Any smokers here?

[Ramius75]

I dunno. I would presume not. If it was, I don't think there would be the market there is for it.

just like they found cancer causing substane in BBQ meat too. + cigarette is still around also.

actually, i do like grill food. But am cutting down on it to about once or twice every year...

 

[Grisu]

once or twice? hey that's next to nothing

in summer the grill is getting some action at least weekly unfortunately in my current appartment I can only have a gas-grill

 

[Turner]

in summer the grill is getting some action at least weekly unfortunately in my current appartment I can only have a gas-grill

I grill year round. And it does tend to get below freezing around here.

Ah, well...different strokes and all that.

 

[Leatherneck]

Isnt smoked food unhealthy ??

Only if you don't eat it.

 

[skadistic]

I would if I had a back yard.

I do know how to make liquid smoke. Handy when you make jerkey.

 

[Leatherneck]

just like they found cancer causing substane in BBQ meat too. + cigarette is still around also.

actually, i do like grill food. But am cutting down on it to about once or twice every year...

Spit causes cancer if swollowed in small amounts over a long period of time. What the hell have they found that doesn't cause cancer? Prolly some research funded by veggans.

Here is the latest research .... studies have found that current life styles increase you chances of death by 100% ... in short no body gets out alive.

 

[Grisu]

I grill year round. And it does tend to get below freezing around here.

Ah, well...different strokes and all that.

nah, grilling loses a lot of its appeal to me if I freeze my butt off april-october is prefectly acceptable, though

in winter, the raclette-oven and fondue rechaud replace the grill

 

[Leatherneck]

I'm sure there's one around here somewhere. Just need to find it.

Let your fingers do the walking ... or hit a farm store, farmers know where they are at.


Charcoal's all I've ever cooked on. I did have a gas grill for a while, but it got stolen. Actually, I was upset about that, because it was a father's day present. But I do prefer charcoal. I don't, however, use the quick-starting-lighter-fluid-built-in kind. I do use lighter fluid. I've been thinking about going with a chimney starter for a while now. I don't taste the fluid (I know this because my grilled stuff tastes a lot like my dad's, and he uses an electric starter) so I'm okay with that.

Do those hardwood coals last longer than charcoal? I seem to remember something about them lasting longer?[/QUOTE]

Hardwood last a little long, but the real deal is on the smoker you use. There are pros and cons to the various types of smokers. Soon as I get time I'll give you the Cliff Notes on that.

Have a good one!

Thanks, anymore it's just another day ... I was going to sleep in but I was awaken by my girls this morning before they left for school doing the Happy Birthday hug .... so much for sleeping in, I'm good with 3 hours sleep, will be nappin later.

 

[Rambuchan]

Leatherneck: Three questions about your super cool Smoker...

a) How long does it take to do 0-60?
b) What's its top speed on the flat, with no tail or head wind?
c) Ever picked up any chicks in it?

 

[Leatherneck]

Leatherneck: Three questions about your super cool Smoker...

a) How long does it take to do 0-60?

Depend on how hot the fire is ....

b) What's its top speed on the flat, with no tail or head wind?

It's blazenly fast, lets' us just say it smokes everything else.

c) Ever picked up any chicks in it?

It's a chick magnet ... since the one I have has a kegarator on it, it has the power of the tap.


EDIT here is a faster smoker .....

Spoiler :

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

Isnt smoked food unhealthy ??

Unhealthy? Better stop breathing, there are plenty of things in the air that aren't healthy.

I love smoked....anything! Smokers are a bit too pricey for a college budget, and though many people throw out grills at the campground, I still can't (or am too lazy) to go through the process of smoking meat.

The smell is intoxicating, it's almost like a drug (in a good way). Uh-oh, now you've triggered a craving so now I'll be forced to stop at the butcher shop on the way to work and pick up some "smokey treats".

 

[Leatherneck]

Unhealthy? Better stop breathing, there are plenty of things in the air that aren't healthy.

I love smoked....anything! Smokers are a bit too pricey for a college budget, and though many people throw out grills at the campground, I still can't (or am too lazy) to go through the process of smoking meat.

The smell is intoxicating, it's almost like a drug (in a good way). Uh-oh, now you've triggered a craving so now I'll be forced to stop at the butcher shop on the way to work and pick up some "smokey treats".

