Grilling

[392heminut]

..drink half your can of beer <laughs> put the other on the chicken stand....drinking a half can of beer is stupid...<thumbsup>

Of course it is! Simple solution is cook more chicken! <lmao>

[tolbndfishin]

I have a propane smoker, its upright with a drawer in the bottom.  $130 from walmart.  The drawer has a small circle pan in the very center for wood chips/chunks, and the rest of it was for water.  I got tired of the heat climbing as the water level got lower and lower and dropping way down when i added more, so i got to thinking (dangerous for me lol).  Had a bag of playground sand, did some googling and realized it had been done.  So i tried it.  Works excellently once you figure out the sand level necessary to hold the temp you want.  Mine is full for brisket at 260ish.  When i do pulled/sliced pork i need the 215or so, so i have to add in another valve to my propane line or it cooks too hot, but the sand is zero maintenance while cooking.  Only have to grab my scoop, throw out any non smoking wood, toss in a few fresh pieces, then door closed, temp doesnt drop or climb nearly as much (opening door drops heat, sliding the drawer out to add chips removes the buffer btwn the burner and the meat, so i prefer a drop in temp rather than an over 300 temp)  If you have a vertical smoker and water is the buffer your using, try the sand if you can easily put it in and replace it after 15-20 hours of accumilated cooking time(it gets a glaze on top if grease keeps dripping on it, so will need replacing).  If its for a get together or something, i always change out the sand.

Russ

[washguy]

I have a propane smoker, its upright with a drawer in the bottom.  $130 from walmart.  The drawer has a small circle pan in the very center for wood chips/chunks, and the rest of it was for water.  I got tired of the heat climbing as the water level got lower and lower and dropping way down when i added more, so i got to thinking (dangerous for me lol).  Had a bag of playground sand, did some googling and realized it had been done.  So i tried it.  Works excellently once you figure out the sand level necessary to hold the temp you want.  Mine is full for brisket at 260ish.  When i do pulled/sliced pork i need the 215or so, so i have to add in another valve to my propane line or it cooks too hot, but the sand is zero maintenance while cooking.  Only have to grab my scoop, throw out any non smoking wood, toss in a few fresh pieces, then door closed, temp doesnt drop or climb nearly as much (opening door drops heat, sliding the drawer out to add chips removes the buffer btwn the burner and the meat, so i prefer a drop in temp rather than an over 300 temp)  If you have a vertical smoker and water is the buffer your using, try the sand if you can easily put it in and replace it after 15-20 hours of accumilated cooking time(it gets a glaze on top if grease keeps dripping on it, so will need replacing).  If its for a get together or something, i always change out the sand.

Russ

Russ....of course now i get it....thats how we get sandwiches!

<lmao>  crap its 5am here i had to say that <laughs>  Wash

[tolbndfishin]

Definitely worthy of a chuckle  <lmao>

[Armed Eye Doc]

I was practicing for Thanksgiving. 

Here is a bone-in turkey breast.  I soaked it in a brine solution for about a day first.  Then used a moist rub of olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper, and a few other spices I don't recall at the moment.  I didn't let that sit as long as I would have liked (poor planning), only about an hour before smoking.  I smoked it with apple wood for about 3 1/2 hours and alder another 2 hours at about 225 up to 160 internal temp.  It then got wrapped in foil and towels for about 30 minutes before we got hungry and couldn't wait any longer.  All I will change is some of the spices I put in the rub.  I don't mind a little spice, but some in my family are not as adventurous.

[unforgiven]

:drool: :)

[shepp]

Is that a master built electric smoker??  If so I got the same one, I really like it.

Saturday's the big day. Wash gave me some private tutoring I hope I pass the test lol!!! Ill post pix next week!!

[unforgiven]

If you need a taste tester call me brother shepp. <thumbsup> <lmao> <laughs> I'll make sure you pass ;)

[Armed Eye Doc]

Is that a master built electric smoker??  If so I got the same one, I really like it.

Saturday's the big day. Wash gave me some private tutoring I hope I pass the test lol!!! Ill post pix next week!!

It is a propane smoker by Camp Chef. http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Camp-Chef-24-Smoke-Vault&i=401738&aID=505O3B&merchID=4006

Except for needing to add new wood chips every half hour, I like it.  I will have to try using sand instead of water in it.  That sounds helpful.

[unforgiven]

That's a pretty nice unit bro. :)

[washguy]

Is that a master built electric smoker??  If so I got the same one, I really like it.

