What's in your smoker?

[kgoings]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Thats how it supposed to look IMO.

My rubs are 90% Brown sugar too.
Peel of that nice bark, scrape the fat off the backside of it, chop it up and toss it in w/ the meat.
Thats where so much of your flavor comes from.

Doesnt look bad from here.

Here is a pic of my last one that came out great!

That looks good, its a bit redish mine was charred black. I tasted it and it was not good. I know what I did wrong, I put WAY too much on. There were spots that were not thick and that part tasted great!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by mosesbotbol

Tying makes a big differene. Instead of removing the bone you could slice in a "flap" and put your herbs and spices into the flap and tie it up. On bone-in roasts, I like to cut around the bone as much as possible and stuff it with seasoning. Especially on lamb where if pulls up the bone, by serving time there's a nice handle to carve.

Interesting. I might have to try that.

[mosesbotbol]

Originally Posted by kgoings

That looks good, its a bit redish mine was charred black. I tasted it and it was not good. I know what I did wrong, I put WAY too much on. There were spots that were not thick and that part tasted great!

Here's 3 ideas to consider the next time:

1. Try using molasses thinned with white vinegar and rub down the meat with it. Let is sit a few hours then apply a non-sugar based rub. You'll get the sweetness in the meat without the char.

2. You can also mop the sweeter stuff when getting to the last couple of hours.

3. Wrapping the butt in foil is another solution once you're at 75% done mark.

[LooseCard]

Originally Posted by T.G

Me, I don't, because I'm lazy and I don't mind a bit of different textures in the end result.

Originally Posted by Mr B

Thats how it supposed to look IMO.

My rubs are 90% Brown sugar too.
Peel of that nice bark, scrape the fat off the backside of it, chop it up and toss it in w/ the meat.
Thats where so much of your flavor comes from.

Doesnt look bad from here.

Here is a pic of my last one that came out great!

[Gonesledn]

so much awesome info in this thread! thanks to everyone for the wealth of knowledge. it has inspired me to try my hand at making my own smoker, may take my slacker ass awhile though. picked up a few drums from craigslist today, for 12$ each, i grabbed extra in case i messed up. lol

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by kgoings

That looks good, its a bit redish mine was charred black. I tasted it and it was not good. I know what I did wrong, I put WAY too much on. There were spots that were not thick and that part tasted great!

What I do also is, after I put on the rub, I put it on a "tall garbage bag" and put it in the fridge overnight. The rub gets time to soak in and any of those "thick areas" will melt down into almost a maranade.
Make sure you put it out on the counter at least an hour before smoking to acclimate a bit.

[Smokin Gator]

Originally Posted by kgoings

That looks good, its a bit redish mine was charred black. I tasted it and it was not good. I know what I did wrong, I put WAY too much on. There were spots that were not thick and that part tasted great!

I used to use a good bit of brown sugar in my rubs and I did have to really watch the temps. For my butt rub I have totally cut out the brown sugar and now use turbinado sugar. I pretty much put the rub on and then coat the butt with the turbinado. It has a much higher burn point and I have been really happy with the results. It gives a killer bark without any off taste.

If it was black and bitter though there is a good chance it was creosote which is simply from too much white smoke. I rarely have ever gotten "burn" from sugar, but I sure have put too much dirty smoke on meat and gotten some bitter results!!!

[Steve]

I use about 70-30 to 60-40 turbinado sugar to brown sugar in my rub. I also agree with Brent about the creosote. Usually the sugar isn't going to burn unless you are cooking over direct heat or you are really, really hot. It just takes practice and getting to know your smoker. When I got my Lang, it took several cooks before I found the "sweet spot" for the dampers and where the cooker liked to ride. Fortunately, my wife, family and friends were VERY supportive of my learning curve. I always had people willing to sample my wares

Originally Posted by Smokin Gator

I used to use a good bit of brown sugar in my rubs and I did have to really watch the temps. For my butt rub I have totally cut out the brown sugar and now use turbinado sugar. I pretty much put the rub on and then coat the butt with the turbinado. It has a much higher burn point and I have been really happy with the results. It gives a killer bark without any off taste.

If it was black and bitter though there is a good chance it was creosote which is simply from too much white smoke. I rarely have ever gotten "burn" from sugar, but I sure have put too much dirty smoke on meat and gotten some bitter results!!!

[kgoings]

Originally Posted by Smokin Gator

I used to use a good bit of brown sugar in my rubs and I did have to really watch the temps. For my butt rub I have totally cut out the brown sugar and now use turbinado sugar. I pretty much put the rub on and then coat the butt with the turbinado. It has a much higher burn point and I have been really happy with the results. It gives a killer bark without any off taste.

If it was black and bitter though there is a good chance it was creosote which is simply from too much white smoke. I rarely have ever gotten "burn" from sugar, but I sure have put too much dirty smoke on meat and gotten some bitter results!!!

My smoker did inch up a bit over 300 once, but it was very short lived.

I might have used too much wood?? I guess I will have to figure out how much to put in. I currently have Mesquite chunks, Cherry chunks, and apple chips. I used some cherry chunks and apple chips this last time. But I can't remember how much.

[Smokin Gator]

Originally Posted by kgoings

My smoker did inch up a bit over 300 once, but it was very short lived.

I might have used too much wood?? I guess I will have to figure out how much to put in. I currently have Mesquite chunks, Cherry chunks, and apple chips. I used some cherry chunks and apple chips this last time. But I can't remember how much.

