My First Try

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

vic c

Newbie
Original poster
G'day all from "down under"

Last night I tried my hand at smoking some chicken 1/4's but unfortunately I must have messed up somewhere

1) I brined the pieces for 4 hours using Jeffs basic brine recipe

2) Got my old BBQ (gas) fired up to about 300f and put on some chips of redgum (eucalyptus camaldulensis)

3) I got to my wispy blue smoke stage and added the chicken - I used some of Jeffs rub on the 1/4's, (forgot to put some oil on  to        start so did it at about 1/2 hour)

4) The unit was showing 280 - 300 f and after about 3 1/2 hours i tested for clear running juices as I had lost my probe thermometer. I thought the chicken looked quite ok, but as I started eating I found it to be a little too "rare" in the centre. (I finished it my kitchen oven).

5) I was a little disappointed with the lack of true smoky flavour - maybe the choice of wood ? or not enough smoke ?

6)In my cooker, the flame was at one end, and the chicken pieces at the other. The temp gauge at centre

I am thinking maybe the gauge was not true, as I would have thought 3 hours should be enough although the 6 pieces of chicken weighed about 6 lbs total

I have since obtained a probe thermometer, and will experiment a bit more

e2ce3899_pics115.jpg


 how it looked when i took it out of the smoker

2acdd514_pics116.jpg


Hoping for a few hints and tips

Best Regards to all

Vic
 
Well first get a new probe. Once you have it, check it AND the other in boiling water for accuracy. Once you know how that's working. MAYBE try a different wood. Not so sure about this redgum?? Try some apple or hickory!!
 
Hi Vic,

As Terry said, test your thermo and see what it's reading.

Also, i believe your problem is the thermo on the grill itself. I guarantee you it's not accurate. You need a good pit probe

like the Maverick ET-732  that has a pit and food thermo.

If you can get hickory, that will give you a very smokey flavor.

Hope this helps
 
Eucalyptus makes a great fire wood, but not generally recommended for smoking. You are on the right track with using the probe.  We can never have too many therms, and then even backups for those.  Hang in there, you will get it.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Woods to AVOID would include: cedar, cypress, elm, eucalyptus, pine, fir, redwood, sassafras, spruce, and sycamore.  bbqabout.com

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BBQ List members report that ELM and EUCALYPTUS wood is unsuitable for smoking and grilling, as is the wood from SASSAFRAS, SYCAMORE and LIQUID AMBER trees.[/font]

DO NOT USE -  ELM, EUCALYPTUS, SYCAMORE, SWEET GUM TREES and LIQUID AMBER wood is unsuitable for smoking. DO NOT USE -  ELM, EUCALYPTUS, SYCAMORE, SWEET GUM TREES and LIQUID AMBER wood is unsuitable for smoking.

Ok I can not find out why but ever site i have hit has said DO NOT USE IT for SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best of luck

Robert
 
5
 
Woods to AVOID would include: cedar, cypress, elm, eucalyptus, pine, fir, redwood, sassafras, spruce, and sycamore.  bbqabout.com

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BBQ List members report that ELM and EUCALYPTUS wood is unsuitable for smoking and grilling, as is the wood from SASSAFRAS, SYCAMORE and LIQUID AMBER trees.[/font]

DO NOT USE -  ELM, EUCALYPTUS, SYCAMORE, SWEET GUM TREES and LIQUID AMBER wood is unsuitable for smoking. DO NOT USE -  ELM, EUCALYPTUS, SYCAMORE, SWEET GUM TREES and LIQUID AMBER wood is unsuitable for smoking.

Ok I can not find out why but ever site i have hit has said DO NOT USE IT for SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best of luck

Robert
100 % dead on. You can improve things a lot by getting a better temp sensor but the wood is the issue without question. That is wood way too pungent and unsuitable for smoking  
 
G'day guys

I am deeply appreciative of all your comments, and will put them to use

I have a thermometer that I can use to check the grill temp against the gauge on the canopy, and have borrowed a decent probe thermo. I will test the grill temp and try to allow for any variations as well as regular testing for internal temp with the probe checking the times smoked against that temp.

I feel in my own mind that I can make this work until I get down to the city ( I am in a small country town) and get some good gear.

Re the redgum - yes it is very good firewood. It is not the redgum I read about in the USA that is a definate No No. I have a friend who uses "MYALL" which is a form of eucalypt. Hickory is very difficult for me to get hold of, but I just browsed an Aussie BBQ forum where they say that Melaleuca ( Ti-Tree) is a very much like hickory, and I happen to have a big chunk of it.

I managed to get hold of some chicken thighs today and will brine and smoke them in the morning ( it's 9:30 pm Tues here right now) so I will hopefully be able to report a successful smoke.

I ma also going to try some of my native wild peach wood for smoke too.

Until tomorrow - thanks again for your replies

Regards

Vic
 
G'day Guys

Today I had my second try at chicken thighs, with a much better result

@Raptor, - the gauge on my grill was way out so I did a bit of maths and worked out the temp to set on

Brining was no problem, and this time I did smear a little oil on the pieces and followed up with a good hit of Jeffs Rub.

After 45 minutes, the internal temp was 138 nearest the heat, but only 125 furthest from the heat so I lit the end burner at the "lower temp" end

everything was goin a beauty but i got distracted and the temp got away from me. When I realised, I had a range of 180 - 200 internal temp, and a skin with a bit of extra "colour"

The taste test !!!-- I was very happy - the brine and the rub suited me nicely but I need to concentrate on getting a better smoke flavour

Photos ?  yes - until I discovered that some "wally" ( I shall remain nameless) left the SD card out of the digital camera

The chicken - almost completely gone with a splash of Jeffs BBQ sauce

I am sure that I am on the right track, thanks to you guys advice and what I read in forum posts

best regards to all

Vic

(Downunder)
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Latest posts

Hot Threads

Clicky