hey everyone

[huddysmokin]

my name is Jason and I live in NW Arkansas. I am a novice...novice...very novice smoker...Actually today is my first attempt, and my chicken is still raw in the smoker! IDK what to do. My wood chips keep burning up :( I have a Brinkmann Verticle Smoker that I bought last week from a buddy at work. Any tips, suggestions, or mods are greatly appreciated. I love to cook, and figured id take it  a step further and add smoking tmy resume. Glad to be here and thanks in advance!

 

[jaybone]

One suggestion is to use a "smoke bomb" by wrapping your chips up in an aluminum foil ball and poking a bunch of fork holes in the foil to release the smoke.  Then throw the smoke bomb on top of the hot coals.  BTW welcom to the forum and happy Easter!

 

[wtipton]

Welcome to the forum...

Are you just using chips or charcoal too???

Smoking meat temp target is 220 to 280 and it does take time...

I suggest that you look through the forums and read up. also Jeff's e-course it well worth the read.

just follow the link http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse

Welcome again and there is always someone on to help....

William

 

[huddysmokin]

i am using charcoal with soaked chips on top...just what someone suggested...i feel like im doing it all wrong though...im gonna chk out that link though. thanks guys

 

[huddysmokin]

ive had this thing going for 3 1/2 hrs now and it barely got past 100 deg...smh

 

[wtipton]

i am using charcoal with soaked chips on top...just what someone suggested...i feel like im doing it all wrong though...im gonna chk out that link though. thanks guys

On that smoker I would not use soaked chips you are just killing the coals. If you are not getting past 100 degrees inside the smoker you need to add alot more charcoal.

 

[wtipton]

Just a thought, are you going by the thermostat on the door? if so they dont work. get another thermo and check the internal temp if it is still low you might consider throwing that chicken away because it has sat in the danger zone for so long. There are several threads on this forum about your smoker ( I have one myself) but the first thing you will want to do is drill a bunch of 1/4" holes in it and set in on the floor of the smoker not on the rack. the design is poor because the charcoal sits above the air intake and does not get enough air.

Hope this helps

William

 

[wtipton]

Also there is a chat option on the top bar, jump in there and normally there are several us on that can chat real time.

 

[disturbed1]

if you cant get you smoker up to temp soon you might want to take off the chicken and cook some other way bake it fry it whatever.There is a chance of getting a food borne illness if the internal temp of the food doesnt reach a certain temp in a time period .We normally call it the 40 to 140 under 4 hours.Better yet throw it away dont take chances with it

 

[huddysmokin]

ill do that with the holes, and yes the guage is on the door and its an "after market" stat, whether or not that matters

 

[huddysmokin]

thank u all for your help! i think u just saved us from a rough nite over the toilet!

 

[seenred]

Welcome aboard, Jason! Glad you joined us. You've found a great place to learn and share ideas. Lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here who really enjoy helping one another. Just ask when you need help and you'll get plenty.  Sorry your chicken smoke has hit some snags, but looks like the guys are giving you good advice.  Good luck!

 

[s2k9k]

:welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 45,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 900,000 posts describing it!
The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but you can still ask too if you want!

 

[mossymo]

Glad you joined us HuddySmokin! :welcome1:

 

[disturbed1]

thank u all for your help! i think u just saved us from a rough nite over the toilet!

Thats what we are here for

to the forum.The next time you fire up that smoker do a dry run on it nothing in the smoker just to get a feel for how it operates and builds and hopefully retains heat.

HAPPY EASTER AND HAPPY SMOKING

 

[kathrynn]

 to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us!   

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat