Hey froobs, your old pal Rusty here. I got a new electric smoker for Christmas, actually a Masterbuilt 30 in smoker I have zero experience with smoking meats, and would appreciate any recommendations.. I got some hickory, mesquite, and a premium blend chips. What would you recommend for my first attempt? I dont like ribs.. Thanks for any tips, tricks and recipes
Sam’s Club or Walmart, get a Boston butt or picnic shoulder. (Pork). They will be approx 6-8lb... do a simple rub of salt pepper garlic powder, smoked paprika. Smoke until an internal temp of 200-205F. You will need a meat thermometer... something simple or fancy. Expect 8 hours of cooking time. Let it sit for 45 minutes and then shred it. Extremely hard to mess up and super good.
You need to season your smoker first before you cook in earnest. Something with a lot of fat. Also I would recommend I perusing the smoking meats forum for pointers. Not that you u won’t get good info here but you will get a broader spectrum of input on a site devoted specially to smoking meat vs a bunch of tards arguing about why wiggins and cousins got paid too much, thibs is a bad coach and the plethora of lame ass weather threads.
The following thread will get you started as far as seasoning. Peruse the forum for great ideas and pics of things to smoke.
As anther said, season the smoker first. And fire that thing up to has hot as you can get it too.
I have always used a bunch of cheap meat. Pork steak, what ever is on sale because you are not going to eat it.
I would fire it hot first, then throw the meat in with heavy seasoning and smoke the shit out of it.
You don’t like ribs because most restaurants and average joes suck at cooking them. Try them at least once in the smoker and you’ll be hooked. I have probly that same exact smoker and it’s amazing for the convenience and consistency compared to other smoker types. I’m doing a turkey in it today! Biggest keys in my opinion are to always have some liquid in the drip pan inside the smoker and always use a good quality rub or brine.
I started with a Boston butt and would recommend doing the same as pork is pretty forgiving. Start by only adding wood chips at the beginning. See how Smokey it turns out and add or subtract more chips the next time. Go easy on the mesquite and hickory as they can be overpowering. Once you understand the basics, there are many other more intricate methods to discuss.
Have fun!
Easiest to start out with is either chicken leg quarters or thick cut porkchops = manageable sized cuts that will smoke all the way thru fairly quickly.
Gork wrote: ↑Tue Dec 25, 2018 5:00 pm
Smokers usually need a rebore, piston with rings and a valve job.
and don't forget the ball bearings need to be changed/cleaned every 6 uses.
Yep, the worst part about having a smoker is the need to clean it with bleach after every smoke and disassembling and cleaning the flanges and sprockets every third smoke.
Vulcan Vidiot wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:38 am
Just got one as well. I didn't realize you need to season it first. I'll be doing that later tonight, and hopefully doing a Boston Butt tomorrow.
standard practice for any grill, even outdoor stoves. fire it as hot as possible then throw a well seasoned piece of meat that you wont eat in there. for smokers, lots of smoke as it cools down.
Vulcan Vidiot wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:38 am
Just got one as well. I didn't realize you need to season it first. I'll be doing that later tonight, and hopefully doing a Boston Butt tomorrow.
standard practice for any grill, even outdoor stoves. fire it as hot as possible then throw a well seasoned piece of meat that you wont eat in there. for smokers, lots of smoke as it cools down.
Sounds good!
Thanks for the info!
I have the unique privilege of having my avatar bestowed upon me by The Great and Powerful Abe.
you can throw in some whole garlic and a pan of seasoned water as it cools as well.
burn off the oils that are still on it from manufacturing and give it some flavor.
Vulcan Vidiot wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:38 am
Just got one as well. I didn't realize you need to season it first. I'll be doing that later tonight, and hopefully doing a Boston Butt tomorrow.
Have some wings & drumettes smoking for the Gopher game today. Using Pecan.
"Lisa, if the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girls sports, such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing and such and such." - Homer Simpson
Rusty Kuntz wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:38 pm
Tomorrow I'm going to to the 3-2-1 method for smoking my ribs, any recommendations for the dry rub, or what I should pt in for the liquid?
Not a fan of the 3-2-1. Instead, wrap them loosley in butcher paper after 3 hours. They're done when they just begin to want to come apart when holding them with a tongs in the middle of the rack.
No more than 2 1/2 hours for the wings. They'll taste good no matter what, butt you lose all juiciness if you leave them on too long. I usually take mine off after 2 hours and then throw them on a hot grill for 5 minutes or so to crisp up the skin. I've also flash fried them in the deep fryer, but that's a lot of extra clean up.
Rusty Kuntz wrote: ↑Wed Dec 26, 2018 7:38 pm
Tomorrow I'm going to to the 3-2-1 method for smoking my ribs, any recommendations for the dry rub, or what I should pt in for the liquid?
☆☆ Update ☆☆ I'm sure you were wondering... due to the rain I opted not to smoke my meat today. Tomorrow I will be smoking ribs, Mac & Cheese and some corn. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Rusty Kuntz wrote: ↑Thu Dec 27, 2018 10:52 pm
☆☆ Update ☆☆ I'm sure you were wondering... due to the rain I opted not to smoke my meat today. Tomorrow I will be smoking ribs, Mac & Cheese and some corn. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I was gonna do a brisket today but the rain put a damper on that. Saturday will be brisket, home made mac and cheese and brussel sprouts with bacon and a balsamic reduction
You can pick up 3 different cuts of meat that all weight the same and all 3 will cook differently.
If you follow a fellow rube's recipe, some things to take into consideration is what type of smoker (pellet, electric, wood/off-set, etc), the quality of the meat, etc.
My best advice is to pick up a few books by the most well-known pitmasters (Aaron Franklin has a wonderful book), visit some forums, and read some recipies. Start by going step-by-step with what they say then slowly tweak things so that it meats your tastes and your smoker. For example, just because Aaron Franklin cooks at 275 for 11-12 hours on his off-sets doesn't mean that works on my Traeger. Just because a froob likes certain seasonings, brine, spritz, etc. doesn't mean you will.
Take a bit of everything from what they say and create your own process. Write it down.
Rusty Kuntz wrote: ↑Mon Dec 24, 2018 9:12 pm
Hey froobs, your old pal Rusty here. I got a new electric smoker for Christmas, actually a Masterbuilt 30 in smoker I have zero experience with smoking meats, and would appreciate any recommendations.. I got some hickory, mesquite, and a premium blend chips. What would you recommend for my first attempt? I dont like ribs.. Thanks for any tips, tricks and recipes
Brisket,pork loin and chicken breast. Low temps 250 to 275, seasoning and time.
DC is spot on. Write down your cook at first. It’s good to have notes to refer too good and bad. The better you get, minimize the amount of variables you change
The overall lesson is “it’s done when it’s done” no matter what time/temps means nothing if you chicken out and pull your brisket/ribs/pork before they are tender. No temperature probes are harmed in my cook. I have a thermopen that serves as a glorified skewer stick for feeling.
For reference tho....
Chicken thighs 195-200
Pork MM 198, the rest 203
Ribs 205-207
Brisket 210/213
You don’t know how many briskets I ruined before realizing how the meat releases when done
I have zero experience with smoking meats, and would appreciate any recommendations.. I got some hickory, mesquite, and a premium blend chips. What would you recommend for my first attempt? I dont like ribs.. Thanks for any tips, tricks and recipes 
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