the lazy man smoke - less work?

[flyhigh123]

OK, so i bought my MES becasue i wanted the satisfaction of perfectly smoked foods, but yet the easiness and little time it takes to manage...

I'm looking for ways to give me smoke without having to always add in more chips every hour or two..

I've looked at the smoke daddy, but that seems to give me 2 to 3 hours of smoke...

For a brisket for example, is 3 hours enough smoke and the rest of the time just letting the mes cook it without smoke???

OR I also found this link for a longer smoke:
http://www.bbqrsdelight.com/whatsnew.html

The smoke stick claims it can go 3 hours+. If I combine the smoke stick with the smoke daddy, it can go for even longer..

What are some methods you use to make it truly a set it and forget it???

 

[DanMcG]

Wow I like the simplicity of my electric smoker for getting a couple hours of smoke, But ya still need to check it , or to at least participate a little or where's the fun ?
I'm not knocking your idea for a hands off slow cook, but if ya get it to smoke for hours without checking it I'd be afraid it would be over smoked and there's little to fix that.

 

[got14u]

I don't need to get any lazier...lol...that is a big stick tho

 

[mballi3011]

Is it really that hard to load some chips or chunks every now and then. I just cann't leave my smoker going for very long just for giggles and I like to keep an eye on things too. Something about open fire on my back porch and just the fact that I'm smoking is reason enough for me.

 

[oneshot]

This is what I use....It's great and keeps right on smokin for hours and hours.....

http://www.traegergrills.com/?gclid=...FRcXIwodykaQ-A

 

[chainsaw]

I have found I need not add wood more than 2-3 times to a smoke-it always boils down to your preference as far as smoke flavor. Trial & error

 

[flyhigh123]

its not that i'm lazy, i've been smoking lots and doing it the right way, but i'm looking for efficiency.

When i smoke, it sorta kills the whole day for me...

For example, I would love to wake up in the morning, turn on the smoker, drop in a piece of meat , go to work and come back with it done...

or on a sunday, drop in the meat and go out for the day, whether it be the beach, hiking, or whatever, but still have the meat...

i may lose out on a little quality, er drier etc, but i get to kill two birds one stone...

 

[flyhigh123]

i know, i don't just leave it and run, i live with a few people, some work from home, so there is always someone home and in case of emergency, its ok, but just want to be able to leave home and let it cook... :D

 

[smokemifugotem]

Buy a traeger

 

[pignit]

I'd suggest smokin the way you know it's good and throw some PP or Ribs in a vacuum bag, seal and freeze it. Really easy to slam that on a grill or in a steamer and have an instant meal when you don't have the time to put into smokin that day. Other than that... probably need to find you a good BBQ joint close by and take a number at the drive through.

I have the medium smoke daddy and it will last about 4 hours on a fill up but you need to be around to make sure it's droppin the chips and smokin properly. I've left it with good results. The largest one boasts a 6 hour smoke. Unless your willing to get into more bucks for a traeger... that's about as good as it gets with an MES.

 

[ronp]

This will give you 4 -5 hours of smoke. After that you can foil and forget.


http://www.smokedaddyinc.com/smokers.htm#kahuna

 

[beer-b-q]

The Big Kahnuna from Smoke Daddy smokes 4-5 hrs.
http://www.smokedaddyinc.com/smokers.htm#kahuna

 

[beer-b-q]

Ron, Great Minds Think Alike...

 

[ronp]

Yeppers!

 

[ddave]

Build a UDS!

Smoke 16+ hours (if necessary) on a single load of fuel with minimal intervention.

No real need to mop or baste or flip since they are such a moist cooking environment. Of course you can if you want to but if you need to let it go unnattended it can.

Mine on several occasions has run 6 to 8 hours totally hands off at a rock steady 240ish smoking temp.

Can't beat the price and the pride of cooking on something you've built yourself.

Dave

 

[scubadoo97]

Well you should try it to find out. I know folks who don't like a lot of smoke on their meat. A light smoke is what they shoot for. The large smokedaddy which can provide smoke for 4-5 hrs should be enough smoke for just about anything.

With the MES there are a couple of issues that must be delt with before you can walk away. Since the heat source is in one corner you have hot spots. Tiles over the heat source have been suggested to even out the heat. The smoker does not have auto shut off so it is possible to over cook your food if you walk away. Remember that no two briskets cook the same even if they have the same weight.

I routinely walk away from my MES and run out for an hour or two but get back to add wood or check temps when needed.

If you really want to walk out and come back when it's done consider a Cookshack. The upper end models have probes to monitor meat temp and shut down to warming temp when set finsihing temp is reached. They are more effecient than the MES on wood and the heat source is in the center so there it better heat distribution. They are also built like a tank and their electrical system is far superior to the MES.

 

[bassman]

You may want to consider the Bradley digital. It's pretty much hands free.

 

[flyhigh123]

thanks guys for the responses...

first, i'm looking at a food saver... this will be great for bbq cravings..

second, i think i will try smoking for a few hours and then letting the rest cook, and the final few hours come back and foil...

third, if i can't make it, i'll teach the GF what to do... haha

 

[Bearcarver]

Then again if you're pressed for time, you can try this old stand-by:


http://media.photobucket.com/image/m...me_Thrower.jpg



BC

 

[blue]

I thought about buying some smokestix before because I wanted to get some flavors that aren't readily available to me. Never got around to it...let me know how they are if you get some.