After 4 years I'm finally getting good a using my smokin-it smoker.

[kjtrail]

It has been 4 years of trial and a few errors, but now I finally got the hang of the electric smoker. The biggest lesson I've learned was to be patient. I used to try an rush things to much, and now I just allow much more time to do things the right way. Probably the best tip I got from a fellow smoker was to use a hard boiled egg to test the smoke. This has taught me to wait much longer to put the food in the smoker. I now get it started warning up for about half an hour, then I put the large chunk wood in, and wait about another hour before I test the smoke with the egg. It takes about 10 minutes to get the egg done, and if it comes out bitter then I wait a little long to put the food in. Now I don't get anymore blackened food.

Today I did corn and red potatoes for the first time, and man were they good. Also did a bunch of brats, which are one of my favorite things now, along with 2 chickens and a meat loaf. Dinner is done for a few days now. The wife said it was the best batch yet, and I need to make more again real soon. That's what I wanted to hear.

I also wanted to thank the many contributors here for the excellent information on here. This is my go to site for all things smoked, and I've turn on several friends to the hobby thanks to this site.

 

[kjtrail]

Forgot to add the pics. I only took pics of the chickens today. They turned out great with a mix of pecan and cherry.

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• kjtrail
• Jun 16, 2017

 

[slipaway]

You have to explain about using an egg....................

 

[kjtrail]

Hello Slipaway - I'll gladly help my fellow smokers learn this great tip. If you want to test the flavor of your smoke prior to putting the food in just place a peeled hard boiled egg into the smoker for about 5 to 10 minutes. The egg will quickly pick up the smoke flavor, and if it is not to your liking, then you can adjust the mix. It will also allow you to make sure your smoker is producing a clean blue smoke. If the wood has not burned off enough it will still have a grey to white smoke, and it will produce a bitter taste on the egg. This was the biggest lesson I got from using this tip. None of my food now come out with a bitter smoke taste anymore. Waiting for the clean blue smoke takes patients, but it well worth it in the end. The finished product is much better tasting if it only gets clean blue smoke.

When I smoke in my smokin-it #2 electric smoker I use large chunk wood, and I don't soak it. On longer smokes for things like brisket I used to add a second load of wood after about 2 hours, and this always caused lots of black and white smoke to occur, which is what made the stong bitter taste very prevalent. Now on longer smokes I may add a small handful of chips only to boost the smoke some, but the smaller chips don't last long so they don't end up being overpowering.

It takes about an hour for that wood to burn down enough to stop producing the grey/white smoke, and it took me a while to understand that this is what produces the bitter taste that electric smokers often produce. I didn't mind the stronger taste at first on some things, but most people didn't care for it. Since I've started using the egg test method I have not had a bitter taste on anything I've made. I had tried to smoke potatoes a couple of times prior to learning this, and they always came out nasty. The batch I did yesterday were great, and that's because I waited until the last hour of the smoke to put them in. I had corn in their place before I put the potatoes in, and they were a little strong tasting, but not bad due to the fact that they were still wrapped in the husks.

As a cook I've usually been a more is better person when it comes to seasonings. Yea I'm the guy who eats suicide hot wings. It took a while, but I've finally learn that this is just not true when it comes to smoke. Less IS better! It does take patients though.

One last thing...smoked egg salad ROCKS! Try it.

 

[slipaway]

Thanx for the reply/info.

I will definitely have to try the egg test and see what flavors I get.

It usually take about 45 minutes for my offset to settle down to a good, clean smoke. When I need to add more fuel I have found over time that I need to use a charcoal chimney and get my coals all red hot before adding to my firebox or I will get that white/grey smelly smoke before it calms down to the thin blue.

Thanx again for the information