What kind of cookware do you use?

[guno]

For skillets nothing beats cast iron

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

To tell you the truth I dont go to steak houses. I can cook one every bit as good as Vic and Anthony's, Killeens or any other top notch steak house in this town. `

But seriously who the fuck does that? You order a filet,New York strip or a T-bone.
Anyone who orders different should be at the Golden Corral.
And if you only sell top line beef they shouldnt need to pick one out of the beef case.
They should all be top notch.

I agree with you on the filet, strip, or T Bone. Sirloin steak? LOL we grind that .

We don't have a beef case. Our steaks are listed and you tell us what size cut you want. If you want a 4lb porter, we shall cut you a 4 lb porter.

About the beef case thing...we have a steak house here in Houston called Taste of Texas where they let you pick out your own steak.
I've never seen so many poor choices in my life...most people couldnt pick out a good steak if their life depended on it.
Marbling is obviously a foreign concept...

Most people just ASSUME the most expensive is the best, and I mean that's not always the case of course.

A full cut T-bone is my favorite in most cases. Baring that I'll take a NY Strip every time.
But I do like a fillet on occasion but it has to have a bad ass side or some nice clarified butter to make up for the lack of flavor.
I will say one of the best steaks I've ever had was a Koby fillet that cost me a hundred bucks...the thing tasted like it was full of an exquisite butter of unknown origin.
I was sweating bullets when I tossed it on the grill.

I love a good Ribeye, but I'll choke down a Portherhouse, or a Strip when I have to.

A rib eye is nice,my biggest concern is fat. It better be threaded with it.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

For skillets nothing beats cast iron

That would all depend on whats in it. Or whats under it.

 

[PredFan]

I think you're confusing cold smoking with smoking or BBQing as it's known.
To cold smoke a rack of ribs would take days.

Generally speaking cold smoking is using heat below 100 degrees F and does NOT cook the meat, it merely infuses it with smoke flavoring.

Bacon is generally cold smoked , for instance.

He's most certainly heat smoking his ribs, and then finishing them on the grill.

Doubtful, I'll bet the temperature never gets over 100. I've smoked Cheddar in there.

There's noway you smoked ribs at 100 degrees unless you spent days doing it. And if you did you'd best of used curing salt or sodium nitrate or you're asking to get sick.

See, you should never tell me that there are rules. I can tell you beyond a doubt that I'm smoking those ribs cold, or at least smoking them without cooking them. It does dry them out. Yes, I do them for at least 12 hours and yes, the smoke doesn't penetrate the entire rib but the flavor is unmistakable.

Perhaps you missed what I said originally and you think I'm not cooking the meat. What I do is cold smoke the pork all day long, then I wrap It and put it in the freezer. Later in when I want ribs I pull out the frozen, already smoked pork and cook it any way I want to. It isn't going rancid after only 12-18 hours in a smoker, and I never undercook pork anyway so getting sick has never been an issue.

Aaaaah....must have missed that part.
But again ya got to be careful because bacteria will form if you dont cure it first in the fridge with sodium nitrate.
Temps between 40 and 140 without curing can seriously fuck you up.

Great! I've been tooling along, oblivious and enjoying some great BBQ, you HAD to tell me this! I'll probably get sick now.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

I agree with you on the filet, strip, or T Bone. Sirloin steak? LOL we grind that .

We don't have a beef case. Our steaks are listed and you tell us what size cut you want. If you want a 4lb porter, we shall cut you a 4 lb porter.

About the beef case thing...we have a steak house here in Houston called Taste of Texas where they let you pick out your own steak.
I've never seen so many poor choices in my life...most people couldnt pick out a good steak if their life depended on it.
Marbling is obviously a foreign concept...

Most people just ASSUME the most expensive is the best, and I mean that's not always the case of course.

A full cut T-bone is my favorite in most cases. Baring that I'll take a NY Strip every time.
But I do like a fillet on occasion but it has to have a bad ass side or some nice clarified butter to make up for the lack of flavor.
I will say one of the best steaks I've ever had was a Koby fillet that cost me a hundred bucks...the thing tasted like it was full of an exquisite butter of unknown origin.
I was sweating bullets when I tossed it on the grill.

