Hey all, I was finally able to get the time to do my first smoke after refurbishing an old Brinkmann I bought on craigslist. We had a turkey in the freezer that was earmarked for the smoker's maiden voyage when I bought it. I brined it using the recipe from good eats with orange juice concentrate added. The bird turned out wonderful, even though I had some issues with the temp getting above 200 and staying there. If you have any suggestions as to why this may have happened, please feel free to send them my way.
Turkey in the brine after sitting overnight.
I used a thyme and garlic compound butter under the skin and rubbed it on top as well. I didn't use a rub just because I wanted to see what the flavor profile was going to be with just the brine, apple wood and apple juice mop.
I was having an issue keeping the smoke at a constant state. It was either pouring out or nonexistent for the entire time. I don't know if that's normal or there is something I should do differently next time or if it even matters.
This is pretty much where the temp stayed unless it dipped to 200. The turkey turned out, though. I had a digital thermometer to read the internal temp.
Dinner was looking mighty good. I Decided to add a pork loin and some corn to the party.
Finished product after 6.5 hours.
Although there were some issues with this first smoke, I am excited to smoke something else. I will either be doing some beef ribs (the wife isn't too fond of pork) or some bacon. Some things I observed during this smoke: 1. This pit requires constant babysitting. The butterfly plenum kept closing for one and I had to literally sit next to the pit and keep my eye on the thermometer to make sure it didn't drop too low. I have some theories about the dropping temp. I think I may have to come up with a different set up for the charcoal box. There wasn't a lot of ash on the bottom of the fire box so I'm thinking the fire was being choked out. Toward the end, I had to fan the fire with the fire box lid open so it would stay hot. I also think I added too much charcoal so the fire wasn't able to breathe. I used lump instead of briquettes just because of the ash factor. 2. I will be lowering the outside thermometer on the right of the pit so that I can get an accurate reading at grate level. The thermometer shown is on the left, at the fire box end. 3. I will have to figure out a way to add a shelf some time soon. I put a cardboard table out for everything I needed but I don't think the wife will be happy when she sees the damage a pair of hot tongs did to it. 4. Get another digital thermometer to read the ambient temp of the smoker so I don't have to open the lid unneccesarily.
Those are the observations I made during the smoke. I am sure there will be more in the future but I am stoked about learning more!
Oh yeah, along with the lump charcoal, I used apple wood chunks for flavor and sprayed the turkey every hour with apple juice.
Thanks again for any comments or suggestions to help out a complete newbie.
Turkey in the brine after sitting overnight.
I used a thyme and garlic compound butter under the skin and rubbed it on top as well. I didn't use a rub just because I wanted to see what the flavor profile was going to be with just the brine, apple wood and apple juice mop.
I was having an issue keeping the smoke at a constant state. It was either pouring out or nonexistent for the entire time. I don't know if that's normal or there is something I should do differently next time or if it even matters.
This is pretty much where the temp stayed unless it dipped to 200. The turkey turned out, though. I had a digital thermometer to read the internal temp.
Dinner was looking mighty good. I Decided to add a pork loin and some corn to the party.
Finished product after 6.5 hours.
Although there were some issues with this first smoke, I am excited to smoke something else. I will either be doing some beef ribs (the wife isn't too fond of pork) or some bacon. Some things I observed during this smoke: 1. This pit requires constant babysitting. The butterfly plenum kept closing for one and I had to literally sit next to the pit and keep my eye on the thermometer to make sure it didn't drop too low. I have some theories about the dropping temp. I think I may have to come up with a different set up for the charcoal box. There wasn't a lot of ash on the bottom of the fire box so I'm thinking the fire was being choked out. Toward the end, I had to fan the fire with the fire box lid open so it would stay hot. I also think I added too much charcoal so the fire wasn't able to breathe. I used lump instead of briquettes just because of the ash factor. 2. I will be lowering the outside thermometer on the right of the pit so that I can get an accurate reading at grate level. The thermometer shown is on the left, at the fire box end. 3. I will have to figure out a way to add a shelf some time soon. I put a cardboard table out for everything I needed but I don't think the wife will be happy when she sees the damage a pair of hot tongs did to it. 4. Get another digital thermometer to read the ambient temp of the smoker so I don't have to open the lid unneccesarily.
Those are the observations I made during the smoke. I am sure there will be more in the future but I am stoked about learning more!
Oh yeah, along with the lump charcoal, I used apple wood chunks for flavor and sprayed the turkey every hour with apple juice.
Thanks again for any comments or suggestions to help out a complete newbie.
