New smoker

[FishStalker]

So, I finally pulled the trigger and bought he new offset smoker from BBQ galore.

I smoked about 15 pounds of fish last night and today I'm smoking a couple of pork butts. I'll post some pics of the finished product in a few hours when it's (hopefully) done.

[Neill]

So it's the 30th.....still not done yet eh....

[Bull Sprigs]

What temp were you smokin' at? I have a hard time keeping mine below 165.



Boy those are nice smokers, though, aren't they? I'll be doing some fresh king salmon this weekend, I've found it helps to keep a glass pan filled with fresh water where the compartments meet, to stabilize temp.

[FishStalker]

Bah, first cook, lot's of surprises. At 11:30pm, fully 14 hours after starting, the temp still was only about 170. Had to pull it off and put it in the fridge and finish it in the oven the next day.

Came out great but next time I'm gonna plan on an 18-20 hr cook time and start it the night before.

I'm 'smoking' my fish at ~225. I barbecued the pork at 225-250. IMHO, you don't need to be smoking below 165--190 is a better target if you want to go a little cooler but I dont think that this is necessary. That's more of a cold smoke which I don't do. In my old bbq/smoker, the fish took about 90 minutes to cook and the temp was probably closer to 300. With the new smoker, the 1 pound loins took about 3 hours at 225 and came out very flavorful and very moist. I used a few alder chunks in the charcoal.

The key to good smoked fish I've found is more in the brining and preparation than the smoking temp or length of the smoke. If you do a good brine, you can cook short and hot or long a slow and the fish turns out great either way.

My smoker has a deflector in the opening between the firebox and the cooking chamber that deflects the heat down under the grill. The only hot spot that I get is righ next to the opening (based on how much the seasoning oil browned). The rest of the grill surface looks to have a pretty uniform cooking temp.

[Neill]

New Smokers take some getting used too...
I cook in a Cookshack that keeps a good steady temp, butts take 18 hours at 225-250...

[Bull Sprigs]

Doesn't your tuna dry up horribly smokin that long? I can see smokin butts nearly that long. I usually smoke my 5-6 pound pork shoulders 6-8 hours at 225-250, until the joint in the shoulder is 170 degrees, verified with a digital thermometer. At that time, everything is done and ready for that spicy mango sauce thats been simmering the last 4 of it.

I prefer the lower temps when smoking salmon, they tend to remain really moist. However, some of my buds like their salmon nearly jerkied, whatever floats your boat.

I figured that I would smoke the tuna in the same manner as the salmon, same brine, also. Any differences you might suggest varying from a 1 part BS, 1 part Kosher salt, 1 part soy, 1 part teriyaki, 1 part pineapple juice?

[FishStalker]

My smoked tuna is always moist and perfect. AS long as you correctly brine the fish, it will be pretty forgiving if you leave it on a little too long because it holds in moisture so well.

And, FWIW, a pork shoulder (boston butt) should be cooked until 190 if you want it falling off the bone done (pulled pork).

[Bull Sprigs]

sweet! I'm drooling just thinking about it....


I find it hard to leave my meat on the smoker that long, I'll have to give it a try, though.

[Cuda/Hoo_Killer]

Yoshida's gourmet sauce, get your hands on the old jack daniels barrels from home depot, if not real hickory. Tuna comes out so good MFers will be slappin each other in the back of the head with their jig stick just to get at it.

[Kurt]

I'm getting ready to do another whole hog

[Cuda/Hoo_Killer]

shit kurt, dont forget your boy over here, I got dibs on the back ribs

[DDawg]

Here's some smoker ribs for you