Jenks

They are selling the analog Sportsman Elete 30" smokers at a discount, I suppose they are only going to sell the digital model now. I bought one, it had no instruction book but it was already put together. I am now going to "season" it and give meat smoking a try, ribs and a pork butt cut into steaks will be my first attempt. All advise and recipes are welcome.

This may not exactly fit this forum, but it is as close as any I saw.

Hatfield Hunter

keep water in tray--slow smoke is always better -- fresh wood chips work best-- a good electronic meat thermometer is priceless---smoked pork of any kind is absolutely great ! My wifes favorite is smoked pork roast she actually asked for it quite often-- put it in smoker set temp go mow lawn, check temp one in a while ask for a book of directions it is a big help gives minimul temps for meat safety and doneness ! Go on web search for recipes I did found a lot H H

Jenks

Thanks, HH. I am good on the water in the pan, actually, I was thinking of putting apple juice instead of water. There is a handle saw mill in the area, I can get culled hickory blanks and cut-offs for free so I am in good shape there. I will have to chop them up a little to make small pieces. I have some dry rub to use on the meat.

I will keep an eye out for a decent thermometer. I priced some yesterday. One with a cord was as expensive as the one that is cordless. I will look around some more, the cordless seems to be the best way to go. Thanks again.

Oldtimr

They all have a cord from the probe to the unit, the difference between corded and cordless is that there are two parts to a cordless, the transmitter that is plugged into the probe and the receiver which you can carry with you. I have both kinds , sometimes it can be a pain to get the transmitter to talk to the receiver.

Jenks

Thanks Oldtimer. I will keep a decent thermometer in mind. I am not going to be smoking large chunks of meat for awhile so I should not need one yet. I "seasoned" it this afternoon, ran it up to 325 or so for awhile after wiping it down with canola oil, had some wood chips in it too, they smoked for over an hour. It seems ready to go so I will smoke some ribs and pork steaks tomorrow if it is not threatening rain.

Oldtimr

325 is way too high to smoke! You really need a digital internal temperature thermometer to smoke cook meat, otherwise you have no idea what the internal temp is and you will over cook it or under cook it. I use an internal temp probe thermometer and a probe thermometer that clips onto the rack inside the smoker so I know the exact temp inside where my meat is cooking. I hope you have some recipes that tell you internal temp to cook at and when to remove and rest the meat. Depending on what I am smoking, when it reaches a certain internal temp I remove it and wrap it in foil and then put it back in the smoker till it reaches a higher internal temp, then I wrap the meat in a heavy bath towel and put inside an ice chest and let it cook from carry over heat for at least an hour. On a pork butt it comes out so done the shoulder bone pops right out when you put down pressure in the meat. You also do not smoke for the entire cooking process. Low and slow is the key to good smoke cooking. It takes no less than 12 hours to smoke cook a pork butt or a beef brisket, it is all about time and temp.

Jenks

Thanks for the info, Oldtimr. I just ran the temp up on a dry run. I read that the smoker needed to be "seasoned" to get rid of oils, etc. on the inside. I wiped it down then put a thin layer of canola oil on the inside along with some mesquite chips and ran it for a couple of hours. I turned the thermostat up just over half way to see what that would do and it went to 325. I just started some ribs and a pork butt sliced into steaks now, I will smoke them at 225 for a couple of hours with wet mesquite and a little hickory, take them out, spray on a little apple juice, wrap them in aluminum foil and give them another two hours without smoke. After that I will remove the foil and cook until done. I put on a little yellow mustard and Cajun dry rub. I probably have 10 or 12 pounds of meat in there. I just checked the temp, it is up to 175, not smoking yet. I have apple juice in the water container.

I bought a book on smoking and will keep checking online for info. A couple of months ago I ate a pork steak another guy smoked, the best I have ever tasted. I have been looking around for a decent smoker since. My old Brinkman charcoal smoker got too hot and cooked too soon without much smoke. I will use it for a grill if this one does better.

Oldtimr

Let us know how it turns out.

Jenks

I left the meat in the smoker for 3 hours, still smoking. I checked it, it was done and juicy so I skipped the aluminum foil and apple juice bit. It tastes great, I am going to do another batch before I clean the equipment!!

Hatfield Hunter

nicely smoked tender juicy pork is GGGRREEAATT 3 hours for pork steak should be about right. isn,t it fun getting started ? try jerky next, a whole cjhicken is great also