First smoke, comments welcome, qview.

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

elde

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Oct 29, 2007
101
10
Smoked the first load Saturday, a fattie and some chicken thighs.

3379187679_97b579b1f2.jpg


Smoked at (roughly) 180 for two hours, opened the door and was greeted by this beauty:

3380004452_e6aeb1c14f.jpg


The thighs were completely cooked (internal temp 170), so pulled 'em and headed into dinner. The fattie wasn't quite done so I left it for another hour and pulled it at an internal temp of 180. (A picture of the fattie and the recipe it was destined for can be found here.)

I should have smoked a little hotter, the chicken thighs were done but their interior fat was incompletely rendered. I also need to work on/figure out how to measure temperature inside a little better. I used this rig on Saturday:

3380003528_faa2b7b761_m.jpg


And I'm not entirely comfortable that it accurately reflected the conditions inside the smoker. It however consistently register about 20 degrees above the stock thermometer.

I also had problems maintaining smoke. I simply put the soaked chips onto the chip tray, but I think I need to try putting them in a foil packet next time.
 
Great job!
If I may add a little belly button yes I did say little
rolleyes.gif
biggrin.gif
.
Your smoking temps should be 225 - 250
Your fatty can be pulled with a internal temp of 160.
invest in a new prob just for the temp of your smoker and a couple others for your meats. Stick it through the top exhaust vent down the back of the racks. Insert it in a potato where it is pushed through and there is at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches showing. Place it on the center rack for a better temp read. Hope this helps gl and enjoy.
 
Good looking smoke. That's one shiny smoker! Great job.
 
Yes, it's a 24 inch Camp Chef smoke vault.

The fattie was only at 140 when I pulled the chicken, it ended up as high as it did because we were busy lip smackin' on the chicken. Didn't seem to hurt it any, though it did go higher than I intended.

Where do I put the box for the thermometer? Seems too hot anywhere close to the smoker.
 
I did not do a lot of research on cooking fatties before I tried one. Do most cook their fatties on foil? I did not and placed it over my ribs thinking the dripping fat would baste the ribs.
 
Looks great. Congrats on getting the first one under your belt. You will find yourself continually tweaking your methods to find what suits you best. Good job.
 
I clip the receiver to the propane tank. Keeps it out of the way and I still have the remote that I can move around.
 
Nice set up you have there, I just wanted to say around 180* isn't even close to being hot enough for chicken. There are plenty of threads on chicken that may be able to help you out.
biggrin.gif
 
I didn't do a lot of research either... Putting it on foil just seemed to make sense from a cleanup point of view.
 
Elde if your worried about the mess place the pan on the next shelf. This way the smoke will circulate more around the fatty. Just a Idea, also for the prob receiver I have a block of wood I set on top of the smoker. Just a enough barrier that it protects the receiver inch and a half two will be just fine. Have fun
biggrin.gif
 
I place a catch pan above my water tray when I have things I know are going to be really greasy like a fatty. You not only want the smoke all the way around your fatty, you want to cook all the fat you can out of the sausage. Sitting in a pan of grease is gonna make it really greasy. I have to say though..... you may want to adjust to the fact that if your gonna do any serious smokin with that thing..... it's gonna get dirty.... really dirty.
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky