# Practice meats for learning smoking without breaking the bank



## rkobane

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to know if there's a certain type of meat that everyone considers "The" meat to learn perfect smoking techniques with. I know I should be using the highest quality meats I can afford, as they tend to yield better results, but I simply can't afford to practice enough with that kind of meat. So I'm looking for suggestions so that I can practice more often and not worry about ruining expensive meat. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

Ryan


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## pineywoods

Chicken or pork butts is a good starting place. Chicken if you want a shorter smoke and pork butt when you have lots of time. You can always throw a fatty or some ABT's in as well


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## pops6927

Actually, the cheaper cuts of meat are better suited for smoking, as the low'n'slow methods of roasting at 225° tenderizes what is considered a tougher piece of meat.  Chicken is great, as is turkey, and both are reasonable.  Whole or part of briskets are wonderful.  Pork butt and pork shoulder are preferred over loin; cheaper, more fat distribution, more forgiving either sliced or pulled.  Chuck roasts are great too.

By the way, would you please go to Roll Call if you haven't already so we may properly welcome you, and please modify your profile with your location!  Thank you so much!


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## rkobane

Thanks Pops. I think I'll grab a few birds this weekend and see what happens. Great advice as my head was totally blinded by a smoke screen of red meat.


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## jarjarchef

As others have said: chicken, turkey, pork butts and some cuts of beef.

Make sure you have an accurate way to monitor temps of the cook chamber and the meat. That will make life much easier. Before you start cooking meat in the smoker, some people will take a couple packs of biscuits and spread them throughout the smoker on the grates. This will help show you where if any hot spots are. That information will help you in the placement of the meat.


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## azgramps

I would suggest Whole Chicken and if you catch the great sales during thanksgiving/Christmas and can grab a few 10lb Turkeys you have some things to practice on.

I am not a professional smoker but I learned on costco chicken legs which I poured lemon pepper over and let set overnight in the fridge. Smoked them at about 250 for a couple hours and done

I have also learned that for a turkey and I will assume whole chicken you need to brine this overnight there are a ton of recipes for brines located on the web and I would guess here as well. BUT THE KEY I learned is you have to dry the inside of these birds the brine turns really funky inside if you dont sort of like a grey lint from a dryer looking stuff.

I also always have back up Top Ramen if the invention goes south and there is always McDonalds or Taco Bell. Have fun, be creative and who knows you might just end up on Jack's ole South cooking for the Kingsford Cup... :)


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## humdinger

Try watching for sales on chicken pieces like quarters, thighs, legs, bone-in skin-on breasts, etc. You can bag them and freeze them in small batches for easier portioning.

Normally I'd also mention wings but in the last 5 years their popularity has grown 100 fold, and they are fairly pricey now. Kind of ironic for a meat that used to be thrown/given away by butchers.


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## badmoont2

Pork country ribs are frequently on sale where I live. They are actually strips of meat cut from the shoulder. They are good to learn on because they cook relatively quickly, 3 to 4 hours, and are very forgiving. My first batch of CSR's came out great, giving me confidence to tackle more ambitious smokes.

As others have said chicken is also very forgiving and is low in cost.


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## humdinger

Oh yeah. Good catch BadMoon. Pork country ribs are great to practice/learn with. Cheap yet versatile.


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## gotarace

I love pork steaks smoked also if you haven't smoked up some burgers and a meatloaf you really don't know what your missing!!! They are excellent and inexpensive.


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## duke trana

I did a few chickens for Christmas and they were awesomely cheap...watch for deals...I also did some turkey legs that were a real steal...another idea is to check to see if your supermarket has an area for reduced or close-dated products...you can find all sorts of goodies that may not cook well by traditional methods but work very well in the smoker


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## bigaik

Ground Meats (Beef Pork or Turkey) sometimes go on sale for cheap (can get a lot of meat 3-4lbs at time).  Try making some meatloafs tons of ingredients and flavors.  I suggest if your using Ground Turkey going with Alder wood.  Pork can't miss with hickory,apple etc..


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## dukefan4life

Watch your grocery store for whole roaster chickens to go on sale. Also the chuck roasts are a great way to work on your beef practices. But as one other poster stated here-if you don't have a thermometer to check your temps with it is all for naught. Trust me. I learned the hard way. Once you start learning the temps of your smoker and the feel of the meat when it is done your possibilities are endless!!!


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## jeff lefkowitz

Definitely ground meats.  Not only can you do meatloafs, but of all the things I've made the smoked meatballs are the biggest request and they cook quickly so you're not committed to hours and hours before your wife understands the obsession.


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## mcockrell

dollar for dollar you cant beat a sale on pork butt. chicken is great too because at around $5 a chicken it is pretty economical. and they are relatively quick to smoke. but there is also a lot of waste in a chicken with bones and carcass and such. for my money, pork butt would be the way i would go. even though it is more expensive than chicken, theres very little waste involved. and having 6-8 pounds of meat in your fridge is pretty nice too :)

when i do chickens i usually do like 2-4 at a time. i eat one and pull the others and freeze. i put them in chicken spaghetti, gumbo, jambalaya, soups, stews, chili. hell it probably even tastes good on cereal.


