I just moved and since I can use fire on my patio I immediately went out and acquired a smoker, so I could slow cook tasty meats.I didn't buy anything fancy just a $30 one from KMart. I was shocked to find one for such a good price. The ones I had researched online ran well over $100. I'll post a picture of it as soon as I find the cable to my camera.So far I've only tested lighting the fire and getting the flames to the right temperature. It's really hard, because you have to soak the wood chips in water for at least an hour. As you add fuel to the fire you want to be careful not to douse the heat by adding too much at once.Make sure the coals can breath, if all the wet wood is directly on top of the coals it will smother the flames dramatically dropping the temperature inside the smoker, adding to the cook time of the meat.For me the challenge is definitely maintaining the fire. I 'm confident if I can keep the temperature up in the smoker I can cook the meat.Tomorrow is the big day. I plan to make 2 chickens for my D&D guests. My goal is to start cooking around noon, and for them to be ready at about 4pm. I''ll let you know how it goes, and hopefully have a few pics to post as well.
Is Baconface drooling already?!?!?
The downstairs neighbor at my last apartment had a serious smoker, and he was a professional chef. He would smoke meat all weekend, and the smell was so tempting.
Before we moved, I spoke with him about the smoker, and he expressed how challenging it was. Not only to get it right, but as you expressed, the time required to give it a try.
Good luck with the brisket! May it fall to pieces for you!
Baconface is always drooling.
The upstairs neighbors were a huge source of anxiety for me during this experiment. I wasn't sure if the excessive amount of smoke would disturb them. so I called it early and slow cooked it the rest of the way in the oven....
I know I'm a weenie. Did it bother you when the neighbor cooked? Sounds like it was more tantalizing than anything else.