Keen bbq'er, novice to 'low and slow' smoking

[Chrig]

Hi from lovely old manchester!

I try to cook on my kettle BBQ at every opertunity, venturing only as far as burgers, sausages and the odd chicken thigh.

Last year whilst camping I took it along and did a few whole chickens with indirect heat.

Since then I've been thinking of building an ugly drum smoker having read a few detailed thread on here and elsewhere.


However with a new arrival to our family this week I think it's time I admit defeat and just buy something cheap to get me going!

I've got my eye on a tectake 'bullet style' (I believe they are called) smoker for £40 delivered. Which may be the kick up the arse I need to get cooking this summer!

[JEC]

Hello, welcome and congratulations on the new arrival. The El Cheapo Brinkmann (ECB) style smokers can work if you are patient and short of money, there are loads of sites out there that can give you tips and tricks to get good food out of them, here are a couple to get you going

http://www.smoking-meat.com/modify-brinkmann-ecb-smoker

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104545

http://smokermods.blogspot.co.uk

Hope you get to enjoy both the new arrivals (baby and bullet smoker) soon

[Chrig]

Thank you for the advice. I'll have to see which of those mods is required as it looks like it already has most of the things suggested.

I have tried to create a new thread but it dosnt seem to post at all, maybe I'm under quarantine invade I'm a spammer?

[Simple-BBQ]

Hi Chrig and welcome.

You can do a lot with nothing more than a kettle BBQ. Whether you start out cooking indirectly with a load of charcoal started with the minion method or use the snake method, there's no doubt that with a decent grill thermometer and a bit of vent control you can make up some fantastic tasty meat treats.

I'm happy, like everyone here is I am sure, to offer up advice.

Dan

[Chrig]

Your not wrong there, even cooking blind last night the pulled pork was brilliant with some home made vinegar sauce

I just finished the last from the fridge

I tried to post this last night but I think he pics caused issues

I'm waiting on my cheap smoker to arrive but needed to get this tesco pork shoulder used so I've been cooking it today using my kettle bbq.

I started some lumpwood this morning at 9am, and tipped that on to a pile of supagrill briquettes. + a big handful of jim bean oak chips when the pork went on.
[img]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/ike2k4/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpg


Once it had heated up, and this may be the downfall, to an assumed correct temp (no thermometer on this BBQ) I stuck on the shoulder. Which had been rubbed the night before and left in the fridge.

[img]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/ike2k4/Mobile%20Uploads/image-1.jpg

The meat went on about 10am and has had 4hours up to this point. The internal thermometer showed 95'c until I closed the top vent slightly and then took it out to rest for about an hour, ate at about half 4

[img]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/ike2k4/Mobile%20Uploads/image-2.jpg

I've been spraying a bit of apple juice and white wine vinegar (50:50) on.

So far, completely winging it!

Tasted great with some home made BBQ sauce

[img]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/ike2k4/Mobile%20Uploads/image-3.jpg

[img]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/ike2k4/Mobile%20Uploads/image-4.jpg

[img]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i228/ike2k4/Mobile%20Uploads/image-5.jpg

[DJBenz]

I tried to post this last night but I think he pics caused issues

You need to close the image tags to get them to appear. ie put a [/img] after each link.

Although if they're averagely sized pics the forum has a (stupid) feature that prevents anything larger than 600 pixels wide being displayed.

If you've ordered the TecTake bullet smoker you're now in the same territory as me. You can read my adventures with the TecTake here: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4649&p=37600

Haven't updated it in a while, but I'm cooking regularly on it and getting decent results.

[Simple-BBQ]

Chrig, If you're winging it then the photo evidence certainly suggests otherwise. There are far too many ways to needlessly over complicate the simple process of cooking a great piece of meat at a lower temperature. It seems that you've nailed it!

Dan

[Chrig]

As suggsted its the pixel width that has caused the issue, and why I had to break the image tags just to make the post. On my iphone I wasnt even getting a failed post warning, just going round In circles.

It is the same smoker as yours whuch I have bought but when I fired it up with the (saved) pork shoulder skin and fat I couldn't get any heat out of it. I could touch the lid and the top section without real discomfort, and the temp guage never got much past 70'c.

Maybe it was just because I used I only 4/5th's of a chimney full of charcoals, another try required I think.



Perhaps 'winging it' was the wring phrase, I'd been reading that many guides and pinched bits from all of them and totally guessed at temperature that it felt very much out of my control. I was so pleased with the end result that I wasn't sure I should have bought the new toy! I can see me still using the kettle for some time

[DJBenz]

It is the same smoker as yours whuch I have bought but when I fired it up with the (saved) pork shoulder skin and fat I couldn't get any heat out of it. I could touch the lid and the top section without real discomfort, and the temp guage never got much past 70'c.

From experience:

1. Don't use the water pan. It blocks the heat and sends it out of the sides.
2. Ignore the temp gauge and fit a new one. The gauge on mine reads at least 50°C lower than actual.

[Chrig]

Thats good advice, ive also drilled some holes in the fire pan as I saw advised, I need to look in to sealing it up next

I'll try some more pork tomorrow without the water tray