Smokers and bbqs

[Bustercluck]

Who’s using what and what are you making?

It seems like smokers and bbqs have become pretty popular over the last few years so I thought I’d start a thread on what everybody is using and what you’re making. Anything from the big chief, traegers, kamados. Whatever you want.

I personally think a guy could use 4 different smokers, a Bradley, traeger, kamado and a propane grill, they all have their place. I have a propane grill and a kamado joe at the moment and I think I’ll probably add a traeger this year. I’d like to build a new deck in my back yard this year and incorporate a grill pit off to the side with enough room for all three.

[Bustercluck]

I’m just getting ready to throw some bacon on today. there’s two slabs there about 7 pounds each. One soaked in bourbon and spice, the other soaked in honey, ground coffee maple syrup and a few other things for five days. I’ll smoke em for 4-5 hours until they’re 150-155f

https://i.imgur.com/S5EvdTq.jpg

[Bustercluck]

Montreal smoked meat from a few days ago. These things are a labour of love. 11-12 days to get one of these done.

https://i.imgur.com/vL79egM.jpg

[Phila]

I have a Bradley with cold smoke attachment and a Napoleon propane grill. Have done salmon both hot and cold smoke, back bacon, elk pepperoni, pulled pork butt, cheese, almonds. This year I smoked elk brisket along with a batch of back bacon.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8320&stc=1 http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8319&stc=1 http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8321&stc=1http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=8322&stc=1

[Bustercluck]

How’d the elk brisket turn out? I put a moose chuck roast on my kamado a while ago and it dried right out. I’m thinking it’s just too lean to leave on the grill for 8 hours, lol. Next time I’ll just smoke it for an hour or two and then throw it in the oven.

Bradleys are definitely the king for doing smoked salmon.

[RambleOn]

Reminds me....Need to blow the dust off my gas BQ one if these days.

Went pellet and won't go back. Have a Treager and a Louisiana side by side for cooking.... and more cookin'. Had a Pit Boss as well. Basically a rebranded treager design. I think they are the all rounder. Easy on and off. Quick steaks to burgers, go low and slow, more smoke/less smoke etc for pepperoni/sausages smoked to temp. Once the backyard is done I might add a stick burner to the stable for special event fun Sunday type cooking. Needs a bit more finesse but would be cool to burn some natural wood.

[MOUNTAIN MICKEY]

Smokers and BBQs have been popular for a lot more than the last few years.

[MZac]

Will be watching this thread closely. Built a deck that needs a new grill. Have been thinking traeger but eager to hear what everyone's using!

[KBC]

I've been using a Weber kettle more and more. I hardly ever turn on the propane grill anymore. White tail roasts, steaks, brisket, ribs, pulled pork...pretty much everything slow and low with some wood chunks added to the coals.

The best steaks I've ever had are done indirect around 250 deg. until an internal temp of 110 deg and then a quick sear over the coals to bring it up to 125ish.

I'm thinking of picking up a pellet grill for things like briskets so I don't have to keep an eye on it as much but you can get awesome results with just a kettle and some good charcoal/wood.

[Arctic Lake]

Hey I’m interested in this thread for sure and want to buy a smoker of some type . No offence to any of you that own the Bradley’s but they seem on the flimsy cheap side ? What about the other solid looking ones at Cabelas not sure of the name.
Arctic Lake

[WhiteTailAB]

I have a masterbuilt 140 electric smoker, had a gas bbq till the wind flipped it so I have a traeger on order and to tide me over I bought a weber kettle charcoal grill. Love the charcoal grill, haven't used the electric in a while, can't wait for the pellet grill.

Did smash burgers on the kettle tonight. Did a brisket in my electric over christmas.

[Arctic Lake]

Master built that’s it . Any good ?
Arctic Lake

[Sitkaspruce]

Bradley for fish, pepperoni and sausage and summer sausage

Pit Boss for briskets, chickens, turkeys, roasts, ribs and other meats.

Can't wait for it to warm up and get some smoke in the air!

