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Ever since TubeDude posted his smoking cat recipie, it's made me want to go buy another smoker.......
What is the better kind to buy?
Not just brand or style, but cost....
I live in a Condo and I have to be carefull what I use and how big it is?
I noticed that Pat used a electric..... My old one as a charcole...(GACK), I didn't like it.
I would love to have an elec.
Any suggestions????
Law
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ML, I have a Brinkman Gourmet electric which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in smoking edible delicacies. The best way to describe it would be to imagine R2D2 clad in red! It has an electric element in the bottom amidst small lava rock. The element has no temp adjustment but maintains a steady 135 to 140 degrees Farenheit (you don't want high heat) The steady heat output is the primary reason I would recommend it, because charcoal smokers tend to vary in temp a lot more. In addition, it has 2 racks and a water pan - which is another great feature (it can be removed for dry smoking or left in for moist smoking - yum)!
I use it for baby-back ribs, turkey breasts, hams, fish, fruit, veggies and they all smoke up perfectly.
They can be purchased for about 55 to 60 bucks at most hardware stores and discount retailers or outdour outfitters. If you get one let me know and I'll give you a tip or two for added flavors.
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The Brinkman is what I had, but it only had the charcole option at the time. I have kept that in mind as far as a brand, and I thank you for the recomendation.
How much do they cost now? Im a I.T. administrator assistant and I don't have alot of time to go shopping[unsure]...on call 24/7
If you or anyone can fire off some pricing on what you/they use that would be awsome.
Thanks again,
Law
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[#505000]Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!! Way to go Marshall!! I bet your subject line gave the moderators a heart attack!!!! I hope we don't have to strap Tubedude's lifeless corpse (clutching his chest with one hand mind you) to his burning tube and float him out to sea viking style!! [cool][/#505000]
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[#505000]I remember a post with this same subject line on the DWR boards several months ago and it was some guy whining about cigarette butts being tossed and being downwind of smokers on the lake. It was a very contentious flaming thread and it took a VERY long time to go away. [crazy] When I saw your subject line I thought "Oh NO here it comes".[/#505000]
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[#505000]Anyway you gave me a good laugh (at the moderators expense). I wish you could have all seen the mental picture I got when I read that subject line!! [cool][/#505000]
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If you want the real deal, go for a Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker. You can check out a good site here:
[url "http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/"]http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/[/url]
I bought one a couple of years ago and it's been awesome! I was tempted to go for the cheaper ECB (El Cheapo Brinkman) until I read about all the people who've tried both and stick with the WSM.
I'll warn you, though, once you start to smoke you can't stop. It's about as habit forming as nicotine....
Good luck with the search. Let me know if you have any questions.
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[cool]That looks like an awesome smoker, but I have a question. There's only one fish recipe on there for Salmon. Do you know where you can get others that are SPECIFICALLY for the Weber Smoky Mountain? I'm a little worried about cook time and stuff like that when working with a charcoal smoker. This thing looks awesome for smoking other meats though, especially ribs, etc.!
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I have a smaller electric smoker, same brand name as TD, I paid around 35 to 40 bucks. The little Chief would be just right for your needs but you have to remember they put out a lot of smoke when you put the chips in the pan and start them up. WH2
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[cool][#0000ff]As you could clearly see in one of the pics I posted, I use the Little Chief. That is about the fourth one I have owned, along with others, over the past plenty years. They are great for plain old smokin' with no frills. Easy to load and operate, etc.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are two styles. One loads from the top. I prefer the front loader. Easier to load, unload and to check on progress. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Some of the larger (better insulated) smokers work better for outdoor smoking in cold or windy weather. The Little Chief has a tough time maintaining a good smoking temp or keeping the smoke inside when the wind becomes a factor.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have also tried charcoal smokers. They can turn out some good stuff, if you pay attention to how many briquets you use and keep them properly burning. More bother than electric. But, they are ideal for smoke cooking whole chickens, small turkeys or pork chops. Yum.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Not sure I would recommend smoking in an apartment, unless you live on an upper floor and have a balcony that is secluded from passersby. The smoker does kick out a lot of smoke during the early phase of each new pan of chips, and puts out a lot of smoky smells thereafter. Concerned or pesky neighbors might report you to the management or the fire department. (I had a fire truck show up at my home one day, when well-meaning neighbors saw smoke pouring over my back fence)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you have a fireplace in your apartment or home, you can use that for smoking. Just be sure the flue is open or everything in the house will quickly smell like smoked fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The really good news is that smoking is not the deep dark mystery that a lot of crotchety old timers would have you believe. It simply consists of curing the meat or fish with salt, sugar and spices and then using heat and smoke to cook, dehydrate and add a smoky taste to the end product. You can get a lot of variations, with different recipes, but it is tough to totally ruin something. Still, it is better to practice a couple of batches with something not too precious or expensive before you go out and buy 20 pounds of fresh salmon.[/#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]You're a sick and twisted guy, Gary. I guess that's why I like ya.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]But, you gotta be more careful about what kind of mushrooms you use in your cooking. They seem to create some wild visuals for you.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]About that Viking thing. I have told my family that I will never become a burden to them in my old(er) age. I plan to just kick out a ways from shore, in my faithful float tube, and then cover myself (inside and out) with something tasty and flammable. Once the fish stop hitting on that occasion, I "click my Bic" and become a toasty tuber. Just my luck that I would get a ticket for environmental pollution. I'd make them hand it to me while I was a "hunk of burnin' dude". Anybody for some smoked meat? You could tell it was me by the charcoal slacks and the smoking jacket. (An old David Koresh joke)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]How about that for a "sicker than thou" shot?[/#0000ff]
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If you want the good recipes on the WSM, you need to search the forums. I found several really nice looking catfish recipes on there.
