any smokers out there?

[teamhoyt]

I just got a new smoker for Xmas, yes I know its a little early. I have smoked a few prime ribs in my life and they turn out awesome. But I really have no idea what im doing when it comes to smoking anything else. I took out some moose ribs to try and smoke and was wondering if anyone had recommendations on brine recipes or temp or anything else that I may need to know so I don't ruin them. Also any one this info for fish would be helpful. I have some ft peck lake trout that I would like to do as well.

 

[BuzzH]

Morton sugar cure is your friend for fish, fowl, etc.

Biggest thing with smoking meats is just don't be in a hurry.

 

[----]

Smoking a big chunk of game meat always sounds like a good idea to me, but is incredibly hard to keep moist. The last time I did it I smoked an antelope shoulder for a couple hours, then finished it in a foil cider bath. Turned out much better than the roasts I've tried smoking through.

 

[Jorgy]

PM sent

 

[MKotur325]

I would think that basting it with a bit of fat may help, Something like clarified butter perhaps? Haven't tried this with Game, but if you think about smoking ribs, brisket or other traditional meats, they are traditionally smoked fat cap up so that it will naturally baste during the smoking process.

Just a thought... I'm no expert on smoking...

 

[Nemont]

A simple brine is a cup of kosher salt, a half cup of sugar in a half gallon of water boil until dissolved. Add enough ice to cool it and pour over your meat of choice.

Here is one I have gave before for goose but it works for almost any wild game.

1 Gallon of apple cider, not apple juice
2 cups kosher salt
2 table spoons of Morton's Tender quick
some whole pepper corns, some whole allspice berries.
Garlic powder, to taste
Onion powder, to taste

Boil together until mixed and then pour into a container with on 7lb bag of ice, I use a food grade 5 gallon bucket.

Trim all fat, silver skin and blood shot meat off of goose breasts.

Put goose breasts in a container, again a food grade 5 gallon bucket works for me, and cover with brine, The breasts have to be covered. I leave this in my beer fridge in the garage and stir daily for 5 to 6 days. Once out of the brine, rinse meat and let sit in clean, cold water for an hour and then air dry for 30 minutes. Brush with apple cider and sprinkle fresh cracked pepper on top.

Bring your smoker to 200 degrees and place meat on the racks until the internal temp of the meat reaches 155 to 160 deg. Remove from the smoker and let sit for a while.

 

[teamhoyt]

Thanks for the replies, there are certainly a lot of ways to go about this and I assume a lot of trial and error as well. For those of you that are interested I will share my recipe for smoking a beef prime rib, If you try this for X mas dinner you WILL be a hero.

rub in prime with Worcestershire, salt, garlic salt and black pepper. be sure to coat all sides, then I usually add a bit more Worcestershire just so all the spice is wet and sticks to the meat good.

Wrap in saran wrap and put in the fridge for 3 days. If one prefers this process could be done again on day 2 but I don't think its necessary . I like to take the prime out and let it rest a couple hours before cooking.

for a 14-16 lb prime I like to cook about 250 deg for 3-4 hrs or until internal temp is 125-130 then cut and serve. It don't take much time for the prime to get too done. I like rare so I err on the side of caution. If you let a whole prime set without cutting it it will naturally keep cooking a bit so be aware of that.

I have used hickory and pecan wood to smoke over and both are good. I prefer pecan hands down for beef.

I also like to use a pan to catch the drippings so that I can add it to my Au jus.

 

[hardwoods]

Be sure to pick up a good meat thermometer if you dont already have one.

 

[CILhunter]

Smoking a big chunk of game meat always sounds like a good idea to me, but is incredibly hard to keep moist. The last time I did it I smoked an antelope shoulder for a couple hours, then finished it in a foil cider bath. Turned out much better than the roasts I've tried smoking through.

I like to take a venison rump roast and cover with bacon. That helps to keep the meat moist, and, let's be real: Who doesn't like bacon?

 

[deer_shooter]

I like to take a venison rump roast and cover with bacon. That helps to keep the meat moist, and, let's be real: Who doesn't like bacon?

I've done deer and lope hindquarters this way and they turn out great.

 

[skeet20]

Smoking turkey

I have smoked a lot of domestic turkeys which I usually give as Christmas gifts to people who have everything.
I get a 12 lb turkey and thaw it
To make a brine I add kosher salt until a raw egg floats
Add an equal among of brown sugar
Throw in about 2 oz of pickeling spice. You can also add other spices you may want to experiment with as well a liquid smoke.
Put the turkey in a 5 gal. Pail and cover with the brine. Put a plate or bowl over the bird to keep it completely submerged in the brine. Put the pail in a cool place for 24 hours.
Take the bird out and dry with towels.
Store the dry bird in the frig for another 24 hrs.
Place a meat thermometer in the bird before smoking. I smoke until the bird temp reaches 180 degrees.
I can put 4 turkeys in my smoker at once. It is gas fired and has a water pan over the smoke box to give a cooler and more moist smoke.
I use apple or cheery for the smoke wood but you can use others too. I keep the smoker about 275 degrees and smoke until the meat thermometer reach 180 degrees.
I paint the bird with pancake syrup when I put them in the smoker and once in a while during the smoking process.
The legs should be easily twisted off if it is fully cooked. The dark meat will appear pink to red but will be done.
Enjoy.