Cheers

SS

[Arctic Lake]

Okay if you have a Pitt Boss please let me know what model ? Pros & Cons
Thank You
Arctic Lake

[Bustercluck]

Here’s the bacon I put on earlier. I pulled it off a little bit early because I had to go to my brothers for dinner. It was on for roughly 5 hours
https://i.imgur.com/Wpt0Vts.jpg

[Bustercluck]

Okay if you have a Pitt Boss please let me know what model ? Pros & Cons
Thank You
Arctic Lake

Heres my take.
like sitkaspruce said, Bradley for salmon and sausage.
I haven’t seen the pit boss, but I think the traeger is the easiest and most user friendly style of smoker/bbq to use. If you get the model that you can hook up to your phone, you can check it while you’re downtown and I think you can even shut it off. Just set the temp and forget about it. Traegers are definitely better at lower temps for doing stuff like bacon. Some friends of ours have an eleven year old girl who cooks on their traeger with no help all the time.

The kamado (kamado joe, big green egg)style is a lot more labour intensive and takes more babysitting, but the flavour you get from charcoal mixed with some hardwood is like nothing else. I’m not sure what the cost is like to run a pellet grill, but good charcoal isn’t cheap. I mostly use the kamado joe brand which is 32.99 a bag. I’ve tried a few others, the cheap kings Ford charcoal doesn’t have good flavour, I tried some formed coconut sticks that were very clean tasting almost like propane, but my fav is the big block kamado joe. Kamado grills also take some time to warm up, you have to build your fire first and wait for it to warm up and if it gets too hot than it takes quite a while to cool back down. Expect to be waiting 45 minutes before you plan on smoking something at low temps, but it’s a lot faster if you want to run it hot for doing steaks. I also find the kamado has a hard time running below 200 degrees, it takes some babysitting to do stuff like bacon, but at 225-250 you can pretty well walk away from it for 6-8 hours if you’re doing a brisket and it will run for at least 18 hours on one load of charcoal running at those temps.

Ive heard some of the propane smokers run very hot and are hard to do low and slow, but I haven’t paid attention to the models people were talking about.

[Bustercluck]

Coffee bacon on top.

https://i.imgur.com/02tw0u4.jpg

[Phila]

How’d the elk brisket turn out? I put a moose chuck roast on my kamado a while ago and it dried right out. I’m thinking it’s just too lean to leave on the grill for 8 hours, lol. Next time I’ll just smoke it for an hour or two and then throw it in the oven.

Bradleys are definitely the king for doing smoked salmon.

The elk brisket (in pictures) turned out very well. Very tasty and tender. No recipe, just applied a commercial southwest rub and hickory smoked in the Bradley for 6-8 hours.

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks for the detailed reply Bustercluck
Arctic Lake

Heres my take.
like sitkaspruce said, Bradley for salmon and sausage.
I haven’t seen the pit boss, but I think the traeger is the easiest and most user friendly style of smoker/bbq to use. If you get the model that you can hook up to your phone, you can check it while you’re downtown and I think you can even shut it off. Just set the temp and forget about it. Traegers are definitely better at lower temps for doing stuff like bacon. Some friends of ours have an eleven year old girl who cooks on their traeger with no help all the time.

The kamado (kamado joe, big green egg)style is a lot more labour intensive and takes more babysitting, but the flavour you get from charcoal mixed with some hardwood is like nothing else. I’m not sure what the cost is like to run a pellet grill, but good charcoal isn’t cheap. I mostly use the kamado joe brand which is 32.99 a bag. I’ve tried a few others, the cheap kings Ford charcoal doesn’t have good flavour, I tried some formed coconut sticks that were very clean tasting almost like propane, but my fav is the big block kamado joe. Kamado grills also take some time to warm up, you have to build your fire first and wait for it to warm up and if it gets too hot than it takes quite a while to cool back down. Expect to be waiting 45 minutes before you plan on smoking something at low temps, but it’s a lot faster if you want to run it hot for doing steaks. I also find the kamado has a hard time running below 200 degrees, it takes some babysitting to do stuff like bacon, but at 225-250 you can pretty well walk away from it for 6-8 hours if you’re doing a brisket and it will run for at least 18 hours on one load of charcoal running at those temps.

