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Considering getting a smoker and need some advice

TRAEGER RENEGADE ELITE....

Perfect every time because it uses indirect heat and a convection fan that distributes the heat evenly so there is nothing you can't cook in a TRAEGER......and tasting is believing !

No, this is not an advertisement. But if the lights go out I eat better than if the old lady cooked dinner in the kitchen ! You just set it up and set a timer and don't have to come back and check on it, then if you loss track of what your doing the food does not become dry and hard if the food is exposed to heat too long. They are well worth the added cost !!!
 
Well, did you get your smoker? I recently picked up a new Smoke Hollow 44 incher. Propane which is what I'm used to. My next one may be an upper end electric, as they have come along way since the early days of the little aluminum Wigwam smoke boxes. I like set and forget. I had a smaller Smoke Hollow for years and it gave great food and service, but the larger ones have a separate door for checking chips which allows you to keep the heat in.

Give us some pics of the food.
 
Those are fine looking smoker / grilles. I have rebuilt my propane grille three times over the past 10 ~ 15 years because I like it, but I don't know if it has another rebuild life left in it. When the time comes to replace it in a few years, I will be in the market for something like what I am seeing here.

As much as I would like to get a nice charcoal or propane fired smoker, I am afraid that my space and location limitations limit me to something small and simple at this time. And I am just getting started with smoking. Unless something changes, I expect to pick up the electric smoker this coming weekend. If I outgrow it and really get passionate about smoking (oh happy day!), I can always pass it on to my daughter. I am sure that they would put it to good use too.
 
I've used a propane grill and managed to get decent smoking/bbq results with various smoker devices, but then decided to get a true smoker and bought a Weber 18.5" Smokey Mountain.

Yes it uses charcoal. Yes that is more time consuming and costly for buying fuel and dispensing with ashes, but the nice thing about the WSM is that it can be configured as both a grill and smoker (direct and indirect cooking). It has upped my grilling and bbq'ing.

I outfitted it with casters so that I can roll it to the side of the house, so it really doesn't take up space at all except on cook day.
 
Picked it up last night and assembled it this afternoon. It is surprisingly well made. After five hours of break-in seasoning it is ready to go! :D We plan to do some ribs and some chicken for its maiden voyage next weekend. I cant wait!

(The picture makes it look like its yellow/gold color. Its not. It must be the reflection from the lawn and the leaves.)

IMG_0676.JPG
 
Will do. We may try a turkey breast instead of chicken in addition to the ribs. My daughter is anxious to smoke some venison but that may be several weeks away. I think that this is going to be fun -- and tasty! :D

I am looking at several excellent websites and suffering from data overload. It sure makes me appreciate how newbies on AK feel as they just start out exploring audio and learning to navigate their way around here.

Thanks again everyone for your comments and suggestions.
 
Just a heads-up for anyone that may be interested, Sam's Club just put them on sale in their monthly sales booklet at $50 off. That's a bunch of ribs! :)
 
BruceRPA said:
Will do. We may try a turkey breast instead of chicken in addition to the ribs. My daughter is anxious to smoke some venison but that may be several weeks away. I think that this is going to be fun -- and tasty! :D

I am looking at several excellent websites and suffering from data overload. It sure makes me appreciate how newbies on AK feel as they just start out exploring audio and learning to navigate their way around here.

Thanks again everyone for your comments and suggestions.
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Personally, I'd go with the chicken. Just don't make the same mistake I made the first time. The meat tends to take on a pinkish appearance from the smoking process. I assumed it was not done yet. That was a mistake. Go by temperature if you are unsure. By no means am I a pitmaster but I've done enough to have a pretty good feel for when stuff is done. However, I still use a Thermapen on occasion for chicken, pork butt, etc.
 
Thank you for the great advice. My daughter will be coming with her husband and kids for the maiden voyage. Fortunately there is a pizza joint not too far away if things go terribly wrong somehow. I think that chicken will be a better choice this time too. As much as I like turkey, I will have to wait just a little longer for it.

I just realized that one more thing I like about smokers. One does not have to make an either / or choice about what to make. Just do both! :)

This smoker has a built-in meat probe. Its even blue tooth enabled. I didn't care or think too much about that feature until I realized how important it is to keep the door closed. Thanks again for the heads-up about the meat color too. I could easily have made the same mistake as you described.

I just noticed that the picture that I posted above has the colors reversed. The door is actually brushed aluminum / silver in color and the inside now has a gold color and patina. Just thought that was interesting.
 
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Well, today was the day. The prep started yesterday afternoon. We soaked the chicken overnight in a brine and brown sugar solution. The ribs got a Applewood rub. This morning, after allowing them to come to room temperature, the chicken got a coat of olive oil and some Applewood rub too. In to the smoker they went for five hours, set to 225. The last hour was at 260 degrees. The smoke was from Jack Daniels barrel chips. The water bowl was a blend of sweet red wine and water.

For my first attempt, everything was pretty darn good! I think I overdid it with the smoke. Maybe just a bit too much of a good thing. The Chicken was excellent. I thought that the ribs had a bit too much rub on them and the smoke was a bit strong for my taste too. They were definitely done but I prefer ribs to be very well done. They were very moist and juicy but they could have cooked longer. Still, they were very good.

Considering that I like ribs very well done, what are your thoughts about removing the water bowl for the last hour and turning up the heat? If I do that, I would remove the chicken keep it covered in a warm the oven. Either that or start it later than the ribs.

