electric smokers

[banchi]

i am real new to this and just had a pig butchered and cannot have the hams or bacon smoked for another month however i have an electric stainless steel food warmer that was used in a school it has a dial to control the degrees etc how could i use this? briquets?? help

 

[dacdots]

Banchi,first of all you need a smoke source.My smoker is an old fridge with a seperate smoke source and a heating element for heat control.In theroy you could build the same setup with your warmer.Hams and bacons smoke between 100 and 120 degrees.If your warmer will reach these temps you can smoke them.If it will reach 160 or higher you can completely cook them in your warmer.I need more info on what you are doing to get you through this process.How are you keeping the meat until ready to smoke?Do you know how to cure the meat before smoking?Ill help you all I can with this,Ive been doing hams and bacons for a good while.Ill check back for your replie,David

 

[banchi]

ok let me try to explain in moredetail. the unit is stainless steel outand inside. it has its own heatcontrol i can regulate the temp. i think what i need is to figure out the smoke part. the meat is going in the freezer for now. i have no idea how to cure the meat. this is all new asi stated i can't get it smoked for some time that'swhen i thought about the warmer i have in the garage we use it to keep foods warm on holidays and picnics.any help would be great as it is great looking meat for the first time i raised pigs.

 

[salmonclubber]

banchi

we cant see the warmer so we dont know if you can put a pan full of chips on the burner this will create the smoke you need inside the warmer so if you can put a small frying pan full of wood chips on top of the heating element and get it to smoke your warmer should work out great as a smoker you will need some place for the smoke to escape some type of chimney as for the ham and bacon you can go to morton salt and get some tender quick use it to cure your bacon and ham the tender quick is usually sold in the store or you can get it online hope this helps
salmonclubber

 

[banchi]

ok here we go again wow i fee so stupid when it comes to this i just looked at the unit and it looks like there is a heating unit on the floor in the bottom of the unit. i will have hubby check this when he gets home. so it this is the heating unit i put like a cast iron fry pan in there and light the chips?? what flavor is suggested for bacon. ham and smoked shoulder? to vent the unit maybe a hole with stove pipe?? again dah or is there another way and i take it this should be done outside of garage etc>> thanks again

 

[larry maddock]

yo ban.

i use a pie pan----
i set pan with wood chips
directly on my heating element.

i do not light the chips--
in 10 to 15 minutes its smoking.

But- maybe my smoker gets hotter
than a warmer.

you can put shot of booze on chips then light manually.
mine doesnt need the booze on hot smoking..

PLEASE check how hot/cooked/smoked the meat gets
with a meat thermometer.

 

[salmonclubber]

hello banchi

yes a stove pipe will work fine if you have to cut a hole does the door shut air tite is there some kind of gasket around the door if it air tite you will need to put in a stove pipe remember if you put in a stove pipe it will now be a smoker and no longer a food warmer cause all the heat will go out the pipe as for smoke on ham and bacon i use hickory you can go to wally world and buy a bag of hockory chips for around 3 dollars like larry said a pie pan full of chips should work fine just set it directly on the burner it will start to smoke in a few mineutes then just let do its thing as far as ham brine or bacon brine yopu will need a clean bucket tender quick and water mix till tender quick disolves and put in ham or bacon let soak for 5-10 days stir every day or so what ever the recipe calls for
oh and yes you will have to move it out of the garage unless you want your garage to fill up with smoke

 

[banchi]

ok i think i am getting it now i liked the tip with the shot on the chips so they will light easier heck i may take the shot myself after all is said and done. now to vent the smoker i was thinking would a piece of exhaust pipe be a large enough pipe 2 inchs in diametor or does it need to be bigger? also to rub the meat with morton salt is that table salt? wow i think i need to buy a book on this. the tender quick what kind of a store would i find it in? also do you have to smoke so many hours a pound? i hope the questions are getting easier. i think my brain is going out of order over this. the meat has been in the fridge since wed night will it be ok till another day or two when i can get this thing going? thanks again and i am sure i will be back.

 

[salmonclubber]

banchi 2 inch pipe will probibly be ok but i think 4 inch would be better or maybe you could put two pieces of the 2 inch pipe into two holes as for the morton tender quick you can buy it at a grocery store or you can go online to morton's web site you can buy 3-4 pounds of it for like 4 - 5 dollars they also sell a book that tells you how to process ham and bacon no you do not use table salt it is not a rub it is a brine you mix the tender quick in water put the meat in the water let it soak pull it out of brine and put into smoker the fresh meat in your fridge should be ok for a few days but it sounds like you have a lot of work to do before you start smoking but when the work is done you will be rewarded with some of the best smoked meat products you ever tasted and best of all you did it all your self

 

[larry maddock]

yo banchi,
i forgot to say that after lighting booze on chips---
let burn a minute or so----
then smother the flames.

then chips will smolder and give the glory
of the thin blue smoke!!