smoking meat

Hey folks. One of my favorites is smoked porkchops in sauerkraut. Then smoked hamhocks in beans, and smoked ham and bacon.
Been laying off red meat quite a bit but don't want to give up my goodies.
Think smoked turkey breast would have the same effect on beans and kraut? If so, how/where could I find or set up a smoker to make some goodies? Really like turkey bacon.


Dave

Dave2: you can buy smokers, depending on size of what you want to smoke.I built one several years ago for some buddies to smoke meat,It was a frame building about the size of a outhouse,and we used landscape blocks for the fire pit.Walls were plywood in and out, I used metal bread racks for shelving. Don't have to worry about fire because your smoldering. You have to watch how much smoke there is ,too much can ruin taste of meat. Mike

dave, you have never had turkey on the bbq grill stuffed with kraut,dont know what you are missing!!

tell me about it and I'll try it. I do chicken breast, rabbit, and turkey in foil with onion, garlic, herb butter, and whatever else I throw in. Kraut may be good.


Dave

I gutted an old refridgerator, got some inch dowels(actually broken shovel and rake handles) running across the inside to hang sausage, hams, turkeys, fish, smoked alot of stuff in there. I have a small grill bottom setting in it and put half dozen charcoals and small pieces of fruitwood in it. Just add charcoal and wood for more heat or smoke when needed. Really don't have any money invested in it. Just a thought.

dave,just take a whole turkey and stuff as much kraut as possible in it,depending on the size of turkey ,like a 12-15 pounder cook it on low heat(gas grill) 4-5 hours,kinda watch it, the kraut will almost disappear, throw a few strips of bacon on top of it ,do not wrap in tin foil,just put the turkey on top of the foil,like 4 sheets , enjoy serve with beer!!!!!!!

Mike, what were they smoking, cured hams?

If like turkeys, etc. did you get the meat cooked first, then put in the smoldering smoke.

Otherwise you wouldn't get the meat cooked would you?

Gene

The site below has photos and instructions of how one person built a smokehouse. I found it interesting, and plan to possibly do the same thing [as long as it isn't against zoning regulations here.]

While I have one of the ECB charcoal smokers [El Cheapo Brinkmann], which can be purchased at Wally World for under $40, a much better economy setup would be the the UDS [for "Upright Drum Smoker" or "Ugly Drum Smoker"], as described and illustrated here:

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13224

You can go simple on a smoker, you can go complex on a smoker, and just about anywhere inbetween...big, small, whatever you choose. I'm playing with the idea of converting a derelict electric range [insulated box, hinged insulated door, and shelves already there to begin with] to a smoker, courtesy of the trusty ol' welder.

As far as the ideas of using turkey or any other meat, check out the recipes and comments on The Smoke Ring website...the folks there should be able to answer any questions you might have on smokers and smoking meat [ http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/index.php ].

Hope this is helpful.
Building a Cold Smoker Smokehouse

I've got a gutted refrig smoker too. Old timer with porcelian(sp) interior. I use an old hotplate under a skillet of wet hickory sawdust for smoke/heat. Shut the door on the cord - door gasket keeps from pinching the cord. Temp control is a oven control out of an electric range. Gotta use old hickory sawdust - green sawdust makes offensive taste. I've used it for hams, bacon, jowl, and all kinds of sausage, plus turkey and chicken. Smoker exhaust goes thru the shed roof.

Makin' me hungry. Think I'll go get into momma's cheesecake.

Paul

Folks built a concrete smokehouse in 1948. About 6x8 feet, poured walls about 3 inches thick. Poured them on a flat slab, woven wire in the walls...tipped them up, wired the corners together and finished off with mortar. Roof done the same way and set in place. They used newspaper on the slab, which stuck to the wall, and we could read the St. Cloud Times 15 years later, when it was used for fuel storage!- Maggie and Jiggs, Oaky Doaky, Dick Tracy, etc.

Hey Dave, I don't know what quantity of meat you're thinking about smoking... we smoke meat frequently, have a couple different smokers but the best outfit I've found is a Weber kettle grill. Got mine at the BX when stationed in UK about 30 years ago... still have the same one! Just last week-end we smoked 15 pounds of pork loin on a single load of charcoal. If you're interested, let me know & I'll give ya my "secrets" ...D

(quoted from post at 10:45:34 02/22/10) Hey Dave, I don't know what quantity of meat you're thinking about smoking... we smoke meat frequently, have a couple different smokers but the best outfit I've found is a Weber kettle grill. Got mine at the BX when stationed in UK about 30 years ago... still have the same one! Just last week-end we smoked 15 pounds of pork loin on a single load of charcoal. If you're interested, let me know & I'll give ya my "secrets" ...D

Click to expand...

Talking about the round weber grills with the dome top? Tell me how, I'd love to get more use out of mine.

Dave

yeah... works great! First, I use an old 1 gallon can with both ends cut out to start the coals... I take a "church key" can opener (the kind that cuts an inverted "V" shaped notch in the top of a can) and go completely around the bottom of the can to create additional venting. (once you've cut all the notches, carefully "roll" the metal around the rim so you don't cut yerself). Anyways, I use a heaping gallon can full of charcoal (I use kingsfords... don't know if you can get it there?) with a couple ounces of ligher fluid sprinkled on it... fires right up! Let the charcoal burn for about 20 minutes, then grab the rim of the can with a pair of pliers and lift it off... leave coals in a pile and let burn an additional 5 minutes. During this time, I put the grill on (over the burning coals) and put the lid on the kettle, but leave one side of the lid up on the edge of the grill... you don't want the lid to seal down... you need the extra ventilation. (by the way, the lower vents and the upper vents should be fully open) After the 5 minutes, remove the lid and the grill will be nice and hot & ready for the wire brush. Next, you need a shallow pan that will hold about a gallon of water. We started out using rectangular pans made of heavy aluminum foil, but missus found a rectangular stainless pan that works better... anyways, push the hot coals to the outside of the kettle and set pan down on the (charcoal) grate... immediately add hot water until nearly full... scoot coals in and around the edge of the pan. Now, add hickory chips. We soak our chips in water overnight... after scattering hickory chips on the coals, replace grill and again loosely set lid on kettle. Wait a couple minutes for chips to begin smoking heavily then remove lid and add meat. I've found that if we cut meat into smaller chunks, the smoke permeates the meat better... to prevent burning, be sure meat is placed directly over the water filled pan. Depending on the type and quantity of meat and how you intend to use it, meat will usually smoke in 20 - 30 minutes... we even use the same technique when we grill steaks but cook them 30 - 45 minutes. As I mentioned, the pan of water keeps the meat from drying out and minimizes burning... you might need to experiment a bit, but, that's half the fun! Enjoy!!! ...D