BBQ Smoker.

[Woodmister]

how many of you guys hot/cold smoke food?

im just waiting for my smoker to get delivered,, i cant wait. im getting a proq frontier...

seems to be an art form to get great results, which im hoping ill master at some stage, but ill just enjoy eating the food to be hoenst..

if anyone has any tips/tricks/advice or even recipes it would be great

atb adam

 

[willie_gunn]

Originally used one of the small, box-type, trout smokers for many years, then progressed onto a snail smoker and a large cardboard box.

Now I use a Bradley Smoker.

Mostly this is for fish - trout, salmon, etc.

There will be others here who have far more experience, but personally I'd say the key to getting good results when smoking salmon is more in the curing than the smoking.

 

[T.eddie]

I like offset smokers, have done chicken, Poussin, lamb & pork so far.
I'd say brine where possible to keep as much moisture in your meat, get a thermometer that you can leave in which has a display that ideally you can take away with you wirelessly & only open the smoker when needed so you can maintain a good temp

outside of that its largely trial and error for what works for you and your smoker. Mine was only a cheap one so I bought some heat resistant tape to seal the gaps in the body and keep a better temp

if your looking for some good recipes I'd recommend looking at the BBQ Pit Boys on youtube, they make some delightful looking bits

 

[martin_b]

If you're going to cold smoke, Salmon Cheese etc then the best bit of advice i can give is to microwave the sawdust first (to drive out any moisture) then join here

WoodSmoke Forum

www.woodsmokeforum.uk

 

[Woodsmoke]

Read up on the use of Cure1, and 2. And also look into brining food prior to smoking. Invest in a half-decent meat thermometer too

 

[sh1kar]

Originally used one of the small, box-type, trout smokers for many years, then progressed onto a snail smoker and a large cardboard box.

Now I use a Bradley Smoker.

Mostly this is for fish - trout, salmon, etc.

There will be others here who have far more experience, but personally I'd say the key to getting good results when smoking salmon is more in the curing than the smoking.

And smoke overnight on a very cold frosty night. I have a Bradley too

s

 

[Finbarn]

I have a ProQ & have had mixed results with It - hot smoking gammon, chicken has been really successful but an 11 hour smoke on a beef brisket was really disappointing, wasn’t as tender as it should have been after a fair bit of effort.

It’s brilliant for cold smoking & I regularly smoke pastrami, bacon & pork belly to use in venison burgers.

One of these remote thermometers is worth getting - it’s got two probes & you can preset the required temperature https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01GE77QT0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For cold smoking the ProQ cold smoke generator works well but the gauze does clog up so needs a thorough clean to ensure the dust burns properly.

For inspiration there’s a book called Project Smoke that’s worth a read.

Good luck, if you master hot smoked brisket please let me in on the secret!

 

[Woodmister]

Thanks all, yes I have bought 2 nethermometers, one instant read and the other is for inside the smoker!

I have gone balls deep and bought all the accessories too! I’m hoping it’s worth it!

really looking forward to just giving it a go! Especially with summer coming! And parties hopefully resuming!!

 

[sauer]

Got a ceramic kamado now .... used to have Weber Smokey mountain

start off with pulled pork for your first long low & slow .... very forgiving

ribs are good to do over 4-6 hrs ish

chicken wings hot n fast are a winner and regular here

leave the beef brisket till for bit more time in & you suss out your own smoker

beef short ribs excellent

Paul

 

[Woodmister]

Got a ceramic kamado now .... used to have Weber Smokey mountain

start off with pulled pork for your first long low & slow .... very forgiving

ribs are good to do over 4-6 hrs ish

chicken wings hot n fast are a winner and regular here

leave the beef brisket till for bit more time in & you suss out your own smoker

beef short ribs excellent

Paul

Yes I have already said to the Mrs I’m not doing that just yet as I know it won’t be right! But smash burgers and ribs are defo on the cards lol

 

[Cootmeurer]

I smoke something at least once per week. Matter of fact, I live about 30 miles from the actual town of Barbecue NC where the name is derived (town might be a bit grandiose - let’s call it a pair of churches, a post office and a park)

I have gas, electric and charcoal smokers but my favorite is my kamado/kettle

As for tricks of the trade, fruit woods seem to do best with fowl, while hardwoods like pecan and hickory work best with pork and game.

Travel throughout the southern US and you will see and enjoy several distinct styles of smoking meat. Head up to the Pacific NW and they will consider smoking to be an absolute requirement for many fish

I’ll have to dig out my notes from my son the chef, but he did show me clearly that the classic smoke ring in meat actually only occurs at a narrow temperature band.

 

[Woodmister]

Nice one mate! Yes! Heard it’s all about the smoke ring lol

 

[T.eddie]

Nice one mate! Yes! Heard it’s all about the smoke ring lol

That was my leg of lamb in the summer, turned out juicy, with bark and a nice smoke ring!

 

[Woodmister]

very nice indeed mate, whats your setup?

how long, what temp? what wood you using?

 

[T.eddie]

very nice indeed mate, whats your setup?

how long, what temp? what wood you using?

on the offset smoker, using applewood chips and orange wood chunks, may have chucked in a couple of chunks of an old whisky barrel also. brined and then tucked in some garlic cloves, think it took about 3 or 4 hours sitting between 110c and 120c or so. the thermometer had an alarm set for the internal temp of the meat so was able to keep a nice eye on it, plus the weather was nice so I was out there anyway.