Saturday's the big day. Wash gave me some private tutoring I hope I pass the test lol!!! Ill post pix next week!!

Shepp  You can doooo it !  apple juice and westershire is your friend <laughs>  no peeking under the hood unless your spraying! <thumbsup>  Wash

[shepp]

Got an injector today, new spray bottle tomorrow. Think I've got everything else. And pm's are in my cook book

[Armed Eye Doc]

Any tips for smoking salmon?  I have grilled it on cedar planks with good results, but never in a smoker.  I have looked for help online and will attempt it.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

[shepp]

Any tips for smoking salmon?  I have grilled it on cedar planks with good results, but never in a smoker.  I have looked for help online and will attempt it.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Like a light smoke to eat for a dinner? Or a dark heavy smoke almost like jerky?? I've made whole trout the second way a few times.

[Armed Eye Doc]

Like a light smoke to eat for a dinner? Or a dark heavy smoke almost like jerky?? I've made whole trout the second way a few times.

I prefer a lighter smoke with a flaky fish at the end.

[unforgiven]

For the fish what are you looking at time wise? I'll put shrimp in a cast iron pan with EVO and a little pepper on the grill [charcoal] till hot add shrimp and stir till light pink in color.Salmon in smoker [charcoal/wood] till flaky.Time doesn't figure just till fish falls apart since both shrimp and fish are easy to over cook.But time is relatively short.

[shepp]

I prefer a lighter smoke with a flaky fish at the end.

thats what i figured but i thought i would ask, i normally do mine on the grill on a sheet of alm foil rub it with butter against the grain and sprinkle it with either mrs dash garlic herb or McCormic montreal steak seasoning.

this is the bine i used for the trout i suppose the differance is how long you smoke it? i did it like 8 hours cuz i like the dry smoked stuff people like to mix with cream cheese or eat with crackers i normally eat mine straight up tho:D

1/2 cup non ID salt

1/2 cup sugar 2+ c apple juice

+ desired seasonings.

-onion

garlic

parsly

smoke 225 3-4 hours is what my book says

heres another one i found

smoked stuffed salmon

4-5LBS of salmon

3tbs oil

1/4c green onions

1 c tomatos seeded and pealed

1/4c fresh dill chopped

1/2c dry bread cubes

1/4c chopped celery

1/2tsp lemon pepper

1 clove minced garlic

prepare salmon and brush with oil combine remaining stuff in bowl stuff salmon with mixture, place on a sheet of HD alm foil doubled over place in smoker @ 225 3-4 hours make sure there is proper air flow around foil in smoker

[Armed Eye Doc]

Thanks for the ideas.  Off to the smoker. ;D

[shepp]

Thanks for the ideas.  Off to the smoker. ;D

let us konw i love salmon!!!!

[washguy]

Shepp  we are out shootin  how are the butts coming?

[shepp]

good i sent you a few emails. once i turned it down to 200 and flipped them they slowed way down took along time to go from 150-160, i didnt foil them till they hit about 165-170 cuz the outside wasnt as dark as i thought it should be. now im wraped and slowly climbing, i F'd up one of my probs its reading way high:( sitting about 178 on the bottem rack right now.

thank you again for all your help wash!!!!! i owe you:D

[shepp]

first of a huge thanks to wash for all the tips and instruction!!!

got real buts this time:

all rubbed down, i didnt need to run the meat down in anything to make the rub stick, the juice from the injection was seeping out of the meat and worked well to adhear the rub

found this at a gordon food service, i added it to the rub russ had posted back in sept.

bout half way thru

finished product

turned out better then last time. think i may try a brisket next.

[washguy]

Hey Shepp  looks good...how did it "pull"......nice and juicy on the inside?

bark looks good too! :)  Wash

[tolbndfishin]

I'll pass along my brisket recipe for you to gander at, in case you wanna try it.  Also my cooking instructions since i do it a bit different than what I consider to be normal.  I should have time to type it up this evening.  Glad to hear the pork turned out well, and you were happy with it.  After seeing those results, I think i'm going to have to load up and head to wash's place and get some real time in person smoker lessons... <laughs>

Russ

[Armed Eye Doc]

The pork looks yummy.

Here is the results of my salmon experiment.  It turned out pretty good but not much different than grilling on a cedar plank.  I had to change propane in the middle and was never able to get the temperature above 200 afterwards.  It took about 4 hours to get it up to 160 internal temp.  Once I figure out what happened to the smoker, (hopefully just the propane bottle) I may try it again.