Anybody into smoking meats?

My wife and I have always enjoyed consuming smoked meats and actually got certified as BBQ judges, but after this years SCCA Solo Nationals where a friend smoked some amazing brisket, we decided to try smoking meat ourselves. I bought a book "Franklin Barbecue: A Meat Smoking Manifesto" studied it and made plans. It was hard tracking down the compressor tank I needed but once it was secured, construction began. Yes, I know I have lots of projects going but I got this one banged out in only a few weeks because I spent a lot of time per day on it. I can't wait to get it home and try it out. Here's a 7 minute video timelapse of its construction: The Chew Chew Train

In reply to loosecannon :

This is timely. Saturday I noticed a smoker on the neighborhood scraper's truck. I went down to look at it and it wasn't rusty or anything. Asked him how much and he says $15 or $20. I say $30 and it's mine. It's a pellet smoker and apparently the pellet feed is broken. I was going to ask here about converting it to a more conventional smoker. I'll try and remember to put up pictures when I get home. 

My brother in law gave me a pellet smoker a couple of years ago when he upgraded to one that could tweet or something. I'm not obsessive about it, but I do ribs fairly often and will take on a brisket once in a while. I tend towards the "25% of the effort for 75% of the result" level of smoking, but I'm always up to learn more. Looking forward to this thread :)

Checked out the Franklin book, it looks like the majority of it is about the hardware and very little of is about the actual smoking - is that fair to say? In other words, how much of it is applicable to a pellet smoker?

Keith Tanner said:

My brother in law gave me a pellet smoker a couple of years ago when he upgraded to one that could tweet or something. I'm not obsessive about it, but I do ribs fairly often and will take on a brisket once in a while. I tend towards the "25% of the effort for 75% of the result" level of smoking, but I'm always up to learn more. Looking forward to this thread :)

Checked out the Franklin book, it looks like the majority of it is about the hardware and very little of is about the actual smoking - is that fair to say? In other words, how much of it is applicable to a pellet smoker?

Not a fair assessment. It's comprehensive on how to build a smoker, choose your wood, choose your meat, how to smoke the meat, everything. However, he doesn't use a pellet smoker, he uses logs and his wood recommendation is all logcentric

Thanks.

Last year I purchased a Pit Boss pellet smoker.

It has a sliding door that allows direct or indirect heat.

Turkeys, brisket, pork shoulder, tritip, burgers, sausage, etc. All go on the smoker, it has made a huge improvement to my kitchen Kung fu.

You don't need a book. Keep it at 225 or less, make it as airtight as you can. Take a quick couple minutes to read what woods go with what meats.

Where you might need a book is finding your preferred rub and marinades, but books only provide a good starting point, it really comes down to personal taste. 

Stampie, depending on the model, you can get a pellet feed as low as $50. Or empty out a propane tank, weld a door into it, and you have a firebox. 

Love the time lapse build.  I've been waiting for the season to end to see them go up for sale cheaper.  I'm between a Kamodo Joe and a pellet feed style.  Leaning towards the pellet feed style for the reasons Keith mentioned.

I've been smoking meat (and other things) for about 15 years now.  I love it.

I was always afraid since it seemed so complex and hard to do.... but it's dirt simple.  Season meat, use a smoker that controls heat well, build fire, have a breakfast beer and wait.

Sooo disappointed that no one has said they love to smoke meat but it's hard to keep it lit!

Seriously, I've just been using the little $40 special from Home Depot... yeah, it's not fancy, more like a small garbage can with a couple bowls and grates in it but I've done some really awesome chicken as well as ribs, roasts, etc.  Working up the nerve to do the expensive brisket we bought at a local farm....

In reply to triumph7 :

I remember when I used to get briskets for 99 cents a pound, and it wasn't that long ago... like 2010.  I'd get one to smoke and a second one I had them trim and grind for some good 80/20 hamburger.  This past summer the brisket I got to smoke for 4th of July was almost $150

Don't worry about nerve.  Brisket is so forgiving.  Smear your favorite rub on it.  Don't worry about trimming or anything.  Pro smokers will tell you that 90% of the fat drips off the meat instead of down into the muscle anyway, so trimming is mostly a presentation/cleanup thing.  Plus, some people (like me) love a good crusty bite of fat.  Put it on the smoker until it hits 200 or so internal.  If you want to get fancy, take it off at 165 and wrap in paper to finish it as a braise.  You don't even need to worry about heat.  If the coals get the smoker up to 275, let it burn.  It will eventually consume enough fuel to get back down to a low-and-slow temp.

When I do a brisket, I rub with a concoction I copied off the internet and tweaked to my taste.  Open package, pat dry, rub, smoke.  Done.  Zero fuss.  For the last hour or so, throw in some stuffed jalapenos in muffin tins and a pre-cooked pumpkin pie.  Maybe quarter some beets and throw them on the rack too.  Full meal.

Here's some pictures. 

This guy is a professor at HI University:

In reply to loosecannon :

Finally got a chance to watch the video.  I love how you made the locomotive stuff real like you can move that around pretty easily.  I assume with a fire box like that you'll just be controlling the temp by the air inlet?  Is it a fiddle with it a lot at first but then you hit the happy medium and you can sit down and enjoy a beer thing or more you're fiddling with it a lot the whole time.

::Lights prosciutto spliff::

Wait...

Wut..?

Used to use a bradley smoker, upgraded to a SmokinIt unit a couple years ago when the puck feeder went on the fritz on the bradley for the 4th time during a smoke.  Primarily its used for the 150-200 lbs of bacon I produce per year but I chuck a brisket or pork butt on there as well.   Completely worth the price of admission alone just to make bacon, try it once and you'll never buy store bought again.   

In reply to Stampie :

It will definitely be possible to control temps with the adjustable vent on the door but I'm going to try to control temps with strategic use of wood only. There's a lot of info on how to do this in that book I referenced in the description

Ooooohhhh, I don't think I've ever had smoked canoe.