Smoked Meat

[rutang]

brisket is by far the hardest thing to smoke.

smoking meats is all about very slowly cooking meats exactly to the point that they start to break down and fall apart, but before you dry them out too much. brisket's "tender point" is the hardest to hit.

Halibut is by far the best fish to smoke. Eel is also amazing. Portabella mushrooms are great.

I brined and smoked a turkey last year for t-giving. (Brag: I also deep fried and baked turkeys for a 3 turk thanksgiving) and the smoked turkey was amazing. Be careful if you use Hickory on poultry - it tastes really good but you can easily over-flavor poultry with Hickory, and then it'll be ass.

Use Hickory for pork, mesquite for beef. if you are doing both, i'd stick with hickory.

I've heard of smoking lamb, but have never tasted or smoked it myself, so I don't know if it's any good.

have fun with your smoker!

if you only cooked your pork shoulder for 6 hours, you were cooking too fast at too high of a temp, unless it was REALLY small.

[KotOD]

[ QUOTE ]
brisket is by far the hardest thing to smoke.

smoking meats is all about very slowly cooking meats exactly to the point that they start to break down and fall apart, but before you dry them out too much. brisket's "tender point" is the hardest to hit.

Halibut is by far the best fish to smoke. Eel is also amazing. Portabella mushrooms are great.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh yeah! I forgot about mushrooms. I normally throw them on top of a number of different things to act as a cover and trap moisture. There are a number of veggies that will smoke well -- I mentioned Corn and Potatoes from the clambake above, Artichokes, Onions, Jicama, Peppers of almost any kind, same with Squash.

Oh - and Pineapple is tasty as hell.

[Klompy]

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if you only cooked your pork shoulder for 6 hours, you were cooking too fast at too high of a temp, unless it was REALLY small.

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It wasn't a full one, it was ~3lbs. I don't have any say in the temp on my smoker, as it's just one setting [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]. I just cooked it until the center temp was about 190.

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

pictures please.

you should try to make pastrami, which i believe is smoked corn beef.

[KotOD]

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[ QUOTE ]
if you only cooked your pork shoulder for 6 hours, you were cooking too fast at too high of a temp, unless it was REALLY small.

[/ QUOTE ]

It wasn't a full one, it was ~3lbs. I don't have any say in the temp on my smoker, as it's just one setting [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]. I just cooked it until the center temp was about 190.

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I have the electric smoker as well. One setting isn't a big deal. You can control temps with water, the vent, and the rack positioning, as well as adding in veggies and coverings during the process.

[Bostaevski]

another random thread from 2p2 and now I want to know more about the topic! 2p2 got me into "proper" wet-shaving... interested in cigars and vodka... now I want to know more about using a smoker. All the food you guys are mentioning sounds so freakin good I might have to try this out.

The only smoker I ever used was my dad's Little Chief electric smoker and that's just to smoke up salmon.

Are there qualities to look for in a good smoker? Are there good websites with tips/tricks to use a smoker?

[KotOD]

[ QUOTE ]
another random thread from 2p2 and now I want to know more about the topic! 2p2 got me into "proper" wet-shaving... interested in cigars and vodka... now I want to know more about using a smoker. All the food you guys are mentioning sounds so freakin good I might have to try this out.

The only smoker I ever used was my dad's Little Chief electric smoker and that's just to smoke up salmon.

Are there qualities to look for in a good smoker? Are there good websites with tips/tricks to use a smoker?

[/ QUOTE ]

All I have is an eletric cylindrical smoker with a single control -- "On". I think the brand name is "Old Smokey" or "Little Smokey", but I've had it for eight years, so identifying marks are gone.

[bottomset]

this thread made me unbelievably hungry

[JasonK]

My aunt and uncle used to smoke smelt. Yummy. They used a good old fashioned smokehouse though.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
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[ QUOTE ]
if you only cooked your pork shoulder for 6 hours, you were cooking too fast at too high of a temp, unless it was REALLY small.

[/ QUOTE ]

It wasn't a full one, it was ~3lbs. I don't have any say in the temp on my smoker, as it's just one setting [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]. I just cooked it until the center temp was about 190.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have the electric smoker as well. One setting isn't a big deal. You can control temps with water, the vent, and the rack positioning, as well as adding in veggies and coverings during the process.

[/ QUOTE ]

exactly, there should be some directions that tells you how to get things at certain temps. IMO 99% of a good smoke is temperature control, klompy if you dont already have one, drill a hole in the lid of the smoker, and get a bbq thermometer for it, make sure you learn how to keep it at X temperature for however long you are smoking, and alos make sure you have a meat thermometer to check the temp of the meat towards the end.


usually brisket = 225 for 10+ hours

ribs = 200 for 4 to 6

poultry = I usually start hot about 350, then dial it down to 250 after the skin crisps up