Ive heard some of the propane smokers run very hot and are hard to do low and slow, but I haven’t paid attention to the models people were talking about.

[IronNoggin]

Smoker: Custom built based on a 1960's hospital food warmer. 3" of solid insulation all round. 400 pounds of stainless steel. Fired by two ceramic electric burners controlled by a PID with more settings that I can use. Alternatively set up to cold smoke with a Bradley setup as seen below:

https://i.imgur.com/HcvXzjd.jpg

It does an excellent job on everything I throw at it.
The heavy insulation also means hot smoking mid winter is no issue.

New BarBee we collected so I can pipe it into the house's natural gas system:

https://i.imgur.com/Zr6bzcW.jpg


Went with another Stainless Coleman. The previous one of the same lasted me over 10 years which is saying a lot! We BarBee 4 or 5 nights a week, year round.

Cheers,
Nog

[elimsprint]

How’d the elk brisket turn out? I put a moose chuck roast on my kamado a while ago and it dried right out. I’m thinking it’s just too lean to leave on the grill for 8 hours, lol. Next time I’ll just smoke it for an hour or two and then throw it in the oven.

Bradleys are definitely the king for doing smoked salmon.

Do it a couple of hours on the smoker and then finish it using a sous vide water bath, it works amazing and stays sooooo moist!!! I have Traeger, Bradley, Weber gas and the big boy home made smoker. Just finished some sous vide corned beef and smoked then sous vided pastrami, yum.

Just after we finished the big boy, at my old house.
https://i.imgur.com/GGWBhmx.jpg

[WhiteTailAB]

Master built that’s it . Any good ?
Arctic Lake

The electric one is okay but don't get any smoker with a window! Horrible lol. I'd splurge for a pellet grill myself and not get the electric one.

[WhiteTailAB]

Do it a couple of hours on the smoker and then finish it using a sous vide water bath, it works amazing and stays sooooo moist!!! I have Traeger, Bradley, Weber gas and the big boy home made smoker. Just finished some sous vide corned beef and smoked then sous vided pastrami, yum.

Just after we finished the big boy, at my old house.
https://i.imgur.com/GGWBhmx.jpg

That home made smoker is awesome!

[elimsprint]

Thank you, it was a labour of love, lol. As in I love smoked food:)

[DMD]

I treated myself to a covid gift last summer and upgraded from a crappy cheapo propane grill to a Kamado Joe Classic 2. I must say it may be my new favorite family member. I was on the fence between a Kamado and a Pellet grill but opted for Kamado. It seemed a bit more versitile and analog. No electronics/mechanical parts to fail. I used to have a pellet stove for heating the house and the thing was always needing repair.

The Kamado does take a bit more work to get going than a pellet grill, but once the temp is stabilized in my experience it is set and forget. I will hold 225 for a pork should for 8-10 without any fiddling really. One thing I have learned though is that when I start to prepare a meal the first thing I do is light the grill.

I really like the versitility of the Kamado Joe. It will run at 225 all day long, 350 for a roast/turkey or crank up to 900 to cook a pizza in a couple mins. It has the ability to cook indirect, direct or half and half which adds to the versatility. It works great in very cold temps because of the thick ceramics, if you like to grill all year long. It's also really easy to change your smoking wood flavour as it's just a matter of throwing in a few chunks of flavour wood onto the lump.

