I'm about to get a Little Chief Smoker.  Thinking about smoking pheasant, probably fish later.  Anyone got any good recipes for smoking stuff?  (only legal stuff)

prouboy

No responses to my new topic on smoker recipes!!  I can see I'll have to "spice up" my call for smoker recipes.  So let me revise my request:

Left-leaning, socialist/communist recipes are accepted, only if they include healthy amounts of "I deserve this,"  and "99%" ingredients.   

Right-leaning, capitalist/facist recipes are also accepted, but only if their ingredients include envy, prayer, class warfare, and "let's get back to the good old 50's."

All recipes that are spiteful, rude, belligerent, poorly thought out, borderline racist, or just plain dumb are welcome.

No middle-of-the-road (road kill) recipes please.  I already have enough of that reasonable, compromise crap. 

prouboy   

Sorry.  Wish I could help Mike but I'm a non-smoker.

Hmmm, guess it's a good thing that I gave up reading anything political on this site.  I like you all much better whan I don't know your politics.

Based on the mumber of comments on one thread in Back to Civ, I'd judge you already have some pretty good recipes for smoking a fellow canoeist.

I don't have a traditional smoker anymore like yours but I do have a Big Green Egg and let me tell ya, I am never going back.  The Egg is so much more versatile! It's a smoker, it's a grill, it's both at once if you want it to be.  They are pricey, but worth it IMHO.  Costco sells a knock-off that's quite a bit cheaper and just as good.

Anyhoo, back to your question.  Smoking many meats is mostly about maintaining proper temps, using the right rub and the right wood. 

Dizzy Pig makes some good rubs,   (You need to Login or Register and choosing the right one for you is mostly a matter of personal preference.  If you want to find something at the grocery store, McCormick has some decent rubs in their Grill Mates line.  Or you can make your own if you have a good recipe (or a desire to experiment) but I think it's best to try the commercial varieties best to learn how your preferences run.

Wood is also a matter of personal preference.  I like Mesquite or Hickory for beef, Pecan for poultry or seafood, and Apple or Cherry for pork.  The important thing is not to over-smoke thinner cuts of meat as well as any poultry or seafood.  They can get overwhelmed by the smoke if you use too much wood.  Your smoker will maintain the proper temp whether or not the wood has been consumed, so go a little light at first.

Lastly, and most importantly (at least for large cuts of meat), temperature.  Low and slow gives you the best results, hands down.  A pork butt is an all-day affair even if you go fast.  If you really want it to fall apart on it's own, you may even need to start the night before.

Best tip though, for pork butts, brisket, or the like is to pull them at least an hour before you plan to serve them and wrap them in foil, then in a couple of thick towels, and put them in an empty cooler.  This really evens out the flavor and improves the tenderness of the final product.

I have never had a smoker, probably never will, and don't even know why I read this thread.  But when I read this, Snow Dog, my mouth began to water.  Yum!   :)

I recently got a smoker and have mostly, just been experimenting.  My overall experience is the simple is better...but I'm not into spicy.

Here is a fun Smoked Almond Recipe:

2 Cups Raw Almonds
1/4 cup Butter
1 TBLS Seasoned Salt
2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Onion Powder

First combine the Seasoned Salt, Onion Powder and Sugar.  I like to put it in a grinder to make it as powdery as possible.

Melt Butter.  Add Almonds and stir.
Remove from heat.  Stir every minute for 10 minutes.

Place on smoker pan and coat with seasoning

Smoke at low heat for 45minutes - 1 hour or until they are as toasted as you like.

My family loves the almonds:

When I smoke venison I use a seasoning called Mill House Blend.  It is a locally produced mixture that I like.  I have tried other recipes and marinades, but I just like to create a dry rub and then stick in the smoker.  For jerky, i just cut into strips and smoke it longer.  For roasts, I add water to the water pan and smoke until it is ready.  So I really don't have a recipe. 

I do prefer hickory smoke though.

No recipe, but some experience to share. I have one of the big grills with a firebox on the side. Works good as a smoker. I use rubs and the occasional beer based marinade and have had good results.
Then I tried to smoke vegetables (zucchini steaks)  as I grill veggies all the time.  Wasted good veggies, the smoke flavor was so strong even I couldn't eat them. I smoked them when finishing some meat, but it was a mistake. If there is a next time, I'll stay with just the veggies and back off the amount of hickory used.
Dadman

Snow_Dog wrote on Feb 10^th, 2012 at 1:28pm:

Hmmm, guess it's a good thing that I gave up reading anything political on this site.  I like you all much better whan I don't know your politics.