Check that link I gave turner, you can build one for under $50 ... and chicks dig it. The big cost is the meat.

 

[sanabas]

Smoked eel. Yum.

 

[Rambuchan]

Depend on how hot the fire is ....



It's blazenly fast, lets' us just say it smokes everything else.



It's a chick magnet ... since the one I have has a kegarator on it, it has the power of the tap.


EDIT here is a faster smoker .....

You guys don't mess about.

 

[Leatherneck]

OK TURNER .... MINIMUM SMOKER ..... for starting out.

This is about a $100 ... cheap by all accounts.
With this you can maintian the fire without messing with the smoke chamber.
Has adjustable smoke vent on stack.
Has a side firbox, indirect heat, good!
Has a decent temp gauge for the money. Actual numbers.


That Brinkman Can smoker you had, has a lot of faults ....
Hard to maintain a even temp.
Hard to maintain the coals.
You take the lid off you lose all your heat and smoke.
Has a really crappy gauge. (Low, Ideal, Hot ...)


Both have thin stamped metal ... that is not good. It will never last long enough to get properly seasoned and thin metal cools faster than thick steel or cast iron. All of my smokers are cast iron, you get the iron hot and it maintains an even heat. Cast iron does rust so you must keep the outside painted with high temp grill paints, even if you use low temps it will still burn the paint off. The inside will get seasoned enough with smoke and grease you will not need to worry with the inside. granted even a cheap one starts at over $500 so clearly you don't want to drop coins on this unless you are really going to get into it. I'm having a drop-in built as I'm re-doing my patio area and I want a nice drop-in smoker and grill for the bar. The firebox will be made out of firebrick so no chance of a burn through over time.

Anywho ...
As I've said the big thing is heat and smoke management ... that is key to good smoking. As much as I'd like it to be toss some wood on, crack a few beers and set back and wait there is more to it.

Say you are smoking a 12-15 lbs shoulder. Which will yeild you about 8-11 pounds of pulled pork. It freezes great so don't go thinking I can't eat that much ... You want to get you smoker temp upto about 200F-220F and keep it there ... figure about 45 minutes to an hour per pound. You don't want your wood to flame so this is why you need a smoker with great vent control so you can choke the flame if needed. I have bottom vent, side vents and stack vents all adjustable and completely closable on mine. Wrap loosely your sholder in foil you want the smoke to get in and it will keep moisture in so the meat doesn't dry. Place it fat side up, as this will bast it for you. I don't use spices or rubs to start they tend to burn and salt dries it out. I only use sea salt when I do use salt late in the smoking. Pepper burn real easy ... properly smoked meat need nothing and only BBQ sauce (the real stuff not the CRAP you get at the grocery.)
If you use a bast like apple juice, pineapple etc ... remember they have acids in them and that alone will chemically cook the meat. Same true for vinegar, however a vinegar bast is really good. Here is a simple recipe for ....

* 1 cup cider vinegar
* 1 tablespoon sea salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Let this set a few hours or overnight so the flavor mesh well then you can mop it on the meat.

You can make a simple mop with cheese cloth and a coat hanger. Just cut strips and take a coat hanger wire and bundle and twist them ... and there is you mop.

Dry rubs only use on rib, 1/4 or 1/2 chicken things like that that have a faster cooking time as if long the spices will burn and that taste bad, Even whole chicken get a bit long smoking ... (TIP: On birds, take a lemon or 2 and poke holes in it with a fork, put them in the bird while smoking and this will make the meat extra moist. 1 or 2 for chicken, 4 or 5 for turkey. use that to base how many for other bird, cornish hens, pheasant, etc ... you do NOT need that on water fowl as they are fatty and will be moiost enough.)

OK that is a enough for now ...

 

[Leatherneck]

You guys don't mess about.

It is a way of life here ...

Compaired to this I have a tiny smoker ....

108,000 pounds
and 78 feet of Meat Cooking Machine!

Talk about a chick magnet!

 

[.Shane.]

Talk about a chick magnet!

Penicillin shots on the house!

 

[Ramius75]

here, this is what i found. -_-"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3106039.stm

A study by the French environmental campaigning group Robin des Bois found that a typical two-hour barbecue can release the same level of dioxins as up to 220,000 cigarettes.

http://www.usaweekend.com/01_issues/010701/010701eatsmart.html

Spoiler :

Cancer-proof your barbecue

High heat creates carcinogens in meat. But you can reduce the threat any of these 10 easy ways.

