posted on Oct, 9 2019 @ 11:54 AM
a reply to:
Bloodworth
Have (4) smokers now, so yeah I love to smoke things. Biggest challenge is temperature control (by far), it requires constant management. I've got a
Traeger, a Masterbuilt, a LEM and a Weber. For truly 'smoking' something I'd have to say I like the Masterbuilt and the LEM the best (though Weber is
right in there). The Traeger is nice, but they have trouble on long smokes after a while (i.e. they'll shut down a lot of times). The LEM and the
Masterbuilt are dedicated electric smokers.
As others have noted, you don't need smoke billowing out of the thing the whole time. Just a little. Meat takes up the most smoke in the
beginning.
As for meats, I would recommend starting with something other than a brisket. Brisket is by far the hardest to get right; it's almost an art form of
its own. I have to say, as an accomplished smoker, I have yet to get a brisket truly to perfection (in my opinion).
A really good starting point is to make some Canadian Bacon. Brine a couple pork tenderloins for about 5 days, and smoke those bad boys up. Wash
thoroughly afterwards else it will be too salty, and smoke 'em up. Cured and smoked Canadian Bacon is hard to beat, and hard to screw up.
One thing about smoking things is patience and confidence. It takes time, lots of time. And, your confidence can easily be shaken if you screw one
up. Start small and easy and work your way up
Of all the things I've smoked, probably one of my most favorites to date was some Summer Sausage I made up with buffalo and antelope. I smoked the
sausage after it was cured. I made about 20 lbs. of the stuff and it was gone in about a week, it was that good! I was actually hiding from my
friends who would come over Jonesing for some more.