# First Impression:  Smokin-It Model 2D



## gregor (May 18, 2016)

So when FedEx emailed me to say this was on my front step, I had to skip out of work at lunch to go see, besides it was supposed to rain and I didn't want to deal with 90 lbs of wet cardboard wrestling it in the front door.

Managed to get it in the door and deposited the box in my kitchen.  This is one heavy muther...back to work...

6 hours later I was home, elbow deep in double boxed cardboard and more than a few pieces of styrofoam - this puppy came very well packed - sorry there are no pictures.  I'm also pretty sure this *didn't* make the FedEx delivery guys day.

Wow,  this thing is like a small tank.  Really - this is so much more solid than some other smokers I looked at, and being all stainless means it won't rust on my porch.  This thing weighs a ton - had to tip the box on it's side and slide it out as I can't lift it on my own, even though it has handles.

Opening the door is like opening a small safe - very, very solid.  I also ordered the turkey/chicken holder too as I found picking up a whole bird was a pain with my old tube smoker.  Pretty impressed, too, that 2 smallish cubes of wood is enough for 4 hours of smoking - this should help with the neighbor complaints - my old electric tube smoker would go thru 4 or 5 pounds of wood in an 8 hr smoke.  I like the way the door is a pressure fit so there is no gasket to tear or replace, too.

Found all the stuff inside and got the wheels on, found a screwdriver so I could put the back mounts on for the power cord and we're ready to go. 

All I need now is a nice day and 4 hours for seasoning it....but that's another post!


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## smoking4fun (May 19, 2016)

Welcome to the SI family!  These are definitely some sturdy smokers.


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## old sarge (May 19, 2016)

You are going to really enjoy the smoker and problem free smoking. And welcome to the group.


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## SmokinAl (May 19, 2016)

Congrats on the new smoker!

Looking forward to seeing it in action!

Al


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## gregor (May 26, 2016)

8 days later it's both dry enough and I have time enough to fire this little guy up.

This is just the seasoning run (4 hrs @ 250F) so I have just the sweet, sweet smell of hickory smoke to tease me with future promises of smoky goodness.

Took about 30 minutes to get to 250, seems to be holding the temp rock solid.

Not nearly as much smoke as I thought I might get and certainly a lot less than my old tube smoker - which bothered the neighbors to no end.

Luckily I am off tomorrow and since the weather looks like it may cooperate I'll do some ribs or maybe a couple delmonico steaks to see how it works.

Going to do a couple of pork butts on Monday as well.


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## gregor (May 26, 2016)

After about 2 1/2 hours the smoke has either really slacked off, or I'm getting used to the smell outside.

Actually quite nice and no complaints from my neighbors :)


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## old sarge (May 26, 2016)

gregor,

Here is a good link that explains smoke. In spite of folks wanting a great many hours of smoke, and those who believe that it penetrates to the heart of the meat, it just ain't entirely so.  But folks can and will believe what they want and this is a free country.  The article is a good read, but if you are concerned about the smoke running out at 2 1/2 hours, scroll thru the article till you reach 'No Smoke Flavor'.  Craig 'Meathead' Goldwyn has been around for a very long time and with the exception of his views on electric smokers, I take what he says as gospel.  Enjoy!

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/zen_of_wood.html

Dave


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## gregor (May 27, 2016)

old sarge said:


> gregor,
> 
> Here is a good link that explains smoke. In spite of folks wanting a great many hours of smoke, and those who believe that it penetrates to the heart of the meat, it just ain't entirely so.  But folks can and will believe what they want and this is a free country.  The article is a good read, but if you are concerned about the smoke running out at 2 1/2 hours, scroll thru the article till you reach 'No Smoke Flavor'.  Craig 'Meathead' Goldwyn has been around for a very long time and with the exception of his views on electric smokers, I take what he says as gospel.  Enjoy!
> 
> ...


Thanks, Dave!