I will say that I am impressed with the build quality and the features of this Masterbuilt smoker.

As requested:

IMG_0686.JPG IMG_0690.JPG IMG_0695.JPG IMG_0696.JPG IMG_0697.JPG IMG_0684.JPG IMG_0685.JPG

Ok, the Pie was not in the smoker. My wife made it from scratch. She even put raisins it half of it just for me! Yum!
I almost didn't have enough room for desert after the ribs and chicken.
(Key word - almost.) :)
 
Wow - that looks delicious! Nicely done. :thumbsup:

The amount of smoke is highly individual: I like moderate smoke, my wife doesn't, the boys say bring it.

If you were applying smoke for the whole 5 hours, then just cut back to the first 2 or 3 hours. Was the wood in chips or chunks?
 
A great start! Man, you don't do things by halves, it looks great!

Agree with Erik, if the smoke is too strong or gets to be "acrid" just shorten the smoke time or even go with a milder chip. I find two hours in heavy smoke to be enough.

I'd be reluctant to go higher temp and take out the water bowl as the ribs may dry out and get tough chewy on the outside. There again, you could if you basted them well before the final "bake". Just extend the time a little, low and slow always seem to work for me.

Given a few more cooks you'll find what works for you. Again great start, I'm glad the Bluetooth smoker worked as advertised.

Mom's pie looks good too.
 
Nice job. Everything looks delicious. Your smoker looks like a nice piece of hardware! I'm not sure about removing the water pan and turning up the heat. I be concerned with them getting tough on the outside. I do my smoking on a Weber kettle so I put my ribs over the direct heat for a bit just to firm up the bark after the low and slow cook. As for chicken, I've tried low and slow and don't really see the benefit. I typically cook my chicken over high indirect heat (375 to 400 degrees) until the breast is meat done. There are many paths to great BBQ and you just need to find the one that works for you and your equipment. It looks like you are off to a good start.

-Dave
 
Thank you all for the very helpful advice and feedback. :thumbsup:

I kept the smoke rolling for the first three of five hours. The smoke was from chips that get loaded and re-loaded every half hour or so through a port on the side of the cabinet. I also kept the vent on top of the cabinet choked off by half. My thinking was that would help to keep the smoke more concentrated and also help to keep the moisture content up. I think it did both. Next time I may try to open it up a bit more and cut back on the length of time for the smoke.

The chicken was, and continues to be, delicious! It is, by far, the most tender and tasty chicken that I have ever had. I have been enjoying sandwiches made from the leftovers for the past few days. Man, its good! I will heat the leftover ribs on the grille for dinner tonight. This smoker truly is the gift that keeps on giving! :) There is even a piece of pie left! Yea!

I wiped down the inside of the cabinet with damp paper towels after if cooled. No scrubbing, just a wipe down. All of the racks and pans went through the dishwasher. What are the experts opinions on that wipe down? Should I have just wiped the door seal and left the cabinet alone?

I am really looking forward to the next "smoke". Unfortunately we will be traveling for the next two weekends. This weekend is a trip to Connecticut to visit my sister-in-law and her daughter. They travel all over the east coast to attend beer tasting and beer trading events. :beerchug: There will be some of the same while we are there. The following weekend is a tour and event at our favorite New York State Finger Lakes Winery (Hazlitt) for "case-club" members. Its time to stock up for the Fall "smoking" weekends. :biggrin:
 
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I clean the racks, but never the sides of the smoker. Eventually you will see some big flakes pealing off. Just knock them off.
 
BruceRPA said:
Thank you all for the very helpful advice and feedback. :thumbsup:

I kept the smoke rolling for the first three of five hours. The smoke was from chips that get loaded and re-loaded every half hour or so through a port on the side of the cabinet. I also kept the vent on top of the cabinet choked off by half. My thinking was that would help to keep the smoke more concentrated and also help to keep the moisture content up. I think it did both. Next time I may try to open it up a bit more and cut back on the length of time for the smoke.

The chicken was, and continues to be, delicious! It is, by far, the most tender and tasty chicken that I have ever had. I have been enjoying sandwiches made from the leftovers for the past few days. Man, its good! I will heat the leftover ribs on the grille for dinner tonight. This smoker truly is the gift that keeps on giving! :) There is even a piece of pie left! Yea!

I wiped down the inside of the cabinet with damp paper towels after if cooled. No scrubbing, just a wipe down. All of the racks and pans went through the dishwasher. What are the experts opinions on that wipe down? Should I have just wiped the door seal and left the cabinet alone?

I am really looking forward to the next "smoke". Unfortunately we will be traveling for the next two weekends. This weekend is a trip to Connecticut to visit my sister-in-law and her daughter. They travel all over the east coast to attend beer tasting and beer trading events. :beerchug: There will be some of the same while we are there. The following weekend is a tour and event at our favorite New York State Finger Lakes Winery (Hazlitt) for "case-club" members. Its time to stock up for the Fall "smoking" weekends. :biggrin:
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If you are adding chips like shoveling coal into a locomotive, that might explain the heavy smoke flavor. Reduce the amount being added or shorten the smoke time a bit.

Wiping/cleaning your smoker will vary - some folks like the build up to help seal up the smoker and 'season' it.

I use hot water and a Scotch-brite pad on the grates, but double foil my water pan to cut down on having to clean it.

Consider the advice, then decide on what works best for your rig.
 
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