How to use a smoker?!

bunnywestley81
bunnywestley81 Posts: 178 Member
edited November 18 in Recipes
My DH bought a smoker and we had a go at the weekend. The instructions were merely for putting it together and nothing about how to actually use it.

I guess we did it wrong!

It never actually got any heat.

The options seem to be cook about 1cm from the charcoal or a foot above. I don't think we had the right charcoal either as I think the little bricks would have been better.

After about 4-5 hours we had reasonably smoked haloumi, still raw salmon, raw and burnt potato slices, reasonable haddock and cooked chicken with a leather like outside.

HELP!!! HOW DO YOU USE THIS THING?!?

Replies

  • MrsMeans2015
    MrsMeans2015 Posts: 4 Member
    What type of smoker is it? They all function differently.
  • Follow_me
    Follow_me Posts: 6,120 Member
    Go to the companies web site. I'm sure they'll have instructions and more than likely some recipes. If not, Google smoker recipes. There are a million of them out there!
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
    Try YouTube too. There are a lot of really dedicated chefs out there sharing smoking and grilling videos. Try doing a search on YouTube for the smoker you bought.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I was a little confused by the title. Then...duh.

    Since your smoker is outside anyways, get him to rake the lawn when he's finished his smoke.
  • bunnywestley81
    bunnywestley81 Posts: 178 Member
    I'll have to find out the breed as have no idea...suspect it is just some cheapy thing he discovered on amazon/ebay but I would like to give it a fair go!

    Its like a two part tower, 2 trays for charcoal (one in the top and one in the bottom) with the wire wotsits to cook on about 1cm from the coals. This is according to the instructions. Just on the off chance anyone might recognise the sound of it..
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
    I think they call that type a vertical smoker. I found this bbq.about.com/od/barbecuehelp/f/f060604a.htm. That is the type my Dad used when I was growing up. He always used charcoal briquettes. I also remember he had to add more and certain times to maintain desired temperature. He kept it on all day.
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
    you can use some briquettes(for heat) but for flavor you are better off using wood chips or chunks
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
    They also call them bullet smokers. Here is a guide from Steve Raichlen. he is great I have some of his grilling books. barbecuebible.com/2014/09/09/guide-charcoal-water-smokers/
  • jdelot
    jdelot Posts: 397 Member
    Checkout this website. He has a lot of recipes and methods for smoking various types of meat.
    http://www.smoking-meat.com/
  • noclady1995
    noclady1995 Posts: 452 Member
    We had one of those types of smokers we got from my neighbor for free because he got a better one. The main thing my husband had a really hard time doing was keeping the temperature constant. You pretty much have to constantly watch it. He never really quite got the hang of it, so for his birthday one year I got him an electric smoker and it works amazing. The meats always come out with amazing flavor and tenderness. And he doesn't have to watch it as often.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    jdelot wrote: »
    Checkout this website. He has a lot of recipes and methods for smoking various types of meat.
    http://www.smoking-meat.com/

    This! Smoking is an art - like good BBQ. Once you learn how to read the coals/charred wood you'll be able to pull off some amazing food. I built a small smoke house for my dad and we run everything through it.
  • bunnywestley81
    bunnywestley81 Posts: 178 Member
    noclady1995 wrote: »
    We had one of those types of smokers we got from my neighbor for free because he got a better one. The main thing my husband had a really hard time doing was keeping the temperature constant. You pretty much have to constantly watch it. He never really quite got the hang of it, so for his birthday one year I got him an electric smoker and it works amazing. The meats always come out with amazing flavor and tenderness. And he doesn't have to watch it as often.

    THIS!!! we were just using the thermometer on the lid but it never got hot! Pleasantly warm is about as good as i can guess for it! Don't think the hubby constantly opening bits helped any either!! :-/ patience is a virture...which he doesn't posess!!

    I will check out the links tomorrow (near 10.30pm and I'm knackered) thank you all so much for your advice!
    I do enjoy a good bbq but it took time and trial and error (fortunately no errors that got anyone poorly) to get it all right (and he still cremated my wild boar sausages last time!!) and think the smoker could be a valuable addition to our summer gatherings! B-)
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