My first charcoal/propane smoker. Have some questions

[Eaglei22]

I finally purchased my first smoker on a whim during a Black Friday sale, and picked up a decent Masterbuilt charcoal/propane vertical smoker. I smoked my first ham over the weekend it was tasty but I realized I have a lot of questions. I am hoping to get it cleared up here, as a Google search didn't quite answer everything, or it was controversial and left me scratching my head.


These are my questions as a novice.


1) Because this is a charcoal/propane smoker, there are air vents on the sides, and an exhaust at the top. Do I need to mess with the air vents when using as propane? Will this regulate the temperature/humidity?



2) It comes with a water pan. I tried adding water and pineapple juice in there, and added it half way when smoking the ham. I don't know if the water made the heat take forever to get to 325, or if it was coincidental that I noticed and tightened the door latch right around the time the water pan ran dry and the heat went up. Once the temperature was stabilized, adding water didn't seem to fluctuate the temperature all that much but it did seem to run dry pretty quick. Is this because the fire is too high? (I needed 325 as I was on a schedule that day and running behind for family that came over, but next time I will lower the temperature for the cook). How high should the water be filled in the water pan? And for a fairly smaller pan, how often should I expect to have to refill it? All I know though, is I had to fill the pan a few times during the 2.5hrs, and because it was running dry, and the drippings were also falling in there. I have a lot of buildup that I need to scrape off currently soaking in the sink. Leads me to my next question...


3) It seems controversial adding anything but water in the pan actually benefits the flavor. So next time I will just use water. There are four racks in the smoker. I was thinking of putting a drip pan on the first rack, below the ham (which the ham will be in the center) and then the water pan will rest below that. I want to added necessary juices and such to baste the ham every so often before wrapping it in the end. Will this pan contain too much fat in it to use the juices to eat with? Would it be better if I just put the juices in a separate pan on another rack wrapped in tin foil to be used for basting and later to eat with?


4) For Ham, is it worth basting it occasionally during the smoke? Or only during the beginning and end? When basting is it better to put it in a spray bottle? Or like I was thinking reserving a pan with juices for basting, or using the drip pan?





Thank you.

 

[Eaglei22]

Bump.

 

[lamar]

First off..........welcome to the form. You will find out anything you want to know here. The search up top will give you any information you need, but don't hesitate to ask questions.

There is no one way to do anything in smoking meat. I will give you my methods.
I leave all my vents open in my gasser and regulate the temperature with a needle valve added in the gas line. The regulation is almost perfect at any desired temperature.
I like most people, I do not use water in the pan. I have never seen much difference in the results using it.
I line my water pan with foil and use it as a drip pan. Simplifies clean up. Just throw the foil away. liquid in the pan can be used to baste the meat. I usually don't baste at all bearing in mind every time you open the door, you are loosing heat and adding to the total cook time.
I am sure others will chime in and give other ways of doing things. That is one of the good parts of this forum. It' different strokes for different folks and all are happy with the final results.
Bottom line is...........experiment. Find out what you like and what works for you.
Welcome to this addiction.

Lamar

 

[Eaglei22]

Thanks for the advice Lamar! Yea, I plan to do a lot of trial and error. I am hosting Xmas and wanted to smoke a ham. Figured I would ask the experts here to be better ready by then.

Without water, does the drippings in the pan eventually start to burn and create a more chared smoked than wood smoke? That's what happened to me when my water/juice pan ran dry.

Mine is right above the area that holds the wood chips too, so maybe your setup is different than mine as well.

 

[gmc2003]

I finally purchased my first smoker on a whim during a Black Friday sale, and picked up a decent Masterbuilt charcoal/propane vertical smoker. I smoked my first ham over the weekend it was tasty but I realized I have a lot of questions. I am hoping to get it cleared up here, as a Google search didn't quite answer everything, or it was controversial and left me scratching my head.


These are my questions as a novice.


1) Because this is a charcoal/propane smoker, there are air vents on the sides, and an exhaust at the top. Do I need to mess with the air vents when using as propane? Will this regulate the temperature/humidity? Leave the top vent open, you don't want stale smoke or creosote. It imparts a bitter taste. Side vents will probably need adjusting for air flow and wind.



2) It comes with a water pan. I tried adding water and pineapple juice in there, and added it half way when smoking the ham. I don't know if the water made the heat take forever to get to 325, or if it was coincidental that I noticed and tightened the door latch right around the time the water pan ran dry and the heat went up. Once the temperature was stabilized, adding water didn't seem to fluctuate the temperature all that much but it did seem to run dry pretty quick. Is this because the fire is too high? (I needed 325 as I was on a schedule that day and running behind for family that came over, but next time I will lower the temperature for the cook). How high should the water be filled in the water pan? And for a fairly smaller pan, how often should I expect to have to refill it? All I know though, is I had to fill the pan a few times during the 2.5hrs, and because it was running dry, and the drippings were also falling in there. I have a lot of buildup that I need to scrape off currently soaking in the sink. Leads me to my next question... Leave the water out and use a dry pan. You'll use less fuel and won't notice any difference in taste. Adding pineapple, beer, broth or what ever won't impact the taste. Waste of money, and only serves as a heat sink.


3) It seems controversial adding anything but water in the pan actually benefits the flavor. So next time I will just use water. There are four racks in the smoker. I was thinking of putting a drip pan on the first rack, below the ham (which the ham will be in the center) and then the water pan will rest below that. I want to added necessary juices and such to baste the ham every so often before wrapping it in the end. Will this pan contain too much fat in it to use the juices to eat with? Would it be better if I just put the juices in a separate pan on another rack wrapped in tin foil to be used for basting and later to eat with? If your double smoking the ham then use the drip pan. If there is enough fluid in the pan post smoke the just de-fat the juices if you want. I personally don't bother using anything in the drip pan with ham.


4) For Ham, is it worth basting it occasionally during the smoke? Or only during the beginning and end? When basting is it better to put it in a spray bottle? Or like I was thinking reserving a pan with juices for basting, or using the drip pan?
I baste at the end with a little honey an root beer, and brush it on.

Thank you.

Best advice I can give you is use your smoker and find out what works best for you. Learn how to use it before modifying. Listen to the others who have experienced the same issues and try their solutions(if needed). Remember you can have two people living next to each other with the exact same smoker, and they probably will do things differently, but both will have great results. Enjoy and welcome to the dark side. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Chris

 

[sqwib]

Leave all the vents open.

Water helps maintain optimal smoking temps 225 - 250.
325 is high for a smoker.
Spray the water pan with Pam spray before using.
You can add stuff to the water pan but be frugal, don't waste good stuff, for example if coping onions and such, put the trimmings in the water pan.
You can mop/baste/sprits with whatever you desire.
Some folks use apple juice and vinegar for pork butts, you could use pineapple juice for a mop on a ham.
Just remember mopping with high sugar liquids will burn quicker at higher temps.
Lower that temp and get your smoking wood to put out a very mild smoke.