Smoker

[syd2nd]

I am thinking of buying a smoker to smoke a fish or two and some venison. Any recommendations on Charcoal or gas, price, or any other advice on smoking.

[Whoaru99]

I ended up getting a Brinkman charcoal smoker. I really don't use it too much, but like everything I researched the heck out of it first.

One thing I came away with was that charcoal/wood or electric are the way to go. I seem to recall that gas fire for smoking was not recommended by some because smoking typically is intended to be a dry process and burning gas creates water vapor.

For a more or less TOTL entry/mid level charcoal smoker the Weber Smokey Mountain (~$200-$250) got pretty good press at the time. It was more than I wanted to spend for an experimental venture into smoking.

[Gissert]

I have a Bradley smoker and have been extremely happy with it.

Very easy to use, and it uses special wood biscuits that are automatically advanced every 20 minutes. I paid 299 for mine.

The drawback is you have to use the Bradley biscuits, and they are a bit spendy. If you look for the biscuits on hsolist, you can get some pretty good deals.

[fivebucks]

If you go electric, one of the most important things IMO is to be able to adjust the heat. I got a smoker as a gift years ago and the only way to control the temp was to open a little door on the front. Well that allowed more air in and then the wood chunks would flame up. I prefer charcoal since it is easy to adjust the heat. If you are smoking venison buy a thermometer to make sure you get it up to 150 degrees for a short period of time (e.coli I believe). I built my current smoker. I picked up 3 oven racks and built the smoker around them with wood, 4 sides and a top. I connect the sides with eye hooks so you can break it down for storage. I use 1-3 coffee cans with holes cut near the bottem for air holes and then fill with charcoal. Make sure the charcoal is mostly white before you put in. Smoking fish and game is a blast. Good Luck.

[cold one sd]

I have a gas smoker and it works well. As far as gas creating condensation, the smoker has a drip pan that you fill with water to keep it moist while smoking anyway. Unless you want to make fish jerky instead of smoked fish.

[Swimmer]

I got the cheeper, ~$35, brinkman that looks like a bullet. Have used it to smoke chicken, pheasant, butt roast, ribs, ect. The pro's is that it is cheep, works, doesn't take up too much space. Cons are that it doesn't seem very efficient...uses a lot of charcoal, you have to monitor it pretty closely to add more charcoal (that you pre-prepared/heated), can't really control the heat output except to add charcoal, bottom vent holes plug up reducing the heat output further.

I would love to have a smoker with a seperate charcoal box...that is more efficient and controllable. Except you are looking at ten times the cost of the above. Good luck. Smoking is a good excuse to drink beer while you are "working" the smoker.

[SuddenlySummer]

By far the very best smoker I've found is the one that I pieced together at Home Depot. I saw it on TV and it works perfectly. It keeps a constant temp of 225 degrees with no effort, even in the winter.

Go to the plant area at Home Depot and find the biggest orange clay pot you can. Then find the same diameter clay pot but not as deep as the first. The one that I found is round at the bottom and about 1/3 as deep as the big one but the exact same diameter. The smaller one is your top the deeper one is the bottom.

Then take your deep pot over to grill section and get the smallest weber replacement grill they sell. You'll find that it fits perfectly in the recessed ridge of the large pot. (it actually might be faster if you went and got the grill first then took it to the pots to see which one it fits in best)

Your last stop is Walmart. You'll need to pick up thier $8.00 hot plate.

Set your deeper pot on some bricks. Put the hot plate at the bottom of the deep pot. Run the power cord out the hole at the bottom of the pot. Swipe a sturdy pie pan from your wife. Don't use the thin tin foil type. It needs to be a sturdy one. Put your wood chips in the pie pan. Again, your grill slides nicely into 1 inch recess at the top of the deeper pot. Flip the smaller pot upsidedown and their's your top. I usually use a rock in the hole of the top pot to control airflow.

The clay pots hold the heat in far better than metal which allows you to smoke easliy in winter. With the hot plate turned up to high the setup keeps a constant 225 to 235 degrees and the whole thing cost less than $50

BTW: putting water in your smoker causes steam. Steam creates a vapor barrier around the meat and hinders the smoke from penetrating it.

