Oysters; Shucked; Pan?

[Gun Smoke]

Brand new!  How do you folks smoke shucked oysters?  I have the recipe etc figured out but in the Smoker do you use some form of pan to hold them?  I picture a "slow slime" off the grate!!

[Edward176]

Hello Gun Smoke and welcome to the Forum. I've never smoked oysters, but hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in with advise. Once again welcome and enjoy your smoker.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Gun Smoke;

Welcome to the forum.

I've never smoked oysters, but have smoked other things that require a pan. When using a pan, make sure that it is small enough so that it doesn't cover the whole rack, and it has short sides. The pans I use are 10.81-inches x 8.44-inches (measured at the bottom), and about 2-inches high. I get them from BJs, but I'm sure you can find similar size pans at Wal-Mart, or you local grocery store.

[Edward176]

Welcome to the forum Camienard

[manxman]

Only ever hot smoked shucked oysters once but I have hot smoked shucked scallops a few times and use a BBQ vegetable grill pan to put them in. e.g:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Navaris-Grill-grill-stainless-steel/dp/B0792ZXQFW?ref_=ast_sto_dp

To my mind they end up rather soggy / slimy otherwise so want the juices to drain as quickly as possible.

I then put a disposable foil tray directly underneath on the next tray down to catch the juices as in my opinion it makes an unholy mess with a lingering smell if you just rely on the normal drip tray.

However it is also very easy to overcook scallops and oysters and because I have access to plenty of cheap fresh scallops I tend to cold smoke in bulk nowadays then vacuum seal and freeze for use as required so it is a while since I have hot smoked shucked anything! 

[BpiccuK2]

Thank you for sharing your cooking experience. It seems to me that it will be difficult for a newcomer to figure out exactly which moment for wrapping the chicken in foil will be correct, but I will still look on the Internet for information before starting work.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi BpiccuK2;

Welcome to the forum.

The time to wrap will depend on the cooking method you are trying to achieve. Such as if you are making competition chicken, most cook the chicken in some type of pan - uncovered, and will cover it after smoke has been applied. Then top the chicken with butter and maybe add some liquid. Some will add the butter and liquid at the time the smoke is being applied. Different cooks use different times on when to wrap. Below is a link to one method, but due a search on competition chicken to check out the various way it can be done. Though it may be difficult to achieve the same results in the Bradley.

Competition Chicken Thighs

You can also use this method without foiling, and can also use the Texas Size Muffin pans, or mini loaf pans to cook your thighs. Also check out "butter bath chicken thighs" . A lot of those recipes will call for covering the chicken at some point.

If you are smoking skinless chicken breast or maybe skinless thighs, wrap them at any point after you have applied the smoke. Adding a small amount of liquid will help braise the chicken.