Those burgers, steaks, or ribs sizzling on the grill are cooking up chemicals that can help turn your cells cancerous. High heat reacts with proteins in red meat, poultry and fish to create heterocyclic amines, chemicals that are linked to cancer, especially of the colon and breast. Because these HCAs form within cooked meat, you can't get rid of them by scraping off char. But scientists have come up with ingenious ways to dramatically reduce the hazard. Precisely why these methods work is still a mystery, but research shows they do.

1 Flip burgers often. Turning burgers once a minute and cooking over lower heat reduces HCAs and kills potentially deadly E. coli bacteria, finds a new study at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Important: Use a meat thermometer to make sure a burger's internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, needed to deactivate E. coli. Just because meat is brown doesn't mean it's thoroughly cooked.

2 Use the right marinade. Slash HCAs by marinating raw meat in a thin, very liquid sauce for at least 10 minutes, or more to taste. The Cancer Research Center of Hawaii found that a teriyaki marinade reduced HCAs 67%; a turmeric-garlic sauce, 50%. The key is to use a watery sauce: When a thick, concentrated commercial barbecue sauce was used, it actually tripled HCAs. So dilute thick sauces.

3 Microwave first. Partially cook burgers, poultry, ribs and fish in a microwave oven before grilling, and be sure to discard the juices. Microwaving a hamburger a couple of minutes or a batch of ribs and chicken 10 minutes eliminates 90% of HCAs, says James Felton, Ph.D., at Livermore Lab.

4 Add anti-cancer soy. Mix half a cup of textured soy protein into a pound of ground meat before grilling. This cuts 95% of the expected HCAs in burgers without appreciably affecting the taste, according to tests by John Weisburger, Ph.D., at the American Health Foundation.

5 Enhance with E. Adding vitamin E to raw ground meat hinders HCAs, says J. Ian Gray, Ph.D., of Michigan State University. His tests showed that 120 milligrams of vitamin E powder mixed into or sprinkled on 3.5-ounce patties can reduce HCA formation as much as 72%. Just crack open a capsule of powdered vitamin E.

6 Try a "fruit burger." Mixing a pound of ground meat with a cup of ground, fresh, tart cherries before grilling suppresses 90% of HCA formation, according to research at Michigan State. A possible reason: Cherries are high in HCA-blocking antioxidants. Researchers say other deep-colored fruits rich in antioxidants (grapes, blueberries, plums) should work, too.

7 Add garlic and herbs. In tests, garlic, rosemary and sage reduced HCAs, Gray says. Mix them into burgers, use them in marinades or just eat them in a meal with grilled meat. Antioxidants in citrus fruits also block HCAs.

8 Don't order meat very well-done. The longer meat is cooked at high temperatures (grilling, broiling, frying) the more HCAs are produced. Cooking steaks very well-done, compared with well-done, doubles HCAs. To minimize HCAs, grill beefsteaks and lamb rare or medium-rare. But always cook burgers, pork and poultry well-done to avoid food poisoning.

9 Wash down barbecue with tea. Chemicals in black and green tea help detoxify HCAs, Weisburger says. He recommends drinking hot or iced tea brewed from bags or loose tea (not bottled teas or powdered instant teas) regularly -- and especially with barbecue. Or marinate meat, poultry and fish in concentrated tea (let a tea bag steep in 1/4 cup hot water for 5 minutes).

10 Skip the meat; grill "green." Fruits and vegetables don't contain creatine, the animal protein needed to make HCAs. Pineapple and peppers are great grilled. Also, eating fruits, vegetables and green salads along with barbecued meat lessens the cancer hazard.

 

[Leatherneck]

here, this is what i found. -_-"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3106039.stm



http://www.usaweekend.com/01_issues/010701/010701eatsmart.html

Spoiler :

Cancer-proof your barbecue

High heat creates carcinogens in meat. But you can reduce the threat any of these 10 easy ways.

Those burgers, steaks, or ribs sizzling on the grill are cooking up chemicals that can help turn your cells cancerous. High heat reacts with proteins in red meat, poultry and fish to create heterocyclic amines, chemicals that are linked to cancer, especially of the colon and breast. Because these HCAs form within cooked meat, you can't get rid of them by scraping off char. But scientists have come up with ingenious ways to dramatically reduce the hazard. Precisely why these methods work is still a mystery, but research shows they do.

