Just learning

[disturbed229]

i baught my first smoker ...MY question is when smoking is the product ready to eat when done or do you have to cook it afterwards i wasnt sure if smoking just added the flavoring before cooking or if the smoking actually did the cooking too,,,

thanks  in advance for the help

 

[rbranstner]

I would suggest you sign up for the free 5 day smoking course. Yes the meat needs to be cooked to a safe internal temp. When you cold smoke you are applying smoke but little to no heat at all and you are basically just flavoring the item. This is usually done with items such as cheese, nuts etc. Basically items that are safe to eat already or something you are going to cook after. When you hot smoking you are cooking and applying smoke at the same time. You need to have a trusted thermometer so you know that the internal temp is high enough that it is safe to eat. My suggesting would be to take the course and do some reading so you have a good handle on the process and what is safe  so that you and your family don't get sick. Read and learn about the 4 hour rule as that is very important. Basically any raw meat needs to go from 40 degrees to 140 degrees internal temp within 4 hours in order to insure that any bacteria that was in there has been killed off. There are a few exceptions to this rule but for a basic/just learning pit master this is the rule to live by. Have fun and welcome to the forum.

 

[mballi3011]

First off welcome Disturbed to SMF. You really need to let the meat rest thats a really big thing around here. Stop smoke a cig or drink a beer but you really need to let all meats rest some atleast an hour others only a few minutes like 10-15. You'll like it here cause there are alot of really good folks that would just love to help you with anything to do with smoking. Now we like having new folks here to give a new prospective on some of the ways we do things around here. Now if you are really new then I would suggest that you sign up fir the 5-day E-course it free and it will give you the basics on smoking and a few recipes too. Here's a link to it:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/list/127

then you will have a method to your newly found madness and believe me it will be a madness. Then when you start smoking things you will have to learn how to post the pictures / Qview 

here. So here's a link to a tutorial on how to post your Qview so we can see what your doing.

 http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf

Now the next thing you have to do is run out and get something to smoke. Then just smoke it and if you have any questions just post  them here and we will answer all your questions that you might have. Oh yea there's no stupid questions we were all there in the beginning and we just really like to help others enjoy the fabulous smoked foods that we do. So again

Welcome to Your New Addiction  

GO GATORS    

 

[SmokinAl]

What Ross said. Please don't smoke anything until you take the course. Improperly cooked food can make you real sick.

 

[disturbed229]

thanks guys i will sign up for the course

 

[chef willie]

All good advice above. I'd suggest starting with something simple and forgiving like chicken quarters or fryers before jumping into a brisket. Type in chicken in the search bar above for previous posts, most with pics, that will give you terrific info on methods, rubs, marinades etc that will add to your knowledge and confidence. You could also type in your unit and see if others offer tips or improvements that can be done to help you along.....Welcome to the SMF

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Welcome and, stay tuned to the station-the best on the web

Have fun and...