I love a good Ribeye, but I'll choke down a Portherhouse, or a Strip when I have to.

A rib eye is nice,my biggest concern is fat. It better be threaded with it.

That is the only downside to a Ribeye. Very fatty if it's a good one.

For straight up flavor, I love the NY Strip.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Generally speaking cold smoking is using heat below 100 degrees F and does NOT cook the meat, it merely infuses it with smoke flavoring.

Bacon is generally cold smoked , for instance.

He's most certainly heat smoking his ribs, and then finishing them on the grill.

Doubtful, I'll bet the temperature never gets over 100. I've smoked Cheddar in there.

There's noway you smoked ribs at 100 degrees unless you spent days doing it. And if you did you'd best of used curing salt or sodium nitrate or you're asking to get sick.

See, you should never tell me that there are rules. I can tell you beyond a doubt that I'm smoking those ribs cold, or at least smoking them without cooking them. It does dry them out. Yes, I do them for at least 12 hours and yes, the smoke doesn't penetrate the entire rib but the flavor is unmistakable.

Perhaps you missed what I said originally and you think I'm not cooking the meat. What I do is cold smoke the pork all day long, then I wrap It and put it in the freezer. Later in when I want ribs I pull out the frozen, already smoked pork and cook it any way I want to. It isn't going rancid after only 12-18 hours in a smoker, and I never undercook pork anyway so getting sick has never been an issue.

Aaaaah....must have missed that part.
But again ya got to be careful because bacteria will form if you dont cure it first in the fridge with sodium nitrate.
Temps between 40 and 140 without curing can seriously fuck you up.

Great! I've been tooling along, oblivious and enjoying some great BBQ, you HAD to tell me this! I'll probably get sick now.

Just trying to keep ya out of the hospital.

 

[PredFan]

I think you're confusing cold smoking with smoking or BBQing as it's known.
To cold smoke a rack of ribs would take days.

Generally speaking cold smoking is using heat below 100 degrees F and does NOT cook the meat, it merely infuses it with smoke flavoring.

Bacon is generally cold smoked , for instance.

He's most certainly heat smoking his ribs, and then finishing them on the grill.

Doubtful, I'll bet the temperature never gets over 100. I've smoked Cheddar in there.

There's noway you smoked ribs at 100 degrees unless you spent days doing it. And if you did you'd best of used curing salt or sodium nitrate or you're asking to get sick.

See, you should never tell me that there are rules. I can tell you beyond a doubt that I'm smoking those ribs cold, or at least smoking them without cooking them. It does dry them out. Yes, I do them for at least 12 hours and yes, the smoke doesn't penetrate the entire rib but the flavor is unmistakable.

Perhaps you missed what I said originally and you think I'm not cooking the meat. What I do is cold smoke the pork all day long, then I wrap It and put it in the freezer. Later in when I want ribs I pull out the frozen, already smoked pork and cook it any way I want to. It isn't going rancid after only 12-18 hours in a smoker, and I never undercook pork anyway so getting sick has never been an issue.

What is it you think you are gaining there? I mean you could hot smoke them for 3 hours then freeze them and just pull them out and finish them on the grill, or in the broiler or what have you and have the same results minus the possibly getting sick.

I'm not dogging you either. I'm seriously curious as to what you think you are gaining by doing it that way? And yes, leaving them in say a 90% cold smoker for 12 hours is unsafe. Sorry, but it is.

We dry age our own beef and if you just left that shit in there for 12 hours and then froze it then pulled it out later, and cooked it and ate it, you would get sick. There is a ton of waste when dry aging beef.

There's definitely a reason a 120 day dry aged ribeye is $79.99.

Same with pork, bacon for instance is so salty for a reason , and that reason isn't just taste. The salt preserves the meat.

Sugar of course can also be used.