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## dveldh

Definitely the meatloaf...easy, forgiving and quite tasty.


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## jeff lefkowitz

oops, preclicked.  Also, you can scale up the size of what you're making very easily to go from 2 oz meatballs to huge sausages and loafs.  This will help you learn not only how size impacts cooking but also identify heat flow patterns that can destroy a turkey or brisket later.


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## retired lawman

Brisket tip: I go to the super Wal-Mart and check the expiration date on the brisket. I make a note to come back two days before they expire, and the brisket left are marked down half price. Home to the freezer, and I got a freezer full. Same for pork shoulders and butts at the local Kroger too.


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## maxwasatch

My first attempt was brisket, mainly because at that time it was my favorite bbq meat. I started doing pork butt/shoulder upon request of my wife. 

I tell everyone to start there now. So forgiving of temp changes and mistakes. Greater range of acceptable ending internal temps. Easy to finish in the oven, even overnight if you really goof up your fire. 

I would say pulled pork is best to start, then chicken thighs. After that move on to turkey and brisket. Then ribs after you have those down well. They are my main remaining challenge 3 years and about 25 smokes in. Getting better.

Appetizers, steaks, burgers, etc are very easy after you have done the other stuff 5 or 6 times total.


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## jsk0307

Retired Lawman said:


> Brisket tip: I go to the super Wal-Mart and check the expiration date on the brisket. I make a note to come back two days before they expire, and the brisket left are marked down half price. Home to the freezer, and I got a freezer full. Same for pork shoulders and butts at the local Kroger too.


Good advice!  Pretty much what I was going to suggest as well.  I always keep an eye out for discounted items.  If I can't use them right away they go into the freezer.


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## maxwasatch

Costco and Sam's seem to trade off on best prices for pork butt. Around here anyway. Redneck cousin who knows ranchers helps with beef.


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## wes w

A lot of great advice here.  

I started with pork butts.  Even if you burn them up, still a lot of good meat in them.   Don't forget the baked potato's!   4-5 hours at 225 they are so mellow.  Better then any tator you've ever had.  I usually put them down on the bottom for about 30 min. before done to give them that nice burn through the foil.  Totally awesome!

Like everyone has said.  Watch the sales.  Wings, chicken.  I'm not a fan of white meat, but a smoked turkey breast will rock your world.  So moist and tender.  

Advice on pork butts.  when it hits the stall at around 160, wrap it in foil  until you get up to around 190 and finish it open.   It will save you several hours of time and in my opinion makes it way better.

Good luck!  SMF is full of awesome people ready to help with any question you can think of


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## rkobane

I can't thank all of you enough. This has been fantastic. I recently got an electric 40in Masterbuilt for christmas from my amazing girlfriend. So I'm spoiled by all kinds of meat probes and internal temp controls. I live in an apartment in brooklyn ny so something huge with actual fire/coals/burning of any kind was out of the realm of possibility. But seriously, thank all of you so much. I can't wait to test all of these meats. I can feel my waistline growing as I type this.


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## pearlheartgtr

I have an MES 30 and my first time was chicken. It came out great -- the best chicken I ever had except the MES temp doesn't go high enough to crisp up the skin. Mine had a pretty crispy skin when I first pulled it out but it turned to rubber when I put it under a foil tent to rest. So be prepared to finish it in the oven or on a grill for a few minutes to get it crispy.
 

Best of luck and congrats on your xmas gift!


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## fencepost

mcockrell said:


> dollar for dollar you cant beat a sale on pork butt. chicken is great too because at around $5 a chicken it is pretty economical. and they are relatively quick to smoke. but there is also a lot of waste in a chicken with bones and carcass and such. for my money, pork butt would be the way i would go. even though it is more expensive than chicken, theres very little waste involved. and having 6-8 pounds of meat in your fridge is pretty nice too :)
> 
> when i do chickens i usually do like 2-4 at a time. i eat one and pull the others and freeze. i put them in chicken spaghetti, gumbo, jambalaya, soups, stews, chili. hell it probably even tastes good on cereal.


had to join after read your post there mc. there is almost no waste on a chicken providing you know what to do with it.....trick is save the bones, neck & giblets...boil em and make stock...its way better than a can. pre-smoked bones....delicious. i make my whole family save turkey carcass' and hambones...after i smoke a round of meat i go to the freezer and pull out a carcass or a bone or two and let it smoke an hour or so....and then into a stock pot

i save all my plastic coffee cans....and fillem up with chicken, pork and beef juice (goat and lamb if im lucky). I have the luxury tho of having an outdoor fridge and a coffin freezer. dont have to hear about it when i buy a half goat or find a deal on a whole pig or happen onto 5 beef tongues

anyway one chicken gives me meals for 4 people for 3 days or more. not bad for $6


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## indacup

I started with Boneless turkey breasts (to really learn brining techniques and tastes) and Pork loins, but as most have said, the lower grade meats tend to be tasty and if you scre up, not much expense lost.

