Practice meats for learning smoking without breaking the bank

rkobane · Dec 27, 2012

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to know if there's a certain type of meat that everyone considers "The" meat to learn perfect smoking techniques with. I know I should be using the highest quality meats I can afford, as they tend to yield better results, but I simply can't afford to practice enough with that kind of meat. So I'm looking for suggestions so that I can practice more often and not worry about ruining expensive meat.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Ryan

pineywoods · Dec 28, 2012

Chicken or pork butts is a good starting place. Chicken if you want a shorter smoke and pork butt when you have lots of time. You can always throw a fatty or some ABT's in as well

pops6927 · Dec 28, 2012

Actually, the cheaper cuts of meat are better suited for smoking, as the low'n'slow methods of roasting at 225° tenderizes what is considered a tougher piece of meat. Chicken is great, as is turkey, and both are reasonable. Whole or part of briskets are wonderful. Pork butt and pork shoulder are preferred over loin; cheaper, more fat distribution, more forgiving either sliced or pulled. Chuck roasts are great too.

By the way, would you please go to Roll Call if you haven't already so we may properly welcome you, and please modify your profile with your location! Thank you so much!

rkobane · Dec 28, 2012

Thanks Pops. I think I'll grab a few birds this weekend and see what happens. Great advice as my head was totally blinded by a smoke screen of red meat.

jarjarchef · Dec 28, 2012

As others have said: chicken, turkey, pork butts and some cuts of beef.

Make sure you have an accurate way to monitor temps of the cook chamber and the meat. That will make life much easier. Before you start cooking meat in the smoker, some people will take a couple packs of biscuits and spread them throughout the smoker on the grates. This will help show you where if any hot spots are. That information will help you in the placement of the meat.

azgramps · Dec 28, 2012

I would suggest Whole Chicken and if you catch the great sales during thanksgiving/Christmas and can grab a few 10lb Turkeys you have some things to practice on.

I am not a professional smoker but I learned on costco chicken legs which I poured lemon pepper over and let set overnight in the fridge. Smoked them at about 250 for a couple hours and done

I have also learned that for a turkey and I will assume whole chicken you need to brine this overnight there are a ton of recipes for brines located on the web and I would guess here as well. BUT THE KEY I learned is you have to dry the inside of these birds the brine turns really funky inside if you dont sort of like a grey lint from a dryer looking stuff.

I also always have back up Top Ramen if the invention goes south and there is always McDonalds or Taco Bell. Have fun, be creative and who knows you might just end up on Jack's ole South cooking for the Kingsford Cup... :)

humdinger · Dec 28, 2012

Try watching for sales on chicken pieces like quarters, thighs, legs, bone-in skin-on breasts, etc. You can bag them and freeze them in small batches for easier portioning.

Normally I'd also mention wings but in the last 5 years their popularity has grown 100 fold, and they are fairly pricey now. Kind of ironic for a meat that used to be thrown/given away by butchers.

badmoont2 · Dec 28, 2012

Pork country ribs are frequently on sale where I live. They are actually strips of meat cut from the shoulder. They are good to learn on because they cook relatively quickly, 3 to 4 hours, and are very forgiving. My first batch of CSR's came out great, giving me confidence to tackle more ambitious smokes.

As others have said chicken is also very forgiving and is low in cost.

humdinger · Dec 28, 2012

Oh yeah. Good catch BadMoon. Pork country ribs are great to practice/learn with. Cheap yet versatile.

gotarace · Dec 28, 2012

I love pork steaks smoked also if you haven't smoked up some burgers and a meatloaf you really don't know what your missing!!! They are excellent and inexpensive.

duke trana · Dec 28, 2012

I did a few chickens for Christmas and they were awesomely cheap...watch for deals...I also did some turkey legs that were a real steal...another idea is to check to see if your supermarket has an area for reduced or close-dated products...you can find all sorts of goodies that may not cook well by traditional methods but work very well in the smoker

bigaik · Dec 28, 2012

Ground Meats (Beef Pork or Turkey) sometimes go on sale for cheap (can get a lot of meat 3-4lbs at time). Try making some meatloafs tons of ingredients and flavors. I suggest if your using Ground Turkey going with Alder wood. Pork can't miss with hickory,apple etc..

dukefan4life · Dec 28, 2012

Watch your grocery store for whole roaster chickens to go on sale. Also the chuck roasts are a great way to work on your beef practices. But as one other poster stated here-if you don't have a thermometer to check your temps with it is all for naught. Trust me. I learned the hard way. Once you start learning the temps of your smoker and the feel of the meat when it is done your possibilities are endless!!!

jeff lefkowitz · Dec 28, 2012

Definitely ground meats. Not only can you do meatloafs, but of all the things I've made the smoked meatballs are the biggest request and they cook quickly so you're not committed to hours and hours before your wife understands the obsession.

mcockrell · Dec 28, 2012

dollar for dollar you cant beat a sale on pork butt. chicken is great too because at around $5 a chicken it is pretty economical. and they are relatively quick to smoke. but there is also a lot of waste in a chicken with bones and carcass and such. for my money, pork butt would be the way i would go. even though it is more expensive than chicken, theres very little waste involved. and having 6-8 pounds of meat in your fridge is pretty nice too :)

when i do chickens i usually do like 2-4 at a time. i eat one and pull the others and freeze. i put them in chicken spaghetti, gumbo, jambalaya, soups, stews, chili. hell it probably even tastes good on cereal.

dveldh · Dec 28, 2012

Definitely the meatloaf...easy, forgiving and quite tasty.

jeff lefkowitz · Dec 28, 2012

oops, preclicked. Also, you can scale up the size of what you're making very easily to go from 2 oz meatballs to huge sausages and loafs. This will help you learn not only how size impacts cooking but also identify heat flow patterns that can destroy a turkey or brisket later.

retired lawman · Dec 28, 2012

Brisket tip: I go to the super Wal-Mart and check the expiration date on the brisket. I make a note to come back two days before they expire, and the brisket left are marked down half price. Home to the freezer, and I got a freezer full. Same for pork shoulders and butts at the local Kroger too.

maxwasatch · Dec 28, 2012

My first attempt was brisket, mainly because at that time it was my favorite bbq meat. I started doing pork butt/shoulder upon request of my wife.

I tell everyone to start there now. So forgiving of temp changes and mistakes. Greater range of acceptable ending internal temps. Easy to finish in the oven, even overnight if you really goof up your fire.

I would say pulled pork is best to start, then chicken thighs. After that move on to turkey and brisket. Then ribs after you have those down well. They are my main remaining challenge 3 years and about 25 smokes in. Getting better.

Appetizers, steaks, burgers, etc are very easy after you have done the other stuff 5 or 6 times total.

jsk0307 · Dec 28, 2012

Retired Lawman said:
Brisket tip: I go to the super Wal-Mart and check the expiration date on the brisket. I make a note to come back two days before they expire, and the brisket left are marked down half price. Home to the freezer, and I got a freezer full. Same for pork shoulders and butts at the local Kroger too.

Good advice! Pretty much what I was going to suggest as well. I always keep an eye out for discounted items. If I can't use them right away they go into the freezer.

Practice meats for learning smoking without breaking the bank

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