What's in your smoker?

[jjirons69]

That looks awesome, Eric!!

[76GTFan]

What size Traeger do you have Eric? I have been debating that or a BGE. I have tasted food off of those and it was great. Pellets seem a bit pricy, but haven't done all my research.

[Fordman4ever]

Looks awesome. I'm doing a pulled pork for the big game next weekend. Also doing a bacon explosion stuffed with pulled pork.

[EricF]

Originally Posted by 76GTFan

What size Traeger do you have Eric? I have been debating that or a BGE. I have tasted food off of those and it was great. Pellets seem a bit pricy, but haven't done all my research.

I have the Texas grill and got the rack to go inside so you could do a chit ton of ribs! The pellets are real expensive if you have them shipped as the price can double with shipping. I found a place by me that sells the bags for $21.95 a 20lb bag. You can get them online for a little cheaper, but add in the shipping and WOW!

I am real pleased with the grill and the quality of food is cooks. I went thru about 40lbs in the first month and I cooked on it several nights a week and each time about an hour or 2 so it is really not too bad IMHO.

[EricF]

Originally Posted by Fordman4ever

Looks awesome. I'm doing a pulled pork for the big game next weekend. Also doing a bacon explosion stuffed with pulled pork.

Thanks Earl! Can't wait to see what ya do with that new smoker!!!

[Scothew]

Threw 3 racks of ribs on the smoker this morning. trimmed and did the rub last night, decided to throw the trimmings off to the side for sample purposes

I just gotta say thanks to this thread, ive learned an infinite amount in regards to smoking meat.

[jldude12345]

A pig and a duck!

[Fordman4ever]

Awesome, how did the duck come out? I've been wanting to try duck on my smoker.

[MACS]

I've been known to smoke a pork shoulder or two...



Or a brisket...



And on occasion, some ribs...



And I do it all on one of these:



Which is obviously equipped with a DigiQ DX. Best investment I ever made!

[Fordman4ever]

Nice set up

[T.G]

Originally Posted by MACS

Which is obviously equipped with a DigiQ DX. Best investment I ever made!

And it took me forever to talk you into buying that controller too...

[T.G]

Haven't played in this thread for awhile...


On Saturday, injected a 6lb pork shoulder cut with fresh squeezed calamasi juice and leftover vinegar / sugar brine from some jalapenos that I had pickled and canned back in June, rubbed with ground hatch chilies, onion, garlic, salt, sugar, oregano, cumin & msg.

BBQ'd Sunday w/ oak & cherry.

Oh, and 16 lbs of smoked cheese in the other smoker while I was waiting.

[8lug]

Originally Posted by T.G

Haven't played in this thread for awhile...


On Saturday, injected a 6lb pork shoulder cut with fresh squeezed calamasi juice and leftover vinegar / sugar brine from some jalapenos that I had pickled and canned back in June, rubbed with ground hatch chilies, onion, garlic, salt, sugar, oregano, cumin & msg.

BBQ'd Sunday w/ oak & cherry.

Oh, and 16 lbs of smoked cheese in the other smoker while I was waiting.

Now thats the sprit!!!!

How long do you smoke the cheese for. I'd like to try.

[pnoon]

Originally Posted by 8lug

Now thats the sprit!!!!

How long do you smoke the cheese for. I'd like to try.

A couple of hours will do nicely.
Just be sure you are cold-smoking the cheese (80-90 degrees max; less if you can)

[T.G]

Originally Posted by 8lug

Now thats the sprit!!!!

How long do you smoke the cheese for. I'd like to try.

I wanted these a bit on the lighter end so I ran these for about an hour.

It kind of depends on how much smoke you are making, what wood you are using, how well it stays trapped in the smoker, even the temperature of the cheese & temp inside the smoker can have an effect.

Anything from 45 to 90 minutes tends to work with my arrangement. I get pretty dense smoke, only minor leakage and very little temperature rise. Once I start to go past about 90 minutes for most woods, cheese gets to be so overpoweringly smoked that it takes months in a vacuum sealed bag before the bitterness fades so you can eat it, and even then it can border on tasting like you're trying to chew on a campfire.

If you have a cold smoker, I'd say toss a 1/2lb block in and let it run for an hour, then take it out and depending on the wood used, maybe chill it down a bit and slice or vacuum bag it for a week or two then try it. Adjust from there, make sure the cheese is at room temp and has had time to breathe before trying.

If you want to eat the cheese right away, I've found that apple works well; besides being mellow, it leaves a very nice golden brown hue over the cheese. If you don't mind waiting a month or two with the cheese vacuum sealed or saran wrapped and ziploc bagged, then Alder is a fantastic smoking wood for cheese (and lox).

Don't expect to see the very phony perfectly even caramel brown exterior look of most commercially "smoked" cheese (a lot of which aren't even actually smoked, but that's a discussion for a different post).

If you don't have a cold smoker, you can make one for about $12. It's so easy, too easy even...

Originally Posted by pnoon

A couple of hours will do nicely.
Just be sure you are cold-smoking the cheese (80-90 degrees max; less if you can)

^ This. I do all my cheeses in the early morning or late night to avoid the temp rises that sunlight hitting my modified BLACK 18"Webber causes. Smoking going into the evening creates issues with moisture condensation that need to be taken into account for though.

[8lug]

I don't think I could ever get my log burner to cold smoke. The lowest i can get the upright is about 150

[Steve]

Never mind. I didn't think to use the search button to see if you have posted your smoker until after I asked. Oops.

Originally Posted by 8lug

I don't think I could ever get my log burner to cold smoke. The lowest i can get the upright is about 150

What log burner are you using? I use the warming oven on my LAng to cold smoke once in a while.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by 8lug

I don't think I could ever get my log burner to cold smoke. The lowest i can get the upright is about 150

Get an electric 5th burner, and a cast iron wood chip smoker box from home depot. Put the burner in your smoker, set it to high, put the chip box on it, fill it with wood chips, run the power cord out of the smoker to a power strip and turn it on. Every now and then stir the chips or add new ones as necessary.

Or, find an old grill and go buy a new soldering iron...
I took an old 18" Webber that the rotating vents had been torn away on, sealed the holes with metal ducting tape, bought a new soldering iron, jammed it in an old tin can, filled it with chips and toss it on the lower grate. Every 20 minutes or so, open the lid, lift out the grate with the food, shake the can to get new wood in contact with the iron and put everything back. Used a new Webber SP-23L iron.

You do this in a cardboard or plastic box if you wanted to, just have to keep the hot can insulated from the box or it'll melt it / burn it. (Old coffee cups work well for that.)

[8lug]

Thanks for the info. I like the idear with the element and chip box.

[jldude12345]

Originally Posted by Fordman4ever

Awesome, how did the duck come out? I've been wanting to try duck on my smoker.

The duck was amazing. It is now one of my favorite things to put on the smoker. I smoke it for about 4 hours at 225.