[DEADhead]

Quote:

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Steam creates a vapor barrier around the meat and hinders the smoke from penetrating it.

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why do they have water smokers then? the manufacturer of my propane smoker says to never run the smoker without water in the pan. I was under the impression the water pan was used to keep the meat from drying out before it is fully cooked? even if the smoke does hinder smoke penetration, I haven't been able to taste the difference between a water smoker and non water smoker, and my fish get fully cured and cooked.

BTW, I think the clay pot smoker idea is fantastic!

[SuddenlySummer]

My company is baised out of Memphis TN. My President is part owner of a BBQ co. and they preach no steam when smoking pork. There are many different thoughts and techniques to BBQ and smoking. I mostly smoke pork shoulders for pulled bbq sandwiches. The pork has enough fat in it to keep it moist and tender without water. Fish may be different, I don't know, never tried it.

This whole set up was from Alton Brown on food network. He mentioned "no water".

[Marmot]

Weber Smokey Mountain - Virtual Weber Bullet

[cold one sd]

Suddenly Summer said he smokes at 225 to 235 degrees. I generally smoke a bit cooler at about 185 degrees. I'm thinking that water boils and turns to steam at 212 degrees. My smoker also says not to smoke without water in the pan. Everyone has their own way of doing things. I think the stuff that I smoke turns out fine. I know people that use liquid smoke and a dehydrator.

[Swimmer]

Anybody EVER had anything that didn't taste good smoked?

[DEADhead]

SuddenlySummer, thanks for the info. I would rather smoke without water, but like I said earlier, the mfg reccomended not going without h20. I have smoked plenty of pork shoulders in my smoker for bbq, and they seemed to turn out fine and tasty. maybe it has something to do with the propane burner? I think it's because this water pan is also the drip pan, and they don't want you to run it dry and get it red hot.

I have to say that that Alton Brown is a genious and definitely makes some 'good eats'.

[End of the Line]

I have an electric smoker I got at Sportmans Warehouse. They are made in the Twin Citites area. I like mine because I just plug it in and it works. Its also insulated, which helps considerably when its 5 above outside and you want to smoke something.

[vikzilla]

You definitely need to listen to the previous poster that mentioned the "Weber Virtual Bullet".

This smoker along with the HSOforum that the enthusiasts of this smoker support, will get you well on your way to being an expert in smoking meats.

Even for those that already have a different smoker, I would suggest taking a look at recipes and methodology.

Its a site very similar to this one. Lots of knowledge and time, money saving tips. I can particularly vouch for the "renowned Mr. Brown" pork butt recipe. Outstanding.

[danwilliams]

Suddenly,

I like your smoker plan! I will be making one right after my next shopping trip to Brainard/Baxter. Sounds great...really like the clay concept.

[HarryG]

I am glad to see a post on smoking food. It makes for great food. A word of caution on the Alton Brown Smoker; I saw the episode, one of my favorites. He makes a BBQ out of a large clay pot and a large clay lid, not a smoker. He makes a smoker out of a cardboard box. The difference is temperature. Smoking is 150 degrees to 225 degrees. Smoking is above 225 degrees. (it may be 250, but you guys get the picture). So I think it best to get a remote thermometer, just like Alton Brown does. To make sure the temp is not too hot and it tells you when the meat is done.

Also, I read somewhere that the reason manufacturers make an additional pan for steam is because that type of a smoker can allow air in and dry out the meat. IE turkey or fish. The steam keeps the meat from drying out. The more expensive smokers are electric and completely sealed to keep out air and it keeps it moist.

[SuddenlySummer]

The show that I saw was the "smoker" episode not the grill episode. Never saw a cardboard box.

If you look at the "bullet" web site, you'll see that they tell you to smoke a Pork Shoulder at 225 degrees which is exactly what I get with the hotplate turned on high. Again, all I do is Pork Butts. Although I picked up a small turkey at Target last week. I'm goning to give it a shot this weekend.

The beauty of the hotplate is that it has a dial to adjust your heat. Very easy to change your temp for what you need. The clay probably has an R factor of 19 compaired to steel with an R factor or -1. You know what I mean.

