Where I Was, Where I Am and Where I'll Be - Part 3

Where Am I?

Five years. Five great years with my Bradley Smoker, but after my last fiasco I had an epiphany: electricity and technology can fail when you least expect it.  Fire, can't. (Well, it can, but you know what I mean)

So, after five wonderful, smokey goodness years with my Bradley Smoker (and I can't figure the life out of me me how to fix it) I'm going old school.

Aaron Franklin is My Patronus

Now, as mentioned in my previous post, over those five years I've gained a bit of experience and knowledge with smoking meats. I've grasped a better understanding of what chemical changes the product goes through when smoking. And just recently (past 6 months or so) I discovered Aaron Franklin.

I've heard of him before, but never really paid much attention. To me, he was this hipster guy who bought his old boss' custom smoker when his boss was bankrupt and selling his equipment, and Aaron got it and opened a new BBQ place in Austin. It almost seemed like an underhanded move, the way it was portrayed. Plus, he looked NOTHING like a BBQ Pitmaster. He was young, horned-rimmed glasses, thin (never trust a skinny cook and all that) and just looked more of a Starbucks barista, then someone who knows BBQ. Boy was I wrong!

I discovered his single season of BBQ with Franklin on PBS, I started to take notice.

BTW, PBS? I need a Season 2.

Like Alton Brown's Good Eats, he likes to break down and explain the science of smoking meats. He likes going old school: no charcoal (maybe to start a fire) fire and smoke with wood only. Keeps everything simple. His rubs are primarily salt and pepper only (some variants with poultry and pork but still primarily salt & pepper) And let's face it, the man sells out every day within 3-4 hours of opening. With lines starting as early as 6am as if he's premiering the new Star Wars movie.

So, he must know something.

Texas Monthly - Highly Recommend Subscribing

So after consuming blogs, Texas Monthly articles (which I have a subscription) YouTube videos, and recently ravaged through Season 1 of BBQ with Franklin, I was inspired, and ready, to make the plunge.

I was planning to get a wood smoker. No electronics. No wood pucks or pellets that auto-advance. No tech (Well, except a thermometer(s) ) But what do I get?

I'm not getting another bullet. Or even a higher grade bullet. That left a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended) I know whatever I get, I'll still have to monitor for fire & temperature control, but wanted something a little more conventional. Plus with the fire at the bottom and rising, I wanted something else.

I started looking seriously at The Big Green Egg/Kamado style, but it's primarily a grill. And while I watched a few videos how people smoked a brisket, there wasn't a lot of room to add something else if you wanted to add a 2nd brisket or other meat. So that was out.

So, I (re)turned to my patronus, Aaron and thought "WWAFBBQ?" and decided whatever I get, it would be an offset smoker. A vessel dedicated to only smoking.  I have a grill, so I'm covered there. And my Bradley (May she rest in peace) was a dedicated smoker as well, why not just continue with the tradition.

So, next question is what to get. Looking online, all offset smokers were pretty much the same.  Firebox to the side, and a horizontal barrel attached for the heat and smoke to move through, and escape through a chimney on the far side.

So, I went to my local Lowes to see what was offered. They had two types of offset smokers. Both from a company named Oklahoma Joe's.

Oklahome Joe's Longhorn Combo

One smoker was a combo propane grill and smoker. It was tempting to get it out of convenience. I had one vessel to do both and take up less space in the backyard.  But the smoker chamber was small. Room for only one brisket, so that was quickly dismissed.

So, that left me with the other: Oklahoma Joe's Highland. It was simple. Heavy gauge steel. Large cavity where I could hold easily two briskets or any combination of meats and have plenty of space. The only thing I didn't care for was the name (I AM from Texas, after all) but for the price, I can't beat it. So, Texas ego aside, I grabbed one and headed home to assemble and get it ready.

Oklahoma Joe's Highland

Assembly was a snap. Got it fully put together in about an hour. Then seasoned it. Using vegetable oil and a rag, I wiped everything inside the smoker with it, and parts I couldn't get to, I used vegetable spray, to make sure I got all the corners and crevasses.

Since this cook was just for seasoning, I wasn't worried about using wood right now and just used lump charcoal. Got the fire started, dumped the coals into the firebox and waited.

This was also a great time to work on temperature control. Being this was a challenge for me in the past, and no meats were harmed in the seasoning of this smoker, I can play around and see what changes affected what temperatures.

Seasoning the Smoker

So, temperature control is definitely an art of its own. I know the basics. Add oxygen and the fire burns hotter, choke off the oxygen and it burns cooler. But it's interesting to see how little changes can have dramatic affects on your temperature.

The fire got up to about 300 degrees. To season it well, you need to get it about 250 for a few hours. So I tried to see if I can keep the temperature the entire time at 275. That's a good number a lot of pitmasters cook at. So it seemed like a fine goal.

One other rule I promised myself with this smoker - I won't fiddle with it constantly. If it gets to 280 or lowers to 265, I won't panic and go crazy adding fuel, opening/closing dampers, etc.

And for the most part, I was pretty consistent. I think one thing I did wrong was the fire was too small. I had everything opened to get as much oxygen to the fire to keep up the heat. So a bigger fire next time and it should be fine.

But for the next 4 hours, sitting outside, drinking some beers (Shiner Bock this round) and just listening to the night (and my dogs playing outside) it was really nice.  I think one difference between now and when I was using the bullet was back then, I had a panic. I wanted to do other things while this was 'working' on the meats. Errands to run. Watch the Longhorns play inside. That sort of thing.

Now, I've realized that this is part of the entire experience. Just sitting outside and enjoying. Slow down. Of course, now with technology, I have my iPad to watch TV or read while out here. So that helps. And as experience comes with each smoke, I'll be able to walk away from the smoker every 30-45 minutes and get other things going. It's not going to ruin that smoke if the temperature gets down to 270, or rises to 280 or whatever. That's short term that can easily be corrected. When smoking something for 8-12 hours (I'll let you know how my first real smoke goes) those changes shouldn't have that large of an impact.

So, now that I've seasoned my smoker. It's time to do my first smoke, right?

But first, I need to modify my smoker some.

To be concluded.