 

[Zach]

Nobody is gonna ask what smoker?

I have a traeger, love it!

Cook to temp and the it will be good. Throw away a clock too.

 

[Z Barebow]

I have mainly been smoking wild game (Sausage, jerky, etc). I have also made Canadian bacon (Wild game)and venison bacon. But I have done pork ribs and brisket also.

I'll repeat much of what has been said. Don't be in a hurry. Sausage might take 10-12 hours. Get a thermometer if you don't have one. (My smoker measures internal cabinet temp as well as a second on a probe). With any pork products, internal temp knowledge is a must.

Something else I have learned. You are better off with less smoke vs too much.

For Jerky, I'll start temp at 145 for an hour or so to remove some humidity. Throw in a small pan of hickory and I leave damper open the rest of the way.

I have done salmon and it was very good. Plenty of good smoking forums for ideas.

For your moose ribs, you might want to consider using a crutch. (Placing in a pan with liquid and wrapping with foil to retain moisture) I could see going through the initial rub and smoking process (4 hours or so) and then finishing off with "crutch method". This will keep them from drying out and they will be extremely tender.

 

[sra61]

I smoked a 4 pound Elk Rump roast this morning in my turbo charged Bradley Smoker. It runed out awesome! I mixed up the rub in the recipe below last year. All I did was to cover the roast with rub and put it in a gallon ziploc, and refrigerate overnight. I set the smoker for 210 F, and cooked until the internal temp was 160 F. It took about 4 hours. It was juicy, and tender and very good flavor. It was my first thing smoked after I switched out the heating element from the stock 500 watt to a new 1100 watt element and the Auber PID Controller. "MORE POWER"
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?467-Jan-s-Dry-Rub

 

[teamhoyt]

Nobody is gonna ask what smoker?



.

Its a masterbuilt 40cu.

I marinated the ribs for 3 days in Worcectershire, salt, garlic, blk pepper, fresh onion and meat tenderizer. I smoked them for 6 hrs. the first 3 hrs at 150 deg, next 1 hr at 200 and the last 2 hrs at 250 deg(while doing moose prime rib) the last hr covered in foil. They were delicious and not too tough although not falling off the bone either. I think if I took the time to remove the silver skin a bit better it would've helped. The moose prime rib however was excellent, I used the same recipe as I previously posted but I also injected the prime with my marinade which helped a lot with keeping it moist.

 

[schmalts]

low and slow..... unless it is sausage be careful how much smoke you give some things like fowl. Sausage seems to be more tolerant to heavy smoke.

 

[huntlife]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/

anything you ever wanted to know about "slow and low" you can find here. One word of warning though, do NOT look at any of the posts on there that says "Q-view" if your hungry!!!!!!!

 

[schmalts]

Ok, going to share a quick report on a sausage making weekend. I made 75 pounds of summer sausage Saturday and on the last 15# batch I did a little "craft brewing" and made 2 different variations to my usual spice mix. Of the 15# batch I divided it up and took 10# and added 1.5 cups of pure dark maple syrup. The remaining 5# I took and added 8 Tbs of Sriracha chili "rooster sauce" as some call it. Well the verdict of todays taste test is: The Maple batch is so-so. It's good, but it has a sweeter taste that I think will not go good with cheese and other things I eat mine with.
Now the Sriracha.....that is a winner!! I am bummed I only have 5# of it. Kid and wife give it 2 thumbs up.
So there you have it, if you guys make summer sausage, try adding 8Tbs per 5# of meat to your normal mix, I think you will like it.
My smoker is an Alto Shaam heat and hold oven that I use for the superior temp control and then added a home built smoke generator that sits on the ground and the smoke is drawn in from on of the 2" vents I added to the cabinet.

 

[SoTex]

I usually smoke with mesquite or pecan and as a general rule 1.5 hours per pound of meat. The night before I'll apply a good rub and start off with my heat around 250 to get a good char then back it off to about 200. About 2 hours before I remove the meat I'll wrap it in foil which captures all the juices. I usually drink about 1.5 beers per hour while smoking so maybe that's why my Texas BBQ tastes so good when its done.

 

[Joe Hulburt]

I smoke a lot of salmon and steelhead and lately this has been my go to brine. Not too sweet and not too salty.

http://honest-food.net/2012/08/12/how-to-smoke-salmon-recipe/