Any smokers here?

[Leatherneck]

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.

Smoking is way diffferent from grilling ... people call BBQ grilling but it's not.

Grilling is done at 400-500 degrees F (about 175-200C +/-) and smoking is indirect heat rarely ever over the flame at about 200-225F (100C range) Read up on the thread a bit you'll get more info on it. Smoking is great stuff!

 

[Turner]

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

That's why you stand close to the grill, with plenty of, um, 'Anti-Freeze' with you.

Actually, it doesn't get that cold around here. Coldest I've felt here is about -5°F (-20°C), and that was in a real cold spell, and about 03:00. C+oldest afternoon temp...probably about 10°F (-12°C) or so.

Anyways...

Yesterday I got some brats and smoked them. Got the coals up to about 300 or so, on one side of the grill (like I put in the diagram a few posts up) and the brats side was about 225 most of the time. Had them in a aluminium pan with some beer in it, after they had marinated in beer for a couple hours. Turned out pretty good. For about the last 30-40 minutes they were out on the grill, browning up. Also had some baked beans in an aluminium pan, and they smoked too. Turned out really good. Used charcoal and apple wood. I love the smell of applewood burning. If I had a fireplace, I'd burn that in it.

I've looked at that smoker, Leatherneck, and at first I thought it was a bit small for me. Yeah, it's bigger than my grill now, but it looks awful tiny. I found a bigger one, and that's the $200 one I was talking about earlier...but like I said, that's a lot of money for me to start out on. I've kinda swung back to the one you posted. And it's pretty reasonably priced out here. Wal-Mart, when they had it, was selling it for about $80. But right now I'm really leaning towards the Brinkman Smoke N Grill. I found a website that talks about modding it, and it doesn't cost that much more than the $30 it costs. And from the look of it, the mods make it much more efficient. But they straight up say it's a PoS smoker to begin with.

Not doing the pork butt steaks this week. We decided on mexican tonight...been a while since we've done that. Maybe next weekend.

 

[Jawz II]

i quit 10 days ago. feels like more.

 

[Sidhe]

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!

That's not a smoker that's a WMD isn't it

I don't think spit is carcinogenic? But burnt food is, also inhaled smoke from cooking fires is. In African countries it's considered a legitimate problem, but over here cooking with gas has solved the cancer issue.

We don't smoke over here, we let someone else do it for us? Sounds like we should, I wonder if they even sell these beasts here?

 

[Leatherneck]

That's why you stand close to the grill, with plenty of, um, 'Anti-Freeze' with you.

Actually, it doesn't get that cold around here. Coldest I've felt here is about -5°F (-20°C), and that was in a real cold spell, and about 03:00. C+oldest afternoon temp...probably about 10°F (-12°C) or so.

Anyways...

Yesterday I got some brats and smoked them. Got the coals up to about 300 or so, on one side of the grill (like I put in the diagram a few posts up) and the brats side was about 225 most of the time. Had them in a aluminium pan with some beer in it, after they had marinated in beer for a couple hours. Turned out pretty good. For about the last 30-40 minutes they were out on the grill, browning up. Also had some baked beans in an aluminium pan, and they smoked too. Turned out really good. Used charcoal and apple wood. I love the smell of applewood burning. If I had a fireplace, I'd burn that in it.

I've looked at that smoker, Leatherneck, and at first I thought it was a bit small for me. Yeah, it's bigger than my grill now, but it looks awful tiny. I found a bigger one, and that's the $200 one I was talking about earlier...but like I said, that's a lot of money for me to start out on. I've kinda swung back to the one you posted. And it's pretty reasonably priced out here. Wal-Mart, when they had it, was selling it for about $80. But right now I'm really leaning towards the Brinkman Smoke N Grill. I found a website that talks about modding it, and it doesn't cost that much more than the $30 it costs. And from the look of it, the mods make it much more efficient. But they straight up say it's a PoS smoker to begin with.

Not doing the pork butt steaks this week. We decided on mexican tonight...been a while since we've done that. Maybe next weekend.

Yeah that one I posted - I said was a minimum starter smoker if you want to try REAL smoking. What I mean is a firebox to the side or rear as opposed to underneith it. You get better indirect heat and more smoke. That $30 Pos smoker by Brinkmann is 'ok' at best as like I said it has flaws and many drawbacks.
I smoked a little over 100 lbs of shoulders, chickens, brats (various kinds), natural Frankfurter not those factory produced ones.

I order from these gus a lot ... http://www.bavariasausage.com/

and these guys ...

http://www.koenemannsausage.com/

While $200 might be a lot of money, it's better to buy the right tool once and the the wrong tool a few times. Check your trade ads, and other local trade papers (everyone has them don't know there name in KC -- but here they are "Show-n-Sell', 'Trifty Nickle', 'Southern Trader', and thing like that, you might find a used one that is already seasoned, and much bigger for less money. If you have FreeCycle post a want there and you might get one for free.

http://www.kcfreecycle.org/ - The Kansas City Free Cycle

Any way keep me posted as to your progress and feel free to ask me anything about it, I'll answer if I can.

 

[Leatherneck]

That's not a smoker that's a WMD isn't it

I don't think spit is carcinogenic? But burnt food is, also inhaled smoke from cooking fires is. In African countries it's considered a legitimate problem, but over here cooking with gas has solved the cancer issue.

We don't smoke over here, we let someone else do it for us? Sounds like we should, I wonder if they even sell these beasts here?

