Hi, folks,
My name's Lew. I have a Smokin Tex 1400 that my wife got me for Father's Day last summer, and a sausage stuffer I haven't had a chance to try out yet.
I like smoking pork butts (did four for my daughter's HS graduation party a month after I got the ST1400, and they just disappeared when we pulled them and put them out), salmon, ribs, and nuts. I did up about 8 pounds of smoked nuts in December, and we gave them out as Christmas presents to work friends (along with home-baked cookies and our own fudge); I need to find a wholesale source for nuts now. I tried smoking cheese once so far; need to work on my technique and wood choice there, it came out really bitter.
I'm looking for help on cold-smoking, on making better brisket -- I've got pork dialed in, but brisket is driving me nuts -- and smoking whole fish. I'm also looking for ways to improvise equipment with what I have; not really up for spending more on rib and sausage hangers.
I'm planning to start in on making sausage again; I did quite a bit about three years ago, then stopped when work got a bit crazy and haven't gotten back to it. I'm lucky enough to be near an Italian market where I can get fresh casings anytime I need them, and butchers that will run cuts of meat through their grinder for me at no extra charge; they also have pork, beef, lamb, ostrich, goat, rabbit...any damned meat you want, all the way to rattlesnake and alligator. I'm looking to learn how to smoke my sausages as well; the one time I've tried so far was...less than successful.
I live in the Philly suburbs. I'm a freelance drinks writer: I write about beer and whiskey for several magazines, including Whisky Advocate, where I'm the managing editor. So...I always have something great to drink with my smoked meat and sausages!
That's about enough about me; like I said, I'm a writer, so I have a tendency to go on a bit. I'm getting the smoker out to do some nuts -- can't be bothered with Brazil nuts, but man, are they fantastic smoked! -- and will be brining two pork roasts to smoke tomorrow...might try smoking the frozen whole trout a friend gave me last month, too.
Cheers!
Lew Bryson
Smoked meat, smoked beer, and Islay whisky
My name's Lew. I have a Smokin Tex 1400 that my wife got me for Father's Day last summer, and a sausage stuffer I haven't had a chance to try out yet.
I like smoking pork butts (did four for my daughter's HS graduation party a month after I got the ST1400, and they just disappeared when we pulled them and put them out), salmon, ribs, and nuts. I did up about 8 pounds of smoked nuts in December, and we gave them out as Christmas presents to work friends (along with home-baked cookies and our own fudge); I need to find a wholesale source for nuts now. I tried smoking cheese once so far; need to work on my technique and wood choice there, it came out really bitter.
I'm looking for help on cold-smoking, on making better brisket -- I've got pork dialed in, but brisket is driving me nuts -- and smoking whole fish. I'm also looking for ways to improvise equipment with what I have; not really up for spending more on rib and sausage hangers.
I'm planning to start in on making sausage again; I did quite a bit about three years ago, then stopped when work got a bit crazy and haven't gotten back to it. I'm lucky enough to be near an Italian market where I can get fresh casings anytime I need them, and butchers that will run cuts of meat through their grinder for me at no extra charge; they also have pork, beef, lamb, ostrich, goat, rabbit...any damned meat you want, all the way to rattlesnake and alligator. I'm looking to learn how to smoke my sausages as well; the one time I've tried so far was...less than successful.
I live in the Philly suburbs. I'm a freelance drinks writer: I write about beer and whiskey for several magazines, including Whisky Advocate, where I'm the managing editor. So...I always have something great to drink with my smoked meat and sausages!
That's about enough about me; like I said, I'm a writer, so I have a tendency to go on a bit. I'm getting the smoker out to do some nuts -- can't be bothered with Brazil nuts, but man, are they fantastic smoked! -- and will be brining two pork roasts to smoke tomorrow...might try smoking the frozen whole trout a friend gave me last month, too.
Cheers!
Lew Bryson
Smoked meat, smoked beer, and Islay whisky
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