Timmaay

Sorry for the double-post, but... I wanted to show activity in the forum so people would read this... THANKS everyone for your ideas! My last turkey came out very yummy indeed. Even though it was on for longer than I thought was necessary (I wanted to be sure), and even though I had a temperature spike in the middle of over 600 degrees for a couple minutes that melted my thermometer into goo (which didn't get onto the turkey fortunately), and even though the skin in parts turned black and looked ugly, and I was afraid the whole thing was a heinous 2.5 hour mess.... The turkey still came out awesome. I will definitely be doing this again. I am in love with smoked foods, and I can't wait to branch out. I think I will try a brisquet next, since that seems to be the other smoker's starter food. Recommendations for a good brisquet rub?

Thanks everyone for your ideas. I tried the apple cider vinegar and apple cider reduction and it was pretty good. Since I had left-overs I decided to sacrifice some slices and fry them up in a pan, threw in some shallots, mushrooms and a little rosemary to get a nice fond going then deglazed with white wine, reduced, added cream, butter and viola!!! instant pork flavored sauce. I will try a few of these the next time as they definitely look good. Thanks again.

Well, it's rare that I'll roast pork but I did today and now want a tasty sauce or gravy to go with it. It was roasted with copious amounts of garlic and rosemary. What would be your suggestions? A basic light brown gravy? BTW, I only have chicken and beef stock handy. Thanks

ok, so... half a chimney for you, and no lit coals. I like the idea of not adding smoke after a while. I think that makes sense. It's such a heavy usage of wood to keep adding so much. It'll make it last a lot longer if I can minimize that. By the way, I FINALLY got some pictures of Dogbert the Smoker. I've got all the pictures in my album, but... I have no idea how to use Image Gullet to post pics here. So, I'm gonna try to guess. Thumbnails should pop to a bigger pic. Edit: Looks like I got it right. Dogbert Smoker Top Grill Bottom rack Bottom vent / ash collecter All opened up (Weber chimney added for perspective)

Well, I smoked that turkey, and it came out amazing. I placed the bird directly on the top rack, and put my coals on the sides of the lower rack, with a sahped-foil catch tray (since I don't have any pie tins handy at the moment). I had a real problem with controlling the temperature though. I started off with a Weber Chimney full of kingsford briquets. I only have one chimney, so this was my limit of starter material. I divided these up roughly evenly on each side of my bottom rack, and then threw some unlit briquets on top to try and extend the cook-time before I had to add more hot coals. Then I started up a second chimney for backup. I added my turkey directly from the fridge, and then added about 4 chunks of moistened cherry wood. I wanted to try and maintain around 350 at the dome. Over time, I added more coal and wood as necessary. The total cook-time was about 2 hours, finally ending when I "decided" it was done. The temperatur stayed mostly in the 300-400 range, although at one point, I guess I added too many new hot briquets because the temp spike up to over 600 (it pegged the needle), prompting a quick reduction of coals. I had only added about 10 briquets... and I didn't expect that to happen. D'oh! Sadly, it seems my $7 meat thermometer was not designed to handle that hellish heat (hence the decision, and not the knowledge of when to end the cook). At any rate... the turkey came out great despite all that. Very juicy, with an amazing flavor. The color didn't come out as nicely pink as I've seen in the "commercials" on other forums, but... it still tasted good. I think I need to dry out the skin for a little longer next time. It was better than my first one, but I still need work. For reference, I had brined the turkey for about 12 hours, then dried it for another 12. I put the bird into the smoker cut, but not quite quartered. I just sliced open the joints between the legs and the breast to even out the cook-times as I've seen referenced in other places. (I don't remember where, either here or Virtual Weber) I was kinda surprised by how much maintenance this thing took (to keep the temp right, and the smoke strong). I had to check it about every 15-20 minutes to make sure it was doing alright (adding coals or wood as necessary). I think I burned through about half my 8 pound bag of wood in this two hour cook. I think there's gotta be a more efficient way to control the temp over time. I think I need to hear more from the masters on this. I have a camera coming to me soon. So, soon I can actually show you guys what the heck I'm talking about with my Dogbert smoker.

ok, so my brined turkey is drying out in the fridge now for a few hours. I will start cooking in another couple hours from now. Questions: 1) People keep saying that they heat up 2 chimney's full of coals. Are those used all at one time, or is the 2nd chimney's worth added over time? I'm guessing this process will take 2.5-3 hours, considering it's about a 12 pound bird. I may buy a chimney today, but I don't think I can quite justify buying 2 at once (at least not today). So, I'm thinking I'll just add some cold brickets on top of the lit ones, to try and maintain a longer, evenish burn. But, I've only done this kind of thing once before, and I had a hard time maintaining temp after about 30 minutes. Not sure what the best thing to do here is. 2) I've decided to go ahead and try some cherry chunks (instead of mesquite chips). The only other mention of chunks here recently said about 4 good chunks. Are those all thrown on at once? How long to they last (assuming 350F avg temp at the dome)? Most recommendations I've seen say soak the chunks for 30 min to an hour. I'm not really using them for heat. I'm just using them for smoke. Any problem with soaking? 3) Last time, I cooked the bird IN a disposable roast tray. I seem to be getting the impression that most people just put it right on the grate, and let a pan below catch the drips. Is that right? If so, doesn't the bottom get burned? Thanks.

