Where I Was, Where I Am and Where I'll Be - Part 4

Where Am I Going?

So, where am I going from here? I have some experience. I've used some equipment. I've gathered some knowledge. And most importantly, I got a new smoker.

So, I seem to have been doing a lot of talking and haven't actually done anything with this new smoker. What gives?

Rain, Rain, Go Away.  Seriously. Just Go!

A few things. First, the weather. It's been raining here. More importantly, it's been raining at the wrong times (there's been nice and sunny moment over the weekend)

Friday night was fine for curing the smoker.  It was a short span of time and got done about 1am with that (I started late) Saturday was a bust. Rained all day and didn't let up.

Saturday night to Sunday morning would've been perfect! Except I had church in the morning and would be away for about 3 1/2 hours around the time to pull the meat. Plus my daughter heads back to church about 2pm for band practice, so there's a real small window of opportunity to actually sit together as a family to eat.

Sunday, for almost all day, was perfect weather. No rain. But even if I started when I got back from church, it wouldn't be ready until after midnight tonight.

And Sunday night the rain is supposed to start up again as well, and of course there's the whole gotta-go-to-work thing, Monday. (Overrated, in my opinion)

So yea, last weekend was a bust.

Sealing the Gap...

So I mentioned a few things, weather being one of them. The other is needing to tinker with the smoker some. Okay, okay, I *want* to tinker with it...

When I cured it Friday, I saw smoke escape along the seams where the unit's parts connect as well as along the door seam.

Escaping smoke means escaping flavor. Escaping smoke also means escaping heat, which means harder temperature regulating and possibly longer smoke times. If I'm going to be serious about this, I need to be serious about this. So off to Amazon for a few purchases. A few days later and voila! Mail call on Monday with my goodies!

...and the Chimney

First, the escaping smoke. I attacked this two-fold. One area escaping is where the firebox and main chamber connect with bolts only. I sealed where it connects with a high-temperature, food grade silicone. I also sealed where the chimney stack attaches

Next, I used a high temp smoke gasket for the door. This will also help keep smoke and heat from bleeding out.

Quick note about the gasket. I thought it was a rubber gasket when I ordered it. When I got it, it had a felt quality to it. But, after holding a piece to a lighter for about a minute, it never caught fire (or melted or anything) so I was satisfied it wouldn't cause problems with the heat from the smoker.

Getting Ready to Drill

Another tip I learned is the temperature gauge that comes with smokers are usually cheap, AND in the wrong place to accurately monitor your temperature. The thermometer should be close to the level your meat goes. High up top on the lid can have a real difference, and you want to be as accurate as possible with it.

So, I ordered a new temperature gauge and drilled a hole, closer to grill/meat level and attached.  Plus the color coding on the dial makes it infinitely easier to make a quick glance and see where you're at.

In addition to these purchases, I also got some butcher paper to wrap the meats in, and a grate lifting tool if I need to move them around or access underneath them while cooking.

All said, I believe my smoker is ready for its maiden voyage. Texas weather has been real funky lately with tons of rain. Right now it looks like Friday night might be the time to try my first smoke, but its still a few days away and anything can happen in Texas.

As they say, if you don't like Texas weather, wait 5 minutes.

So now you know my past, present and hints of my future.

My blog posts will probably start being less frequent as it would just chronicle each smoke I try, and as much as I'd love to, I won't be able to smoke every weekend.

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.

Where I Was, Where I Am and Where I'll Be - Part 2

Where was I? (Continued)

So, my first smoker was a moderate success. But the effort was too much.  Wasting a whole day just wasn't worth it when I can get ready-made bbq on a whim.

Then, I saw this...

Bradley Digital 4 Rack Smoker

It was everything I wanted and needed! Refrigerator-type seal for cooking area. Digital temperature control and timer. Wood pucks that only smolder to produce the smoke. Basically, your fire & forget smoker and I wanted it!

I poured over its description. Went to the Bradley Smoker website. Watched YouTube videos reviewing it. I wanted it. I needed it.

So, I had a weak moment (I'm famous for these, btw - just ask my wife) and bought it when we really didn't have the money.

But I got it. And 4-5 shipping days later, it came!

