Hey Guys..........Good information here........Have been using one of the "Brinkmans" for MANY years with great results. Yes, having one of the high dollar fancy units would be great; but folks sure do line up for even what a small smoker can do.
A couple of things:
When in a hurry, I wrap the chicken, turkey, ribs, etc in foil and cook it for maybe a third of the time over the charcoal........Then I take off the foil and SMOKE the daylights out of it.
I use gum wood. This is a tree is that is totally abundant here in N. Georgia. Yes, we have an overabundance of hickory here on the property but I really am not wild about the taste or dark brown color. Gum though, mmmmmmm good. Leaves a red/pink color to the exterior and penetrates a bit. A sweet distinctive taste that folks find fantastic.
Hickory, apple, or gum....whatever......In the spring, summer, and fall, I prefer using a very few small chunks of actual wood; but find that twigs with leaves attached, stuffed into the chamber put off great flavor and smoke itself.........I HATE the saw dust and chips that are available. THEY just burn, not smoke.......I find using the actual fresh cut from the tree wood is much better for taste and keeping meat moist. Actually, I go down to the highway right of way with the chainsaw and cut down a smallish wrist size tree. Then cut this into say 3' lengths for workability. The branches with leaves are cut into pieces say 6" with leaves attached. Stuffed into the firebox. The larger pieces, wrist size, I just lay out and cut up into 2 or 3" chunks on the radial arm saw............Anyway, works for me........
I do wonder about smoke houses. Any thoughts about preserving meat this way. Yes, I know one can do Hams of course, and Indians used to do fish this way. What about other cuts of beef, yes jerky of course, but roasts etc. In these times, and those rapidly approaching, having knowledge of HOW to do this might just keep some of us fed........Thanks and God bless......Dennis
