Smoking

[MUZ720]

BBQ that is love doing it don't do it often cause it take time, Going to do a pork shoulder tomorrow for pulled pork. its all about keeping the temp consistent, not easy when its cold out but love the challenge. dry rub with a little apple wood..... so good..
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and use charcoal.
Any others into this??

[xxaarraa]

BBQ that is love doing it don't do it often cause it take time, Going to do a pork shoulder tomorrow for pulled pork. its all about keeping the temp consistent, not easy when its cold out but love the challenge. dry rub with a little apple wood..... so good..
I have a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and use charcoal.
Any others into this??

I am not into this, but I am very much into punctuation.

[MUZ720]

Thanks teach!

[scubasteveRR]

ohhh, not my kinda smoking

[jasnmar]

Maintaining consistent temperature with wood / charcoal / coal is virtually impossible.

Electric or gas heat is much more consistent and wood can be added for flavor.

Electric / gas is also sacrilege for some people.

[Not Sure]

I jumped over to the "What are you drinking now" thread to see if the OP posted up there around 6:43pm yesterday. Nope ........

[LuvDog]

I have a big green egg. I’ve done a few pork shoulders/butts, briskets, pork bellies and wings.

I tend to mix apple, cherry, and pecan woods.

Home made bacon is the best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[db79]

I've been using the WSM for 4+ years with good results. Usually do not have issue maintaining temp and commonly burned for 16 hours (over night). On windy days really have to feed it a lot of charcoal but otherwise it is really efficient. I usually don't smoke during the winter months as it is harder to sit outside drinking beers all day when smoking. For almost a year now I have been toying with the idea of adding a pellet BBQ with all the new fangled technology. Almost pulled the trigger several times but the price tag always gets me.

[loudbeard]

Maintaining consistent temperature with wood / charcoal / coal is virtually impossible.

I'm going to, with the utmost respect, tell you that you're absolutely wrong, and then leave this here:
Auber Instruments Temperature Controller

I also run an 18.5" WSM with the Cajun Bandit stainless door, Auber Instruments temperature controller, and a Weber iGrill2 leave in thermometer.

I've been smoking the meat for 10 or so years, some of you probably had my BBQ at the CMP Corner Workers Cookout at the end of the 2016 season. My specialty, being from NC, is Piedmont style pulled pork, sauce is known as Lexington Dip. I also do pork spare ribs, brisket, chicken wings, turkey, and my favorite are the BEEF RIBS aka Dino Bones.

I started doing it on a gas grill, indirect heat with foil packets of wood chips and I had some nice results there. My next rig was a vertical gas smoker which was a really nice deal to learn on because the temperature control was never a factor. I had an unfortunate purchase of a COS (cheap offset smoker) because I wanted to do big boy things, but that was a piece of crap so I put it on the street. I am a huge fan of the Smokey Mountain I currently run, there isn't much it can't do. After upgrading it to the Cajun Bandit stainless door the temperature control aspect became dramatically more reliable as the unit is very airtight now. Then adding the Auber controller my temperature control worries are a thing of the past, it's an absolute steady Eddie now. I plan on adding an extension ring that will give me a third cooking rack.

For those of you who haven't seen it, I highly recommend spending time on the Amazing Ribs website. Really great information both in terms of recipes and techniques there. I started following his recipe to a "T" on the smoked turkey last Thanksgiving, now everyone who has had that turkey swears it's the best bird they've ever had. I tend to agree.

Also, the Big Green Egg isn't a smoker .....but I still want one

[KawiSmurf]

Yes and yes.

Haven't done much with the ol' stick burner since early September though. Used it several times this year, but I've still got a 10lb. brisket and two giant racks of beef ribs in the deep freezer. Cooked up a big feast of chicken thighs, pork ribs, brisket, and a boston butt a few months ago for my big annual cookout.

Had to shop around for a full brisket (seems nobody in MA wants to sell anything but a flat anymore), but it came out perfect, and I even ended up with the best burnt ends I've ever made. On a side note, I started using butcher paper when it comes time to wrap it instead of foil...what a huge difference it makes in the bark quality/texture.

Oh, and I finally bought the big iGrill this year (the small single probe "mini" wasn't cutting it anymore). Makes a huge difference in managing the fire.

[jasnmar]

I'm going to, with the utmost respect, tell you that you're absolutely wrong, and then leave this here:
Auber Instruments Temperature Controller

Fair.
Is that wood, coal, or charcoal powered . Kidding of course.

You can buy electric smokers all day for less than the price of the temperature controller.

You can also use things like augers to control the supply of fuel to the heat source for smoking to maintain the temperature you want. Control the amount of fuel and the amount of air and Bob's your Auntie.

For many people the words "PID Controller" puts things into the virtually impossible realm, but you are correct, it is possible.

[RandyO]

best meal I ever had that came out of a smoker was quahogs

[loudbeard]

Fair.
Is that wood, coal, or charcoal powered . Kidding of course.

