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bozzman

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 5, 2010
2
10
Hello everybody, I'm obviously a new guy and here's a little bit of info about me. I currently live in California and I love smoked meats. I recently purchased a Brinkman stand up smoker and I'm not having to much luck. I'm not sure if maybe it's the weather from where I live that's causing me problems but for some reason I can't seem to maintain a consistent temp in my smoker and the meat always seems to cook faster then it should. Not to long ago I tried to smoke some ribs and they came out way over done after only a couple hours in the smoker. Currently I use a mix of just a little charcoal and of course my wood that I"m using but it still seems to get to hot and I can't really control the temp to well. Being where I am getting good wood for smoking is pretty hard and all I can really seem to get are either the wood chips or or the wood chunks that are maybe about as big as a tennis ball. It also seems like everything burns out way to fast and I'm constantly loading up to bring the temp to where it should be then after about 20 minutes it jumps up way to high and I'm sitting there trying to keep control of it all but failing miserably. I know I'm new to the forum and I have scoured around trying to find some answers and maybe I'm not looking hard enough but haven't been able to find one. Any helpful tips would be great as I'd like to try and take another stab at it this weekend. I've got some killer recipes that would be great for ribs and briskets and if I can manage to get one to cook properly I'm sure that it would come out great. Any help would be appreciated as I don't want to waste any more money on meat that ends up overcooked anymore.
 
hey Bozzman,

welcome to SMF.. i'm newbie also, but ive figured out the heat issue on my smoker, you said you were from cali so its probably fairly hot out there at this point and time.  If you can find a shady spot in your yard try a few dry runs with charcoal only and adjust your air intake vent and exhaust vent and see if you can figure out the combo that will work for your temp that you are trying to achieve. 
 
Welcome to SMF!  Your problem can be pretty easily managed with that unit: charcoal for heat, wood for smoke.  Keep an eye on things until you find just the right ratio to keep the heat and smoke in the "butter zone."  It takes a few smokes to get to know your unit and it's quirks.

You also might want to punch some new holes in the coal pan (if they still make them with only one hole).  Air flow is the key -- oxygen = heat during the burn.  And don't keep peeking; "if you're lookin' ya ain't cookin'!!

Cheers!
 
Welcome to the forums Bozzman, there are a number of mod you can and should do to make your smoker work better, Do a search for ECB mod's on here . You also didn't mention using a water pan, if not it will help control the temps.'

Let us know what we can do, we;re here to help

Dan
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. Will definitely put them to good use. As for the coal pan there actually aren't any holes in it all. As for the water pan I tried both with and without to see how it would work out and both times I got the same results. I'll definitely check out the mods. I'm lookin forward to getting some great info. And when I start to get a better handle I'll post up some recipes for marinades that I have. Most are from my grandmother and have the Korean influence in them but they make for some great short ribs and the like.
 
Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks, great recipes and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.
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Welcome to SMF!

 The ECB is one of the harder smokers to get right and maintain temps on. I bought one ,used it 2 times and then bought my old new braunfuls SFB. Now since a tree crushed both of those i have my MES. It's a breeze.
 
Welcome from SoCal, the SMF has the tips and advise to help you get on your way to enjoying some great Q . It's all good my friend.
 
Welcome to SMF, lots of good people here willing to help in any way. Happy Smoking and don't forget the q-view.  
 
Thanks for all the feedback guys. Will definitely put them to good use. As for the coal pan there actually aren't any holes in it all. As for the water pan I tried both with and without to see how it would work out and both times I got the same results. I'll definitely check out the mods. I'm lookin forward to getting some great info. And when I start to get a better handle I'll post up some recipes for marinades that I have. Most are from my grandmother and have the    Korean    influence in them but they make for some great short ribs and the like.
Welcome aboard Bozzman !

I'm also a big fan of the Korean marinades I find in our local China Town Market (along with oyster sause----great in veggies--- etc). I can't help with your heat issue. I have a different smoker.
 
 
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