Snow_Dog -- Thanks for the excellent info on smokers.  I may wait awhile before buying the Little Chief, and check out "the egg."  Your comment about politics is so well-stated it bears repeating, IMHO! (thus my quote of your comment)

But I guess "to each his own."  For me, I come here to get jazzed about canoeing again! 


prouboy

Paddle_Guy wrote on Feb 10^th, 2012 at 5:13pm:

I recently got a smoker and have mostly, just been experimenting.  My overall experience is the simple is better...but I'm not into spicy. Here is a fun Smoked Almond Recipe: 2 Cups Raw Almonds 1/4 cup Butter 1 TBLS Seasoned Salt 2 tsp Sugar 1/2 tsp Onion Powder First combine the Seasoned Salt, Onion Powder and Sugar.  I like to put it in a grinder to make it as powdery as possible. Melt Butter.  Add Almonds and stir. Remove from heat.  Stir every minute for 10 minutes. Place on smoker pan and coat with seasoning Smoke at low heat for 45minutes - 1 hour or until they are as toasted as you like. My family loves the almonds: When I smoke venison I use a seasoning called Mill House Blend.  It is a locally produced mixture that I like.  I have tried other recipes and marinades, but I just like to create a dry rub and then stick in the smoker.  For jerky, i just cut into strips and smoke it longer.  For roasts, I add water to the water pan and smoke until it is ready.  So I really don't have a recipe.  I do prefer hickory smoke though.

Paddle_Guy -- This sounds great!  I'm not into "spicy" either.  I'm saving your recipe for future reference.

Thanks.

prouboy

The type of meat I didn't see listed was fish.

Salmon steaks smoked with apple wood is fantastic.  I'm guessing a nice laker would also serve this purpose. (If you are going the grilling route, you might also try poaching salmon steaks in beer, something I do relatively often.)

dd

Yes, Salmon does pair well with Apple smoke.  Good call on that, DD.

Matter of fact, if I could only choose one wood to smoke with, it would be apple.  Goes pretty well with everything.

With all the fish fanatics, I'm suprised no one mentioned alder wood for smoking.  It has a much lighter flavor than hickory or mesquite and there's tons of if in north woods.  It's especially good with salmon and probably likewise lake trout.  When I cook steaks up in canoe country, I will seek this out to add to my cooking fire as it adds great flavor to beef as well.  If you get into smoking fish for jerky it is usually best to brine it first for a bit (time depending on thickness of cut) as the salt helps draw the moisture out.  I usually use a quarter cup salt per quart of water.  Lots of great recipes on line with a simple search.  I add lib a lot and prefer dry rubs of various kinds, but my go to is one part McCormick's fajita seasing and one part Zatarain's Creole seasoning.  Good eatin'!

pd

Thanks PD, good ideas.  I'm adding your note to my "smoker file!" 

prouboy

Just made beer can chicken on the grill for some friends.  I finished it by throwing wet apple wood chips on the charcoal.  Amazingly good! 

I'm not sure if it was the beer can cooking, the "organic, free-range, break-your-bank-account chicken, or the apple wood smoke.  No matter, the dinner was a success.  Wait, maybe it was the bottle of wine we drank...

prouboy

I have a Traeger wood pellet grill smoker and think it is great. Easier to use than a big green egg I think.

Smoked salmon is very good, especially with a brief brine.

A thermometer is helpful for monitoring temps.

Practice on ribs. They are forgiving and it is hard to smoke them too long but easy to go too short. The advice to wrap them up in foils and towels is good. I wrap them in foil, put them in a paper grocery bag, and the hold them in the oven at 160 degrees until ready to eat. If you use sauce, sauce them for 20-30 minutes on the smoker before wrapping.

Something I love, but I never see anyone else do, is smoking chuck eye steaks, ~1.5-2 inches thick, with a chile powder/salt/brown sugar based rub. It does not take long for the fat to render and then it is like a hige ribeye. Serve with some home made bbq sauce and it is great.

BTW, the Traeger is and excellent baked potato grill. Rub the taters with olive oil, kosher salt and pepper and put on high for 1 hour. Perfect.