I was so excited as I assembled it and getting it ready.

My Second Smoker

Now, I just needed to test it out. Too long for brisket. I wanted something now! And more importantly, I needed something I already had on-hand in the fridge. Fish!  People smoke fish.  Yea, I'll try that. 

So, I pulled out some frozen tilapia fillets, did a quick brine and smoked it for a few hours.

Smoked Tilapia Fillets

So I loaded the racks with fish. Added the wood pucks. Set the temp and timer and START.

A few hours later, they were ready! And they. Were. Perfect! Tender. Really flavorful. And most importantly, I didn't have to monitor it every 5 minutes like my old bullet smoker! It was definitely fire & forget. THIS was the way to smoke. I was a happy camper.

Whole Chickens

Of course, after successful pilot smoke, it was time to open the throttle full and go to town. Whole chicken and pork butt were my next smokes over the next month.

Pork Butt

Again, prep. Load wood pucks. Program timer and temp. Hit start. Walk away.

(To be fair, you have to empty the water bowl that catches the spend wood pucks every three hours, but this was a far cry from sitting next to my bullet the entire time. I could go do errands. Take a nap. Watch TV. My Saturdays were mine again!)

Then I got ambitious. I have 4 racks to place meat. So...fill 'er up! Chicken, pork, brisket, ribs. Do it all! Again, fire & forget.

Now, with this much volume, and me thinking I'm such a BBQ badass and all, it never occurred to me this much meat would dramatically increase the overall cooking time for everything. So much more time, in fact, I ran out of wood pucks to cook everything. But that's okay, the wood pucks were for the smoke only. There's a heating element also in the smoker that's actually the cooker. So even if I ran out, I had heat to finish it.

I don't remember the overall time for everything to be finished, but it had to be 12+ hours before I pulled the last piece of meat from it.

Go Big or Go Home

But still, it was all good. And we got to be carnivores for the rest of the week, devouring its smokey goodness.

Yup. This was the future of smoking, and I was pleased as punch I was pioneering it.

Then my first real setback.

I was getting something ready to smoke (probably brisket) when I turned on my Bradley Smoker and heard a "pop!" and no heat. The heating element burned out. 

This was really depressing as I had something to cook and no way to do so.  So, as a result, I had to resort to cooking it in the over that day.  I was majorly depressed about it.

Ordered a replacement part. Got it in the mail. Changed it our. (And let me tell you, with about a year of build-up of smoke in the chamber, that was a messy fix) but I got her back up and running and continued with my next (and many) smokes for the next 4 or so years.

Chicken Poppers - My Absolute Favorite Thing to Smoke

Then, about a month ago, I decided to be ambitious again.

This time, I tried to make barbacoa (Mexican style brisket, essentially) pork butt, whole chicken and chicken poppers.

Everything bought. Everything prepped. Wood pucks purchased. 12-pack of beer cooling. Yup, this is going to be a great weekend!

6am rolled around and I got up. Pulled the meats to get to room temperature. Went outside to "fire up" (turn on) the smoker when this time I got another "pop" along with a bright flash from the back.

Not. Good.

Nothing came up. No heat. No digital display. Nothing. This is bad.

So, with it being about 6:30am, and everything closed to try to fix it.  I resorted to using my grill for indirect cooking. Again, wasn't bad. But I was beside myself I was so upset (again)

Now, these past 5 years with the Bradley (minus the two times it blew up) have been wonderful. I would still recommend this product for anyone wanting a semi-hassle-free smoker. The past five years, in addition to the above, I also smoked corn on the cob, chipotles, a whole turkey, scotch eggs, and a few other things I'm sure I've forgotten. I Have definitely gotten my return-on-investment on this.

But also, these past five years, I've gotten a bit more experience with smoking.  Not just the fire & forget, but actually starting to learn about the art of smoking. I've been watching videos and reading blogs behind the science of smoking and starting to grasp a deeper understanding of what happens when you smoke meat.

But with this latest disaster with the Bradley and waste (not really 'waste, as it was all still consumed eagerly) of meats to go into that smoker, and most importantly, I can't figure out what blew up to repair it (It's currently disassembled on a patio table) I've decided maybe it's time to upgrade to something new.