Well the problem is that I build my own smoker. I wanted a big ass smoker too. I wanted one that I could smoke a turkey or two or even smoke a quarter of a hog in. Since I hunt them now.

What I didn't take into concideration was that I built it so big that I can't smoke/cook any normal sized meals in it. It's so large that I can't adequately control the temperature. I use oak from my property and occasionally add other chips.

After futile attempts, I just started using it to cold smoke. I recently shot a 90 pound hog and was able to smoke half the pig at a time. If I was having a party, I probably could have cooked it that time.

So basically all I think I'm gaining is not letting a case of poor planning go to waste.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Or the KC strip. Funny story my SIL told about that.

Couple came in and the man was trying to impress his date, started bitching about we didn't offer a KC strip. Our waitstaff of course are well trained in steaks and explained to him that the NY strip was the EXACT same steak, EXACT. Nope, untrue he swore up and down that the NY strip was an inferior cut.

So the head chef became involved and told the guy she would custom cut him a KC steak and bring out a NY strip and bet him $100 out of her own pocket that he couldn't tell which was which. Sucker bet he exclaimed....

I hear the kitchen staff still laugh about that shit.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Generally speaking cold smoking is using heat below 100 degrees F and does NOT cook the meat, it merely infuses it with smoke flavoring.

Bacon is generally cold smoked , for instance.

He's most certainly heat smoking his ribs, and then finishing them on the grill.

Doubtful, I'll bet the temperature never gets over 100. I've smoked Cheddar in there.

There's noway you smoked ribs at 100 degrees unless you spent days doing it. And if you did you'd best of used curing salt or sodium nitrate or you're asking to get sick.

See, you should never tell me that there are rules. I can tell you beyond a doubt that I'm smoking those ribs cold, or at least smoking them without cooking them. It does dry them out. Yes, I do them for at least 12 hours and yes, the smoke doesn't penetrate the entire rib but the flavor is unmistakable.

Perhaps you missed what I said originally and you think I'm not cooking the meat. What I do is cold smoke the pork all day long, then I wrap It and put it in the freezer. Later in when I want ribs I pull out the frozen, already smoked pork and cook it any way I want to. It isn't going rancid after only 12-18 hours in a smoker, and I never undercook pork anyway so getting sick has never been an issue.

What is it you think you are gaining there? I mean you could hot smoke them for 3 hours then freeze them and just pull them out and finish them on the grill, or in the broiler or what have you and have the same results minus the possibly getting sick.

I'm not dogging you either. I'm seriously curious as to what you think you are gaining by doing it that way? And yes, leaving them in say a 90% cold smoker for 12 hours is unsafe. Sorry, but it is.

We dry age our own beef and if you just left that shit in there for 12 hours and then froze it then pulled it out later, and cooked it and ate it, you would get sick. There is a ton of waste when dry aging beef.

There's definitely a reason a 120 day dry aged ribeye is $79.99.

Same with pork, bacon for instance is so salty for a reason , and that reason isn't just taste. The salt preserves the meat.

Sugar of course can also be used.

Well the problem is that I build my own smoker. I wanted a big ass smoker too. I wanted one that I could smoke a turkey or two or even smoke a quarter of a hog in. Since I hunt them now.

What I didn't take into concideration was that I built it so big that I can't smoke/cook any normal sized meals in it. It's so large that I can't adequately control the temperature. I use oak from my property and occasionally add other chips.

After futile attempts, I just started using it to cold smoke. I recently shot a 90 pound hog and was able to smoke half the pig at a time. If I was having a party, I probably could have cooked it that time.

So basically all I think I'm gaining is not letting a case of poor planning go to waste.

Here's a little trick to get your temps up.
I assume you have an indirect smoker similar to this...

The key to keeping your pit hot and steady is to put bricks in the smoking chamber.(Under your meat)
Preheat it for awhile and than open the door on your fire box and see if your temp holds.
If it does you're good to go.
Feed your fire as necessary.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Doubtful, I'll bet the temperature never gets over 100. I've smoked Cheddar in there.