A couple of the best meals that I have made on it so far other then standard ribs/pulled pork etc are
-Smoked a bear sirloin tip roast in some oak smoke for a couple hours then wrapped it in a foil tray with beef stock onions, garlic, chipotles in adobo and let it braise until falling apart. Pulled meat for tacos. Also smoked tomatoes, oniions and jalapenos for 1.5 hr then made smoked salsa
-Moose osso bucco. Smoked shanks for a couple hours then added to braise in the grill, great smoky addition to a great comfort food meal.
-Reverse seared dall sheep backstrap. Salt pepper then oak smoke at 250. Occasional basting with melted butter garlic and shallots. ONce internal hits 112-115 take off let rest. Crank grill and set up for direct cooking. Quick sear on all sides. Slice thin and top with Chimicuri. I think this is my favourite meal of all time.
-Chicken. The ceramic radiate heat back down and make the best crispy chicken skin while keep the meat super jucy. Spatchcock chicken, add rub of your choice. Grill 400 indirect for 40 min, no flipping and done.

In my opinion, I can't recommend one of these things enough.

I haven't really tried to smoke anything at super low temps say below 225 so can't comment on that. One thing it does really suck at is going from high temps back to cooler temps. Once you get heat in the dome it takes a long time for that to dissipate.

[albravo2]

I have a Traeger, one of the big ones that Costco sold. It will easily take two briskets but I rarely need that much capacity except when I'm doing my smoking for summer fishing and fall hunting. Brisket, pulled pork and homemade bacon are always on the menu and I suspect I might get disinvited to camp if I ever failed to turn up with large quantities of each.

I got rid of my gas grill after owning the Traeger for a while, partly because I prefer the Traeger and partly because they were competing for space on the deck. I now do steak inside the house on the cast iron and don't think I'll ever own another gas grill except up at the lake.

Brined and smoked turkey is a household favourite... I think we do about 4 a year.

I did a moose brisket covered in bacon and it was delicious.

Basically, if you can't tie a few knots, drive a stick, back up a trailer and smoke a good brisket you're still a man in training;-)

[Sitkaspruce]

Okay if you have a Pitt Boss please let me know what model ? Pros & Cons
Thank You
Arctic Lake

AL, I bought the Pit Boss 700FB. Nothing fancy, a good starter smoker. After a year, no issues. Just keep the fire box clean, wipe down the grills and empty the hopper after every use.

Lots of good info on the Net on how these operate, how to get them to temp, hold temp, clean them and what you can do with them besides smoking.

But....don't get rid of your gas grill, you will need it. The smokers can advertise a searing option, but most cannot do what your gas grill can do.

I use the PB for smoking and slow cooking, the Bradley for smoking, the gas grill for quick searing and cooking and my Campchef with the cast iron for amazing steaks, fish, vegies and the can cooker.

Cooking with wood is a whole other level. If i didn't buy the PB, I would have gone for a charcoal cooker.

Cheers

SS

[Arctic Lake]

Thanks for the details SS ! We have a Propane grill so a Pitt Boss or similar would be great !

Arctic Lake
AL, I bought the Pit Boss 700FB. Nothing fancy, a good starter smoker. After a year, no issues. Just keep the fire box clean, wipe down the grills and empty the hopper after every use.

Lots of good info on the Net on how these operate, how to get them to temp, hold temp, clean them and what you can do with them besides smoking.

But....don't get rid of your gas grill, you will need it. The smokers can advertise a searing option, but most cannot do what your gas grill can do.

I use the PB for smoking and slow cooking, the Bradley for smoking, the gas grill for quick searing and cooking and my Campchef with the cast iron for amazing steaks, fish, vegies and the can cooker.

Cooking with wood is a whole other level. If i didn't buy the PB, I would have gone for a charcoal cooker.

Cheers

SS

[Omineca]

I picked up a second hand Little Chief smoker. I'm going to do a test batch of smoked jerky from last spring's bear, the shoulder and bottom round. It's been marinating in W.shire, soy sauce, and cumin. If it goes well, I plan on doing the majority of this year's bear in the smoker.

Does anyone have any tips on how to make sure bear meat is cooked well enough in the smoker to kill trichinella?
The meat is too thin for a meat thermometer, and the smoker dosen't have thermometer either.
How about putting jerky in the oven afterwards?

It's anecdotal, but I think bears leave me alone while I'm sweating bear meat out of my pores, so I plan on eating bear meat mostly before/during hiking and scouting trips.