I do trout and salmon every once in a while and they turn out great. Next time around, I'm going for some whitefish. My favorites are ribs, pulled pork and the ever-popular brisket. Turkey and chicken are ok too.
Just FYI, if you're familiar at all with any of the pro BBQ competitions, the WSM is a common site. A lot of people knock charcoal smokers cuz of poor temp controls, but the WSM will actually keep a more steady temp than my neighbor's gas smoker.
Anyway, good and bad in everything...
Good luck finding something.
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I also have a little chief and use it as often as I can. I was having problems with it in cold or windy weather, it would take hours longer to dry the jerky or fish that I was smoking. I found that if I placed a cardboard box over the smoker, it retained its heat and would dry the morsels inside much quicker. I have noticed in Cabela's magazine that they now sell an insulating blanket of some type for the little chief. But why pay the $20 for a blanket when you can use something else? It works well. Jerky that was taking upwards of 12 to 16 hours to finish in the smoker, now only takes about 9 hours. Just a suggestion.
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I have the charcol Brinkman but bought the optional electric element to go under it. That way I have the option of using either type of heat source. The only thing I would rather it have is a large side door instrad of top access. I plan to purchase the smoker blanket that wraps around it to help insulate in the cold/wind.
As far as being an ex-smoker goes - the only time I really miss it is when Im fishing. Ive overcome all of the other smoking "triggers" but that one. So I end up chewing jalepeno sunflower seeds like a chipmunk.
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Like PDS I use a cardboard box inverted over my Little Chief smoker. In fact, I use two - the original box the smoker came in with a slighltly larger box over the first to creat some insulating air space. In cold weather I also wrap an old quilt over the smoker/boxes with good results. I've had my Little Chief for over 20 years and it has served me well.
In a recent episode of Good Eats on Food TV, Alton Brown made a smoker out of extra large terra cotta planters, a hotplate, thermometer and cast off grill parts. Way cool and inexpensive.
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I have a little cheif if you are planning on buying one. Talk to me first. I will give you a deal. I have recently upgraded to a large gas smoker by Camp Chef. It is called the smoke vault. Holds triple the little cheif and the heat can adjust high enough that I don't have to mess with insulating from the outside.
Of course it was substantially more expensive than the little cheif but well worth every penny.
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Do you honestly mean to tell me that the Little Chief has a use other than a paperweight in the garage? That's where it's been for 5 years. I tried it once, just after I got it as a gift. I used the recipe from the booklet and some high dollar chips. I ended up with Trout jerky after annoying every neighbor within a block with the smoke. It did still taste OK, I must admit. I haven't dared try it again for fear of ruining some tasty meat treats.
I could try it again, but why do that when the GF's dad smoked a turkey last Thanksgiving, using Jack Daniels chips (yes, sold in a bag), WOW!!! Bar none, the best bird I've ever eaten. He's a welding instructor, you can imagine his 4'X6'X3' smoker is permanantly installed into his shop, right next to the plasma cutting table. I'll just let him do the smoking from now on. The only problem now is catching enough fish to get him to fire it up.
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[size 1]They can be purchased for about 55 to 60 bucks at most hardware stores and discount retailers or outdour outfitters. ie: Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Sportsmans, etc. I would definitely call the store before you make the trek over there to find out if they have one. [/size]
[size 1]PS: Here's a tip for ya: buy the biggest chunks of wood available, soak em at least 24 hours in water, and your smoke will last for a good 2 1/2 hours or so without having to tend the smoker (the little wood strips just don't last that long in the smoker)[/size]
[size 1]Most of the same stores sells bags of Hickory, Mesquite, and maybe even Alder. If you can get a hold of some fruit wood, it works great as well![/size]
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The first question you need to ask is what do you intend to smoke? I barbecue about every week and have been doing a fair bit of barbecue catering lately (barbecue--not grilling).
The WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) is the only vertical bullet smoker worth buying, though it has a fairly small capacity. And while it burns charcoal, you can still get 12- to 20- hour burn times using the Minion Method.
The smoker in Pat's picture is ideal for jerkey, but it's a fair-weathered smoker and you need to cure most meats that you smoke in it due to the low temps and extended smoke times. You can buy them at any Wal-Mart.
Even though I have a few nice smokers for smoking ribs, briskets, pork butts, etc, I still use my Little Chief for jerkey.
Last, smoking recipes are not smoker-specific. So if you want smoked salmon, any good smoking cookbook will work.
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Thanks to all of you.
I forgot how much smoke they eminate so when I do get one, I will have to head over to the in-laws down by Provo river and fire it up out there and do some fishin in the mean time[cool]
I may take up tightline on his offer. I really liked the looks of that front loader style. I don't need anything real fancy at this point. I gave up big game years ago so it's just me and fish now... maybe do some steaks for jerky.
Thanks again to all of you.
Law
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