There's noway you smoked ribs at 100 degrees unless you spent days doing it. And if you did you'd best of used curing salt or sodium nitrate or you're asking to get sick.

See, you should never tell me that there are rules. I can tell you beyond a doubt that I'm smoking those ribs cold, or at least smoking them without cooking them. It does dry them out. Yes, I do them for at least 12 hours and yes, the smoke doesn't penetrate the entire rib but the flavor is unmistakable.

Perhaps you missed what I said originally and you think I'm not cooking the meat. What I do is cold smoke the pork all day long, then I wrap It and put it in the freezer. Later in when I want ribs I pull out the frozen, already smoked pork and cook it any way I want to. It isn't going rancid after only 12-18 hours in a smoker, and I never undercook pork anyway so getting sick has never been an issue.

What is it you think you are gaining there? I mean you could hot smoke them for 3 hours then freeze them and just pull them out and finish them on the grill, or in the broiler or what have you and have the same results minus the possibly getting sick.

I'm not dogging you either. I'm seriously curious as to what you think you are gaining by doing it that way? And yes, leaving them in say a 90% cold smoker for 12 hours is unsafe. Sorry, but it is.

We dry age our own beef and if you just left that shit in there for 12 hours and then froze it then pulled it out later, and cooked it and ate it, you would get sick. There is a ton of waste when dry aging beef.

There's definitely a reason a 120 day dry aged ribeye is $79.99.

Same with pork, bacon for instance is so salty for a reason , and that reason isn't just taste. The salt preserves the meat.

Sugar of course can also be used.

Well the problem is that I build my own smoker. I wanted a big ass smoker too. I wanted one that I could smoke a turkey or two or even smoke a quarter of a hog in. Since I hunt them now.

What I didn't take into concideration was that I built it so big that I can't smoke/cook any normal sized meals in it. It's so large that I can't adequately control the temperature. I use oak from my property and occasionally add other chips.

After futile attempts, I just started using it to cold smoke. I recently shot a 90 pound hog and was able to smoke half the pig at a time. If I was having a party, I probably could have cooked it that time.

So basically all I think I'm gaining is not letting a case of poor planning go to waste.

Here's a little trick to get your temps up.
I assume you have an indirect smoker similar to this...View attachment 49068

The key to keeping your pit hot and steady is to put bricks in the smoking chamber.(Under your meat)
Preheat it for awhile and than open the door on your fire box and see if your temp holds.
If it does you're good to go.
Feed your fire as necessary.

I swear by my electric smoker. Nice steady temperature so easy a caveman could do it.

 

[guno]

I am a purist only use charcoal or wood for smoking , low and slow

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

I am a purist only use charcoal or wood for smoking , low and slow

My electric smoker uses wood. You simply use electricity to fire the wood chips.

Of course you have to use wood, That's where the flavor comes from. Well unless you use liquid smoke .

 

[Synthaholic]

Cast iron everything.

Even my underwear is cast iron.

Cast iron is not good for everything. For instance, you should never try to cook anything tomato-based in cast iron.

• Typical cast iron corrodes at a pH lower than 4.3; pure white vinegar (5%) has a pH of 2.4 and wine is around 3.2 to 3.8. If you plan to use either of these in cast iron, you'd better make sure they are heavily diluted, otherwise you may actually ruin your pot in addition to getting a pretty hefty iron supplement with your meal.
  
  
• Cast iron is still somewhat reactive at borderline pH ranges, i.e. tomato juice or sauce. It'll leach out about 5 mg of iron for every 3 oz / 88 mL of liquid for typical cooking times. The typical human needs to ingest significantly more than 45 mg over a period of several days to become toxic, so it's generally considered OK and even healthy to cook dilute tomato solutions in cast iron, but wine and vinegar are another story.
  

Don't fill your cast-iron cookware with wine or vinegar. A splash for sauce or deglazing is OK, but tossing a significant amount straight into the pan undiluted will ruin your cookware, and your health.

