complete newbie

sailormike68 · Mar 20, 2012

Hello everyone from Lake Lanier Ga. Originally from South Florida I LOVE smoked fish dip (or spread) and unfortunatly NOBODY knows what that is in N geoirgia? So I decided I have to learn to make my own. Well step one is, yep you guessed it, smoked fish. So I went to Home Depot and got a cheap smoker affectionatly known as the ECB. Well since you can't cook anything on the ECB straight out of the box I did all the mods and have turned out some good dip so far, as well as some decent chicken and ribs. But no matter what I do the ecb it is just a pain in the a** tto use. But now I am hooked so this past weekend I upgraded to the Chargriller Super pro with fire box and I'm looking foreward to smoking some good stuff. I have already starrted some mods with the CG and have some freinds coming over this weekend for some grub. Any suggestions on a good piece of meat to to start with for a 3-5 hour smoke that is hard to screw up since I'm in the initial learning stages?
I have learned a lot lurking on this forum so far and look foreward to contributing
Thanks
Mike
Please pardon any typos from my mobile devise

eman · Mar 20, 2012

Chicken ,burgers , sausage is about all you will get done in 5 hours or less.

ribs need 6 + larger cuts = more time.

BTW ,Welcome to the SMF family!

diggingdogfarm · Mar 20, 2012

Welcome to the forum!

Please tell us more about the smoked fish dip.

Is this a good recipe?

South Florida Smoked Fish Dip
http://grillgrrrl.com/2010/03/south-florida-smoked-fish-dip/

davidhef88 · Mar 20, 2012

Welcome! I'd go with some ribs and some chicken thighs.

sprky · Mar 20, 2012

If ya brine chicken its hard too mess up, Burgers and meat loaf are also easy to do as well. A little more prep work but also easy to do are ABT's, Fatty's, meatballs. Any of the above can be done in 5 or less hours.

to SMF . You have come to the right place for smoking info. This site is loaded with great info just use the search bar at top of page to find what you are looking for. If you can't locate the answer just ask folks here are willing to share there knowledge. I suggest you take the 5 day e-course on smoking its chuck full of great info. Smoking 5-Day e-Course

scarbelly · Mar 20, 2012

Hello Mike and

to SMF. I agree with Eman on the quick cooks

Please do us a favor and update your profile to include your location

Thanks

sailormike68 · Mar 21, 2012

Thanks for the replies
Eman, I was thinking about some sausages, thanks... what do y'all think about a pork tenderloin stuffed. With a few goodies, rubbed and wrapped in baon?? They aren't usually very large, maybe 5-6 hrs??
Also can anyone recomend a good store bought rub till I get a chance to order some from Jeff?
DigginDog.. that's the recipie I based mine on

Here is mine
8-10 oz smoked fish (Kingfish, Amberjack, mullet, or a mix of) soak overnight in brine
1/2 block cream cheese
3tb mayo
3tb sour cream . Depends on how you like texture wise
1ts heaping of old bay
1tb lime
2-3 tb red onion
1tb chive
2-3tb celery
1 small jap pepper
Tabasco

terry colwell · Mar 21, 2012

I would go with a trio, Spatchcock Chicken, Tri Tip, and a few Fatties . And if you want to send it over the top, add some homemade sausage and some ABT's. And of course you need some veggies on the grill also....

smokinhusker · Mar 21, 2012

Hello and welcome to SMF! Chicken is pretty forgiving.

alblancher · Mar 21, 2012

SailorMike How about a few crushed capers in the fish dip? They add a nice "what was that flavor".