I pretty much have gotten to where I use only cherry on pork, apple or pecan on chicken, and mesquite on beef. You have to realize though that I am using a cabinet style smoker that uses very little flavoring wood. I only use 4-5 one half fist sized chunks for an entire cook. If I were using Steve's Lang I would use 100 times or more than that as I would be using a bunch of oak or hickory for heat and flavor. It really just depends on your cooker.

For your UDS, IMO, you don't need any more than what I use in my smoker. I kind of spread them out in the fire ring so I will get smoke for 5-6 hour and then I don't worry about it any more.

I do want to say though... I know I have posted in this thread quite a bit and I don't want to come off as a know it all. There are lots of ways to cook great Q and I by no means have the market cornered

[kgoings]

Originally Posted by Gonesledn

so much awesome info in this thread! thanks to everyone for the wealth of knowledge. it has inspired me to try my hand at making my own smoker, may take my slacker ass awhile though. picked up a few drums from craigslist today, for 12$ each, i grabbed extra in case i messed up. lol

Have fun!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by kgoings

My smoker did inch up a bit over 300 once, but it was very short lived.

I might have used too much wood?? I guess I will have to figure out how much to put in. I currently have Mesquite chunks, Cherry chunks, and apple chips. I used some cherry chunks and apple chips this last time. But I can't remember how much.

My experiences using too much smoke wood usually also always involved the food taking on a bad flavor from too much smoke. Oversmoked mesquite = tar, oversmoked hickory = chemical, almost like a petrolium taste, similiar to lighter fluid, oversmoked cherry & plum = very bitter. YMMV.

IIRC, brown sugar burns at about 350F, so it's possible that you might have hit the burn stage at some point.



(BTW, Gator is an expert, no matter how many times he tells you he isn't)

[Gonesledn]

anybody ever tried mulberry tree for smoking? my yard is surrounded by them

[tuxpuff]

Originally Posted by Gonesledn

anybody ever tried mulberry tree for smoking? my yard is surrounded by them

A quick google search indicated that's it's ok to use.

Reference guide for Woods used to Smoke Food

ACACIA - these trees are in the same family as mesquite. When burned in a smoker, acacia has a flavor similar to mesquite but not quite as heavy. Is a very hot burning wood.

ALDER - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds.

ALMOND - A sweet smoke flavor, light ash. Good with all meats.

APPLE - Very mild with a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown) and pork.

ASH - Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats.

BIRCH - Medium-hard wood with a flavor similar to maple. Good with pork and poultry.

CHERRY - Mild and fruity. Good with poultry, pork and beef. Some List members say the cherry wood is the best wood for smoking. Wood from chokecherry trees may produce a bitter flavor.

COTTONWOOD - It is a softer wood than alder and very subtle in flavor. Use it for fuel but use some chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Don't use green cottonwood for smoking.

CRABAPPLE - Similar to apple wood.

GRAPEVINES - Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb.

HICKORY - Most commonly used wood for smoking--the King of smoking woods. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork, ham and beef.

LILAC - Very light, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb.

MAPLE - Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds.

MESQUITE - Strong earthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottest burning woods.

MULBERRY - The smell is sweet and reminds one of apple.

OAK - Heavy smoke flavor--the Queen of smoking wood. RED OAK is good on ribs, WHITE OAK makes the best coals for longer burning. All oak varieties reported as suitable for smoking. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.

ORANGE, LEMON and GRAPEFRUIT - Produces a nice mild smoky flavor. Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry.

PEAR - A nice subtle smoke flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork.

PECAN - Sweet and mild with a flavor similar to hickory. Tasty with a subtle character. Good with poultry, beef, pork and cheese. Pecan is an all-around superior smoking wood.

SWEET FRUIT WOODS - APRICOT, PLUM, PEACH, NECTARINE - Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish. The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory.

WALNUT - ENGLISH and BLACK - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods like almond, pear or apple. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats and game.

Other internet sources report that wood from the following trees is suitable for smoking: BEECH, BUTTERNUT, FIG, GUM, CHESTNUT, HACKBERRY, PERSIMMON, and WILLOW.

Types of wood that is unsuitable or even poisonous when used for grilling. Don't use any wood from conifer trees, such as PINE, FIR, SPRUCE, REDWOOD, CEDAR, CYPRESS, ELM and EUCALYPTUS, as is the wood from SASSAFRAS, SYCAMORE and LIQUID AMBER trees.

[tuxpuff]

Mulberry


A mild smoke with a sweet, tangy, blackberry-like flavor


Good with Beef, poultry, game birds, pork (particularly ham).

[Gonesledn]

tuxpuff, thanks for the info.

was more or less just wondering if anybody on the thread had experience with it. gave a couple local friends of mine some to use and they seem to like it.

if anybody would like ny to try, let me know. i could pack a flat rate box ptretty tight.

[tuxpuff]

Ooooh I see! Well at least we got a good wood post out of it I've never used mulberry...if you're packing boxes I wouldn't mind trying some out.

[Gonesledn]

i agree, that was a great "good wood" post, very informative.


pm me you addy tuxpuff... and you looking for seasoned, or fresh? what diameter and how thick of pieces suit you? i have a guy pm'd me already for some, so i will be sending out some soon.

[bigpedunn]

Hope I have time this weekend and good weather!

[OLS]

Originally Posted by bigpedunn

Hope I have time this weekend and good weather!

I may also thaw out a double pack o rack o ribs. I have a few catfish fillets I don't feel like
frying or baking, so I might as well smoke them, too. I just love messing with my smoker.
I figure use it now before the bottom falls out. It WAS second hand after all.