P.S. Note that enameled cast iron (Le Creuset, etc.) is less reactive; the specifics depend on the brand. If you have this type of cast iron, I suggest doing your homework before taking the risk.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

There's noway you smoked ribs at 100 degrees unless you spent days doing it. And if you did you'd best of used curing salt or sodium nitrate or you're asking to get sick.

See, you should never tell me that there are rules. I can tell you beyond a doubt that I'm smoking those ribs cold, or at least smoking them without cooking them. It does dry them out. Yes, I do them for at least 12 hours and yes, the smoke doesn't penetrate the entire rib but the flavor is unmistakable.

Perhaps you missed what I said originally and you think I'm not cooking the meat. What I do is cold smoke the pork all day long, then I wrap It and put it in the freezer. Later in when I want ribs I pull out the frozen, already smoked pork and cook it any way I want to. It isn't going rancid after only 12-18 hours in a smoker, and I never undercook pork anyway so getting sick has never been an issue.

What is it you think you are gaining there? I mean you could hot smoke them for 3 hours then freeze them and just pull them out and finish them on the grill, or in the broiler or what have you and have the same results minus the possibly getting sick.

I'm not dogging you either. I'm seriously curious as to what you think you are gaining by doing it that way? And yes, leaving them in say a 90% cold smoker for 12 hours is unsafe. Sorry, but it is.

We dry age our own beef and if you just left that shit in there for 12 hours and then froze it then pulled it out later, and cooked it and ate it, you would get sick. There is a ton of waste when dry aging beef.

There's definitely a reason a 120 day dry aged ribeye is $79.99.

Same with pork, bacon for instance is so salty for a reason , and that reason isn't just taste. The salt preserves the meat.

Sugar of course can also be used.

Well the problem is that I build my own smoker. I wanted a big ass smoker too. I wanted one that I could smoke a turkey or two or even smoke a quarter of a hog in. Since I hunt them now.

What I didn't take into concideration was that I built it so big that I can't smoke/cook any normal sized meals in it. It's so large that I can't adequately control the temperature. I use oak from my property and occasionally add other chips.

After futile attempts, I just started using it to cold smoke. I recently shot a 90 pound hog and was able to smoke half the pig at a time. If I was having a party, I probably could have cooked it that time.

So basically all I think I'm gaining is not letting a case of poor planning go to waste.

Here's a little trick to get your temps up.
I assume you have an indirect smoker similar to this...View attachment 49068

The key to keeping your pit hot and steady is to put bricks in the smoking chamber.(Under your meat)
Preheat it for awhile and than open the door on your fire box and see if your temp holds.
If it does you're good to go.
Feed your fire as necessary.

I swear by my electric smoker. Nice steady temperature so easy a caveman could do it.

Electric smokers are great for beef and pork but they tend to make poultry rubbery.
If you're going to use something other than a wood fired pitt,gas is better because it takes out the moisture in the box.
As much as people say moisture is good for pitt BBQ it's not for all types of meat.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

See, you should never tell me that there are rules. I can tell you beyond a doubt that I'm smoking those ribs cold, or at least smoking them without cooking them. It does dry them out. Yes, I do them for at least 12 hours and yes, the smoke doesn't penetrate the entire rib but the flavor is unmistakable.

Perhaps you missed what I said originally and you think I'm not cooking the meat. What I do is cold smoke the pork all day long, then I wrap It and put it in the freezer. Later in when I want ribs I pull out the frozen, already smoked pork and cook it any way I want to. It isn't going rancid after only 12-18 hours in a smoker, and I never undercook pork anyway so getting sick has never been an issue.

What is it you think you are gaining there? I mean you could hot smoke them for 3 hours then freeze them and just pull them out and finish them on the grill, or in the broiler or what have you and have the same results minus the possibly getting sick.

I'm not dogging you either. I'm seriously curious as to what you think you are gaining by doing it that way? And yes, leaving them in say a 90% cold smoker for 12 hours is unsafe. Sorry, but it is.

We dry age our own beef and if you just left that shit in there for 12 hours and then froze it then pulled it out later, and cooked it and ate it, you would get sick. There is a ton of waste when dry aging beef.