[Arctic Lake]

This should help for bear meat. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/hunters.html
Arctic Lake

[Bustercluck]

You probably don’t have to, but I would definitely throw bear in the oven after smoking unless you put a couple of thermometers inside the smoker so you at least know the time/temp it was cooked at. There are some cheap dial thermometers out there that you could at least put above the top shelf where it’s the coldest. You’ll probably want to rotate the racks as well, because the bottom rack tends to cook faster.

You might find that smoking them to fully cooked is too smoky and you might decide to do 45-60 mins smoke and finish it off in the oven.

[Fella]

I have a basic Pitboss pellet grill. It's basically idiot proof. I've done roasts, thanksgiving turkey, chickens, ribs, salmon (both smoked and grilled) and it's awesome. Can't see myself ever using a propane bbq again.

[tyler-brown]

Propane bbq, and a vertical electric pellet smoker from pit boss. First year with a smoker and loving it. Already done beef brisket, chicken breasts, Armadillo eggs, and bear jerky!
As much as a purist smoker might say a pellet is no good. I must say I like the ease and simplicity of setting the temperature and being able to take off for a couple hours...dog walk, forgotten groceries, and knowing the temp is going to be fine for a few hours.
I also like the large glass door. Guys at work tell me they keep opening their grill style to look at it and loose all the temp.

[Arctic Lake]

Sitka . I had a look at the Pitt Boss site and it seems that the 700 FB is a grill not a smoker or is it both and do you use it for both ?
Thanks Arctic Lake

AL, I bought the Pit Boss 700FB. Nothing fancy, a good starter smoker. After a year, no issues. Just keep the fire box clean, wipe down the grills and empty the hopper after every use.

Lots of good info on the Net on how these operate, how to get them to temp, hold temp, clean them and what you can do with them besides smoking.

But....don't get rid of your gas grill, you will need it. The smokers can advertise a searing option, but most cannot do what your gas grill can do.

I use the PB for smoking and slow cooking, the Bradley for smoking, the gas grill for quick searing and cooking and my Campchef with the cast iron for amazing steaks, fish, vegies and the can cooker.

Cooking with wood is a whole other level. If i didn't buy the PB, I would have gone for a charcoal cooker.

Cheers

SS

[Blacktail]

I bought a little chief about 40 years ago. Still have it and occasionally used it for fish.
about 10 years ago I got a Bradley 4 rack and love it for smoking about everything and it is still going strong
This year I treated myself to a new Bradley digital and have done up some stuff already.
I smoke my own bacon, pastrami, ribs, pork belly , briskets, you name it.
We also have a large 4 burner with a side burner propane grill that I just refurbished with new burners and heat shields.
Around our house these things get used a lot.

[Bustercluck]

If you guys haven’t made bacon yet, then it’s time to try it out. You’ll never go back. I find brining/salting for 5 days gives it the right amount of salt/flavour, 4 would probably be ok too. A lot of recipes call for 10 or more days of salting, but that’s only if you want to store the bacon in your cupboard. I’m always going for more flavour with a bit of preservation, so i salt for less days, vacuum seal it and throw it in the freezer or it keeps in the fridge for weeks too.

[Blacktail]

If you guys haven’t made bacon yet, then it’s time to try it out. You’ll never go back. I find brining/salting for 5 days gives it the right amount of salt/flavour, 4 would probably be ok too. A lot of recipes call for 10 or more days of salting, but that’s only if you want to store the bacon in your cupboard. I’m always going for more flavour with a bit of preservation, so i salt for less days, vacuum seal it and throw it in the freezer or it keeps in the fridge for weeks too.

yup you bet.
I have been making my own for a while.
I am not a real salty bacon kind of guy
This is what I do

Home Cured Bacon


Ingredients
3 to 4 pound uncured pork belly
⅓ cup kosher salt
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
4 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Seasoned Salt
1/2 cup warm water