Welcome to the forum, If you can get some thinner chuck roasts or thick steaks they go well on the smoker, they will be closer to the 5 or 6 hour mark but with the fat in them they are hard to screw up.

sailormike68 · Mar 21, 2012

Thanks
I'm kinda leaning toward beer can chicken and some horse doogers
Capers go real well with th the dip, I love em, but they can easily get overpowering if put through the processor, I just add some on top

jrod62 · Mar 22, 2012

:welcome1: to SMF

sailormike68 · Mar 22, 2012

Ok, here is my plan for this weekend and a few questions. I'm going to do a couple beer can chickens and a couple fatties. I have been reading several post on this forum on both subjects but still unsre about somethings
Chicken: planning on skin on, no brine. A little butter under skin, lather up w olive oil and rub. A few minutes on grill if needed.
Question: at 230 or so and internal temp of 160, how long should I plan.?
And, anything I'm missing?
Fatties: jimmy dean hot sausage wrapped in peppers onion and guda cheese w bacon
Question: does it need rub? At same 230 temp how long too get to the right internal temp?
Should I change smoke temp since both will cook a same time
I'm using royal oak lump coals but what wood should I use for smoke? And do I smoke the whole time?

I know this is a lot to ask but any help would be appreciated
and
Thanks

bama bbq · Mar 22, 2012

I think you should plan about 4 hours to get you in the ballpark for the chicken to get to 167*. ...but go with finished temp - not time. Skin will not be crisp but a quick turn on the grill will take care of that.

Fattie will take about 3 hours to get you into the ballpark for 165* ...again finsih temp not time. Rub depends on the your (and more importantly your guest's) taste. With or without it's a great treat.

I just add the wood into the coal and let it do it's thing. I don't change temps - I simply put em on and leave em alone. They'll be great if you pull them at the right temp.

sailormike68 · Mar 22, 2012

Thanks Bama
Is 230 a good grill temp for both? I know internal temp is key I just to get the grill right first also what kind of wood should I use that works for both?.
Thanks again
Mike

bama bbq · Mar 22, 2012

I like apple with poultry but that's just a personal preference. Hickory is good too. I would shy away from mesquite for chicken...a bit strong in my opinion.

230* should be fine. I try to shoot for 225* but plus or minus 10 - 15 * isn't gonna hurt as long as internal finsih temp is met.

What kinda grill/smoker?

sailormike68 · Mar 23, 2012

Its the char griller pro with the firebox. Just got it last weekend so haven't had a chance to cook anything except a couple burgers and chicken breast. I have already done some of the recommended mods like adding 2 thermos on each end close to the grate and a peice of dryer hose to bring the stack down to the grate level. Also cut a peice of expanded metal to go over the fire grate for holdind the smaller peices of coal. I'm having a hard time finding a way to seal off the large gap on the back side of the lid, its about 3/4" and looks like it will let way to much smoke/heat out

Thanks again for the help
I have plenty of hickory so I will use that and maybe get a little apple to mix with

rtbbq2 · Mar 23, 2012

Welcome to SMF...Chicken is easy and cheap. Brine it overnight in salt water and brown sugar. Add some worsterchire sauce to the brine mix. In the morning rinse off the chickens really good and pat dry. Put a rub on them inside and out, over olive oil then on the smoker. A beer can rack works good for whole chickens. Drink half of the beer then add some butter, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika to the beer can. When the chickens are done, drain the beer out of the can and put it in a pan and mix it with thick worchester sauce and white wine and blend with a small hand processor. Heat the mixture and use it as a sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste or you favorite seasoning spices.

On another note, you can do ABT's (atomic buffalo turds) easy to make and smokes fast. You can find the recipes here or on any site. Google ABT's. I like to make little smokie, chicken and shrimp ABT's.. Here is anoher good site with recipes on video....http://www.smokingpit.com/

Glad you are with us........

Smoke it like it's your last one............

sailormike68 · Mar 24, 2012

Thanks RTBBQ2
Took your advice on the brine and the ABTs. Figure they will make good munchies while we wait on the rest. Still went overboard so if anyone gets hungry tomorrow afternoon.... all the food is mostly ready and a few quick mods on the smoker in the am we start cooking around noon.next time I think I will use a pound and a half of sausage on the fatties, I tend to go overboard on stuffing (smoked gouda, asparagus, roasted red peppers and onion) they kept falling apart when rolling. Experience is key I presume. Will post more pics tomorrow.

Ps how do I post a pic from the gallery on my phone????

bigblue · Mar 24, 2012

don't forget the Q-view (pictures)

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