charcoal smokers
 

i just recently got one it is new and has the papers i just dont really understand it, do i mix charcoal with the wood chips that doesnt really sound like it would burn long enough to smoke anything, if anyone had any experience with one please post a little cause i m getting ready to make some jerky

RE: charcoal smokers
 

You need to soak the wood chips in water for at least 30 minutes. Get the charcoal going good, and when they turn gray, put some of the wet woodchips on it. I usually put the wood chips in some aluminum foil, and then put that on the heat. You will have to keep adding as you go, the chips will dry out and burn. Good luck.

RE: charcoal smokers
 

the one I had ; had a pan that rest on a rack just above the coals,you put the chips in the pan,then they smoke.

I now have an electric one ; much better.

RE: charcoal smokers
 

yea i was planning on buying a electric but i got this as a gift from someone and it is brand new and looks expensive so i cant really complain it was a guy my dad was friends with when he was a kid and he said he would give it to me as long as i kept my ass out of trouble

RE: charcoal smokers
 

I have a smoker that runs on charcoal or propane , with charcoal you'll get about a 3 hour burn time . You can double that by having another pan of charcoal prepped and ready when the first coals begin to die back , but it's a bit of a hassle and 3 hours is usually more than sufficient for smoking . I most frequently use smoker pellets that I get from Wal-Mart . One half cup of them wrapped in foil lasts about 1 hour . Wood chips have to be soaked for 30 minutes , then wrapped in foil or put into a smoker box , smoke time will depend on how much chips you put in it . Make sure that the foil or box doesn't allow much air to get to the chips or pellets since this can shorten their lifespan . I make foil "smoker chubs" of pellets or presoaked chips with just a single toothpick hole or two for the smoke to escape , this allows them to slowly smolder . Sometimes I preload used pot pie tins with foil covers for later use , they're very convenient .

RE: charcoal smokers
 

For jerky you don't need to much smoke.I use pieces 3inches long by 3/4inch cubed.Soak them like earlier mentioned for 20-30minutes and add up to 3-6pieces staggered through the process.This is if you have a charcoal smoker with a water pan.Just put wood after soaked in water directly on coals,you'll see it start smoking,then add another after a half hour or so and so on.

RE: charcoal smokers
 

electric and propane are great but i have a chicken on my old charcoal smoker as i type. it doubles as a bbq

RE: charcoal smokers
 

yea mine is a bbq to, how long does it take to smoke strips of jerky cause that is what im mostle goin to be using it for i cant wait i hope i get a buck with my bow so i can start it soon, and about the amount of chips i dont really understand, so it only takes like 3-6 peices of 3x3/4 cause i always thought that it took quite a bit more chips

RE: charcoal smokers
 

no takes very little chips trust me. haven't done jerky yet its one of the very few things i have the meat locker do along with brats, sausage, and a little burger. but i have done beef brisket, chicken, turkey, deer steaks, and pork loin. just check it every now and then but not too often it doesn't cook near as fast as bbq. also for anything like i just mentioned get a meatthermometer

RE: charcoal smokers
 

Excellent thread as I just bought a new Smoker/ BBQ. $60 (Can.) or just under $50 (US). Some assembly required.
Heres a pic. if it works.

RE: charcoal smokers
 

we usually start with charcoal, and add pieces of wood(hickory, apple,etc. about the size of a fist) and just keep a balance between airflow, fire, and cooking temp around 250, cooking time depends on lbs. of meat, we just usually keep track of internal temp with a good thermometer. we've done anything from fish to chicken, deer loin, pork loin, shoulder, on and on. it can take so friggin' long to cook a whole pork loin we only do it on like july 4 or the occasional competition.

i would think that with jerky you could just 'eyeball' it.

RE: charcoal smokers
 

Brinkman charcoal smoker here. Have done a little jerkey, but mainly fish. As said above wait till coals are grey and add soaked chips. Alot of this is trial and error so the more you use it the better it gets. Out side weather temps play a roll to. But if you have a water smoker the chances of over cooking and drying your meat out is tuff. It can be done tho. good luck!!!

RE: charcoal smokers
 

You don't want to buy the chips. You want to buy lump big as your fist. Also came the conclusion I don't like hickory, too strong, but pecan and apple is good. I have a weber bullet and I can keep 230F for 13 hours using the minion method. Basically putting a chimney full of unlit charcoal in and putting 20 lit ones on top with the wood. Also wetting is a waste most of the time. With lump, don't worry you will have more than enough smoke.

I can smoke things with alot of fat like a brisket or a pork butt, but I have done two deer hinds that have been dry as all get out.

But I have tasted some real juicy hinds that are smoked at low temps. I was thinking maybe if I foil the hind about half way thru, it would stay juicy. My father in law does one thats great. He does it on a propane grill in a tinfoil pan. I thought his comes out good cause he has it sitting in tin foil pan.

Thinking of trying again in foil with apple wood and at 225F until internal temp is 142F.

RE: charcoal smokers
 

My father just cut down his apple tree. I ended up with about 10-15 gallons ofshavings from the chain saw, All cleaned, dried. And a bunch of logs and branches which I cut into chunks a little bigger than a golf ball. Did the same with his cherry tree. Like bigcountry said, less harsher than hickoy, which I also have, for Canadian Bacon.:)

Ps. the shavings are for my electric smoker and the chunks for the Weber charcoal one.

RE: charcoal smokers
 

when you do jerky is it possible to smoke a big chunk of meat or do u have to cut it into strips before u smoke it, my friend has a huge smoker and they smoke decent sized chunks and then slice it after that, how do u keep it the right temp, wouldnt it just get hotter and hotter or when u have chips and stuff does it burn at a lower temp

RE: charcoal smokers
 

Mine has anair vent to regulate it, and a built in thermometer. Soak your wood chunks, Slice you meat thin, let the coals burn down to the right temp. Put on meat and add 2 or 3 chunks of wood. You only have to have smoke the first 15-30 min. Add charcoal as needed to keep temp up to par. A hand full at a time. You don't want it to hot or you'll cook the meat. You just want to dry it. 115-120 degrees.