With a one inch diameter hole at the bottom of the pot and a one inch diameter hole at the top of the lid, airflow is minimal. You don't dry out your meat. I also use a rock or stone to adjust the airflow at the top. A meat thermometer with a 1 1/2 inch dial also works perfectly in the top hole. It gives you temp and controls the airflow.

You literally can go two or three hours between stoking the pan with new wood. I find that the big fist size chucks of hickory work great and last a long time.

The Weber smokers essentially have the bottom wide open with a two foot daimeter hole. I have one and haven't used it since I put the clay pot together.

Anybody want it? Although the grills inside the weber fit perfectly in my clay pot so you can't have them.

I'm in Chaska.

[HarryG]

The episode I saw he smokes a salmon fillet. There may be one I have not seen. I will have to take a look around.

The turkey is very good. Smoked Turkey makes for a great sandwich.

[SuddenlySummer]

By far the coolest smoker that I ever used was this "monster" that just blew me away.

My sister in-law was getting married back in Oct 98. We were at her house in Colorado the summer before her wedding. My wife and her were going over some details of the wedding and money was tight. Like an (Contact Us Please) I threw in my 2 cents and said, "Why not have a bbq? It's simple and not that expensive. No problem". Well... in the end they called me on it and I wound up cooking for 350 people! Not kidding! I've never even come close to cooking for more than 10 people let alone 350.

A friend of my mother-in-law had a husband who was serious about bbq. He and his friends made the coolest contraption I've ever seen or used.

They took a full sized propane tank, the kind you use to heat a home, and made a smoker out of it. The thing had to weigh 1500 pounds. The steel was at least 5/16" thick. It could hold TWO full sized pigs end to end on the spit they made!

They stripped off all of the paint and painted it with that black heat resistant grill paint. They welded legs to the bottom and bolted it to an 8 x 16 wood plank flat bed trailer. The legs at the back of the smoker were taller than the front. This tilted the smoker so that all of the fat would run to one end of the thing and drip out a hole that they cut at the bottom of the far end. They used a styrofoam cooler to catch all of the dripping fat. It worked perfectly because by the time I was done the cooler was full of fat and all you had to do was throw it away in the dumpster.

One end of it had a 3' tall smoke stack welded to the top. When you stepped back in the dark it actually looked like a mini steam locomtive. It was so cool!

They off set it just a bit from center of the trailer which allowed you to stand next to it and work.

They cut a rectangle opening on the side for the two access doors. About six feet wide by three feet tall. This rectangle piece that they cut out became the two doors. They sipmly cut this 6 x 3 piece in half and welded huge hinges at each top. They then welded a 1 inch wide piece of thin steel around the cut doors to seal it and prevent air leaks. The left door had the 1 inch steel welded down the middle of the seam between both doors. This allowed you to open the left door by itself or if you opend the right door that was under the weld, both doors would open. Each door probably weighed 50 pounds so opening both doors at once was a chore. Each door also had a metal rod welded to the inside which swung down to keep it open. Just like the metal rod you use when opening the hood of your car.

Once you opened the doors 3/4 of the interior of the smoker was covered with two home made removable metal grates.

The remaining 1/4 of it was the fire box. They welded a solid wall of metal at the firebox end and then cut circular holes in it to allow the smoke thru.

They cut a 2'x 2' fire box door at the bottom end of the fire box.

All they would allow to be used in it was apple wood. Noting else. I was actually the first person outside of their little circle to use it. He was so concerned with me not using anything but apple wood, he filled my truck bed to the rim with split apple wood logs.

I did the enitre production in the driveway of my parents house in Boulder Colorado. I would say that 8 of their neighbors came over to check it out. Some even went to the store and made me smoke someting for them.

The unit was able to hold 15 full size pork butts. Each butt was well over 10 pounds. When I was done I took it to a car wash and sprayed it clean.

Needless to say, I pulled it off and I'll never do it again.

The best rub that I've ever found is at hogwild bbq. It has almost no salt. Every other rub you'll find has salt as the first ingredient. Salt leaches moisture from the meat.

BTW: My 1990 Colorado Buffaloes beat Lou and Notre Dame for the National Championship! They had black shoes too!