Yes they sell them in England, I had a freind in Scotland that got one but had no idea how to use it and thought it was broke, I visited him and used it and then had to tell him the only thing that is broke is the cook ... LOL

On carcinogenic, you're going to die of something why live in fear of everything? Enjoy life, it's to short regardless of how long you live.

 

[Turner]

Yeah that one I posted - I said was a minimum starter smoker if you want to try REAL smoking. What I mean is a firebox to the side or rear as opposed to underneith it. You get better indirect heat and more smoke. That $30 Pos smoker by Brinkmann is 'ok' at best as like I said it has flaws and many drawbacks.
I smoked a little over 100 lbs of shoulders, chickens, brats (various kinds), natural Frankfurter not those factory produced ones.

I order from these gus a lot ... http://www.bavariasausage.com/

and these guys ...

http://www.koenemannsausage.com/

While $200 might be a lot of money, it's better to buy the right tool once and the the wrong tool a few times. Check your trade ads, and other local trade papers (everyone has them don't know there name in KC -- but here they are "Show-n-Sell', 'Trifty Nickle', 'Southern Trader', and thing like that, you might find a used one that is already seasoned, and much bigger for less money. If you have FreeCycle post a want there and you might get one for free.

http://www.kcfreecycle.org/ - The Kansas City Free Cycle

Any way keep me posted as to your progress and feel free to ask me anything about it, I'll answer if I can.

Yeah, we have FreeCycle out here. Great community! We've both given and received from them. It's a great way to recycle stuff, and perhaps pick up something for free that you're looking for. Of course, caveat emptor...gotta be careful with those. You may not get exactly what you're looking for. But I've never been burned on one, either on the giving or getting.

Anyways....

I do agree with sucking it up and spending a bit more now. We'll just have to see how it goes.

One thing I'm curious about...you don't grill on those kind of smokers, right? OR can you cook over the flame? I really like to multitask, and if I can get something to do two jobs, great. But with these offset smokers, I'm not seeing a way to grill and control the temperature. I do realize that I can move the food closer to the smokebox to make it warmer...but is there any direct grilling? I'm thinking no, but want to make sure.

 

[Sidhe]

Yes they sell them in England, I had a freind in Scotland that got one but had no idea how to use it and thought it was broke, I visited him and used it and then had to tell him the only thing that is broke is the cook ... LOL

On carcinogenic, you're going to die of something why live in fear of everything? Enjoy life, it's to short regardless of how long you live.

indeed, considering I smoke ocsaionally and drink more often than is wise probably, eating smokey foods is the least of my worries.

 

[Leatherneck]

Yeah, we have FreeCycle out here. Great community! We've both given and received from them. It's a great way to recycle stuff, and perhaps pick up something for free that you're looking for. Of course, caveat emptor...gotta be careful with those. You may not get exactly what you're looking for. But I've never been burned on one, either on the giving or getting.

Anyways....

I do agree with sucking it up and spending a bit more now. We'll just have to see how it goes.

One thing I'm curious about...you don't grill on those kind of smokers, right? OR can you cook over the flame? I really like to multitask, and if I can get something to do two jobs, great. But with these offset smokers, I'm not seeing a way to grill and control the temperature. I do realize that I can move the food closer to the smokebox to make it warmer...but is there any direct grilling? I'm thinking no, but want to make sure.

One like this which is at Amazon for $455 ... note the fire box has a lid to be used as a regular grill and the smoker to the side. Not sure what your budget is, but I'd look for one like this or close to it, Look for the thickness for the metal, you don't want it to burn through in one season. Might want to place fire bricks in the bottom of the firebox to prolong the life.

Now, if you look at the pic of the big one I posted earlier, that one is a lot like mine, you'll see the firebox has a lid too, this is the grill protion of the smoker. It doesn't have the tall upright box on the left is the curing chamber for things like bacon or jerky. Also good for keep stuff warm and adding smoke to those things that are already smoked or for slower smoking. Handy but not required. Then again I doubt you're ready to drop $5000 on a smoker. I've made my money back a few times with mine smoking turkeys and hams for the holidays for other people, at $25 a pop. But I'll borrow 3 or 4 other smokers and have about 6 or 7 big ones going at once.

So anyway, that is what you want to look for, one where the firebox has a lid so you can grill as well as smoke. That will give you the multi function you are looking for, now with that said they are going to cost more.

Hope that helps ... as we speak I'm having a BBQ omlette. tasty!!


EDIT .... Here is cheaper one for $178 at Amazon

 

[Turner]

How'd you get the eggs to stay on the grill? Mine always drip through. You know, I have the same problem with spaghetti, too. I don't understand it. I can never get them to stay on the grill, they just fall right through.







All good information there. I like that smoker at Amazon. My problem with Amazon and those kinds of products is that I'm a hands-on type of guy...but I like those grills.

 

[Leatherneck]

How'd you get the eggs to stay on the grill? Mine always drip through. You know, I have the same problem with spaghetti, too. I don't understand it. I can never get them to stay on the grill, they just fall right through.

Use a pan for the spaghetti and a cast iron griddle for the eggs. Bet you didn't think I had a answer for that ... there is very litttle I haven't cooked on a smoker when out camping.

All good information there. I like that smoker at Amazon. My problem with Amazon and those kinds of products is that I'm a hands-on type of guy...but I like those grills.

I think I've seen those are the big box stores (Lowes, HD, WM, Costco, Sams), I think they put them on clearance after Labor Day so that might be the tine to buy.

Depending on what you want to spend most farmstores (around here anyway) sell locally built smokers. They cost more but they construction is top notch and if you want a special design no problem. Lot of people building them in the shop or garage here. I'm sure there are some there too.