Bought a Smoker!!

macojoe · #1 08-01-2012, 01:42 AM

Now i just need to learn how to use it!!

It is a brinkman gas smoker cabinet,

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ec...1#.UBjNmGGe5e8

I bought some St. Louis cut ribs. Now i leave it up to you guys to tell me how? I have never smoke anything but want to learn!! CB and i have been talking about it for a while and he had some smoked Blue fish he liked,
I am having a family clam boil next week and we talked about smoking something then? but i have them ribs to start, i am going to season the smoker as directed in the instructions tomorrow, then be ready!!

So what kind of wood?
kind or what to use for rub?
sauce what kind? here we have one called sweet baby rasys that i like, but never used like this.
3-2-1, is that what i want to use?
what temp?
when do you put the sauce, before during after?

sorry for all the ?? bt want to do it as best i can for the first time!

Thanks!

joe7670 · #2 08-01-2012, 06:55 AM

I do about 220 for 6 hours with the 3-2-1 method. Typically Oak cause it's what we can get down here.
Sweet Baby Rays is great, I add some extra brown sugar to it.

I make a KC style rub. 3 hours smoke, 2 hours in foil and then 1 hour with the Sweet Baby Rays(with extra sugar).

There are a ton of options to include getting into making your own sauce, making a brisket...

We tried chicken with complete seasoning using apple wood and that was really good!

There's a great resource at: http://www.thesmokering.com/
Caution, some of them take it way too serious!

Enjoy!

Blue_Runner · #3 08-01-2012, 08:44 AM

Joe is right on. I usually make a Lexington style bbq sauce but if I don't have time or going camping or something I will use sweet baby rays. In my opinion it is too thick so I add water to make it the consistency I like. Also I buy my rub. The stuff I use is called Szeged. It has a picture of a pig on it so you know it has to be good! LOL

Oak or hickory 200 - 220 degrees 4 - 6 hours.
There's a thin membrane on the bone side - I like to remove it (look on youtube, it is easy to remove) but some leave it on.
I apply a little rub then rub on some yellow mustard and olive oil, then more rub - being generous with it. This concoction helps it stick and adds a good flavor to the "bark" which is what they call the crusty exterior.
Place it on the smoker bone side down for 3 hours.
Wrap it up in foil and put it back on for 2 hours, maybe flipping once?
Unwrap, put back on smoker, apply bbq sauce. At this point its gonna be real tender from the foil, so be careful that it doesn't all fall apart. The last hour is going to firm it back up and carmelize the bbq sauce. There's a million ways...that is my way. You're gonna love the smoker!

macojoe · #4 08-01-2012, 10:39 AM

Great Guys!! The rub were do you get it?? I have not looked but here in the NE we don't do much of this stuff so not sure were i am going to find it.

What do you guys think about a gas smoker anyway??

I have some apple wood here, how much do you put in, do you fill the pan inside right up or just a few pieces??

Thanks!!!

joe7670 · #5 08-01-2012, 11:17 AM

We make our own KC rub. A good starter recipe would be here:
http://bbq.about.com/od/rubrecipes/r/bl91211a.htm

I tend to use a little less cayenne than they call for and a little more sugar to make it tollerable for the kiddies.

Not sure on the gas smoker as I've used electric and wood. I would think the gas is a bit like the electric in that it's easier to maintain a consistent temp which is key. You don't want the temp spiking.

I think I remember reading that apple wood is a bit too light on flavor for ribs, but haven't tried it. Worked great on chicken. Gave a bit of a sweet smoke.

I'm sure some others will chime in soon.

THEFERMANATOR · #6 08-01-2012, 11:35 AM

I don't use a rub on mine as I don't like teh crust, I just use a heavy smokeing during the first hour or so of cooking with alot of sauce. I use teh SONNYS sweet sauce which down here is available everywhere in 3 quart jugs for cheap. For wood I use laurel oak(our common tree down here), and hickory which I buy in bags at WAL-MART in the outdoor section. I like to put hickory chips in the water pot with water covering them, and a nice layer of hickory chunks over my fire box(I use a charcoal smoker). Just be careful sacing at the end as the wet sauce can soak up the smoke really bad and make the ribs very acidic. I normally start off around 250 for 2 hours, and then drop my temp off as they continue to cook longer. The last hour or so I will be down to about 175 or so.

Blue_Runner · #7 08-01-2012, 12:22 PM

I buy the rub in Food Lion. McCormicks has a pretty good rib rub also. I can't comment on electric or gas where you use wood chips. All of the smoking we do is with wood coals we make by burning in a barrel w/ a grate in the bottom. As the wood burns, hot coals fall through the grate where we shovel them out into the bottom of the smoker. Oh and by the way....chicken wings smoked at 200 - 220 for 3 - 3.5 hours are FREAKIN REALLY REALLY GOOD!

joe7670 · #8 08-01-2012, 12:38 PM

Blue's setup and posts is what got me into smokin' a few years back.

Pipe_Dream · #9 08-02-2012, 07:21 AM

I'm getting hungry!

Have been thinking about getting a smoker for a while. I want to do boston butts for pulled pork bbq.

macojoe · #10 08-03-2012, 02:33 AM

I have some pic's I will up load later today! I seasoned the smoker today with Apple wood as stated in the directions ( it did not say Apple) but thats what I had.
Got a ton of smoke from it, and things looked good. But as stated here I think I will need some door gaskets as there was tons of smoke coming from around the doors. or is this ok??
As stated also was the stock thermometer reading wrong, it read 35* to 40* cooler then the oven type I put in the smoker.

So this leads to were can I get new parts for the smoker?

I am going to try doing ribs this weekend for my first smoke!!