There's definitely a reason a 120 day dry aged ribeye is $79.99.

Same with pork, bacon for instance is so salty for a reason , and that reason isn't just taste. The salt preserves the meat.

Sugar of course can also be used.

Well the problem is that I build my own smoker. I wanted a big ass smoker too. I wanted one that I could smoke a turkey or two or even smoke a quarter of a hog in. Since I hunt them now.

What I didn't take into concideration was that I built it so big that I can't smoke/cook any normal sized meals in it. It's so large that I can't adequately control the temperature. I use oak from my property and occasionally add other chips.

After futile attempts, I just started using it to cold smoke. I recently shot a 90 pound hog and was able to smoke half the pig at a time. If I was having a party, I probably could have cooked it that time.

So basically all I think I'm gaining is not letting a case of poor planning go to waste.

Here's a little trick to get your temps up.
I assume you have an indirect smoker similar to this...View attachment 49068

The key to keeping your pit hot and steady is to put bricks in the smoking chamber.(Under your meat)
Preheat it for awhile and than open the door on your fire box and see if your temp holds.
If it does you're good to go.
Feed your fire as necessary.

I swear by my electric smoker. Nice steady temperature so easy a caveman could do it.

Electric smokers are great for beef and pork but they tend to make poultry rubbery.
If you're going to use something other than a wood fired pitt,gas is better because it takes out the moisture in the box.
As much as people say moisture is good for pitt BBQ it's not for all types of meat.

I haven't had that problem. I mean I'm not a huge fan of smoked poultry anyway, but we have done a few chickens, some turkeys, and a few cornish hens and i've found them to be acceptable.

I concede electric isn't quite as good as the real thing, but it's a trade off I'm willing to make for convenience. I mean I'm over here making homemade mayo , only so much time in the day.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I am a purist only use charcoal or wood for smoking , low and slow

As much as I hate to agree with you you're exactly right.
Electric smokers dont remove unwanted moisture which can turn meat,especially poultry, rubbery. I only use mine for beef or pork and I never would have used it in competition for any kind of meat.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

I am a purist only use charcoal or wood for smoking , low and slow

As much as I hate to agree with you you're exactly right.
Electric smokers dont remove unwanted moisture which can turn meat,especially poultry, rubbery. I only use mine for beef or pork and I never would have used it in competition for any kind of meat.

well , of course not for a competition, but I cook to enjoy, not to compete.

I mean I LOVE beans in my chili, but if you showed up at a chili cook off with beans in your chili, they probably wouldn't even bother judging your chili.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

What is it you think you are gaining there? I mean you could hot smoke them for 3 hours then freeze them and just pull them out and finish them on the grill, or in the broiler or what have you and have the same results minus the possibly getting sick.

I'm not dogging you either. I'm seriously curious as to what you think you are gaining by doing it that way? And yes, leaving them in say a 90% cold smoker for 12 hours is unsafe. Sorry, but it is.

We dry age our own beef and if you just left that shit in there for 12 hours and then froze it then pulled it out later, and cooked it and ate it, you would get sick. There is a ton of waste when dry aging beef.

There's definitely a reason a 120 day dry aged ribeye is $79.99.

Same with pork, bacon for instance is so salty for a reason , and that reason isn't just taste. The salt preserves the meat.

Sugar of course can also be used.

Well the problem is that I build my own smoker. I wanted a big ass smoker too. I wanted one that I could smoke a turkey or two or even smoke a quarter of a hog in. Since I hunt them now.

What I didn't take into concideration was that I built it so big that I can't smoke/cook any normal sized meals in it. It's so large that I can't adequately control the temperature. I use oak from my property and occasionally add other chips.

After futile attempts, I just started using it to cold smoke. I recently shot a 90 pound hog and was able to smoke half the pig at a time. If I was having a party, I probably could have cooked it that time.

So basically all I think I'm gaining is not letting a case of poor planning go to waste.

