SmokinTex Tips, Tricks & Recipes

[mercy7]

This forum discussion is for users of SmokinTex smokers to give their best advice on how to use and maintain, but moreso on smoking the most tasty food around with these devices. I’d love to hear how you all use these smokers to make your favorites as well as your disasters, so we all can learn from each others’ mistakes!

I’ve had a ST 1400 for a short while and smoked a 9 pound pork butt first, then later on, several hamburger patties. I only used about a half cup total of mesquite mixed with hickory chips. The butt turned out amazing! I used liquid mustard to coat it first, then sprinkled on a basic homemade rub which was brown sugar, salt, garlic pepper and onions powder. Then I smoked it at 225 for about 16.5 hours. The outside crust was like eating bacon! The inside was juicy meat pulled apart easily. The kids said I should’ve used more wood. It needed more smoke flavor.

The hamburger patties, on anither day, were about 1/3 pound each. I made about 11 and put 5 on one rack and 6 on another. I used 1/4 cup of hickory chunks and smoked them for 1 hour and 20 minutes At 225. That made them a bit too done for my taste as I like them more pink, but they tasted great, but maybe a tad too smokey.

Next smoke? I’ve been planning for the 4th! Tell me if you’ve done multiple meats in your SmokenTex and how best to do so. I was thinking half a brisket, some pork ribs, a few beef hot links if I can find them, and maybe 4 chicken quarters, if I can fit all that on 4 racks!

Let me know how you would plan that as I know different items need less time to smoke.

Also, would you mix up your wood choices?

Tell us your best and worst smoking events!

Thanks!

 

[Brokenhandle]

Can't help at all but maybe someone else will see this that has one.

Ryan

 

[civilsmoker]

I really can't help other than many use a pellet tube or dust tray to increase the smoke in electric smokers. I'm interested as I've been thinking about making a PID controlled electric convection smoker......If and when I every find free time.....

 

[Brokenhandle]

I really can't help other than many use a pellet tube or dust tray to increase the smoke in electric smokers. I'm interested as I've been thinking about making a PID controlled electric convection smoker......If and when I every find free time.....

You act as if you're busy!

Ryan

 

[jcam222]

I haven't one that I've used a little. Mines an analog controller. I originally got it for bacon and sausage low temp smoking but found it generates very little smoke when set to < 200F. I decided to keep it for times when I want to do something quick without prepping coal or wood for my Lang or 270 Cabinet. I will say I was very pleasantly surprised by the smoke flavor generated when cooking over 200F. You get hours of very nice smoke on just a couple small chunks of wood. Flavor is very good.

 

[mercy7]

Can't help at all but maybe someone else will see this that has one.

Ryan

These units have a tight seal which I guess is why I don’t need so much wood.

 

[Brokenhandle]

These units have a tight seal which I guess is why I don’t need so much wood.

I bought a used Cookshack smoker that I haven't used yet... think it's about the same way

Ryan

 

[mercy7]

From what I understand, they are designed alike. Post when you start enjoying the food it makes for you! Or questions that someone here can answer. I’m just at the beginning, having only used it twice…but decent results!

 

[Brokenhandle]

From what I understand, they are designed alike. Post when you start enjoying the food it makes for you! Or questions that someone here can answer. I’m just at the beginning, having only used it twice…but decent results!

I only bought it cuz it was a steal of a deal... have 6 smokers lol.

Ryan

 

[tallbm]

This forum discussion is for users of SmokinTex smokers to give their best advice on how to use and maintain, but moreso on smoking the most tasty food around with these devices. I’d love to hear how you all use these smokers to make your favorites as well as your disasters, so we all can learn from each others’ mistakes!

I’ve had a ST 1400 for a short while and smoked a 9 pound pork butt first, then later on, several hamburger patties. I only used about a half cup total of mesquite mixed with hickory chips. The butt turned out amazing! I used liquid mustard to coat it first, then sprinkled on a basic homemade rub which was brown sugar, salt, garlic pepper and onions powder. Then I smoked it at 225 for about 16.5 hours. The outside crust was like eating bacon! The inside was juicy meat pulled apart easily. The kids said I should’ve used more wood. It needed more smoke flavor.

The hamburger patties, on anither day, were about 1/3 pound each. I made about 11 and put 5 on one rack and 6 on another. I used 1/4 cup of hickory chunks and smoked them for 1 hour and 20 minutes At 225. That made them a bit too done for my taste as I like them more pink, but they tasted great, but maybe a tad too smokey.

Next smoke? I’ve been planning for the 4th! Tell me if you’ve done multiple meats in your SmokenTex and how best to do so. I was thinking half a brisket, some pork ribs, a few beef hot links if I can find them, and maybe 4 chicken quarters, if I can fit all that on 4 racks!

Let me know how you would plan that as I know different items need less time to smoke.

Also, would you mix up your wood choices?

Tell us your best and worst smoking events!

Thanks!

Hi there and welcome!

Not many SmokinTex smokers here that i know of but the units look rock solid!
Lots of us MES electric smoker guys here though so us MES guys can offer some general electric smoker info that may help.

For more flavor in your pork butts I have a simple solution that gives AMAZING results. Before seasoning you lay the pork butt on a cutting board meat side up. You then slice down the center of it as though you were cutting it in half but stop when you hit the bone. You then spread it out a bit and season all in there and when you set it on the rack make sure it's still spread out some (not spread like crazy but spread enough).
With that spread you get more bark surface, more seasoning surface area, and smoke penetration gets deeper and on more of that surface. This is a huge game changer!

Now for your 4th plans, that is a lot to take on in one smoker.
The problem is that all those meats take different times and have various quirks.
Brisket and pork ribs don't care what temp you smoke them at as long as you are not burning them so you can crank the heat up, BUT they are done when they are tender, never by time or temp. You use Internal Temp (IT) of the meat to tell you to check for tenderness (about 200F on the brisket and 195F on the ribs). When you can stab them with something like wooden kabob skewer and it goes in with like no resistance then they are tender and done!
Poultry with skin wants to be cooked at a high temp like 325F or else the skin comes out rubbery and tough to eat. It's just how that skin behaves. At those temps it cooks fast.
Finally, the links will not go for long and need a much lower temp to get smoke BUT without melting the fat out.

In general to do all of that it would be to start with the brisket and when it hits an IT of about 190F you put the ribs on. The brisket should come off before the ribs or maybe close to the same time if it takes like 4 hours or so.
Then add the chicken when the ribs are at like 175F and then crank up the heat to 325F if the smoker can go that high, if not then 275F is usually the top temp which I would cook the brisket at and ribs at that smoker temp anyhow.
Once the ribs and then chicken come off you can lower the smoker temp and toss on the sausage.

That is a lot to do and the most successful way for you to do it. If you try all at once it will be a major hassle to manage all the different needs and temps of all those different meats.

I hope this info helps :D