Smokers

[smokeywolf]

I like the build of those old countries as well. Not crazy about the firebox deflector or the grates they use, but that's nitpicking.
As for the electronics, after doing an 18hr smoke on a medium size brisket, just couldn't get it past the stall and I like a 208 IT on them, I can truely appreciate setting it, going to bed, have it cook then hold at a preset temp waiting for me!

About one hour into the stall, wrap the brisket in at least two layers of pink butcher paper, stick your temp probe back in, let your internal temp go to 203, then take it off and let rest for at least an hour.

I did a brisket a couple of weeks ago. By popular demand I'm doing another this weekend.

[frankenfab]

About one hour into the stall, wrap the brisket in at least two layers of pink butcher paper, stick your temp probe back in, let your internal temp go to 203, then take it off and let rest for at least an hour.

I did a brisket a couple of weeks ago. By popular demand I'm doing another this weekend.

This.

I struggled with brisket, and got lucky a couple times. But I finally learned it is all about knowing the internal temp. Wrap at 165 and at 203, rest for 1 hour in some kind of insulated atmosphere. I don't have electronics yet, but I bought a high quality meat thermometer and can consistently make good brisket now.

[sawinredneck]

I've done several briskets with no issue, that day it was 24deg, in January, for my sons B-day, ribs cooked fine but I ended up having to push the pit to 325deg to get that one over the hump.
I wrap with towel and let rest at least an hour in a cooler. I like 208 because I thinks it breaks down the collagen better and I can slice or pull it. Just a personal thing. Kinda like my ribs, I like them a bit chewy but my wife and son like fall off the bone. 175deg gives us a happy medium. There's thousands of ways to do it all, just have to find what works for you.

[MaryB]

I miss my Klose offset but it was to big for cooking just for myself and a few friends(it was a trailer mounted catering pit). Nothing matches the flavor of an all wood fire.

I don't think you can buy anything that is going to last and give predictable results for less than about $800. Traeger pellet smoker is $800 at Costco and is about as "set it and forget it" as you can get.
I enjoy babysitting the smoker and use an "offset smoker". Been smoking meats and vegetables for about 10 years. My pork shoulders, ribs, tri-tips and briskets are proof that I take it pretty serious. I think my next smoker will end up being one of these...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB0pFb_Hb1Y

[smokeywolf]

The pro from Minnesota just arrived. Listen to Mary.

I do use a little mesquite lump charcoal now and then, but charcoal is not for smoking anything. I keep at least 100 lbs. of oak, 50 lbs. of cherry, 50 lbs. of hickory, 50 lbs of apple and when I can get it some pecan.

I wish I could try post oak for my briskets, but the red oak, which I can get, does a mighty fine job. Usually throw in a few chunks of cherry too.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Ahhh.. there are some true Pitmasters here.
Yes... Yessss...... Smell that smoke.
How many know about "TBS"?

[smokeywolf]

Ahhh.. there are some true Pitmasters here.
Yes... Yessss...... Smell that smoke.
How many know about "TBS"?

Thin Blue Smoke. "Smoking" meats is a bit of a misnomer. You actually want to see very little smoke coming out of your stack or chimney and what you do see should be a thin whitish or bluish smoke. Wood should be either actively in flames or in coals. Smoldering wood produces a bitter smoke which leaves a somewhat bitter flavor in the meat.

[sawinredneck]

"If it's smokin, your meats choking!" "If your lookin, your not cookin!"
Say what you will about charcoal, I built a basket, fill it halfway with Kingsford blue to get the party started, then add Western Oak lump and chunks and/or chips, depending on the smoke, as I go. I spent a LOT of time fighting with my Brinkmann's temps using solely Oak, Post, White, Red. I've got 80 acres in Eastern KS to cut on, I used to run firewood in a previous life.

[David2011]

My first foray into smoking was with a Char Griller from Academy. IMO it was a fair grill and a poor smoker. They've made of thin metal with poorly fitting seams and doors with list of extra holes for other configurations of the basic components. Lots of good food came off of it as a grill but at a great cost of labor. Smoking was difficult because of the huge amount of uncontrolled airflow both in and out of the smoker. Maintaining a steady temperature was very difficult. If the wind picked up the internal temp soared and was hard to bring back down. Again, good food was cooked on it but only due to a high level of attention.

I bought a new (to me) house and the seller left a large but poorly built charcoal grill. A model airplane club buddy is a welder and has built a number of smokers for community groups so he had some ideas and experience. The basic grill was made of a 3 foot section of 20" well casing which is high grade steel about 1/4" thick. We added a fire box on the right end that would accept full size fireplace logs complete with a door with a tool box latch and a nice ash pan. Baffles were installed to diffuse the firebox flames and reduce the hot spot. He made an expanded grate 20"x35" with a nice frame. Two dinky 1-1/2" stacks were removed and plugged off and replaced by a 4-1/2" STACK with a rotating cover. A hand made all steel butterfly valve was installed to control the incoming air and therefore the entire smoker. Wheels were also added as the weight is at least 400 pounds now.

A a third buddy, an accomplished outdoor cook, warned me that there would be a bid learning curve going to the custom smoker. He was right. NOT!!! This smoker works exactly like my inexperienced mind said it should. Once the fire is going (always pecan logs) it needs to be checked on about every 45 minutes. It burns about one log per hour once the fire is going. Last Friday I had visitors so we cooked two pork butts. One was for slicing and the other for shredding. The one to be sliced came off after 6 hours @ 170 degrees internal temp and the one to shred was heated up to 205 degrees so it would pull apart. Fearing damaging the meat we chose to wrap it in foil and finish it in the oven at 350 for another hour. It shredded beautifully. SWMBO said it was the best pork she had tasted after living half Her life in Alabama and the rest in the New Orleans area so she knows food.