You can buy electric smokers all day for less than the price of the temperature controller.

You can also use things like augers to control the supply of fuel to the heat source for smoking to maintain the temperature you want. Control the amount of fuel and the amount of air and Bob's your Auntie.

For many people the words "PID Controller" puts things into the virtually impossible realm, but you are correct, it is possible.

Yep, same with a vertical gas smoker, cheap and easy. They're not bad, I just think charcoal is better. There's a few companies like BBQ Guru that make much more user friendly temperature controllers like this Cyber Q that have a much more user friendly interface and it has the temperature control and meat thermometer(s) all in one unit. That one in particular has 3 meat probe inputs in addition to the cooker temperature controller, there's also a handy app and you can Bluetooth setup and alerts right to your phone. I will likely upgrade to this at some point because I'm not a huge fan of the Weber iGrill2, but my Auber controller is excellent. I do use the iGrill on my gas grill as well, I have an ambient temperature sensor for it so I can get my cooking surface exactly where I want it...can't trust those lid mounted thermometers!

My next buy is going to be a classic Weber Kettle with a Slow 'N Sear attachment. I like my gas grill for the quick and easy use of it, but nothing cooks a steak like a charcoal grill setup for 2 zone cooking. My Auber controller will work on the Kettle as well.

[tsorfas]

Much better than the beard thread

[MUZ720]

I'm going to, with the utmost respect, tell you that you're absolutely wrong, and then leave this here:
Auber Instruments Temperature Controller

Kind of cheatin but I like it....

[xrocket21]

I also use a webber smokey mountain and charcoal.

[KawiSmurf]

Have you thought about getting a pair of these? They’re a game changer.

[MUZ720]

Have you thought about getting a pair of these? They’re a game changer.

Wife got me a set of these and there awesome never use forks again..

[Falko]

Looking at getting a Camp Chef pellet smoker this spring (if it ever comes). I'm not home much on the weekend so I can't babysit and re-fuel a real charcoal smoker. The camp chef seems to have really good reviews.

[loudbeard]

Looking at getting a Camp Chef pellet smoker this spring (if it ever comes). I'm not home much on the weekend so I can't babysit and re-fuel a real charcoal smoker. The camp chef seems to have really good reviews.

My Dad has a Green Mountain Grill Davy Crockett which he likes pretty well, check it out if you go that route. I think they're nice for what they are, but not on par with a nice charcoal bullet smoker. Remember, with a full load of charcoal in my Smokey Mountain and my Auber temperature controller I can run for 8-10 hours unattended. We have the technology. I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't try and talk you into charcoal.

[ZX-12R]

[Falko]

....... Remember, with a full load of charcoal in my Smokey Mountain and my Auber temperature controller I can run for 8-10 hours unattended. We have the technology. I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't try and talk you into charcoal.

8-10 hours?? Hmmm, I figured 3-4 would be tops. So does the Auber adjust the fan speed to control the burn rate? So it is more of a forced burn not a natural convection?

[loudbeard]

8-10 hours?? Hmmm, I figured 3-4 would be tops. So does the Auber adjust the fan speed to control the burn rate? So it is more of a forced burn not a natural convection?

Easily 8 hours, I've made it as long as 12 hours on a summer day with low wind, 18" Smokey Mountain.

The fan with the Auber setup is constant speed so it maintains temp by just switching the fan off/on to stoke the coals, so not really a forced burn. The fan doesn't really run that much until you get towards the end of the coals.

Best way to setup the Smokey Mountain for a long burn is to dump 2 unlit chimneys of charcoal into the basket of the smoker and the hollow out a big hole in the middle pushing all of those briquettes to the side. Then light a full chimney as you normally would and dump it in the center of the coal basket. Never use "matchlight" charcoal. I always use the Kingsford original blue bag. I've experimented with both Kingsford Pro and the hardwood lump styles like Royal Oak and I'm perfectly happy with the original - actually less happy with the lump style, they burn less consistently and nowhere near as long.

Here's a really great article on setup, seasoning, and some cool accessories for the WSM. I know I've said this before, but Amazing Ribs is an excellent resource for stuff you're cooking that may be new to you as well as tons of comprehensive product reviews. I was a good pit guy before discovering this website, it's really helped me up my game.

[Falko]

I do like the idea of using readily available charcoal over flavored pellets...
I have about 6" of snow or so to go before making the decision.
Thanks for links.

[db79]

My Dad has a Green Mountain Grill Davy Crockett which he likes pretty well, check it out if you go that route. I think they're nice for what they are, but not on par with a nice charcoal bullet smoker. Remember, with a full load of charcoal in my Smokey Mountain and my Auber temperature controller I can run for 8-10 hours unattended. We have the technology. I wouldn't be doing my due diligence if I didn't try and talk you into charcoal.

How do you like the Auber setup? I've looked at GMG's several times (more so for the tech) since there is a dealer down the street from me but the price always makes me hesitate. A controller added to my WSM would be more economical and may even cut down on the number of consumed beers during cooking time.