Smoker size larger than a toaster and smaller than a bus.

steelchef · Post by **steelchef** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 07:24

Ross,

Dammit, if I had any expectation of living this long, I would have taken better care of myself.
You, on the other hand appear to have done so. Congratulations! Not that 72 is a milestone but that you are still actively sailing and working with wood indicates that you are probably in better shape than many of us.

Your marinade sounds delicious.

Please let us know how your experiment turns out.

steelchef · Post by **steelchef** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 07:43

A very good point Chuckwagon!

Our youngest son once treated us to his version of 'Cedar Planked Samon.' The BBQ had not been on for long when I inquired where he had obtained the cedar 'planks,' they looked like shingles to me and had a very chemically odour. Sure enough, they were indeed shingles, treated with fire retadent chemicals. So we got into the freezer and had sausage instead.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 17:40

Chuckwagon wrote:Hi Ross,
It is highly recommended that folks don't use "treated" lumber and boards for smoking.
You wrote:
one inch hickory board
Once I looked up the composition of the stuff they treat lumber with. The toxins are unbelievable. Stay healthy my friend!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

treated lumber is nasty stuff. I know where the hickory came from I bought it from a local sawmill and watched them cut it from the log. we have all of the best smoking woods here except mesquite. Someday I will try some of the wood from the high bush cranberries.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 21:05

Today I smoke cooked a small section of pork loin that I had in brine since monday in a very cold refrigerator.(32.5 degrees F.)
My grill is propane fueled with a rack for ceramic stones and above that a cooking rack and hinged to move with the lid is a third rack. I placed a 1 inch thick board on the stones and lit the fireat its lowest setting. I placed a piece of cement tile backer on the second shelf as a flame barrier.( this piece has been used many times for a heat shied when I have baked biscuits on the grill so it has been very hot many times.) I place the meat on the top shelf and watched the temperature. For about a half hour it held at about 100 degrees with much smoke. Then quite quickly the temperature went to 300 degrees.I turned off the gas The wood was burning. A little water took care of that and things settled down until it flared again. This tme I had good charcoal and I added a little water and a new piece of wood. I contrlled the flames with water and the meat temperature rose slowly to150 during the course of about 3 1/2 hours. At that point I said done and fixed lunch.
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/645/2011 ... merane.jpg

steelchef · Post by **steelchef** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 23:29

Jeez Ross!

That looks just awesome. Your method is outrageously simple. We can all take a lesson.
I have discovered that Birchwood is another great option for 'sweet' smoke. No bark or skin please. It is very bitter. I used a new chainsaw to produce a pile of fine chips, (while cutting firewood.) I filled the bar lubricator reservoir with corn oil so as not to contaminate the chips. The result is very little oil in the chips, the saw chain and bar are no worse for the wear and the firewood is burning as I pen this message. All's good!

I took your advise from a previous posting and substituted some clarified pork fat for the regular lard ingredient, in a baking powder biscuit recipe. (I didn't have any chicken fat readily available.) Spectacular doesn't quite cover it! 24 biscuits, four people, not a crumb left.

There were leftover ribs for the first time in history.

Thanks Ross, great tip!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Mar 12, 2011 23:46

Steelchef, A friend told me that he can cut fresh green wood with very little wear on his chain saw but dry seasoned wood is hell on it. When I first started my schooling as a machinist we lubricated the head stock bearings on the small lathes with what was called lard oil.
I have since learned that hog fat has many components. Some of it is almost as hard as beef fat and some of it stays liquid at 60 degrees. You can see it in saved bacon fat and in the ends of a loin. The fat in the shoulder end melts at a lower temperature than the fat from back near the ham.
Nancy said that this smoked pork will satisfy her craving for deli cuts.
edit to add:
When I was a kid corn cobs were an option for smoking meat but I don't remember any details.

steelchef · Post by **steelchef** » Sun Mar 13, 2011 00:58

"When I was a kid corn cobs were an option for smoking meat but I don't remember any details."

I have tried using cobs in the distant past and don't recommend it. The flavor is not compatible with our palates.

I've just made another batch of BP biscuits, this time using bacon fat and a touch of maple syrup. They are being consumed at this moment, along with leftover ribs.

"You can see it in saved bacon fat and in the ends of a loin. The fat in the shoulder end melts at a lower temperature than the fat from back near the ham."

Hence the necessity to use genuine 'back fat' in sausage making.

You are a pretty unconventional dude. I am delighted and proud to have made your acquaintance.

BTW, your friend is right about cutting dried hardwoods. They will destroy a chain in minutes. We harvest our birch in the fall, before the sap goes south, then buck it into firewood while still green. Last year, the frost came early, before we had the whole load cut.
For my experiment in creating chips, (or more properly, sawdust) we placed a six foot log in my son's heated garage and allowed it to thaw. It was very much in the same condition as when it was cut. We then debarked it, saving the procedes for fire starter. The whole process was designed to salvage the 'chips.' We had spread a tarp on the floor below the cutting area and gathered the 'dust from it. We then put some chips in a cast iron pan, on a hotplate and savored the smoke. That done, (and against clear 'NO SMOKING IN THE GARAGE' instructions from his wife, we brought my modified Little Chief in and smoked a couple of previously marinated and frozen rabbits. The result was worthy of five stars.

Another lesson learned is that while dried birch burns well and provides a great deal of heat, the uncured version provides even more heat while burning much more slowly.

I would like to talk to you about sailing some time.

My email is visible in the profile.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 22:54

I have not yet assembled a smoker but today I decided to cook another brined piece of loin for sandwiches next week. I must pack lunches for Nancy and meself because I struck gold last week and have a 10 week job to do bringing a house back to civilization.

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I had used my gas grill as a smoker/cooker by placing the solid wood in the grill stones and a flame barrier on the rack above that and the meat on the top rack. That worked but needed a lot of watching because the wood would catch fire. Then there was no smoke and the temperature went up like a rocket.

Today I followed the basic set-up but exposed only the first inch of the wood to the heat. Got nice light smoke and good temperature control never going above 220 F. had to periodically push the wood into the heat to maintain the smoke but it took 4 hours to cook the meat to 158 F. The wood was cherry 1x3 left over from a project

steelchef · Post by **steelchef** » Sat Mar 26, 2011 23:56

You are an innovative guy Ross!

Another way of generating smoke without fire is to make a double-lined, aluminum foil pouch, fill it with soaked chips, close it tightly and punch about six holes in the top. You can add more holes later but they're hard to seal up.

Put that over the hot side of the BBQ and; well you get the rest. I use that method to this day, to mildly smoke fish or chops prior to BBQing.

Smoker size larger than a toaster and smaller than a bus.

Smoke cooking