1st Smoke! Success!

[petepap]

Hello All,

I am new here, and I am just getting into the art of smoking . A friend of mine turned me on to it with a perfectly prepared brisket he did with his electric smoker (high end refrigerator door style). It took 14 hours, and came out just in time for a Chicago Bears game a couple of weeks ago.

So, I went and bought myself an electric smoker. I admit it is not the highest end smoker (Char-Broil Electric), but believe it or not, my first smoke was a success!

I did an 8 lb. chicken with a basic poultry "in the can" rub, no brining or marinade. I used mesquite wood chips on the pan under the heating element, and used the left over water that the chips were soaked in for the water pan. I had to replenish the chips and the water 1 time. The temp stayed constant between 225 and 250, and it was done in about 4 hours. I was scared and left it on for another 30 minutes.

The meat was tender and smoky tasting, especially the dark meat. The breast was a bit dry, but good as well.

I think with a good brining, rub, and home made BBQ Sauce, it would have been perfect. My question to all of you experts is: Any good recipes for brining, rub, and bbq sauce? I've seached this forum and there are tons of recipes for each. I am looking for top 3 in each category.

Any help, tips, tricks would be greatly appreciated!

Fellow Electric Smoker,
PetePap

 

[placebo]

Welcome to the SMF, stop by Roll Call for a proper introduction. As far as the top 3 for each category, well that is subjective my friend so if you really want to know that you best get to smokin cause you have a lot of recipes to try before you make that determination!

 

[jts70]

Welcome aboard! Jeff's BBQ sauce and rub are great and you can purchase the recipes from him. Brining will take of the dryness. Try signing up for Jeff 5 day ecourse

 

[petepap]

Thanks. I did the 5 day e-course already. Good stuff. I've been seeing a lot about Jeffs recipes. They must be really good. Any comments?

Pete

 

[jts70]

Jeff's recipes are really good, I use them alot. You can twick to your own tastes, many use them just as they are ( me too). Well worth the money!!

 

[Dutch]

Pete, glad things turned out well for you, and brining your bird will result in moister breast meat.

As for a list of the top three in way of brines, rubs and BBQ sauce-every persons taste is going to be different so you'll get different lists of the top three.

For a basic brine, for each gallon of water add 1 cup of kosher salt and 1 cup of brown sugar. What I do is heat a quart of water then add the salt and sugar and stir until both are disolved and then allow the mixture to cool to room temp. Pour the concentrated brine mixture into your brining container and add the rest of the water. Add your bird making sure that ii is submerged in the brine soloution. Place bird and brine in the fridge.

As for kicking the brine up a notch or two, you can add garlic powder, onion powder, your favorite spices and herbs.

For chickens, brine them at least four hours.

 

[ajthepoolman]

Jeff's rub is outstanding. I have yet to make the sauce, for I am a dork who keeps forgetting to read the ingredient list before I go to the store.

 

[deejaydebi]

Pete -

Go about half way down the page and you'l find eBooks on all of the things you asked for. ENjoy!

http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/SmokingMeatMenu.htm

I highly recommend Jeff's Rub and sauce it's very good!

 

[homebrew & bbq]

Like the folks have already said, the "best" of anything in food is largely a matter of personal likes and dislikes. Here is where you can find SoFlaQuer's Carolina Mustard Sauce. I really like it, but that's just my taste buds and not yours.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=2516

 

[petepap]

Thanks to everyone that took the time to read my post, and thanks for the replies! I'll keep everyone posted on what I try next! Hopefully I will one day be able to give some advice instead of taking it all the time!!!

Much appreciated,
PetePap

 

[glued2it]

Welcome! glad to see your venturing into the wonderful world of smoking meat!

 

[richtee]

Ahhh... what a good feeling! Carry on Pete!