OT: - Smokers | Page 2 | The Boneyard

OT: Smokers

HuskyHawk said:
The Turkey thread got me thinking. So, let’s talk smokers. I got a Masterbuilt 3 years ago. It works, but is a bitch to keep clean and has started rusting in places. I think I can get another season out if it but I feel like there should be a better long term solution.

A friend who is a good BBQ guy built a smoker from a oil drum. He loves it. Charcoal fuel. Another friend bought one of those pellet fuel smoker/grill combos. A Traeger. He’s been really happy with it. I have a nice new Weber gas grill so will grill on that, but a Kamado/ Big Green Egg sounds cool. Also interested in ease of cleaning and longevity outdoors in New England.

Any suggestions for the casual smoker? Would like to be able to do jerky too.
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My turkey goes in my Masterbuilt within the hour. I smoke a 10.6-11lb turkey every year and it comes out great. When done cover turkey about 45 min, should be nice and juicy. Yes it gets dirty but for cleaning you have to stay on top of it and if you know you want a smoker plan accordingly.
 
I have a Humphrey's Down East Beast. A vertical smoker built like a tank. Can smoke all winter with no fear of temperature fluctuation. I use lump charcoal and wood chunks. Have a Fireboard to keep temp--easy to use and incredibly well built.
 
Broke out my Masterbuilt again today. Pork Loin came out ok, left in on a hair too long (ran an errand). The Brisket looked good, and I thought I had nailed it. Outer ends were moist and tasty, good bark. Middle ended up too dry. Too long? Not long enough? Maybe should have foiled it longer.

Rust spots all over this smoker. I’ll use it through the summer and into fall. Then replace it. Still don’t know which way to go.

1. Kamado. Pros: can be used in cold weather. Holds temp really well. Easy ash removal. Easy to clean. Can do more stuff. Cons: expensive. Not much surface area. I already have a gas grill and Ive never been good with charcoal.

2. Pellet. Pro: Surface area Is big, easy to use. Cons: huge space waster and only does one thing.

3. Ugly Drum. Pro: cheap. Keeps temps well. Doesn’t take too much space. Cons: I suck with charcoal. Only smokes. Harder to clean than Kamado.
 
I have had my Pit Boss (pellets)for about 5 years and it is so simple to regulate the temperature. The digital feature is great. Just set it and forget it until it's time to eat.
 
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Cooking a chicken for 16 hours will leave you with jerky, at best.

I've been doing a Whole Roaster (Perdue mainly) every other week or so since the second week of March. Spatchcock chicken takes about 4 hours at 245. A whole organic young chicken takes about 3 - 3 1/2 hours because it has far less meat. Also the chips won't smoke very well at 225.
 
Husky25 said:
Cooking a chicken for 16 hours will leave you with jerky, at best.

I've been doing a Whole Roaster (Perdue mainly) every other week or so since the second week of March. Spatchcock chicken takes about 4 hours at 245. A whole organic young chicken takes about 3 - 3 1/2 hours because it has far less meat. Also the chips won't smoke very well at 225.
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Beercan chicken on the smoker is the one think I do well. Seems about 3.5-4 hours for whole chicken.

But a brisket or pork butt, can take a long, long time.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Can't get my propane grill to a low, steady temp. Simply isn't designed to do 225 for 16 hours.
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That’s not really what those little boxes are for. Soak the chips for an hour and cook a little longer and a little lower. You’re not really “smoking” anything.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Beercan chicken on the smoker is the one think I do well. Seems about 3.5-4 hours for whole chicken.

But a brisket or pork butt, can take a long, long time.
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Been doing pork butt for the weeks I don't a chicken (Throw in a brisket or various cuts of ribs every now and again too). It's about 90 minutes per pound, so longs as you wrap it about 2/3 through and have a decent digital instant read thermometer. It takes too long for an analog thermometer to get a reliable reading and the meat loses too much heat in the process.

