Gonna Be A Good Day Today Tater!

[Big58cal]

Got'er fired up for the day with 2 pork butts with a total weight of 23 lbs. Got a bunch of mesquite wood makin' smoke and the pan loaded with charcoal. I figure as big as the individual butts are, about 12 hours ought to do it. Put'em on at 8:30 AM this morning, so about 8:30 PM tonight they ort to be done.

It's gonna be a good day today Tater.

[HIGHBOW]

I can smell it ! Looks like a real good feast will be had! Have a great day!

[vixenmaster]

Alright supper is a cookin, dang i can smell them smoken from here, ummmm!

[papa bear1]

Hey Big, How often do you need to add charcoal ? I'm thinking of buying / or building a smoker, What I had in mind was a wood stove w/duct work going into old refridgerator, seen one somewere on internet I think it would work pretty well, sure would hold a lot of wood / Meat.

Dave

[one shot scott]

Did yas shouwt an aligata elishabet?


Heheheh. I been waiting to use that
Mmm. Alligator is good eats

[Big58cal]

Just starting out, I'd just get a little prebuilt charcoal smoker to "practice" with. I saw one the other day at Walmart for $36 that was about the same size as mine.

As for the charcoal and wood, depending on what kind of meat I've got in there, how thick it is, and how much is in there, that will dictate how much charcoal and wood I put in. I don't add any of either once it starts.

Wish I could tell you how much to add, but it's one of those things that is kind of trial and error. With what I've got in it now, and the size of the butts, I know about how much charcoal to add to keep it going for the length of time I figure it's going to take to cook the stuff. These will probably take about 12 hours to finish. Ribs and chickens only take about 4 hours. Smaller butts and briskets I usually let sit for about 8 hours.

Like I said, just get a "store bought" smoker at first to practice with and learn what you can/can't do. Also, I think you'll find that the store bought smoker will do about all the meat you would need.

[Big58cal]

Did yas shouwt an aligata elishabet?


Heheheh. I been waiting to use that
Mmm. Alligator is good eats

Not this year, but I have. Got some in the freezer I may have to try in the smoker though. Thanks for the idea Scott!

[one shot scott]

Being from Ontario I don't get much of a chance to eat alligator, but on my last trip to Florida I gave it a try. Good stuff!

You can call me Neil, '58. Or since I have taken up calling ya elishabet(last time, jokes over) I'm sure you can imagine something far worse.

[Big58cal]

Nah, I'll just keep calling you Scott.

[Big58cal]

12 1/2 hours later............

[j.krug]

Man does that ever look good!! Makin' my mouth water.

[Raymond]

Yum Yum, your finished products looks good. I am going to try and finish my smoker today and if not I will finish it as I can. There is not a lot left to do on it. I have some farm raised trout I want to try and smoke first then a rack of pork ribs.
Raymond

[maple]

OK Big58Cal!!

You already got me hooked on buyin that Brinkmann smoker from the last time, but are you telling me that the charcoal lasts for 8-12 hours? I was thinkin of getting the electric one for just that reason. Don't need to add charcoal. But wadda ya know. Really?!

[Big58cal]

Yep, it'll last. You've got to add quite a bit for it to last for 12 hours, but it will last. Worst case is that if temp starts going down too much, lift the barrel portion off and take something to stir the coals to knock the ash off the briquets and then put the barrel back on top. If that doesn't raise the temp up enough for it to last, you can always pitch a few more briquets in there.

[robertyb]

OK Big58Cal!!

You already got me hooked on buyin that Brinkmann smoker from the last time, but are you telling me that the charcoal lasts for 8-12 hours? I was thinkin of getting the electric one for just that reason. Don't need to add charcoal. But wadda ya know. Really?!

I have used both a lot. Burned out two or three charcoal ones before I bought an electric one. Still have it after about 20 years of usage. I always clean it after using it and I use heavy duty aluminum foil to cover the water pan with for easy clean up. Both smoke pretty much about the same.