When I opened the smoker, one chunk of wood was nearly untouched and the other was completely black - very little ash.  I'll post some pictures tomorrow when I have better light.

Thinking about chicken and ribs tomorrow.


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## old sarge (May 27, 2016)

I get pure ash. Just lucky I guess. Ribs and chicken sound good.


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## gregor (May 27, 2016)

Found some turkey quarters at the Amish market near me and picked up a couple of racks of babybacks.

Did the ribs with mustard and Jeff's rub and the 2-2-1 method at 230F, couple of chunks of apple at about 6 oz.

At the same time I did the turkey quarters with  an olive oil moisten and Jeff's rub - those went on the bottom shelf.  Pulled at 165

Turkey legs were done really quickly - in 2 hrs, lesson learned - don't put stuff on the bottom shelf!  They tasted good - my taster friends liked them but they really needed to cook more, I think next time an upper shelf and pull maybe at 175.

Ribs are still progressing.  Ran out of smoke @ 2 hrs but since the ribs are currently wrapped, no need for it.  Will stick another chunk in for the last hour.


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## old sarge (May 27, 2016)

The lower shelf can be brutal.  Sometimes.  When you pull the ribs, pinch a piece of pork and taste it and see if you need more smoke before adding another chunk. You may not, but it depends upon personal preference.


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## gregor (May 27, 2016)

Ribs came out pretty good, they were nicely done and a goodly amount of smoke flavor - I used apple for this bunch.  Going to keep a smoking log so I can remember how things went.

So a very good first impression - one of my friends told me "if stuff comes out this good on your first try, I can't imagine how good things will be once you get this dialed in".  :)

One thing I do need is a good sauce for the ribs.  We had them dry, and while moist and flavorful, I think a bit of finishing type sauce would add a lot.


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## old sarge (May 28, 2016)

Not fancy but we like Sue Bee Original Honey BBQ Sauce.  For years (decades?) my wife mixed Open Pit with Honey, and then it disappeared from stores for awhile.   By the time it was reintroduced, we had moved on to the Sue Bee.  Pretty tasty stuff. A smoking log is good for a lot of reasons.  Things that work and things you want to forget.  Congratulations!


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## gregor (Jun 5, 2016)

Did 3 spatchcocked chickens - a tight squeeze.  Temp barely reached 240 before the chicken hit 165 by the probe.  Tried to crisp the skin on my gas grill, all that did was dry out the outer portion of leg and thigh meat.  Still pretty tasty.


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## old sarge (Jun 6, 2016)

Any success is still a success.


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## gregor (Jun 7, 2016)

True, folks loved it, but the commercial bbq in our area SE PA, is pretty mediocre.


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## gregor (Jun 7, 2016)

I wonder if I should be preheating my Smokin-It 2D?


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## old sarge (Jun 7, 2016)

No preheating necessary.  Cold meat goes into the cold smoker.


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## brickguy221 (Jun 8, 2016)

old sarge said:


> No preheating necessary.  Cold meat goes into the cold smoker.


That is how I do it is cold meat into cold smoker and then turn smoker on. This allows for better smoke penetration with the weak smoking pellets.


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## gregor (Jun 9, 2016)

old sarge said:


> No preheating necessary.  Cold meat goes into the cold smoker.


So cooking temp only really applies on a long smoke?


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## gregor (Jun 9, 2016)

Brickguy221 said:


> old sarge said:
> 
> 
> > No preheating necessary.  Cold meat goes into the cold smoker.
> ...


Thanks!


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## gregor (Jun 10, 2016)

Hmm.

I put 16 pounds of pork shoulder in the smoker and set the temp to 230.  In about a half hour it's up to 200, which took close to 2 hours when I did the chicken over the weekend.  I wonder if some of the chicken was touching the interior heat sensor?

That's by far the most irritating 'feature' of the 2D - it sticks into the middle of the cabinet and renders one shelf nearly unusable, and it's the shelf that one has to use if only using 2 shelves with bulky items.