1 Flip burgers often. Turning burgers once a minute and cooking over lower heat reduces HCAs and kills potentially deadly E. coli bacteria, finds a new study at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Important: Use a meat thermometer to make sure a burger's internal temperature reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit, needed to deactivate E. coli. Just because meat is brown doesn't mean it's thoroughly cooked.

2 Use the right marinade. Slash HCAs by marinating raw meat in a thin, very liquid sauce for at least 10 minutes, or more to taste. The Cancer Research Center of Hawaii found that a teriyaki marinade reduced HCAs 67%; a turmeric-garlic sauce, 50%. The key is to use a watery sauce: When a thick, concentrated commercial barbecue sauce was used, it actually tripled HCAs. So dilute thick sauces.

3 Microwave first. Partially cook burgers, poultry, ribs and fish in a microwave oven before grilling, and be sure to discard the juices. Microwaving a hamburger a couple of minutes or a batch of ribs and chicken 10 minutes eliminates 90% of HCAs, says James Felton, Ph.D., at Livermore Lab.

4 Add anti-cancer soy. Mix half a cup of textured soy protein into a pound of ground meat before grilling. This cuts 95% of the expected HCAs in burgers without appreciably affecting the taste, according to tests by John Weisburger, Ph.D., at the American Health Foundation.

5 Enhance with E. Adding vitamin E to raw ground meat hinders HCAs, says J. Ian Gray, Ph.D., of Michigan State University. His tests showed that 120 milligrams of vitamin E powder mixed into or sprinkled on 3.5-ounce patties can reduce HCA formation as much as 72%. Just crack open a capsule of powdered vitamin E.

6 Try a "fruit burger." Mixing a pound of ground meat with a cup of ground, fresh, tart cherries before grilling suppresses 90% of HCA formation, according to research at Michigan State. A possible reason: Cherries are high in HCA-blocking antioxidants. Researchers say other deep-colored fruits rich in antioxidants (grapes, blueberries, plums) should work, too.

7 Add garlic and herbs. In tests, garlic, rosemary and sage reduced HCAs, Gray says. Mix them into burgers, use them in marinades or just eat them in a meal with grilled meat. Antioxidants in citrus fruits also block HCAs.

8 Don't order meat very well-done. The longer meat is cooked at high temperatures (grilling, broiling, frying) the more HCAs are produced. Cooking steaks very well-done, compared with well-done, doubles HCAs. To minimize HCAs, grill beefsteaks and lamb rare or medium-rare. But always cook burgers, pork and poultry well-done to avoid food poisoning.

9 Wash down barbecue with tea. Chemicals in black and green tea help detoxify HCAs, Weisburger says. He recommends drinking hot or iced tea brewed from bags or loose tea (not bottled teas or powdered instant teas) regularly -- and especially with barbecue. Or marinate meat, poultry and fish in concentrated tea (let a tea bag steep in 1/4 cup hot water for 5 minutes).

10 Skip the meat; grill "green." Fruits and vegetables don't contain creatine, the animal protein needed to make HCAs. Pineapple and peppers are great grilled. Also, eating fruits, vegetables and green salads along with barbecued meat lessens the cancer hazard.

Note the report says ....

High heat creates carcinogens in meat...

Smoking food is LOW heat, if we avoided everything that some study somewhere said causes cancer we'd have to live in a sealed bubble and starve.

Live right, eat right, excerise daily and die anyway.

If you live your life in fear of death, you are not living.

 

[Ramius75]

Note the report says ....



Smoking food is LOW heat, if we avoided everything that some study somewhere said causes cancer we'd have to live in a sealed bubble and starve.

Live right, eat right, excerise daily and die anyway.

If you live your life in fear of death, you are not living.

so u mean actuallly smoking is a bit different from BBQ(grilling) from direct flame ??

I know, its no fun if im to abstain from all meat. therefore i trying to be as balance as i can be.

In singapore, our usual BBQ method involve grilling the meat on charcoal fire while occasionally adding oil/butter/marinate onto the skin.

Im also formulating some alternate marinates like Lemon butter. vinegar/soysauce, Lime juice/vegetable oil, sesame seed oil/garlic/butter. etc etc.