I finally gave up on my smoker and decided to get a new smoker. I went with a bigger model but less tech. Yes, its a cheater electric smoker. My 3rd one. I need more space to cook, I don't need help getting my smoke and temp right. :-)
I've also never used injection for flavor except for pork butt or other big cuts of meat. I decided to give it a try. I developed my own injection. Basically like the other recipes you have out on the internet but I'm putting the rub in the injection and using sirracchi.
Full results not in yet but my son and I think its the best sausage we have ever had.
No sauce. Marinated the meat overnight. Injected the meat. Slow cooked the ribs and chicken. Baste it with a combo of butter and apple juice. Using a combination of Apple, Mesquite, Cherry and Hickory wood.
Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!:
Anybody smoke with oak regularly? What's the flavor like?
Some chicken thighs I did this weekend turned out OK, but it wasn't great. I'm not 100 percent sure it wasn't the oak wood I smoked with, as I've never used oak before.
I like to smoke with oak but you have to be careful who you buy from. Many of the places you buy from is contracted from saw mills and are quick kiln dried. This often looks seasoned but is green in the core. Its always best to leave the meat off till the white heat smoke disappears and a blueish smoke billows out. What you describe sounds like green unseasoned oak the creosote will spoil the meat and make a bitter flavor. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!:
**** a chicken with a beer can. Put it on the grill. Start drinking heavily. Cook it till you think it's done. Now it's over done. Throw away and order a pizza.
Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!:
Where do y'all get your smoking wood?
I usually smoke with hickory and oak so when a project clears timber for roads and buildings I move in with the chain saw after its been dozed. Let it season then split. Apple or even pecan is more rare now in wild around here so its very prized if I find it. This is what I recommend if you have the means and availability. Other than this the online retailers of smoke woods may be a good bet. [Reply]
Originally Posted by cooper barrett:
Best to start coals in separate container then move. You do want blueish smoke not whitish gray stuff that causes creosotes.
this
and this
Will work great for making oak charcoal and save ya burning out your prised smoker. [Reply]
Looks mighty fine. Was it your first smoke? Nice spatchcock job too!!!
My suggestions are:
Throw out the hickory (Bitter) and use cherry, mulberry, or apple instead. I prefer cherry for chicken
Lay a piece of foil (not wrap) over the top when the edges start to turn that nasty brownish black color as that is a nasty flavor. taking the smoke wood off towards the end does the same thing.
Did you use a water bath? Anything in it? Type of smoker?
Originally Posted by Inmem58:
I followed this guys exact temperatures and it came out perfect. It was hands down some of the best chicken I’ve ate.
You do know you need to season it before cooking on it. Right?
Your going to love it I am sure but there are some things you should know up front
1, Read the warranty
2, Decide who is getting it when you're gone and add their name on the warranty papers (:-):-):-)). Might want to update your will while your at it.
3 if you didn't buy a firebox basket have someone make you two of them. On long smokes you will thank me. When refueling you just lift one out, set the other one in, and your off again. I did that on my New Braunfel smoker and loved it
Could you tell me about the air dampening system and how you like it when the time allows?
Oh yeah, It that unit 3/16" or 1/4" steel. At 500lbs I an guessing 1/4".
Originally Posted by philfree:
The old smoker wore out so I picked up one of these.
Originally Posted by srvy:
Those Yoders are beasts nice choice.
I like and dislike the smoke stack.
I like that it is out of the way but I liked being able to lower it or raise it depending on what I was cooking. This has it up high and it's fixed. Other than that it does look like a beast and at 500lbs it lives up to the name. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pasta Giant Meatball:
Burnt chicken! FMB is right. Gotta go 10 under as it will rise after you take it off.
Chicken come up 10 degrees? I'll call PGM out on that!
Burnt? FMB, I wouldn't call it burnt at 165. I call that a bit of a reach but it does need a rest after smoking.
A large roast or a whole brisket maybe but a ****ing chicken? 5 degrees max if you are roasting it at 350 but not if you smoke at 200-225 degrees.
I do agree that I would pull at 160 if joints are loose and juices run clear, then rest in a cambro for a period of time
[45+ minutes) to carry over the cooking (retain heat) and to rest.
Originally Posted by cooper barrett:
Chicken come up 10 degrees? I'll call PGM out on that!
Burnt? FMB, I wouldn't call it burnt at 165. I call that a bit of a reach but it does need a rest after smoking.
A large roast or a whole brisket maybe but a ****ing chicken? 5 degrees max if you are roasting it at 350 but not if you smoke at 200-225 degrees.
I do agree that I would pull at 160 if joints are loose and juices run clear, then rest in a cambro for a period of time
[45+ minutes) to carry over the cooking (retain heat) and to rest.
When do you pull a butt?
Proof source you ask
I didn't say burnt at 165. I said dry and chalky breast. And straight up at 165 it won't be dry, at 170 with carryover it would be. It's better at 160.
