very newbie?

cinchup · December 27, 2005, 03:48:44 AM

I just got my new BS for Christmas, and not only new to the BS but this is a whole new venture for me as far as smoking. My wife and I, which got me the BS for Christmas, love smoked meats, actually it is probably my favorite. But anyways I have now seasoned it and ready to get started and have been looking on here for most of the day and kind of searched for a few things, but what I didnt find and I am confused about is the brining and curing, as far as can I just not stick some meat in there and eat it when its done if its not going to sit around after cooking[?]I hope this is not a stupid ? I an just overwelhemed with the info on here, thanks

cinchup · December 27, 2005, 03:58:59 AM

To be quite honest, I am now after reading this forum all day more confused than I was before I wanted and/or got the BS. Sounds a lot harder than I thought.

SMOKEHOUSE ROB · December 27, 2005, 04:06:19 AM

first let me say welcome to the forum. dont be confused or think that your asking a dumb ? brining and curing will be level 3 for you lets work on level 1 , think of your smoker as a low (temp) and slow bbq, tell us what is the first thing you want to cook and we will walk you threw it step by step. and then we will work on the next thing you want to smoke ok.

cinchup · December 27, 2005, 04:16:10 AM

Well I dont have a perfance what ever is easist. But I do have some wild turkey breast sliced thin 1/4" in the refer, that could be cooked now but so I here that is very hard so I am open to easy first time smoking sug. And thanks for the welcome it seems everybody is so nice and helpful on here and that is great.

SMOKEHOUSE ROB · December 27, 2005, 04:40:15 AM

ok the turkey breast that is sliced at 1/4 inch you could turn that into turkey jerky, get you some chicken breast throw on some salt and peper or if you have a favorit rub then wrap each one with bacon. turn on smoker and smoke gen.add water to bowl , slide the temp about 3/4 to the right . open the vent 1/4 open, wait about 1/2 an hour put chicken on the second shelf from botom, smoke for 2 hours that is 6 pucks but add 2 more , the last 2 wont burn , load up 8 pucks then hit the adavance button wait for one to drop then do that 2 more times, come back in about 3 hours and check the breast int temp of 150 wrap in foil for about 30 min and you are ready to eat your first meal.

IKnowWood · December 27, 2005, 02:35:54 PM

Loyde

Rob suggested an easy first start. Some items to consider simply next is to get a probe internal tempurature tester, remote or not. The remote is easier to deal with.

Reduce the fear, each use will make things much easier and the exitment goes up. Let us know how it goes.

The Medina's in Maryland's Eastern Shore

Ash · December 28, 2005, 03:01:25 AM

I too received a BS as a Xmas gift from my wife.

I succeded in smoking my first 2 chickens today. These were
the best smoked chicken I've had yet. No bitter taste as
was usual with the old smoker.

Does anyone have any tips on how to reduce clean up time?
Especially with the vented drip pan. I've had to soak that
puppy for about 2 hours.

Luv that BS.[8D]

SMOKEHOUSE ROB · December 28, 2005, 03:20:13 AM

Ash welcome to the forum [:D] , the v-drip pan it can be a pain in the but, i will spray with pam just the top of it dont worry about the bottom. once i pull the meat i will hose off the v-drip pan with a hose , that helps , another option is oven off cleaner works well, DONT use it on the flat drip pan.

JJC · December 28, 2005, 04:52:37 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by cinchup
 Well I dont have a perfance what ever is easist. But I do have some wild turkey breast sliced thin 1/4" in the refer, that could be cooked now but so I here that is very hard so I am open to easy first time smoking sug. And thanks for the welcome it seems everybody is so nice and helpful on here and that is great.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Welcome, Loyde! You'll be a pro in no time as long as you don't mind trusting your BS and asking us a lot of questions ahead of time.

Besides chicken breasts and whole chickens, smoking a Boston butt to make pulled pork is also really easy and tastes great. When you're ready, give a shout and one of us can walk you through it.

John
Newton MA

JJC · December 28, 2005, 05:07:51 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ash
 I too received a BS as a Xmas gift from my wife.

I succeded in smoking my first 2 chickens today. These were
the best smoked chicken I've had yet. No bitter taste as
was usual with the old smoker.

Does anyone have any tips on how to reduce clean up time?
Especially with the vented drip pan. I've had to soak that
puppy for about 2 hours.

Luv that BS.[8D]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Welcome, Ash . . . usually you get great advice from the folks on the Forum, but in your case I'm not sure what these other wise guys are talking about . . . why use liquid of any kind on the drip tray? [:D][:D][:D]

Seriously, I spray with Pam and just do a quick soak/rinse/scrape afterwards. As long as the slots are open to let smoke through I don't really care if it's not shiny or clean--it adds character to the next smoke . . .

John
Newton MA

Ash · December 28, 2005, 01:13:37 PM

Thanks for the advice. Oh so helpful. I'll try these today
while I'm smoking the Salmon the I've had dry curing for the
last day.

I think I'll try the boston butt & ribs for New Years.

Keep on smoking!

IKnowWood · December 28, 2005, 02:07:04 PM

Ash

I have it down on the v-tray now. High-Temp Pam all over, top, bottom, sides. I do the bottom as the crustees go thru the slots and can fill them, as well as the center drip hole.

When I am done, I put it in the sink and rub it with a scrubbing pad - Brillo only if I think it needs it. Only spend a few minutes to focus on the black areas ONLY. The high-temp Pam allows those to mostly just wipe off. Then I Pop-it in the dishwasher with all the other items. The v-pan is the ONLY item I scrubb. After the wash cycle, I look at the v-pan. If it has some crustees still, like the sides. I just use a paper towel or the scrubb pad and wipe it off. Its as good as new.

The only other area that really needs attention are:

Bisquette slide and heat element. You need to scrubb the black crust off to prevent any hesitation in the advance slide operation. I use a light sanding pad when needed.

Then its the periodic magnetic seal wipe and under the vent cleaning.

On the Pulled Pork and ribs. carefull doing them at the same time. You want to limit opening the cabinet when doing pulled pork. Just because heat up after opening takes a real long time.

The Medina's in Maryland's Eastern Shore

Ash · December 28, 2005, 02:53:49 PM

Thanks for the help, it's good to keep the maintenance up at the beginning to minimize problems later.

I'll Probably do the ribs the day before, cuz I'll finish them up over a charcoal roast with sauce. I'm looking forward to the pulled pork. It sounds like the perfect weapon against my neighbors Argentine Asado I'm subjected to at every holiday BBQ.

Cheers

Oldman · December 28, 2005, 09:24:03 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Bisquette slide and heat element. You need to scrubb the black crust off to prevent any hesitation in the advance slide operation<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Before I got the Bubba pucks I used a fiber wheel on a drill. Since then I use 3 Bubba pucks and the plate will burn it self rather cleanly.

Olds

JJC · December 28, 2005, 09:38:14 PM

Ash--while BB is really easy, ribs take some experience to get "just right", though they should be at least very good even the first time you try. Do a search for ribs so you can see what other folks have done--you'll save yourself time and trouble!

John
Newton MA