billowing smoke. The smoke should be so thin and blue that you almost can't even see it. It's all about temp management.

The issue is the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in wood. When smoking wood ignites, you need a fire hot enough to fully combust those VOCs or you get thick white smoke, which contains creosote and tastes terrible.

Pellet smokers operate by having a very small but fairly hot fire. That makes it hot enough to fully combust the VOCs. And then you have heat spreader plates to make the cook indirect, ensuring the temp at the grates isn't too high where you'll burn the hell out of what you're cooking.

Offset stick burners operate by having a large hot fire physically separated from the meat so it can be hot enough to combust the VOCs while not transferring all that heat into the cooking chamber. So you get the good kind of smoke and just enough temp to cook the product.

That's why you can use actual wood for fuel rather than charcoal. Charcoal already has the VOCs burned off, so the issue then becomes the smoking wood chunks in other types of smokers. You can't let the smoking wood fully ignite.

A kamado, for example, is a giant insulated piece of ceramic, so you CANNOT have a hot fire. There is nowhere for the heat to go. So you use charcoal as your heat source and smoking wood for flavor, but you keep that fire just barely smouldering so there isn't enough heat or oxygen for the smoking wood to ignite and produce the thick white smoke.

This is the case with most typical other common smoker designs as well. With electric or propane, you need to keep the temp hot enough to get the smoking wood to smoulder, but not ignite. I used to have a problem with the propane one that occasionally it would get too hot and ignite the wood in the chip tray, in which case I'd have a spray bottle of water ready to douse it if it happened. With a drum-style smoker, you're fueling with charcoal and adding smoking wood, but you have to make sure that you're regulating airflow and the ratio of smoking wood to charcoal such that it never fully ignites. With cheaper offset smokers, you don't have the insulation effect to run your firebox as hot as a full stick-burner, so you need to carefully manage a mix of charcoal and smoking wood to avoid the thick white smoke.

But avoiding thick white smoke is the key job of a pitmaster. IMHO even more important than keeping consistent temps. You can smoke meat at a wide variety of temps; you can't smoke meat with thick white smoke.

 

[cfrazier77]

Thanks for enumerating the styles for me, that helps a lot. I think when it is time to upgrade my 24" weber grill I'll be looking at Kamados. As far as the smokers go, the offset and the gravity feed look like winners. My budget is $1000 so that gives me options.

with a budget of $1000 I would look at the following options
offset, stick burner, try to look for a used one. You need like 1/4" thick metal to hold the heat. The sheet metal thin ones will give you a giant headache.

charcoal, used is a good option, but if not available I would look at a drum type but bigger than your weber smokey mountain. The 22" smokey mountain is a great cooker and with a little mods is an amazing cooker. It is vastly bigger than the 18". But, you said you would like something different, so an ugly drum smoker, UDS, could be a great option. You can get a lot of meat on it and they are easy to control. Here are some options from a shop in St Louis. You would need to look at what is available in your area though store wise.
https://www.stlbbqstore.com/k4l-drum-cooker/https://www.stlbbqstore.com/gateway-drum-smoker-w-high-temp-finish/https://www.stlbbqstore.com/hunsaker-drum-smoker-glossy-blue-55-gal/
You can get a good pellet smoker for under $1000 too, and you can make good food on them once you learn how to use them right. This does not take long though.

 

[passedpawn]

My plan is to brine and smoke a 19 lb Turkey for Easter . Going to use my Even Embers Komodo style pellet grill. Going to brine for 12 hours and smoke until thigh temperature is 175F. I’m open to any suggestions or advice as I’ve never done a turkey on a smoker. Thanks

I do one every year. Most of the time I did them on my 22" weber kettle. It was limited to a 20# turkey (breast nearly touched the lid). 350F, 3-4 hours. My Traeger pellet feeder can handle considerably larger.

Don't overcook the breast. Breast at 175 is gonna be dry. When you're within an hour of done, use an instant read thermometer. If the breast is 150, take some foil and cover it.

We make two turkeys. The smoked one is mostly used in soup, so I smoke the heck out of it.

I always brine. Many of them are already injected with saline to make them moist, but brining is so easy why not. I just put the turkey in a home depot bucket, fill with water, add a few tablespoons of salt, and put in the beer chest freezer overnight (it's still pretty warm in FL in November, you northern folk can probably just put it in your garage).

There are two things you can do with excess turkey. We make a big batch of turkey rice soup, which is almost better than the turkey. Most of that gets frozen in gallon ziplock bags. I also can a lot of turkey. You need a proper pressure canner. Canned turkey can be saved at room temp. It's really good. I just opened a jar yesterday! add a bunch of mayo, pickle relish, diced celery, salt, and it makes a great sandwich.

 

[Tartan1]

also can a lot of turkey. You need a proper pressure canner. Canned turkey can be saved at room temp. It's really good. I just opened a jar yesterday! add a bunch of mayo, pickle relish, diced celery, salt, and it makes a great sandwich.

Do you add broth or water for liquid to the jars before canning?

 

[passedpawn]

Do you add broth or water for liquid to the jars before canning?

Yes, but not much. I pack it in there very tight - not much room for that. You'd be surprised how much turkey fits in a quart jar. I add a bit (tsp) of salt also.

 

[OleBrewing]

Yes, but not much. I pack it in there very tight - not much room for that. You'd be surprised how much turkey fits in a quart jar. I add a bit (tsp) of salt also.

i can fish that were brined then add liquid smoke to each pint jar. it is fabulous. doesnt look great through the jar but it is good.

 

[passedpawn]

i can fish that were brined then add liquid smoke to each pint jar. it is fabulous. doesnt look great through the jar but it is good.