Good luck!


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## fagesbp

Hotdogs and bologna :sausage: Seriously tho. When I was seasoning my smoker I threw a few slices of cheap bologna and a pack of hotdogs and my kids had smoked lunch for a while lol


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## venture

As always, Pops has nailed it.

The beauty of smoking/BBQ is taking what some think of as inferior cuts of meat and turning them into something wonderful.

What many think of as primo cuts of meat?  Would they really benefit from low and slow?

Good luck and good smoking.


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## dsteven9

Pork steaks are inexpensive. Try them with McCormicks Grill Mates Applewood Rub.


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## garand555

Yeah, pretty much everything posted ITT will work for you.  IMO, if you're just starting, some burgers for your shorter smokes, chicken  for smokes that will last a little longer, and look for some pork butts for long smokes.  It's not that hamburger is that cheap anymore, but you don't have to cook a large amount at once.  Chicken and butts are cheap.  All are very forgiving.  Brisket can be a bit tougher to get just how you want it than a butt, so keep that in mind, but my experience is that even when you don't get it just right, you still get it pretty darned good.  

Now get out there and smoke!


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## themule69

Humdinger said:


> Try watching for sales on chicken pieces like quarters, thighs, legs, bone-in skin-on breasts, etc. You can bag them and freeze them in small batches for easier portioning.
> 
> Normally I'd also mention wings but in the last 5 years their popularity has grown 100 fold, and they are fairly pricey now. Kind of ironic for a meat that used to be thrown/given away by butchers.


trash to treasure...wings were trash......now they are wow.......who would have thought........add a wing sauce.........now that said.........add your own flavor to what you want to cook..............it will work out great.. or remember the













ourk rind 8 helper.JPG



__ themule69
__ Dec 9, 2012


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## mrkrunk

LoL, "New York City!"  Seriously, yer neighbors are gonna LOVE it when you start smoking!

A couple of things: FIRST, as you are an apartment dweller - invest in a nice (smaller, if possible) metal trashcan for all of the burnt wood coals. Ya gotta be safe. I use the metal tins that popcorn comes in. Take the popcorn out and bag it if you need the tin right away. Big ol' coffee cans would be ok, but they don't have metal lids, and you need to be able to tap-down a metal lid once you dump a load of coals into it. Dump out the tin after the coals are completely cool.

My smoker is a Smoke Hollow vertical, gas, water smoker. Not the "true" wood fired smoker that some of these other gents use, but I'll prolly upgrade eventually. The gas smokers are a LOT easier for beginners and for people with time/space constraints. I'll always have a vert water smoker, just for quick stuff, even after moving up to the bigs. I've done EVERYTHING with my smoker, so don't think you can't turn out some great que just because it plugs into an LP tank.

Hot smoke: throw a pound of bacon in there, smoke till it looks done usually like an hour at 225. Better make it 2 or 3 lbs, cause 1 lb lasts 20 seconds in my house.

Fatties - 1lb ground sausage roll-packs. Recipes are all over the place to stuff them with cheese or green stuff, but nothing's easier or quicker than chucking a few in the smoker. 3 hrs to 170 degrees at 225. Serve on biscuits, Hawaiian Bread rolls or even Ritz crackers. Top with a slice of smoked cheese. Yum.

SPAM. Yep. Everybody in my family loves it, except my wife, lol. Smoked span is a delicacy! Slice for sammiches or cubed for MacnCheese, whatever.

If I'm gonna make a big pot of chili, I smoke the beef or sausage in the smoker for an hour or so, then finish browning inside in the chili pot. Incredible! You could do the whole batch in the smoker, but just doing the meat will make your chili better than anything else in NYC

All of the other ideas posted are great too.

Cold Smoke:  My dad bought me a Luhr Jensen "Big Chief" 10 years ago, and it changed my life. And the lives of people that i like!

The Big Chief cooks a little hotter than true, "smoke only" cold smoking, so to do cheese, I make up a big cardboard box to go over the BC cabinet. The box has holes punched in it to insert cross-rods to hold the smoker racks. Put a couple of baking sheets on top top hold in the smoke. I usually run 4 to 6 pans of wood dust for cheese.

I've also done Payday candy bars in the box. Different, but really good! usually only 1 pan for the candy.

In the BC cabinet, I do things like bacon, SPAM, ground beef, roasts, fish, hot dogs, echrich smoked sausage, whatever you want to give that nice smokey flavor to before you cook inside.

NUTS - yeah we love us some smoked nuts here in indy, usually only takes 1 or 2 pans for stuff that goes inside the cabinet.

Jerkey is really good to make inside a Big Chief. Gazillions of good jerkey recipes out there.

That's it, have fun. Yer gonna be real popular!

KrunK


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