Beginner needing advice on smoking in bad weather, any help would be appreciated!

[Taleb Said]

Hello all,

So I've been interested in cooking (with a bigger interest in meat) for a while now, and I love BBQing. Today, my first smoker arrives! I have a landmann kentucky smoker arriving (I know it's not the favourite smoker amongst the pro's but it'll do for a beginner), and honestly I CAN NOT WAIT to start smoking. I work 9-5 every week day so I'm kind of restricted to only smoking on the weekends, I had my heart set on smoking my first bit of meat this weekend, however it's going to rain all weekend. My question is;

I have a shed in my back garden that my grandfather built when I was younger, it can fit the BBQ in, and has gaps between each plank of wood, meaning smoke could escape providing some ventilation. Would this be a viable option? If so I was thinking of spending some time in it making it my personal bad-weather-smoking-shed. What are people's thoughts? How would you approach this?

Thanks very much for your help in advance.

 

[crazymoon]

TS, That will work but you might get smoked out a bit when you enter the shed.Leave the door open and if possible remove a board or two up top by the roof to vent the smoke out of the shed!

 

[Taleb Said]

Okay perfect. There’s a flap at the back so I might get some 100mm aluminium tube and vent out of it to avoid carbon monoxide!

 

[Murray]

So long as you have adequate ventilation. I’d be more concerned with carbon monoxide than smoke.

 

[Taleb Said]

Indeed that’s my primary concern! While I have you guys do you mind if I ask a couple more beginner questions.

1. Do you recommend charcoal then add hardwood on top? Or just the wood?
2. Does it matter if I can only source regular hardwood rather than hickory oak cherry etc.
3. What cut of meat would you recommend a beginner tackles?

Thanks so much for your time in advance!

 

[Murray]

Can’t help you with the first two questions but for your third question I cleaned out the freezer and used the older meat to practice on. First 3 smokes were hamburger patties(freezer burnt) dog loved them, pork chops and jerky from a moose roast that was given to me. By using affordable meats it allowed me to start the learning process without the worries of tossing out an expensive cut of meat. I had the pizza guy on speed dial just in case...

 

[HalfSmoked]

First fire it up and season it burning of manufacturing oils and other things. Second chicken works well for beginners. You could use charcoal as your starter fuel. As said good ventilation and you would be good to go inside your shed.

And we like pictures.

Warren

 

[jasinil2006]

Indeed that’s my primary concern! While I have you guys do you mind if I ask a couple more beginner questions.

1. Do you recommend charcoal then add hardwood on top? Or just the wood?
2. Does it matter if I can only source regular hardwood rather than hickory oak cherry etc.
3. What cut of meat would you recommend a beginner tackles?

Thanks so much for your time in advance!

What is "regular hardwood"? Hardwood is a general term that refers to a bunch of species such as those your mention.

I would think charcoal wood on top would make it much easier avoid oversmoking the meat. I usually smoke for the first 2-3 hours only (in most cases) and I use only about 8-12 ounces of wood in a propane burner.

I think pork butt is a great meat for an initial smoke. It's very forgiving of temperature variations and it's a big piece of meat with lots of connective tissue, so it can take a beating. The only downside is that it can take a long time to smoke, much more than ribs. But I think butt is a good place to start.

 

[crazymoon]

TS, I can't help you on the first two questions either but a pork tenderloin is an easy first smoke.

 

[banderson7474]

1) I use a chimney of charcoal to start off and then put wood on for the rest of the cook.

2) I like to get smoke wood from the store but I'm looking at buying some oak firewood to use more especially after wrapping meat.

3) My vote goes to pork butt. It's hard to screw one of those up and you are gonna have a all day smoke which will break it in nice.