The Traeger's are now made in China. My friend has one and although it works well, he has basically rebuilt it a couple of times under warranty because it keeps breakng down. Were I to buy another, I would get an American made Memphis grill or similar. They get a higher max temp. They can be used as smoker, oven, or grill which is very convenient. You can use a variety of wood from mesquite, to fruit woods, to hickory.

The Big Green Egg is awesome!  I saved up and bought mine for my first grill/smoker out of college, over 10 years ago before any of the cheaper knockoffs were available.  Very versatile, as I can keep it at 190 degrees for over 30 hours, or fire it up to temps beyond the thermometer, probably over 1000 because the gasket melted.  Now I've got a Nomex gasket that is rated over that.

Absolute best pulled pork I've ever made or eaten was following this recipe:    (You need to Login or Register

Apple, cherry and alder all are mild woods for smoking, but very good.  Pecan and hickory are a little heaviery, with mesquite being the heartiest smoke I use.

Have you smoked the pheasant yet?  I have had and used a number of smokers over the years.  Like many good things, the results can be delicious, but the process takes time.me.
Anyway, curious about the pheasant, as I have plenty and need some new recipes.
I have never smoke pheasant, as they are so lean and dry to start with.  Many of the meats that smoke well are fairly fatty.  Brining salmon overnight with a little brown sugar works very well. 

Just curious, hope the birds turn out well.

I haven't yet, but I'll let you know. 

I agree, pheasants it's a challenge to cook them in such a way that the meat is moist.  I have a few great recipes, but your heart can only take one meal a year!!  (LOTS of cream and butter!)

I gave a friend of mine who lives along the North Shore of Minnesota a bunch of pheasant legs to smoke.  He told me they were fantastic!  I'm meeting him in a few weeks, and I'm bringing more pheasants -- legs and more.  I'm hoping we get a chance to smoke 'em. If so, I'll report the quality and the process, based on first-hand experience.

Stay tuned.

prouboy

I have to agree with Snow_Dog ... The EGG is a great smoker/grill combo. I went to Indianapolis last August to visit family and my brother in law said that there was an EGG cooking event at a ACE hardware store called Sullivans Hardware on the northside near Keystone at the Crossing that weekend. There were about 30 EGGs set up and different EGG HEADS  cooked all kinds of food ( brisket, veggies, crabcakes, chicken, pork, etc.) The food was delicious and all chefs were willing to share cooking recipes. EGG manufacturer reps were there answering questions and had new EGGS for sale. Eggs that were used for cooking that weekend were priced ata nice discount. They had live music, beer and we had a great time sampling foods cooked on the EGG. Apparently it is a annual event and attended by several hundred Hoosiers. May want to check it out if you are in the area. I didn't buy one ... but my brother in law did and he is very happy with his EGG. In his opinion "pricey" but worth every penny.   (You need to Login or Register

Just did some salmon on my "Egg" tonight.  Might have been the best piece of fish I ever ate in my life!

Skin on, seasoned with Zatarains Blackened Fish spice, then marinated for 24 hours in a 50/50 blend of soy sauce and real maple syrup.  Fired up the Egg, threw on some soaked applewood chips, and let it smoke at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes until the salmon was a nice MED to MR. 

Sweet, spicy, smoky, and simply melts in your mouth!  No heavy fishy taste either. Heaven on a plate...

I am about to do salmon in my smoker here in Minnesota in February. I put a new cedar shingle roof on my house a few years ago and have many extra shingles. In about an hour I'm going out to the garage and fetch a shingle. I will then soak it in water for an hour. Then I will fire up the smoker with a good base of charcoal and 2 oak chunks on top. Then lay the salmon on the shingle and leave it in the smoker for 45 minutes or so. Then bring the whole works in and put it on the table on a trivet. The skin tends to stick to the shingle so diners can serve themselves an amount they choose directly. It is really fun to do this for company. Cedar siding cut into chunks works for this also and in really fancy restaurants they call it planked salmon.
Jon Bratt Bird Island

Don't want to throw "water" on your smoker idea, I love the cedar fish thing too.

But, make sure your cedar shingles haven't been chemically treated with anti-fungals?

  (You need to Login or Register

I Googled it, and there are warnings about using the wrong kind for grilling/smoking.

I had a buddy who made the mistake of throwing old chunks of Pressure treated lumber on a fire, forgetting about doing so and roasting some hot dogs :'( He got sicker than a dog.