Just got a Smoker

[tisosy11]

What is a must to try in it?

I am hoping to get it going with something this weekend!

[Deitz Dittrich]

if you want easy... this is my families fave!!!

Pork steaks!..

Season with salt and pepper...

Get smoker going, apple wood has worked best for me.

I put water in the drip pan...

Smoke over pretty low heat.. I prefer under 200, and try to keep it at about 180-190 degrees... Smoke the steaks for a little over an hour...

When you get to about an hour... start your grill...get her going nice and hot! Take the steaks out of the smoker and on to the grill.. finish on the grill about 3-4 mins a side, try and get a good color to them. I cant make enough of these when I do.. people eat till they are sick!

[polarsusd81]

Sounds good Deitz.

I want to pick up a more efficient smoker. Currently I am running a Char Griller Pro with the sidefire box for smoking and grilling. It works okay, but it is pretty tough to keep a consistent temp.

Up at LOTW this weekend, we had some dinner at Ballards and they had some smoked walleye for an appetizer. Holy carp was that good stuff. Definitely want to try that. What is a good temp to smoke some fish at? Is it more of a cold smoke or should it be up there at the 180-200 range as well?

[Deitz Dittrich]

If your going to cold smoke it, you have to brine it much longer and smoke it longer.. Like more than a day...For regular smoking. its going to depend on the thickness of the fish.. You need to get an internal temp of 160-180... I think I tried to keep the smoker at 200-220 for a temp. I'm not the best at smoking fish yet.. I hope someone else helps you out Polar!

[tisosy11]

THe next free weekend i have i hope to really get the smoker going...its one of those built like a brick smoker or something...38 incher

[Big Julie]

What about KC ribs?

I did this recipe yesterday with chicken thighs and country style ribs and it was amazing.

Here is a link to a recipe Emeril Legasse wrote up on Foodnetwork.com:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36861,00.html

Anyone else enjoy real BBQ foods?

[Kidd]

I would shy away from cold smoking any fish as the temps don't get high enough to kill all the bacteria.

For the walleye, I would just soak it in a simple brine: water, salt and sugar overnight and smoke at about 180 - 200 degrees. Unless they're monster walleyes it shouldn't take more than an hour er'so.

Edit: If you're feeling adventurous, try putting some garlic, or other strong spice in the mix.

[Kidd]

For me, a must try would be a turkey breast.

Brine:

Enough water to cover the breast

2 cups salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup honey

Let breast soak overnight

Remove Breast and place in refrigerator until the brine starts to form a shiny coat over the breast.

Remove breast and let stand until reaching room temp.

Place on smoker 190-220 degrees

Either smoke until done, or smoke a couple hours, remove and finish the cooking in the oven. This allows you to pre-smoke and cook at a later time. Remember, the smoke flavor will saturate the breast within the first hour or so so finishing in the oven does not affect the flavor.

[mylineswet]

I just got done with a batch of carp yesturday. I brine for several days and soak in water for one day. I then smoke them for six to eight hours, depending on thickness, at 130 deg. I then finish them at 170 for an hour or so. Soaking them in the brine is supposed to kill the bactiria, that is what I was told. I have smoked northern, crappie, salmon, and carp that way.

[tisosy11]

I've been busy but hopefully this spring and I can try it out. Looking forward to using it thats for sure!

[Jarrod32]

I just got one too...I'm pretty excited about it. Still trying to understand all the different methods and processes involved...I have a few questions.

I have seen many different recipies for different things...many recipies and processes for fish, many for jerky, and so forth.

It seems to me that the use of a brine prior to smoking is optional, and is primarily for the long-term preservation of the food once completed. Is this an accurate assumption?

How long can one expect smoked food to keep (using different methods) once completed?

And here is some more of my confusion...Kidd, you say you brine the fish overnight...mylineswet, you talk about several days in brine...

What is the advantage to brining it longer? Is it better preserved?

Do you eat/serve these smoked fish cold?

Sorry for all the dumb questions...just trying to get a feel for what I'm doing before I start my trial-and-error and encounter the inevitable spectacular failures...

[Doop]

BRISKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rub down with wooster sauce then apply rub the night before...wrap tight in alum. foil and put in fridge. You want to smoke according to temp not time when doing a brisket but you can figure 1-1.5 hours per pound.

I use applewood to smoke. I use dry wood chips. I place a pan on apple juice above my wood box. Keep smoker temp at 250*. Place brisket on smoker fatty side up (that's very important). Try to open the smoker as little as possible....IF YOU'RE LOOKIN' YOU AINT COOKIN!!!! Every time you open...you can add 30 minutes to smoking time.

Once your brisket reaches 170*...spritz with apple juice and wrap in aluminum foil. Place back in smoker until meat temperature reaches 197-200*. Take out of smoker and wrap in your run of the mill bathroom towel and place in a dry...sealed cooler for 1-2 hours. By letting the meat rest, you are allowing the juices to re-absorb back into the meat....after 2 hours in alum. foil wrapped in a towel sitting in a cooler...it will still be piping hot...trust me!!! Be sure to slice against the grain and enjoy!!!

If you have any questions or need an great rub...I'd be glad to help!

Enjoy your smoker!

[Jarrod32]

Well, I took a first foray into smoker cooking today. I made a couple batches of jerky. I cheated a bit...used the packaged mix (a couple tablespoons from packet A, a couple tablespoons from packet B...mix with a few pounds of ground meat...).

Did some venison (I had some frozen ground venison from this past fall); used a cheap jerky gun...easy instructions on the package...

I'm quite happy with the way it came out, even though it was a pretty basic process.

[Jarrod32]

I tried a batch of fish once I finished the jerky.

Remember earlier when I referred to some 'inevitable spectacular failures'?

Well, this was one.

Maybe not a 'spectacular' failure, but lord, it wasn't good. A bit overpowering. More than a bit, actually.

I a) left it in too long and it got too 'smokey'; didn't rinse well enough and it got too salty; c) got too wild when I added garlic powder to the brine (not much, but maybe too much); or d) a bit of all of the above.

At any rate, while edible, it was way too strong in flavor.

So hot dogs on the grill it was for supper...

[thirdeye]

I'm with you, pork steaks are great barbecued or grilled (or both). They are almost impossible to goof up.

[Deitz Dittrich]

3rd eye.. thats darn right rude.. now I am hungry!!!

[thirdeye]

Then this should put you over the edge. I guess you can see how much I love them.

[Jim Almquist]

Dang those steaks look great and I get burgers - Its just not fair ! What do you like for seasonings ? Looks kinda like Montreal steak seasonings on those steaks.

[thirdeye]

Jim, you have a keen eye. That is exactly what they are seasoned with. I cook on lump (sometimes called natural charcoal) and on these I used some splits of cherry for flavor and for that nice red color.

[BLACKJACK]

I'm also a fan of the McCormick seasonings, Montreal steak for red meat and some of the other ones for white meat. I've tried lots of other seasonings but the McCormick seasons are my standbys. I even use them on fish when I broil them.

[Deitz Dittrich]

My fave Pork Seasoning. Is Janes Crazy Mixed up Salt.