Yep. My wife looks at those jars of turkey and gags.

 

[passedpawn]

... Of course, she might be gagging at that nasty damaged thumbnail. Geez.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Going big this weekend, gents. Got a 19# packer. That's a 12 lb point ready for a good sugar cookie of some S&P and about 15 hours on post oak and a 4 lb flat waiting in the dugout to be brined and corned beef-ed-ed in a few weeks.

No, no, no... my math isn't off. That 3 extra pounds is the fat cap that is waiting its turn to join a pork butt in the grinder for some sweet, sweet brats.

16 hours later...

 

[passedpawn]

Git in me belly! That brisket looks $money$

 

[shoengine]

This is what I ended up getting. I wanted to go offset but also wanted to not break the budget. Had good reviews and I liked the reverse flow feature.

https://www.oklahomajoes.com/highland-reverse-flow-offset-smoker

Being delivered on the 21st.

 

[McHop]

Eager to try this - gochujang bacon

 

[redrocker652002]

This is what I ended up getting. I wanted to go offset but also wanted to not break the budget. Had good reviews and I liked the reverse flow feature.

https://www.oklahomajoes.com/highland-reverse-flow-offset-smoker
View attachment 817215

Being delivered on the 21st.

Cool. I have been thinking of moving on to one of those. One of my workmates has one and loves it. I am just not sure how tough it would be to keep temp. If you can, post your review when yo use it a few times.

 

[cfrazier77]

This is what I ended up getting. I wanted to go offset but also wanted to not break the budget. Had good reviews and I liked the reverse flow feature.

https://www.oklahomajoes.com/highland-reverse-flow-offset-smoker
View attachment 817215

Being delivered on the 21st.

Good choice, helpful hints, put a disposable pan in to catch drips. It makes it easier to clean. Also put a wired temp probe at the Grate level. The dial at the top will be a different temp. Once you figure out the differential you can then go with just the dial. It may be 50 or more degrees higher than the Grate. Great choice!

 

[NSMikeD]

Fired up the CookShack Fast Eddy 120 today. I still need to replace the connection fan and igniter (used a small butane torch to light the pelletsO which the replacement parts have been in the box since last year, but daubing a simple pork shoulder for pulled pork tomorrow. I usually get pork butts for pulled pork but the shoulder was free from Shop Rite for an Easter Week promo Great to have Fast Eddy back in use after a long sleep. I also have a WSM 22 which gets more use but being Easter Sunday I wasn't going to try to find a store that sells Royal Oak and Wood Chunks.

The before picture:

I will return to edit to post the final (it's wrapped and still cooking).

 

[brewbama]

Dr Pepper glazed ham

 

[AzOr]

Yeah, stupid tree. Now I have to get a new smoker!

Fortunately all my brewing stuff was in the garage so that survived.

At least the brew equipment survived! Hopefully there was no structural damage. Dang trees.

 

[Sailingeric]

My neighbor loves the free stuff on Craiglist and rebuilt a free Traeger that he gave me.. it seems to have trouble keeping the temp, I put in a new an controller but it still is about 50 degrees off, I think the auger is going on it BUT I did smoke some wild caught Columbia River salmon my other neighbor gave me.. since this was done a couple weeks ago I did order a Grilla Grill Silverbac...cannot wait to really start smoking meat.

 

[NSMikeD]

Fired up the CookShack Fast Eddy 120 today. I still need to replace the connection fan and igniter (used a small butane torch to light the pelletsO which the replacement parts have been in the box since last year, but daubing a simple pork shoulder for pulled pork tomorrow. I usually get pork butts for pulled pork but the shoulder was free from Shop Rite for an Easter Week promo Great to have Fast Eddy back in use after a long sleep. I also have a WSM 22 which gets more use but being Easter Sunday I wasn't going to try to find a store that sells Royal Oak and Wood Chunks.

The before picture:

View attachment 817260

I will return to edit to post the final (it's wrapped and still cooking).

View attachment 817281View attachment 817282

I've done this a few times now and recommend saucing with. mix of apple cider, cayenne, more rub and Blues Hog Original sauce. Even though I have many medals saucing with tradition BBQ sauce, I am finding that heavily cutting it with apple cider vinegar (and a bit more seasoning) is so much better. Blues Hog has a lot of things going on so a little goes a long way with it.

You can always put a bottle of sauce in the side for those who want more if that sweet ketchup stuff

 

[NSMikeD]

My neighbor loves the free stuff on Craiglist and rebuilt a free Traeger that he gave me.. it seems to have trouble keeping the temp, I put in a new an controller but it still is about 50 degrees off, I think the auger is going on it BUT I did smoke some wild caught Columbia River salmon my other neighbor gave me.. since this was done a couple weeks ago I did order a Grilla Grill Silverbac...cannot wait to really start smoking meat.View attachment 817717

looks good. It's not unusual for a cooker to read one temp near the units built in probe and another elsewhere. Put a cheap oven thermometer in there so you know and of course many probe thermometers come with a BBQ probe in addition to the meat probe. So long as the difference is consistent you can make the adjustment and never look back.

 

[Rodent]

just loaded a full rack of beef ribs into the BGE. will add some baker taters in about an hour, and also have a tri-tip going in with the taters.

tri-tip will come out when it hits an internal temp of 110F so it can be seared on the grill over coals

should make for some good eats later tonight

 

[Rodent]

And the results from last night before it all disappeared

Some of the meatiest beef ribs I've ever scored from Costco. Served (and eaten) sans sauce as they were too good and too moist to cover up all that flavor with sauce