Brisket takes about 90min./lb. as well, but are far larger than the pork I've been doing. I've only done a few, and I'm still trying to find my groove, but I've found that it's not nearly as forgiving as pork butt. If all else fails with pork, it can be pulled.

Dream Jobbed 2.0 said:
That’s not really what those little boxes are for. Soak the chips for an hour and cook a little longer and a little lower. You’re not really “smoking” anything.
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It's not low and slow, but those "smoke" boxes are exactly for that purpose.
 
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Smoking wings for my son's birthday this weekend. I have the electric Char-Broil smoker, which was a gift to replace my old barrel smoker. I was a little suspicious at first, but this thing has worked great for the past 4 years. The smoke box is only so big so for longer smokes I do have change the wood chips out occasionally.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Can't get my propane grill to a low, steady temp. Simply isn't designed to do 225 for 16 hours.
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nope , there is not a gas grill out there that i know of that will hold that temp with the cover closed for that period even with only One burner on lowest setting
 
If you have a sous vide machine, you sous vide your meat for 12-24 hours and smoke it for 4- 5hours. My neighbors complain about the smoke, but - oh well.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Beercan chicken on the smoker is the one think I do well. Seems about 3.5-4 hours for whole chicken.

But a brisket or pork butt, can take a long, long time.
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A large (7lb or more) roaster takes about 4 hours at 225 on the BGE. We serve it with a homemade Alabama White style sauce.
 
I'm looking at a pellet grill by RecTec, specifically, the RecTec RT-700. Reviews are fantastic for it, it seems to be well-built with stainless throughout & retains heat nicely (but it isn't double-walled if that matters). Ordering directly through the company, the cost is $1200.
 
Conndog said:
I'm looking at a pellet grill by RecTec, specifically, the RecTec RT-700. Reviews are fantastic for it, it seems to be well-built with stainless throughout & retains heat nicely (but it isn't double-walled if that matters). Ordering directly through the company, the cost is $1200.
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Pellet grill pros:
Super easy to operate. Temperature is maintained like an oven.

Pellet grill cons:
Smoke flavor is lighter than wood burners unless you really find the sweet spot of your model. Some people prefer this, but it can be a little jarring to people coming from other smokers.
 
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I've done a fair bit of good smoking with an old offset unit. If you ever get somewhat serious about it (willing to spend some money), I've smoked on a friend's Backwoods Chubby. It does the best job for a home unit that I've seen. My brother does it with BGE which does a good job as well but not as good as the Chubby. When I tire of my offset smoker I'll get a Chubby.
 
Anybody try a Weber Smokey mountain? My local fireplace BBQ specialty store is running a sale on everything. That includes Big Green Egg. But Smokey mountain is far cheaper and bigger. Unfortunately it seems that the sale is a going out of business sale without it being labeled as such.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Anybody try a Weber Smokey mountain? My local fireplace BBQ specialty store is running a sale on everything. That includes Big Green Egg. But Smokey mountain is far cheaper and bigger. Unfortunately it seems that the sale is a going out of business sale without it being labeled as such.
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I have one, the 22" radius, and it works pretty well. That said, the last butt I smoked was on the kettle with a pan of water underneath, which still came out great. The WSM are a little leaky and might have some issues on windy days. Also, cleaning ashes out is a pain, and you have to flip the middle section when not using it or a lot of rain will find its way in, even while covered.
 
TRest said:
I have one, the 22" radius, and it works pretty well. That said, the last butt I smoked was on the kettle with a pan of water underneath, which still came out great. The WSM are a little leaky and might have some issues on windy days. Also, cleaning ashes out is a pain, and you have to flip the middle section when not using it or a lot of rain will find its way in, even while covered.
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Told my friend Dave of my plans and he said he already built an extra Ugly Drum Smoker he will sell me for $200. So it looks like I’ll be going with the Ugly Drum instead.
 
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