Apple wood in the Smoker

Instructions
1. Trim excess fat from the pork belly. You can keep or trim off as much as desired.
2. Place the pork on a flat baking sheet.
3. Place the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk well.
4. Pour half the marinade over the top side of the pork and rub all over with a spatula. Flip the pork over and repeat with the remaining marinade.
5. Cover and place in the icebox for 3 days. After 1 ½ days, flip the pork over, recover for the remaining 1 ½ days.
6. Remove the pork from the icebox and rinse all the marinade off.
7. Place the pork on the counter for about 45 minutes before smoking to let it warm.
8. Preheat the smoker to 190 degrees
9. Place the pork in the smoker and start the smoke, close the air vents. Cook for 1 hour.
10. Flip the bacon over and cook for about 1 ½ hour or until the internal temp is 145 to 155 degrees F.
11. Remove the pork from smoker and place on a wire rack on a baking sheet and let cool for about 1 hour.
12. Cover and set the pork in the icebox for at least 4 hours or overnight.
13. Slice the bacon to your preferred thickness. Fry up or this makes a good meat addition when cooking beans.


Can be stored covered in the icebox for 4 to 5 days.

[Omineca]

First run of bear jerky went well. I basically went off the marinade on foodwishes.com, with less spices, and a bunch of brown sugar. My second hand little chief isn't working well, it heats, but dosen't smoke, so I just took a blowtorch to the woodchips, 3 times, then finished in the BBQ at 160 for a couple hours. some pieces are very dry, but that's what I want for hiking anyways. A cinnamon bear showed up to sniff around.
Since it turned out so well, I'm thinking of upgrading to a bigger/better smoker, maybe one where I can set the temp and time.

Also, BTW, little chief smokers are currently (May 11 '21) on sale for $100 at Princess auto.

[upperleftcoaster]

i'm looking into a smoker this year. Done a bunch of bacon and now maybe 7 or 8 hams over the years. Used a large stainless gas grill with offset heat and add some smoke. it works but not ideal. would be nice to have the right tool for the job.

went primitive this year for easter - smoked a giant 20lb-er over natural mesquite charcoal. took about 9 hours to get up to temp, kept it around 180-200 for 4-5 hours to get a good smoke and crust. then upped the coals to around 300 to cook it through. fun and tasty day.

https://i.imgur.com/33y3ebBl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kX4Bg7ll.jpg

[Bustercluck]

i'm looking into a smoker this year. Done a bunch of bacon and now maybe 7 or 8 hams over the years. Used a large stainless gas grill with offset heat and add some smoke. it works but not ideal. would be nice to have the right tool for the job.

went primitive this year for easter - smoked a giant 20lb-er over natural mesquite charcoal. took about 9 hours to get up to temp, kept it around 180-200 for 4-5 hours to get a good smoke and crust. then upped the coals to around 300 to cook it through. fun and tasty day.

https://i.imgur.com/33y3ebBl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/kX4Bg7ll.jpg

Good work! It looks like it turned out well.

Something I’ve done in the past is keep a fire going off to the side and keep pulling coals out with a rake and push them under your meat.

[lakelander]

I have a Napolean natural gas bbq and yesterday picked up a Weber smoke Joe to try my hand at cooking over coals.

[Dutch]

I have a GMG pellet smoker it is a great rig cannot say enough about it .The Daniel Boone model ,did smoked goose breast last week and everyone thought it was steak.Leg of lamb ,turkey great ,probes and the phone app is over the top even for an old non app guy like me.

[Bustercluck]

Some bacon that came off the kamado joe tonight

https://i.imgur.com/6uFnrLI.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bV0L7xw.jpg

[Bullreaper]

Green Mountain Grill Prime model. Set it, leave it. Can do everything from your phone. Like any pellet grill, keep it clean and you’ll be eating good.

[upperleftcoaster]

I got the Bradley classic XL (6 rack cabinet). So far so good but I think the heating element is a bit underpowered. However very good results so far on the ham, sausages, etc. will try brisket this summer with it.


I use an external Weber temp monitor with up to 4 probes via Bluetooth. So it’s easy to get the smoker temp dialed in and another probe in the meat and keep an eye on my phone while running around doing other shit.

I like that it’s electric too, just easy to plug in and run.

