newbie smoker with lots of questions.

[clark in the sky]

Hey there, my name is andy and im 23 years old im located in chippewa falls, wi home of Leinenqugels beer and i just started smokin meats last weekend. i bought a brinkmann horizontal smoker with the offset firebox. the first day i got it we just used it as a grill to grill up some t bones, the next day we used the smoker for the first time ever, ive never even really seen a smoker in use before, let alone used one! we made some bbq pork chops and i put bout 4 2-3 lb hunks of venison in there. we started out using way too much wood, it almost filled the firebox up halfway, quickly realized that was way too much and took almost all of it out. how much should you use ideally? well i spose we smoked for bout 4-5 hours, and bout 6-10 high lifes later, and then i sliced the venison and we grilled the meat for 10 mins or so afterwords and let me tell you, ive never had venison taste like that before in my life! it was definitly a hit around the neighborhood, as everyone was stoppin by to see where all the damn smoke was comin from... sooo i want to do a rack of ribs this weekend and possibly some salmon, but i heard it has to be a cold smoke??? how does one go about this??

 

[coyote]

I have not started as yet, but sounds like you are doing it and enjoying what you are doing.just keep reading about it on this forum and ask questions they will be answered. there are a lot of good folks here with tons of expereince that give it up to help others..

 

[mossymo]

clark in the sky
Glad you joined us, you are gonna love smoking and this site; TRUST ME !!!

Only put in enough chips where you can just smell the smoke in the air, keeping in mind smoke is just an ingredient in the recipe.

With a little searching SMF threads and the numerous other members here that will generously offer advise, tips and tricks you will be a smoking maniac !!!

Again, welcome to the freindliest smoking site on the internet !!!

 

[waysideranch]

Clark in the Sky,

I'm thinking we are going to learn some good stuff here. I love that Honey Weiss Leinie. Wish I had started smokin' at your age. Good luck.

 

[pineywoods]

Welcome to the forum Andy. Try taking Jeff's 5 day Ecourse (its Free) and also look on the left side of the page and click on some of the topics and check em out. You'll probally want a couple digital thermometers they can be wired or wireless and are available. Smoking is internal meat temp not time. You don't want smoke billowing out of the smoker this can create creosote which dosen't taste very good and can over power the meat. A thin blue smoke is what your after. I'm not sure about cold smoking as I haven't gotten into it yet. Hope this helps and I'm sure others will jump in and help ya out

 

[earache_my_eye]

Welcome to SMF Andy....I'm not entirely sure about how to smoke salmon...I know cold smoking is quite possibly the "preferred" method....but, not the ONLY method of smoking it. Here's a link with some threads about smoking fish.... http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...splay.php?f=17

You should be able to find just about anything you might want to know in there....

Hope this helps,
Eric

 

[geob]

Welcome Andy. At least you got something going. Cold smoke is realy neat but you don't need a big fire for that. The neighbors won't even know your smoking. It depends on what you want to cold smoke. Sausage is good at 125 to 140 not over 150 it starts to cook. Cheese not above 80 it starts to melt. Salmon depends on the thickness. You can tell how hot by keeping it under the cooking temp by 10 to 25 deg.

Good luck and welcome again.
We don't get much Salmon but we love to smoke catfish.

geob

 

[seboke]

You will learn some stuff here without tryin'! Just read, enjoy the q-view, and try to emulate it!!! It won't hurt to ask questions, but you really don't need to if you just stumble on to what's out there already!

 

[bb53chevpro]

Welcome to the forum. Its great to have you here. You want to see a thin blue smoke. Some times its so thin you cannot see it but you can smell it like Mossy said. Got questions, just ask, we are all here to help each other.
from one Andy to another...
Andy.

 

[tmw611]

Welcome Andy,

I too just started smoking 4 weeks ago and since I've done Spare Ribs, baby backs, and chickens. In between smokes I grilled burgers, chicken breast and grilled some country ribs with indirect heat and I had to throw on a few chips to take the edge off the craving for more smoke. This stuff is addictive!

Anyway, these folks are friendly and are a wealth of knowledge.

Learn and enjoy.

 

[kookie]

Welcome aboard Andy..............Great to have you here with us........Lots of great info and people here........

 

[travcoman45]

Welcome aboard, glad to have ya!