Meat smoker?

Daughter got a meat smoker for Xmas, finally got it together . I know have to due a break in on it. Want to try chicken first any hints or recommended things to due to the meat? You guys marinate the meat in any thing first? What chips due u like best!

I like to shove apple, onion and garlic into the cavity. Close the cavity, tuck the wings and tie the legs. Fruit wood or alder chips though nothing wrong with pecan. You want a milder smoke.

I prefer a butter milk soak, dry brining is also a good way, I’ve had trouble wet brining getting the meat to salty unless I’m making pulled chicken. I use mainly chunk wood, but I like oak, and apple, maple isn’t bad for chicken but prefer it on pork.

Throw a handfull of soaked wood in the pan a crank it up get it good and hot to season it . I just turn it on high tell it gets over 350 then shut off let cool . For chicken i do a dry rub and only smoke about an hour then put on the grill to finish and crisp the skin.
I wipe down the bottom when done and wash the racks but don't worry about the inside unless it looks like it might drip or gets too wet.

Dont be scared to do pulled pork its super easy and always a big hit. Jerkey is easy too

Gonnah get into smoking stuff....Nevah done it....but better late than Nevah.....watching this thread.....

Where to start?

I'd throw in a bunch of chicken wings. Put a rub on half of them of you so desire. otherwise just bare wings. Set temp for about 220 and smoke for a couple hours. Finish in the oven at 450 for half hour or so , just to crisp up.

Enjoy.

Next week 3-2-1 ribs. You'll be ready.

Brisket guy here

About to do some experimenting with goat ribs, short ribs, and chops

I just smoked some birds Saturday night. I mix up a wet brine that's 1 cup of canning salt per gallon. I add Bolners adobo ole seasoning, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and two tablespoons silver swan soy sauce. I take a quart of this mix out and dissolve a teaspoon of pink curing salt to it and inject the chicken very well. I then dump the rest of the quart back into the bucket and add the chickens. I add some fresh cracked pepper and let them soak for 24 hours.

I take them out of the brine and rinse them well under cold water. Put them on racks with a fan for 4-6 hours with a fan and let the skin dry. I dust them with a little more Adobo ole and smoke them at 200 for two hours then raise it to 250. They hit 165 in my smoker in 3.5-4 hours. I use apple first and a little oak or Jim beam towards the end.

This works for turkey as well. The smoke flavor is all the way into the meat and its really juicy meat. They turn out less salty than ham and have a slight sweet taste.

I got a smoker this winter tried a Turkey first because my wife got it for free as a Christmas gift from work. I'm not an expert but I injected the bird with a commercial season made just for birds and it was the best Turkey I ever ate. Amazing smoke flavor and super moist. I used pecan wood.

Soak in mixture of salt and brown sugar.

My chicken is just plain awesome out of the smoker. Here's how I do it...

1. Brine the chicken overnight in salt/sugar/water - 3/4 c salt, 3/4 c dark brown sugar, 1 gallon of water. (adjust if you need more to cover the chicken)
2. Rinse the chicken well, soak for 2-3 hours in clean water.
3. Remove from water to a rack, dry with a towel.
4. Cover LIBERALLY with rub*.
5. Set smoker to 265 degrees. Add 3 parts pecan chips to 1 part cherry chips.
6. Put the chicken in the smoker, remove when it reaches 170-175 degrees in the center of the thickest parts.
7. Dip in KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce thinned down some with Pepsi Cola.
8. Put it back in the smoker for 10 min. then remove it.
9. Let it set 5 min. and serve.

*Rub Recipe
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 T Lowrey's Season Salt
1 1/2 t garlic powder
1 1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t chili powder
1 T paprika
1/2 T Salt
1/2 T course ground black pepper

Guaranteed to be terrific!!!

PS If your chicken is cut up, not whole or halved, cooking it in a disposable aluminum pan with 1/2 stick of butter in the bottom is recommenced. Lollipop the drumsticks and cook in muffin tins.

I done some with rubs and others with just salt and pepper both are good. Getting ready to expertment with making smoked deer pastrami have no idea how it will turn out. Still surfing the net for different brines. I have a old offset smoker that I use hickory with
J

can you get crispy skin with just the smoker? (my electric smoker only goes up to 300 degrees.)

great thread, btw!

coalminer, different meats and fish will taste better with the right smoking wood. Which Wood you choose is an important part of the recipe.
Do a google search for smoking wood vs. meat/fish. Maybe your new smoker came with some recommendations on wood.

In pics below, I like Apple wood for Pulled Pork...

smoking is not rocket science

what it does take is some trial and error to find out what YOU like.

I typically smoke with oak and hickory because I have plenty of both readily available.
sometimes I get some cherry, apple, and pear wood, and I like it too.

chicken I rub then smoke, 225 degrees - time varies based on the size of the bird and how well you can control your temps.

i've learned to do chicken, pork, ribs, and brisket at 225 - so if I'm doing multiples, I can do them at the same time.

pulled pork is about the easiest, but it takes a while. rub it down heavily and load it on the smoker. after a few hours I check the bark. Once the bark gets where I like it, I wrap in foil and add some of my homemade vinegar sauce to finish it off.

somebody mentioned 3-2-1 ribs, that's pretty simple as well.

Anybody use mulberry? I've tried it several times & like it. Plus I got a bunch growing around me, just grab the loppers & cut what I need.
Dennis

I have made corned deer with Alton Brown's corned beef recipe and it came out terrific. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/corned-beef-recipe-1947363 I haven't smoked it afterwords but as you know, it would be pastrami if you did.

I cut some sassafras cookies this morning.
I also use hickory, and fruit wood.
I shy away from old orchard wood that was sprayed with who knows what for years.

What’s a good smoker to purchase ?

Thanks ADC Ill give that a look
J

I have an oklahoma joes that I really like - but there are plenty of others that are good
can't go wrong with a weber

the green eggs are nice grill/smoker units, but a little pricey and I don't like the ceramic. saw a wind storm blow through a BBQ competition one night and about a million dollars of green eggs busted into peices when they hit the asphalt/concrtee

Yeah I prefer it on beef to using oak, but we have big mulberry trees, about 20 inches around and around 40 feet tall in a timber and one went down in a wind storm so I’ve just been cutting off the bottom.

I've used a couple different ones. I'm not sure what the best is but this one is my favorite of the ones I have used. Easy to keep the temp right...
Smoke Vault - click here

What’s a good smoker to purchase ?

Don't waste your time or money. Get a Traeger. You'll be satisfied from the start. Mine cost $700.00. Worth every cent. Sarge

Do you guys like wood ovah pellets.....or what ?

That looks delicious

ADC … do you think this would work on Salmon ?… A friend just gave me a side of pink salmon and I was thinking about trying smoking it.

Garry-

I really don't know Garry. I've never smoked fish. I intend to try it sometime but I haven't gotten around to it. Sorry I can't be more help.

I make deer pastrami,won't go back to store purchased after you make your own. very simple to make.

ttt