[firebird]

Okay if you have a Pitt Boss please let me know what model ? Pros & Cons
Thank You
Arctic Lake

I have the pit boss combo (pellet one side and gas on the other). When you have time to make a nice supper I use the pellet side to grill and the wood fire taste and finish is great. it takes 15-20 min to start and warm up. You also have the option to use indirect heat or direct flame (movable shield)

When the kids are hungry and want hot dogs/sausage I use the gas and am done in 15 min.

Have done a few briskets and they have turned out great.

Supposed to be able to cold smoke with the Pitboss combo because you set the pellet side to “smoke” and place the fish on the gas side. Have not tried it yet.


I bought the Pitboss combo because it was my first time messing with pellets and wasn’t sure I’d like to replace the gas grill completely. Next time around I will be buying just a pellet grill. Kids should be older and will have to wait for it to warm up lol

[Jamesonm]

Use a sous vide (water bath) to get it to the temp you want without drying it out (you can even add fat to the bag if you wanted to add more flavour and juiciness. Then throw it on the smoker for a shorter amount of time and cold smoke it.

I personally use a Weber Genesis I 330 SS. I have a little chief smoker but I rarely use it. My bro-in-law has a Komado and he LOVES it -- I also get to benefit from it when I visit the Okanagan. I think a Traeger or similar is in my future. It's been a toss up between a kegerator, smoker, or outdoor grilling area. All in time :)

Best
J

How’d the elk brisket turn out? I put a moose chuck roast on my kamado a while ago and it dried right out. I’m thinking it’s just too lean to leave on the grill for 8 hours, lol. Next time I’ll just smoke it for an hour or two and then throw it in the oven.

Bradleys are definitely the king for doing smoked salmon.

[Bustercluck]

Use a sous vide (water bath) to get it to the temp you want without drying it out (you can even add fat to the bag if you wanted to add more flavour and juiciness. Then throw it on the smoker for a shorter amount of time and cold smoke it.

I personally use a Weber Genesis I 330 SS. I have a little chief smoker but I rarely use it. My bro-in-law has a Komado and he LOVES it -- I also get to benefit from it when I visit the Okanagan. I think a Traeger or similar is in my future. It's been a toss up between a kegerator, smoker, or outdoor grilling area. All in time :)

Best
J

I might give this a go tomorrow. You say to smoke it after I Sous vide? I was thinking of rubbing it, smoking it and then sous vide, then maybe a touch more smoke.

Or maybe rub it, throw some smoke at it and then wrap it in some foil with a bunch of beef broth.

I’ll shoot from the hip in the morning. I do have some beef fat I’m going to lay over top of it while it’s cooking.

[Breiber]

I have a GMG pellet smoker it is a great rig cannot say enough about it .The Daniel Boone model ,did smoked goose breast last week and everyone thought it was steak.Leg of lamb ,turkey great ,probes and the phone app is over the top even for an old non app guy like me.

How did you do the smoked goose breast?

[high horse Hal]

here's the thread I mentioned

[RyoTHC]

Have two huge racks of beef ribs on the Traeger right now.. about an hour until they are done, what a great way to spend Canada Day weekend.

that being said; this smoker is the best purchase I’ve made. I’ve learned to cook so much delicious stuff, people ask to pay me to cook for them and now I don’t have to go pay $50 for a single meal at a smokehouse !

smoking home made jams and bbq sauce is a delight as well.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

here's the thread I mentioned

Thanks for the bump. Will need a new unit once we move into the new place.
Costco down here has a Louisiana Grill Ceramic Charcoal Grill 5 in 1 down here for about $1000 Canadian. Looks like a ceramic egg. Anyone use one??