Hey there folks, I appreciate the suggestions. Sorry for the long delay in my reply but my wife had to go to the hospital for emergency back surgery. Bad times. Anyway...I wish I could tell you what brand my smoker is. I will try to get a picture of it sometime soon (I have no idea how to upload it to imagegullet, but I can at least get a picture onto Yahoo photos or something). All I can say is that it's about the same size as the WB, but looks more like an egg-shaped rocket ship. At any rate, I have requested some samples of other woods to try smoking with (like apple, sugar-maple and .... I think Cherry). There's a thread on Virtual Weber talking about those, and it seems that the owner of BBQer's Delight Smoking Wood Pellets was offering 3 free samples to anybody who wrote to her referencing that topic. I haven't gotten any response yet, so we'll see if it happens. At any rate, I will try to do the full cook in the smoker, and will pop the turkey direct from the fridge into the smoker (after 24 brine and dry). I didn't get to do the turkey for Thanksgiving because of the situation with my wife, but the turkey is all thawed now and ready to go for this week. Maybe I'll just buy some wood chunks to try if nothing shows up. Anybody got recommendations for good places to find flavored wood? Would Walmart or something have them probably? The BBQ's Galore here seems to suck lately. How much was that remote temperature probe thingy? I want one, but... I can't be too frivolous with the price. Thanks.

Alright, so I've smoked 1 thing in my life so far, and it was a turkey. It actually came out VERY juicy (because I brined it like a good little boy). The only problem was, I had a lot of trouble maintaining a consistent temperature. I got my smoker for free from freecycle.org, and although it's not any name brand that I recognize, it appears most similar to the Weber Bullet. Actually, it seems like a cross between a Weber Bullet, and Dogbert. If you picture the shape of dogbert, and the size of a WB, then I think you've got a good idea what I'm working with. It's got an ash-collecting tray at the very bottom, a bottom grate above that (accessible through 2 belly doors). Then there's a top rack (with a hinged section), and the lid, with another vent, and a fairly consistent thermometer (based on my comparisons with an oven thermometer inside). If I crinkle the roasting tray a bit, I can fit a 12-14 lb turkey in there. Anyway, after watching Alton Brown's Turkey special, I was motivated to give it a try, but to do it my way. I followed his brining solution to the best of my ability (with what ingredients I had on hand), and that part was all good. But then, Alton suggests a sort of a flash browning with the Turkey first, at around 500 for 30 mintues, and then cover the breast with foil and finish off for the last 2 hours or so. Since flash searing is exactly what I do with steaks on my grill anyway, the theory appeared sound, so I figured I'd give it a whirl. Only problem is, with Charcoal, I don't have that strict control of the temperature. I suppose I could have done the first 30 minutes on my grill, and then switched to the smoker, but... I started it off in my oven instead. No smoke in the oven though. My question is, I wonder how much flavor I'm mission out on by not doing the whole process in the smoker, and also... without quartering my turkey, and without doing the 500 for 30 min, is there any other way to make sure my whole bird stays moist (breast and legs)? I'm worried that if I extend the cook-time too much, it will dry it out too much. I've read the smoking for dummies class they have here, and I have a good idea on a base-line smoking technique. But I'm going for maximum moisture here (but not so much that I get extra salmonella goodness with my dinner). I've got mesquite for my wood chips, and I typically soak them for around 20 minutes before use to prolong the smoke. I don't have a chimney starter yet, but it's on my list to get before next time. I would also like advice on how to keep a consistent temp over the course of about 2-2.5 hours. Thanks.

Thanks. Here's the thing about that... the whole point of this dish is TO dry it out... that's the ideal finished condition (in my opinion). The flavor comes from the seasoning, and and broiling, and the texture should be more crunchy than chewy. If it's not dry enough, it will be too chewy, and it will still feel like a vegetable. Honestly, most of the moist cauliflower taste should be gone by the time it's ready, or else it will still taste like cauliflower, and not like the delicious snack it turns into. When all is said and done, it should be a mostly dry snack. As a general rule though, yeah... standard freezers do tend to draw out moisture, But I've found that sub-zero freezers tend to minimize this and keeps things longer at a better condition. With meats in particular, the packaging also matters. To prevent freezer burn, you can wrap the meat tightly in foil first, and then put that inside a freezer bag of vaccuum bag. That can significantly extend the life of a steak, for example, to a few months. I don't know if you have any room (or money) for a stand-alone sub-zero freezer, but we got our from craigslist for $50, and we just set it up out in the backyard (garages are also nice if you have them).

Howdy, I'm new to the whole eG scene (this is in fact my first post here ever), and I see that there are 14 pages in this section. I read 3 or 4 of them, but just wanted to throw in my 2 cents. My wife and I make this stuff at least once a week, if not more. It's a particularly wonderful side for a steak, for those folks on Atkins. Since I live so close to the Mexican border (until last month, I could see the Bull fighting stadium from my front door), we added a little Mexican spice. We slice them all very thin, spray on a little vegetable oil with a spary bottle, then sprinkle on salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a spice here known as "Pico de Gallo". Pico de Gallo may mean something else to other people, but here, it's a red chile-type powder with a bit of lime zest and some other things that I have no idea about. It's good though, and it gives a little bit of a kick to it without being over-powering. We cook it in the oven at broiling temps (around 550 F) for about 40-45 minutes, or until brown. It's gotta cook for a while so it gets nice and crispy, or it ends up still tasting like cauliflower. My wife hated cauliflower before this. HATED it. Now she wants it every day. As such, I'm glad (but not terribly surprised) to see there's a 14 page section dedicated to it. Edit: Oh yeah, and at the 99 Cents Only store last week, they were selling heads at 2 for $1. I bought all of them (around 15). It's a good thing they freeze well (we slice them first and seal them in freezer bags for easy use later).