Or probably more accurately, downgrade to something old...

To be continued...

Where I Was, Where I Am and Where I'll Be - Part 1

Continuing the journey of fire, smoke, and beer

Where was I?

Eight years ago, I got an itch to expand my cooking skills. I live in Texas. I'm a Texan. I love barbecue. So, I figured it was time to try smoking out.

My First Smoker

I didn't want to spend a ton of money only to find I sucked at it or it was too much hassle, so I headed over to Home Depot and got myself a cheap-o $70 bullet smoker.
As with any true test, you always try your skill with brisket (At least in Texas). So, a brisket was my first smoke.  

Now, just so you know, I watched a TON of Alton Brown's Good Eats, so science was on my brain, and not necessarily cooking.  It's worked out for me so far, but with smoking, while still important, there are some things I just need to learn from experience. But going in, everything was a system:

Start fire. Wait for coals/smoke. Place meat. Wait pre-determined amount of time on smoker. Pull meat. Rest. Slice. I'm a master.

With that logic, I can do anything on the smoker. It's your basic cooking algebra where X is the meat, Y is temperature and Z is time. Interchangeable. Perfect! No touchy-feely 'every cook is different' philosophy. I have science on my side! And for a bit, I was right on the money (read: Lucked out)

First was smoke and temperature control. With these style smokers, the fire is at the bottom and rises, along with the smoke. I was EXTREMELY worried this might turn into a grill, so I tried all my might to not have any flames in my 'fire'. Of course, no fire means lower temperature. Lower temperature means longer or non-existent cook times.

One way to stifle the fire was using soaked wood. It seemed everyone did this so you get a smolder and not a fire, so I did that. I added soaked wood chunks on the coals (just like 'that guy' on TV) and watched the temperature drop dramatically.

So, I paniced. I started blowing on the embers. Nothing. I considered adding lighter fluid (And I think I did once or twice) but the wet wood never caught and the fluid burned up so quickly without time to soak into anything to catch. So out of desperation, I grabbed a small fan and blew on the coals to get oxygen in there and raise the temperature.

Once the water from the soaked wood evaporated, the wood caught fire (whodathunk?) And we were back to the whole fire is bad, stifle fire, temperature drops, blow on coals, temperature rises fire starts, repeat.

My First Brisket

And this is what I did for a good 8+ hours. It was an exhausting fight, and the bullet almost won. BUT, when I finally got the brisket at the correct internal temperature of 165 degrees (We'll talk about that in another post - I just lucked out on this one) I pulled it, let it rest and sliced.

Knowing what I know now, I was SO lucky this turned out well.  Great flavor. Great smoke. Tender. Absolutely delicious.

I'm a pit master! (I thought) and could do no wrong! (More on that, also later)

Extremely pleased, and apparently forgetting how much of a struggle temperature control on that thing was for me, I've concluded smoking is a good fit for me.

Next smoke was pork ribs. Started the fire. Got the rack of ribs on. And proceeded for the next 4-ish hours fighting with the bullet and its temperature.

This round wasn't as great. Ribs were a bit dry, but tasted good enough, so it was still a win in my book.

He's got legs, and doesn't know how to use them

So, what's next? I was craving Texas State Fair style smoked turkey legs! So, gathered a few pounds of legs at the grocer, brined them (love, love, LOVE brining pork and poultry) and set on the smoker.

Again. Fought with the bullet the whole time. As if I'm not learning from my mistakes. (Admittedly, I blamed the bullet itself, thinking with this cheap device, and that's just how it is)

Legs were done. Looked good. Smelled good. But wasn't. No seasoning on the outside skin. I figured the smoke was seasoning enough. That's all I tasted when I had one of these at the State Fair or other food vendor place that sells these. What gives?

So, for those keeping score at home I went from great, to okay but passable, to fail. Isn't it supposed to go the opposite direction with each successive cook?

Over the year of having this I did maybe 1 or 2 more smokes, but determined because of the effort. And how time consuming it is because I had to be right next to it and not do anything else for the next X hours, maybe this just wasn't for me.

Then, the Internet bestowed upon me something marvelous...

To be continued