IMO the secrets are using large chunks of well seasoned wood with charcoal as the fire starter, keeping the exhaust wide open and regulate the heat solely with the intake butterfly. Watch the temperature closely and choose a good piece of meat as the subject of your efforts.

David

[TexasGrunt]

Brisket is easy with my Rec Tec.

Fire up the grill. Set to 235°.

Apply rub.

Place brisket fat side down on grate.

Wait 10-14 hours depending on size of brisket.

Remove brisket, wrap in two layers of foil, wrap in thick blanket, place in cooler for an hour or so and enjoy.

[Boz330]

Just now got back to this thread and appreciate the reply's. I use to pit BBQ whole pigs about twice a year for up to 175 people. I wanted an electric smoker for my wife and I and maybe a small gathering. Pork butt, turkey, brisket, or even chickens would be the main things cooked. I have a tough time justifying close to a $1000 for something I would use a dozen times a year. I have had Brinkman charcoal and LP cookers over the years and find them tough to maintain temperature properly.
It would be nice to figure out some way to make this Masterbuilt work directly instead needing the digital controller that doesn't work. The cabinet is fairly well built and adding wood chips is easy.
Here are a couple pictures of big party pits for multiple pigs. An old farmer in western KY taught me to do it this way. The fire is separate and nothing but coals go under the pig in the pit. This is really good but requires almost 24 hours of constant attendance and lots of beer. I don't cook for crowds like that anymore and it is a LOT of work. I had an old 275gallon fuel container converted to an oven with a wood stove next to it for heat and smoke but it didn't do as well as I expected and gave it away. The concrete blocks hold the heat much better. I used mostly oak slabs from local saw mills for cooking.

Bob

[Bob in St. Louis]

Thin Blue Smoke. "Smoking" meats is a bit of a misnomer. You actually want to see very little smoke coming out of your stack or chimney and what you do see should be a thin whitish or bluish smoke. Wood should be either actively in flames or in coals. Smoldering wood produces a bitter smoke which leaves a somewhat bitter flavor in the meat.

You Sir, are definitely a pitmaster!

[MaryB]

Look close in the pit pic I posted, what do you see coming out the door and stacks?

Ahhh.. there are some true Pitmasters here.
Yes... Yessss...... Smell that smoke.
How many know about "TBS"?

[MaryB]

A pellet pit is nice, not quite as good as a log burner but with the right brand of pellets(I use Lumberjack) you get a decent smoke ring and flavor.

[smokeywolf]

Look close in the pit pic I posted, what do you see coming out the door and stacks?

Why I referred to you as a pro. It really was a beautiful smoker. I almost wish I could justify a smoker of that size and caliber.

[Lloyd Smale]

I like my smoker but my buddy from down state whos dad was a german sausage maker and made the best Da3333 smoke meats ive ever ate told me his father allways said if a smoker didn't have either dirt or wood walls it wasn't a true smoker. Ive though before about building a true smoke house but I just don't get the venison I did a couple years back and the one I have now does good enough for me. I do think that even my big smoker does a better job of smoking then the brinkman and smokey joe I had before. I can control the heat separately from the smoke and although it isn't a true cold smoker it can be used like that in a pinch. Also I can control the heat at temps as low as 90 degrees and as high as 350 degrees.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Look close in the pit pic I posted, what do you see coming out the door and stacks?

You have no idea how envious I am of that cooker you've got!

[MaryB]

Sold that one when I stopped catering, it was way to big for cooking for myself and a few friends. Have a Traeger now but want to get a patio sized offset wood burner.

In that picture I have 60 pounds of chuck roasts(cooks like pulled pork, shreds like it too), 40 pounds of pork butt, 4 full slabs of spare ribs, and a half size hotel pan of beans that I smoke cooked for 24 hours. That was my last big annual BBQ/reunion with old friends I rarely get to see anymore.

[MaryB]

Red oak on beef is my all time favorite! Very sweet smelling smoke and it is a more refined flavor than hickory that can slap you in the face.

The pro from Minnesota just arrived. Listen to Mary.

I do use a little mesquite lump charcoal now and then, but charcoal is not for smoking anything. I keep at least 100 lbs. of oak, 50 lbs. of cherry, 50 lbs. of hickory, 50 lbs of apple and when I can get it some pecan.

I wish I could try post oak for my briskets, but the red oak, which I can get, does a mighty fine job. Usually throw in a few chunks of cherry too.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Sold that one when I stopped catering, it was way to big for cooking for myself and a few friends. Have a Traeger now but want to get a patio sized offset wood burner.

In that picture I have 60 pounds of chuck roasts(cooks like pulled pork, shreds like it too), 40 pounds of pork butt, 4 full slabs of spare ribs, and a half size hotel pan of beans that I smoke cooked for 24 hours. That was my last big annual BBQ/reunion with old friends I rarely get to see anymore.

You definitely know your smoke then!
I have never owned, or used a 'pellet pooper', but thought that the Traeger would be my first choice. I almost bought one, but got a 22.5 WSM instead.
That being said, it seems like the owners of the "Rec Tec" and "Grilla Grills" are happier since they got rid of their Traeger and "moved on".
I'd love to hear some chat about the units from folks with experience.