Here's a little trick to get your temps up.
I assume you have an indirect smoker similar to this...View attachment 49068

The key to keeping your pit hot and steady is to put bricks in the smoking chamber.(Under your meat)
Preheat it for awhile and than open the door on your fire box and see if your temp holds.
If it does you're good to go.
Feed your fire as necessary.

I swear by my electric smoker. Nice steady temperature so easy a caveman could do it.

Electric smokers are great for beef and pork but they tend to make poultry rubbery.
If you're going to use something other than a wood fired pitt,gas is better because it takes out the moisture in the box.
As much as people say moisture is good for pitt BBQ it's not for all types of meat.

I haven't had that problem. I mean I'm not a huge fan of smoked poultry anyway, but we have done a few chickens, some turkeys, and a few cornish hens and i've found them to be acceptable.

I concede electric isn't quite as good as the real thing, but it's a trade off I'm willing to make for convenience. I mean I'm over here making homemade mayo , only so much time in the day.

I havent used my electric box in years. In fact I'd be willing to sell it for 400 bucks ...or probably 300 just to get rid of it.
I put a gas element in my stick burner(which is a violation in competition)just so I could get some sleep while cooking a 20 hour brisket.

Electrics just dont turn out true BBQ.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

I am a purist only use charcoal or wood for smoking , low and slow

As much as I hate to agree with you you're exactly right.
Electric smokers dont remove unwanted moisture which can turn meat,especially poultry, rubbery. I only use mine for beef or pork and I never would have used it in competition for any kind of meat.

well , of course not for a competition, but I cook to enjoy, not to compete.

I mean I LOVE beans in my chili, but if you showed up at a chili cook off with beans in your chili, they probably wouldn't even bother judging your chili.

I hear you about beans in the chile. As much as I try and stay true to Texas cooking I want beans in my chile.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Well the problem is that I build my own smoker. I wanted a big ass smoker too. I wanted one that I could smoke a turkey or two or even smoke a quarter of a hog in. Since I hunt them now.

What I didn't take into concideration was that I built it so big that I can't smoke/cook any normal sized meals in it. It's so large that I can't adequately control the temperature. I use oak from my property and occasionally add other chips.

After futile attempts, I just started using it to cold smoke. I recently shot a 90 pound hog and was able to smoke half the pig at a time. If I was having a party, I probably could have cooked it that time.

So basically all I think I'm gaining is not letting a case of poor planning go to waste.

Here's a little trick to get your temps up.
I assume you have an indirect smoker similar to this...View attachment 49068

The key to keeping your pit hot and steady is to put bricks in the smoking chamber.(Under your meat)
Preheat it for awhile and than open the door on your fire box and see if your temp holds.
If it does you're good to go.
Feed your fire as necessary.

I swear by my electric smoker. Nice steady temperature so easy a caveman could do it.

Electric smokers are great for beef and pork but they tend to make poultry rubbery.
If you're going to use something other than a wood fired pitt,gas is better because it takes out the moisture in the box.
As much as people say moisture is good for pitt BBQ it's not for all types of meat.

I haven't had that problem. I mean I'm not a huge fan of smoked poultry anyway, but we have done a few chickens, some turkeys, and a few cornish hens and i've found them to be acceptable.

I concede electric isn't quite as good as the real thing, but it's a trade off I'm willing to make for convenience. I mean I'm over here making homemade mayo , only so much time in the day.

I havent used my electric box in years. In fact I'd be willing to sell it for 400 bucks ...or probably 300 just to get rid of it.
I put a gas element in my stick burner(which is a violation in competition)just so I could get some sleep while cooking a 20 hour brisket.

Electrics just dont turn out true BBQ.

That's my main reason for using electric. I put a brisket and a fatty on friday night, and saturday morning breakfast and dinner are ready.

For example.

I mean you do have to get up every couple hours and replenish wood chips, but that's really it. As opposed to a wood smoker that you're constantly fiddling with to keep the temperature right, etc etc.

for something real tasty smoke a turkey with cherry wood and put cranberry juice in the water tray.

YUM