Topic: Barbecues & Smokers (How to Get that Smoked Taste)

[Cory Ander]

These posts moved to here by CA

By SmokenSpices:

Those look amazing! Yum yum.

I have one of those black frying pan things with the deep lines / furrows that I use to cook steak etc. Do You think that I could use that to achieve the BBQ flavour? I thought about covering the pan to keep the smoke in. Any thoughts?

Alway get yourself a genuine Brinkmann smoker Bobby. That we you definitely get that smoky bbq flavour.

By Unclebuck:

or get one of these kiddies when the weather is no good for a real outdoor BBQ but you wont see much change from 350 notes thou

[Cory Ander]

By Smokenspice:

Looks like a good bit of kit you got there UB ... but if you want to get that real smokey BBQ taste you need one of these beauts ....

[Cory Ander]

By UncleBuck:

any good SnS do you have one?

By Smokenspice:

Yes. Got one of the models in the photo.

Slow smoked chicken is fantastic.

3 years ago I became a distributor for Brinkmann smokers (via the BBQ Company in Cornwall), but packed it in last year (hence smokenspices). I got the Southfork smoker at 10% of retail price as a demo, so it is now at home.

Still got a few smaller smokers left in stock. If anyone's interested drop me a line.

By George:

I just found this design for a homemade smoker. Is this approach similar to that used in the leading brands of smokers from the shops?

http://cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/elecsmoker.html

By SmokenSpice:

In principle it is similar George. The Brinkmann is made using 6 mm steel so I hope it last a little longer.

Only things this guy has not mentioned are

1) Wood chips need to be soaked in water for best effect (compressed flavoured wood pellets do not) ...

2) ... and enclosed in an almost sealed metal smoke box or wrapped tightly in a foil envelope (to starve the smouldering wood of oxygen). A tiny hole allows the smoke to escape. Otherwise the wood will burn too quickly and produce little smoke.

3) A steel bowl containing water or beer/cider or other flavoured liquid is placed above heat source (charcoal in my case). This boils and produces steam which mixes with the wood chip smoke. It reduces air temperature, keeps food moist and helps the flavourings penetrate the food.

So in order you would have heat source, sealed wood box, water bowl, food, exhaust
Are you thinking of building one of these George? 

[ast]

You guys are making me homesick for Kansas City with all this talk about smokers!  I used to have a bunch of friends there who participated in a number of the local BBQ competitions (2-day events).  I remember visiting them during other parts of the year for the "practice" sessions in the back yard.  Nothing like perfectly smoked beef brisket!

Of course, for these guys, if you hadn't built your own smoker, you were an amateur!  I never got into it that much except as a spectator, however, since being here and not being able to get decent BBQ or cajun food, building one has crossed my mind.  I know you can, to some extent, fake it with a gas grill if you set it up right (I have a pretty good one), but as SnS points out, it isn't really the same.

At the very least, unless you've got a covered grill, you lose a lot of the benefits of grilling in the first place.  We use ours at least twice a week for regular meals year around (rain, sleet, snow, whatever...), but I lost the battle to convince my father-in-law to get one with a cover.  I have tried to use it several times with some beautiful pieces of meat, but I can't stand it!

For the way I grill (and the things I cook), I can't see how having one of the countertop models would work for me.  It looks like a nice idea, but how does it really work in practice?  Doesn't it smoke up the whole house?  Again, because it doesn't have a cover, I can't see how it would work quite as well in maintaining a radiant heat all around.

I guess I should also say that I use propane with my gas grill, so it's a bit hotter than the normal bottles of butane they sell here for grills.  It's rated for it, so I just made a new hose with a regulator that fits the patio gas bottles of propane.  They make propane for the "standard" one, but it's hard to find.  You certainly can't cook year-round on butane either!

Interesting stuff.

SnS, do you use your smoker very much?

[George]

SnS

>Are you thinking of building one of these George?

Yes, I might add a home-made smoker to my DIY projects to-do list but progress on these 'bright ideas' is slow. My long-standing intention to build a DIY tandoor in the garden hasn't yet happened. Perhaps this summer...

I never even knew about smokers as a mainstream cooking method before you mentioned them here. Thank you very much for your tips and suggestions. I could probably use my tandoor as a smoker by lowering the metal box of wood on to, or near, the charcoal which I will use to fire it.  What do you think?

Regards
George

[SnS]

SnS, do you use your smoker very much?

Hi Ast

Not as much as I should. I tend do do a batch of smoked meat and then freeze most of it.

Beef rib, brisket, leg of lamb, chicken and turkey give great results.
Meat stays very moist and because it's cooked slowly the natural "bad" fats convert to "more healthy" fats (something to do with the fat molecules breaking down).

This year I'm going to see what temperature I can reach in the centre section. I know when I was conditioning it I got 325C, so if I can reach 400C perhaps I can start using it as a horizontal tandoor?

SnS ;D

[SnS]

SnS

>Are you thinking of building one of these George?

Yes, I might add a home-made smoker to my DIY projects to-do list but progress on these 'bright ideas' is slow. My long-standing intention to build a DIY tandoor in the garden hasn't yet happened. Perhaps this summer...

I never even knew about smokers as a mainstream cooking method before you mentioned them here. Thank you very much for your tips and suggestions. I could probably use my tandoor as a smoker by lowering the metal box of wood on to, or near, the charcoal which I will use to fire it.  What do you think?

Regards
George

Use an old tobacco tin. Put a hole in the lid using a small nail. Soak wood chips in water for at least half an hour. Place sealed tin/wood chips onto the hot charcoal.

If you're usng your own wood be very careful what wood you use, many give out poisonous residues with the smoke (Laburnum for example). Use oak, maple, apple or cherry ... safe and easy to find.

See here for commercial wood chips and pellets

http://www.planetbarbecue.co.uk/shopwoodchips.html

or here

http://www.thebbq.co.uk/default.aspx

or here

http://www.forfoodsmokers.co.uk/

The cast iron pot shown is one I use, together with the BBQ Delight compressed pellets (these don't require soaking). The BBQ Companion range are cheaper and are wood chips (do require soaking).

Regards

SnS  ;D

[SnS]

George

If you're thinking of taking up smoking (disgusting habit I know), here is the manual for the smoke & grill model. Some information that may be useful.

I have about 25 of these in stock, but the stainless steel version (model now discontinued by the UK importer).

SnS  ;D

[Unclebuck]

Yes, I might add a home-made smoker to my DIY projects to-do list but progress on these 'bright ideas' is slow. My long-standing intention to build a DIY tandoor in the garden hasn't yet happened. Perhaps this summer...

i really want to build a tandoor this year.. this bloke has done a fantastic job

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=94527

[Cory Ander]

Yes, he seems to have done a really neat job indeed.  Haven't seen that one before.