I melted our small Weber camping BBQ that we have been getting by with. Apparently you can burn them off a tad hot. Lol

SSS

[high horse Hal]

This came up again when we got on the topic of bacon and the higher costs, seems ridic to buy when bellies can be had for a few dollars and smoke can be cheap
or as expensive as one wants to spend on the appliance
Numerous smoke generators have come on the market, cold smoking is a pretty simple process

[Bustercluck]

This came up again when we got on the topic of bacon and the higher costs, seems ridic to buy when bellies can be had for a few dollars and smoke can be cheap
or as expensive as one wants to spend on the appliance
Numerous smoke generators have come on the market, cold smoking is a pretty simple process
It would be interesting to weigh a 375 gram pack of bacon after you cook it and compare it to 375 grams of cooked homemade bacon. I’m sure the store bacon is at least 50% water weight, same goes for store bought chicken breasts

[Bustercluck]

This is what I’ve been using for my bacon if anyone wants to try it. I only cure it for 4-5 days, rinse it, smoke it and then freeze it in 1/2 pound chunks. It’s not something I typically fry up and eat, but more for sandwiches and breakfast wraps.

2kg pork belly


I mixed up the dry brine ingredients. For each kilogram of pork you need to mix:


3 grams of Prague powder #1
35 grams of Kosher salt



75 grams brown sugar
40 grams beef oxo in-a-mug
15 grams fresh cracked pepper
25 grams nn French onion soup mix

[Bustercluck]

For back bacon I add a touch of coriander and cloves.

75 grams sugar
40 grams beef oxo in-a-mug
15 grams fresh cracked pepper
10 grams coriander
5 grams cloves

[Bustercluck]

Another hack I’ve figured out is using a cheap coffee grinder to grind up whole cloves or whole peppercorns. The fresh ground spice is a game changer.

[cdub]

Just made a new smoker. Looks like my old wood box but now with aluminum interior and pid controller. Not as hot as store bought but have got it about 250 so far. We use it for sausage bacon and brisket and whatever we can think of

[Arctic Lake]

Bustercluck . I worked in the meat business for over 25 years although not directly involved in the pickling and curing department I can tell you water gets turned into gold LOL . Yes they put quite a bit of water in . Dry cured bacon is less and different process ! Ooops just read your above post !
Arctic Lake
It would be interesting to weigh a 375 gram pack of bacon after you cook it and compare it to 375 grams of cooked homemade bacon. I’m sure the store bacon is at least 50% water weight, same goes for store bought chicken breasts

[Bustercluck]

Bustercluck . I worked in the meat business for over 25 years although not directly involved in the pickling and curing department I can tell you water gets turned into gold LOL . Yes they put quite a bit of water in . Dry cured bacon is less and different process ! Ooops just read your above post !
Arctic Lake
They’re selling water at the price of bacon just like the gold brokers are selling pieces of paper at the price of gold…

[Arctic Lake]

Yes ! Sorry I did not see that you do dry cure bacon . I was involved to a degree involved in the dry curing of Prosciutto , Pancetta , etc.when not cutting Those products would sit in dry cure for a month being hauled over once a week ,bottom to top .
Arctic Lake
They’re selling water at the price of bacon just like the gold brokers are selling pieces of paper at the price of gold…

[high horse Hal]

Just made a new smoker. Looks like my old wood box but now with aluminum interior and pid controller. Not as hot as store bought but have got it about 250 so far. We use it for sausage bacon and brisket and whatever we can think ofLooking to make one out of a tin box w/electric burner, something a little bigger than the old reliable Li'l Chief.. Was thinking of just cold smoke and finishing in the oven. What did you use for heat?

[high horse Hal]

Yes ! Sorry I did not see that you do dry cure bacon . I was involved to a degree involved in the dry curing of Prosciutto , Pancetta , etc.when not cutting Those products would sit in dry cure for a month being hauled over once a week ,bottom to top .
Arctic LakeI have some moose chunks waiting for some curing, fridge space is limited so may have to wait til fall.

[cdub]

A number of years ago i bought a 1500watt electric conversion element from Cabelas. Havent seen them for a while. I also use a bradley smoke generator and/or a pellet tube for added smoke.


Looking to make one out of a tin box w/electric burner, something a little bigger than the old reliable Li'l Chief.. Was thinking of just cold smoke and finishing in the oven. What did you use for heat?