Inexpensive Smoker

[grahd]

I am looking at aquiring this from craigs list. Albeit I am not new to smoking, have a Cabella's Gas one and have gotten tired of the black coating on anything I smoke

http://norfolk.craigslist.org/for/1349188626.html

Dave

 

[coffee_junkie]

People round here call that Bark....its a good thing. Unless the coating you are talking about is Creosote, in that case this new smoker wont cure that. You have to keep your smoke thin and blue, it doesn't take much smoke to flavor the meat. I have a GOSM gas smoker and it does a fantastic job!

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Well, he wants a gasser and you want change(and a stick burner is a GREAT choice)... Why don't you trade?
That's a good one from what I can see... go for it!

 

[pineywoods]

Black coating???????? tell us more about that I use propane and don't get a black coating

 

[gnubee]

A dark brown coating caused by the cooking of the rub onto the surface of the meat is called bark, very desirable for the texture and flavour. Unless its burnt It is not black.

On the other hand If you are getting a black sooty coating caused by the smoking process that is creosote and is bad for you. It is caused by billowing white smoke. Your smoke should be thin and blue. Using wood that is not cured ( dried properly ) can cause thick white smoke.

Properly Dried wood almost never gives off creosote.

A gas burner that is getting either too much air mixed in or too little air mixed in with the gas can also give off a sooty layer . This is cured by tuning the gas-air mixture on the throat of the burner. Your owners manual will give you advice about the fine tuning of the burner. Or get someone who is familiar with gas burners to guide you. It is usually a one time adjustment. A tip off that a burner is not tuned right is the presence of yellow and orange flame. Your flame should be pure blue. Sometimes the problem is a bug or spider that has crawled into the pipe and is restricting the air/gas flo. You should always clean out the pipe when starting up your burner after a long time of no use.

Another thing is you do not want oils or fats dripping onto the heat source causing flare ups. The smoke from flareups contains carcinogens which are definitely not good for you. Make sure your fat drips into either a water pan or some other container and does not hit the Hot coals or burners.

 

[mballi3011]

I don't know what your talking about with this black coating. I have a gasser and don't have any problem like that. Is your black stuff like flakes or soot like stuff.
maybe from too much smoke or something.

 

[fire it up]

I'm with the others Dave, what is the black coating you are actually talking about?
If it is creosote build up then folks on here will help you get it straightened out in not time but we would need a bit more info or even pics.
$100 isn't a bad price as long as it is in good condition and from the pic it looks to be.
Would still love it if we could get you straightened out with the "black coating" issue you are having.

 

[grahd]

It isn't flakey, it is more of a baked on black, like the posts state, creosote. my smoke is sometimes white and billowy. so too much heat might be the problem, I have no problem burning through an entire bag of chips while I smoke. Might have to try

Dave

 

[coyote-1]

Creosote builds up eventually from just about any burning process. My gas grills get it, my charcoal/wood grill & smoker get it, my oil-burniing home heating system gets it.

Don't worry too much about it. When it gets thick you simply burn it, at which point it starts to flake - then scrape the surface and most of it will fall away.

 

[zopi]

Dude..you must be somewhere close to me...I live up in Smithfield..

Yes,,that smithfield...some good hams here locally...

 

[eman]

Let's see, An entire bag of chips in one smoke ? Creasote is probably a big issue . I use maybe 4-5 palm fulls of chips in a 8 hr smoke in my MES.
You don't need to see the smoke for the flavor to be there.

 

[grahd]

Oh THAT Smithfield, how is the pork quality going up there :) I work up in newport news so Smithfield is a hop-skip and Jump from me :)

 

[pineywoods]

If your getting white smoke then you are using too much wood. All you want is thin blue smoke or no smoke just the smell of smoke. The problem I would bet is not the smoker don't give up on it to fast. Cut back on the chips and get the smoke right and you might be surprised at what that propane unit will do.