Charcoal Smoker - Expert (or thereabouts) Advice Required - Please.

[Wailbait]

A lot of incredible advice in here.  Love this read.  Thanks.

[LLC]

I have a very good Napoleon bbq but am going to add a Big Green Egg. It is mostly just my wife and I but sometimes also my daughter and her husband. I don’t mind buying the large but wonder if that isn’t necessary and a medium would be fine.


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[reliefdvm]

This site has loads of info and tutorials.

https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/beef-and-bison-recipes/smoked-brisket-texas-style

Brisket Like others have said - keep it simple. Rub - salt and pepper, maybe add some garlic powder.  I like to trim most of the fat off including the fat between the point and the flat. Try for 225 F to 250 F until internal temp is 205 F. Spend money on good thermometers. If you wrap the brisket in foil when internal temp stalls at around 150 F you will cut way down on the overall cooking time, but the crust won't be as crispy. Everything else that you do is fine tuning.

Personally I have gone over to the dark side and use a pellet grill. Good luck. 

[ElPuro]

5 minutes ago, LLC said:

I have a very good Napoleon bbq but am going to add a Big Green Egg. It is mostly just my wife and I but sometimes also my daughter and her husband. I don’t mind buying the large but wonder if that isn’t necessary and a medium would be fine.


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I have the standard Kamado Joe (18"), a BGE competitor, and a family of 5. It's certainly adequate in size. There are definitely times I've wished it were bigger, but extra size also comes with more weight, etc. In the end, I wouldn't have gone bigger. You can also get a second grate that's sits atop the first, though it's only really helpful for things that can be stacked (chicken parts, burgers, etc.). Hope that helps!

[Habana Mike]

4 hours ago, LLC said:

I have a very good Napoleon bbq but am going to add a Big Green Egg. It is mostly just my wife and I but sometimes also my daughter and her husband. I don’t mind buying the large but wonder if that isn’t necessary and a medium would be fine.


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It's like a humidor.  Go large, you know you'll overfill it quickly.

I have Large and now would prefer an X Large.

Just the two of us as well.

[joeypots]

Last night's beef short ribs after about two hours.  250F for 5.5 hours in a 22" Webber with a Slow and Sear.  Salt and pepper over night were the only seasoning and I spritzed with pomegranate juice. They were very good.

[BrightonCorgi]

Smokers are super easy IMO.  Been using them 25 years and have learned a lot over time.  I think people over complicate things with basting, rubs, etc...

For brisket; cut down some additional fat, season with kosher salt and sieved black pepper then night before.  I like to let the brisked get to room temperature before putting on the smoker.  Saves a ton of time and keeps the meat from being too smoky.  It's easy to make meat taste like a campfire; restraining the smoke flavor is the trick.  Keep brisket 220-250 F. I do not baste the meat at normally.  Once at 170 F, wrap the meat in parchment paper or foil and cook to 190 F.  Take meat off the smoker and wrap it in a big towel for at least two hours or until time to eat.

Cooking chicken is a little different as you want the smoker to get as hot as it can or the skin will never get crispy and not as much fat renders.  Use a sausage pricker all over the exterior for the fat to render easier.  I cut around the bottom of the drum sticks so the meat pulls up on the bone and remove the kidneys from the carcass. Million different ways of seasoning.  The same goes for beef roasts like a rib roast.  It's better to get the smoker to 350 or finish the last 20 minutes inside in an oven at 350-375 to get a crust.

Most recently, I have been using soaked Mexican cinnamon sticks as the flavoring wood.  Very delicate tasting. 

 

Here's a recent whole chicken

 

[Çnote]

1 hour ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Most recently, I have been using soaked Mexican cinnamon sticks as the flavoring wood.  Very delicate tasting

Whoa. I may have to try this asap

[Astar20]

This is my smoker made from a 55 gallon drum and I use about 12-15 pounds of charcoal with wood chips. I have a window and add more charcoal and wood as needed but j never go above 265 as a temp work in 5 degree incriments start at 225 and work up no matter the meat I always aim for a 10-12 hour cook window. I also have a meat thermometer attached to the side of the barrel. Some finished product attached as well. 

[MoeFOH]

Thanks again for all the advice, folks - fantastic! 

Weather & time permitting, I hope to have another crack this weekend! 

[Fuzz]

Next time you go for a walk, see if you can find some Banksia cones. They are pretty good to use in the smoker.

 

[Oscar300]

I rock a Kamodo Joe, love it to bits.  I like the 3-2-1 method for ribs.  

Its all a bit like cigars, try a bit of everything and see whats good for you.  Theres lots of good stuff on the net but stick to simple stuff.  Pork shoulder, rub of choice, in the smoker at 225f for as long as it needs, take it out at 205f, rest it in foil in a cool bag for a couple of hours, pull and eat.  

Not so keen on smoked beef.

[BrightonCorgi]

On 6/15/2020 at 10:18 AM, Çnote said:

Whoa. I may have to try this asap

I am using grape vines on a 4th of July roast.  Should be interesting.

[Çnote]

4 minutes ago, BrightonCorgi said:

I am using grape vines on a 4th of July roast.  Should be interesting.

I've done that, stellar results with ribeyes and Bordeaux.

If you ever come across an overgrown rosemary bush, where there is significant woody growth, that also works magic on ribeyes with Brunello. Almost a reason to let that part of the herb garden go feral for a few years.

[BrightonCorgi]

4 hours ago, Çnote said:

I've done that, stellar results with ribeyes and Bordeaux.

If you ever come across an overgrown rosemary bush, where there is significant woody growth, that also works magic on ribeyes with Brunello. Almost a reason to let that part of the herb garden go feral for a few years.

It's a boneless rib eye that I have been dry aging for 60+ days.  Was thinking a older Bordeaux or a Musar.  A friend coming over that digs both.

 

I wish on the rosemary.  Rosemary does not live through the winter in my locale.  I need to cut more grape vines this week.  We have them growing wild like crazy in my neighborhood.  If you can beat the wildlife to the grapes they are pretty darn good.

[ElPuro]

Turkey with a side of ribs because, well, why not! :)

 

[Stogiepuffer]

Last night's beef short ribs after about two hours.  250F for 5.5 hours in a 22" Webber with a Slow and Sear.  Salt and pepper over night were the only seasoning and I spritzed with pomegranate juice. They were very good.

I got the same setup, used 2 fire bricks to convert my Weber to a smoker about 5 years ago. Just smoked a pork shoulder last week... After about 6 hrs of smoking I pulled the shoulder, added some charcoal and cooked some burgers and veggies. Definitely suits my needs ..

I usually wrap everything I smoke and if doing pulled pork or beef I add the drippings from the wrap in with the meat to keep the moisture content high....

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