BBQ Smokers

[TBDonnelly]

Being a novice to this whole thing, I'll say this. I put a foil packet of chips in that I didn't soak. They burst into flames, made some smoke and were gone in about 10 minutes. I put a foil packet of wet chips that had soaked for about an hour. They took about 20 minutes to start smoking, and then they smoked for a good while longer than 10 minutes. :laughing: Anyhow, I threw in a handful of dry chips right on the coals, and they also burst into flames, raised the temp in the smoker quite a bit, and were gone in 10 minutes as well. So I threw a handful of wet chips directly on the coals, they started smoking in about 5 minutes, and they dropped the temp in the smoker a little bit, but not much at all. They smoked for about 20-30 minutes and when they were gone I noticed the smoker temp had risen a bit.

Nothing scientific for me yet. No recorded measurements. No thermometer on the fire or smoker. Only the dial on the Brinkman that says WARM, IDEAL, HOT. It tends to get to the high side of IDEAL very easily and stays there. Add some coals and it goes up. Add some dry wood chips and it goes up faster. Add some wet wood chips and it cools down. I did use a meat thermometer after two hours on the chicken and three on the pork loin just to be sure it was hot all the way through.

Anyhow, it was darn tasty both times. :thumbsup: I'm thinking about a turkey next weekend. :licking:

I use (dry)wood chunks opposed to wood chips, the chunks smoke for a longer period. If you watch the wood chips they will burn.:laughing: close the lid to reduce the oxygen level. Wet wood releases steam (often mistaken for smoke) until the moisture cooks off. I have an apple tree in the yard, it's a prized tree. Not so much for the apples but for the quality of the applewood for smoking purposes. Be careful, be very careful. Cooking with aromatic smoke can be very addictive. Look what it's done to Island Tractor. :thumbsup: It's a beautiful thing.

 

[MossRoad]

I bought some chips the first time. I now have some chunks for the next time. A few weeks ago I gave my neighbor some nectarine wood. He cut it into 2" sections on about 2-3" diameter branches. He said it tasted really good. From what I've read, about any fruit wood will do just fine.

 

[TBDonnelly]

I bought some chips the first time. I now have some chunks for the next time. A few weeks ago I gave my neighbor some nectarine wood. He cut it into 2" sections on about 2-3" diameter branches. He said it tasted really good. From what I've read, about any fruit wood will do just fine.

That size would be perfect for my purposes. (I edited my post above, added a sentence or two.)

 

[IslandTractor]

You guys mentioned Coho Salmon and we don't get that on the east coast. Trader Joe's has it frozen though so I have me some and will try to get around to smoking it this weekend. Should be finished with the bluefish by then.

I'm a bit torn between going for a lower internal temp with moist smoked fish versus a bit higher like I did with the oily bluefish. Anyone out there smoked Coho Salmon? How'd you do it?

 

[MossRoad]

I've never done it. A family friend smokes his here in Indiana. It is incredibly tasty! If I catch any this year, I'm going to try this recipe...
Smoked Sockeye/Coho Salmon Step-By..

The pictures alone made me hungry! :licking:

 

[IslandTractor]

I've never done it. A family friend smokes his here in Indiana. It is incredibly tasty! If I catch any this year, I'm going to try this recipe...
Smoked Sockeye/Coho Salmon Step-By..

The pictures alone made me hungry! :licking:

Thanks, I just copied that recipe. Will need to scale it back given that I only have about a tenth as much fish as he smoked but the basic recipe seems good. Looks rather like Alton Brown's smoked salmon recipe with a few extras and using a low temp smoke for much longer than he did.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah I was reading low temp vs hot smoking salmon. I'll have to read more when the time comes.

 

[IslandTractor]

Yeah I was reading low temp vs hot smoking salmon. I'll have to read more when the time comes.

I think the goal of low temp smoking is to prolong the time fish will absorb smoke flavor. Frankly, while I like smoked fish, I see the smoke as similar to a spice and don't want to overpower the natural flavor. I would also like to taste the fish itself. I hot smoked the bluefish and have no complaints. Lots quicker too. A couple or three hours at about 180-190 worked well. I've only used electric to smoke fish. Too hard (for me) to keep precise low heat with charcoal over a short period.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Made a meal of sausage and wings last night. First time for wings, so I just did a dozen or so just to try. I didn't want to get fancy, so I just hit them with some SPG and put them on after the sausage had been on for two hours. Kept them on for two hours flipping half way through. Grilled them on high heat for a couple min per side to crisp them up. They turned out great!

One thing though; couldn't get a read off my instant thermometer from the wings. They were perfectly done though.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I think the goal of low temp smoking is to prolong the time fish will absorb smoke flavor. Frankly, while I like smoked fish, I see the smoke as similar to a spice and don't want to overpower the natural flavor. I would also like to taste the fish itself. I hot smoked the bluefish and have no complaints. Lots quicker too. A couple or three hours at about 180-190 worked well. I've only used electric to smoke fish. Too hard (for me) to keep precise low heat with charcoal over a short period.

My theory is that low and slow cooking (near or below the boiling point of water) tends to retain considerably more of the the moisture that would be driven off at higher temps while breaking down the tissue. As for smoking wood, I never use green wood nor do I use chips nor do I soak mine.