Smoking with a BBQ Help!

[darrenk]

Hi folks,

I need help!

I'm new to this site and I'm after some general advise for smoking meats and in particular beef (Brisket etc)

Through doing a bit of digging I think I can smoke food on a standard BBQ. My BBQ looks like a barrell on its side cut in two.

So I'm asking,

Can I smoke using this?

I've read about using different wood?

What type of coal?

Something about using water?

Cooking times/temp.?

I've tried to do as much digging as possible to answer these questions but keep coming up short.

Any have would be gratefully received.

Thanks in advance

Daz

 

[smokinhusker]

Hello Darren,

Glad you found the forum. Would you mind heading over to Roll Call and introducing yourself (and can I also ask that you update your profile with a location) so we can give you a proper SMF Welcome! The state is fine for your location, it just helps us to answer questions or give advice when we know what kind of climate you are in. 

Would it look something like one of these: 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/products/category/horizontal-offset-smokers

Can I smoke using this? I'm no expert but I did a couple of smokes using my gas grill and Kingsford Charcoal. I do have a thermometer on my grill so I was able to keep an eye on the temps. I smoked a couple fatties and Canadian Bacon over indirect heat. I just added soaked chips (cause that's what I had) to a tin plate lined with foil and sat them on the coals.

I've read about using different wood? Flavors are a personal preference, but Hickory and Mesquite are pretty strong. You could probably get away with using chunks instead of chips, depending on your set up.

What type of coal? There's charcoal briquettes and there's lump wood charcoal. Hopefully someone that uses wood/charcoal will have a better answer and tips.

Something about using water? When I smoked in the gas grill, I sat a pan of water under the meat and to the side of the burner/charcoal. Some foods require some kind of liquid to help with moisture and some don't (I didn't use it when I did the Canadian Bacon)

Cooking times/temp.? This is exact because here on the forum we cook to internal temperature for food safety. Different foods are smoked at different temperatures - for instance, when I smoke a pork butt (not injected and still whole intact meat) for pulled pork, I smoke at 225*-230* and I figure 1.5-2hrs per lb but my goal is the internal temperature. Chicken is different, smoke at higher temp etc.

There's a handy dandy search bar at the top

 

[darrenk]

Thanks Alesia, very helpful and I'll hea ove to the Roll call.

Can I ask how much coal you need to last for the entire smoke?

I need a bit of a step-by-step guide but your help is great thanks

 

[smokinhusker]

You're welcome and thank you for heading over to Roll Call. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

You might try checking these sub forums:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/108/charcoal-smokers

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/111/wood-smokers