We'll see how it goes.  I split the pork shoulders into 2 4 lb pieces each, and I have the time today to let the smoker run 8 hours.  Using apple for smoke and a rub that I've been using and tweaking for years. 

Pulled pork is a big reason why I bought the smoker so we'll see how it goes!


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## gregor (Jun 10, 2016)

How much do you want to smoke at one time?  This one effectively holds:

3 spatchcock chicken
4 racks baby back ribs
2 pork butts

This is what I have tried.  The 3D is $100 more and adds about 50% more space I think.  I am very concerned about smoke bothering my neighbors, so I went with the 2D.  It's big enough for now, if I start cooking for more people, I'll consider upgrading.


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## gregor (Jun 10, 2016)

This has space for 5 14.5x14.5 racks about 2" apart.

ISTR they also make a shelf hanger that spaces much smaller, too so you might check that out.


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## old sarge (Jun 10, 2016)

As with anything and everything, let your budget dictate the size of the smoker you purchase. The 3/3D has shelves 21 inches deep and 14 wide. It will hold a lot. A larger smoker does not require more wood.  The amount of wood used is still minimal; visible smoke will last 1 1/2 to 3 hours, or longer, depending upon draft/wind conditions and type of wood uses.  A heavy, dense wood like hickory seems to last longer in my 3D than a lighter fruitwood or alder thus less duration of smoke.


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## gregor (Jun 11, 2016)

old sarge said:


> As with anything and everything, let your budget dictate the size of the smoker you purchase. The 3/3D has shelves 21 inches deep and 14 wide. It will hold a lot. A larger smoker does not require more wood.  The amount of wood used is still minimal; visible smoke will last 1 1/2 to 3 hours, or longer, depending upon draft/wind conditions and type of wood uses.  A heavy, dense wood like hickory seems to last longer in my 3D than a lighter fruitwood or alder thus less duration of smoke.


Sarge, how much wood do you put in your 3D?


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## old sarge (Jun 11, 2016)

For pork, be it ribs or a butt, I generally stick with about 3 ounces of hickory.  For a brisket, 5 to 6 ounces. Whenever possible, I use just a single chunk cut to the weight I want.


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## gregor (Jun 11, 2016)

Thanks , here's some results from my last smoke

https://imgur.com/RGOvkpE.jpg

https://imgur.com/piGdMJQ.jpg

https://imgur.com/Z1GuVmL.jpg

https://imgur.com/RGOvkpE.jpg

This was 2 8 lb pork butts, used the basic rub from Jeff's book (I think), refrigerated overnight.

Pulled out at 190 after 8.5 hrs I was concerned the probes were not reading right - wrapped in double foil and then finished to 205 in a 300 oven (30 min), rested in 140 oven for about an hour before pulling.

Came out pretty well, took longer than I expected...


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## gregor (Jun 11, 2016)

Can't edit with my phone but this was 7 oz of apple for smoke in 2 pieces


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## old sarge (Jun 12, 2016)

Looks good.


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## gregor (Jun 13, 2016)

Folks really, really liked it!

I noticed when I was washing the probe that some of the insulation was coming off.  Emailed Steve at SmokinIt and he is going to send me a new one!

He cautioned that I should not let the wire come in contact with the smoker box, which I guess caused the problem.  Have to figure out how to do that...


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## old sarge (Jun 13, 2016)

I've not had any insulation problems.


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## gregor (Jun 13, 2016)

old sarge said:


> I've not had any insulation problems.


Sarge, how do you route the cable from the probe back to the control unit?

I ran this thru the hole in the top, but I guess I might have looped it in a way that it would contact the wood box - I'll have to add that to my checklist when I put the smoker and meat together.


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## old sarge (Jun 13, 2016)

Thru the top vent.  Just enough cable to get the job done.  The remainder stays outside the smoker. I have never scorched the probe insulation on either the Cookshack or the SI. It is interesting to note that the vent hole was always too hot to touch on the CS but not so on the SI.


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