Smokers for Small Spaces

BBQ from a restaurant is great and convenient (if you are in an area with BBQ), but lacks that special something you get when you cook it yourself.  Is it the "Love".  The "Love" is the time invested in selecting the meat, the heat source, wood, smoker, and overall time commitment.

Making your own BBQ should not be limited to those with deep pockets and ample space to store a trailered smoker.  Additionally, if you only smoke a few times a year for small gatherings, it isn't necessary to purchase a large smoker.

I will include some options for those with limited space.  Categories of compact smokers I will highlight are upright or barrel smokers.

Upright smokers - often called "Bullet smokers" consist of an upright pill shaped device that typically separates into three sections.  The bottom (base) containing the heat source, the middle (sleeve) containing a water pan/ or sometimes meat, and the top (lid) containing the meat.

Possibly the best and most recognized upright smoker the Weber Smokey Mountain.

Weber offers an upright in various sizes from 18" ~$300 to 22" ~$400 and are heated by wood or charcoal.  These upright R2D2 style cookers do a great job of keeping temp and moisture levels.  While most manufacturers require you dissemble the smoker every time you need to add wood/charcoal, Weber has a large and easy to access panel to add water/coals.  Additionally, this unit provides ample space in the top of the unit to add a large turkey or multiple ribs in a rib rack.  The downside is the price.  You are paying for quality and also the name.  http://www.weber.com/explore/?glid=8

A good option if the price is too high on the Weber are the Brinkmann line of smokers.  These units start at $60 and go up from there. The uprights also come in a box shape and can be powered by electricity or propane.  The Brinkmann brand can be more cumbersome and inconsistent than the Weber, but for the average cook, you should be ok.  
http://www.brinkmann.net/products/outdoor_cooking/charcoal_smokers_and_grills.aspx












Barrel smokers - these smokers consist of two pieces, an open cavity for the meat and a side firebox

One of the best bargains and easily available units out there is the CharGriller Smokin Pro Model #1224.  This baby retails for $179 on the website.  I purchased mine at Lowes about 4 years ago for $200.  It isn't the most efficient with heat, but it can turn out some delicious product.  I have done 1 brisket, 2 pork shoulders, and 24 wings at one time.  Enough food for at least 35 people.  It is also great for using as a charcoal grill.  The firebox is large enough to cook with 12" - 14" wood logs.  We often do wood fired pizzas by adding a pizza stone to the grill.

http://chargriller.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=34

An often overlooked aspect of owning a smoker is the need for a cover.  A good water proof cover will add years to your smoker and is worth its weight in gold.

Charbroil also makes some nice units that are inexpensive and widely available.  

http://www.charbroil.com/Categories/2/Smokers--Fryers.aspx

For those looking to spend some dollars on a smoker I recommend the following brands:

http://www.horizonbbqsmokersstore.com/servlet/the-Smokers-cln-Backyard-Style-Smokers/Categories - Multiple to list

http://www.americanbarbecuesystems.com/  Check out the All Star

http://www.aceofheartsbbq.com/smokers-home.html  Check out the Pony Express

Good BBQ Resource:

http://www.thesmokering.com/ - This is a collection of member BBQ stores. You can learn a lot by browsing its members.

BBQ Pork Shoulder

Made BBQ this weekend for a party.  Cooked the meat on the smoker for 6 hours using pear and apple wood for smoke and mixed in oak for heat.  After, 6 hours put the meat in individual foil pans and covered tightly.  Cooked the meat for another 10 hours until temp read ~ 210 degrees.  Shoulder benefits from overcooking as long as it is low and slow.  Watch Video.  It turned out great.  Will be repeating the technique.

Bacon Explosion

The popularity of the www.bbqaddicts.com blog made this creation possible. It is the atom bomb of the culinary world. Something so flavorful, so extreme, and so innovative that it may potentially kill tens if not hundreds or even thousands of people by giving them heart attacks on the spot.

I met the guys who invented this delicous pork recipe while volunteering at the Great American BBQ (www.thinkbbq.com). It is just two guys and their ladies. They are young guys around my age who are in pursuit of perfection. Truly nice people and I wish nothing but the best for them. A tip of the 'ol hat gentleman.

We made the Bacon Explosion or Baconator (as my friends called it) for the SuperBowl along with numerous sausages and wings all being immersed in wonderful Ozark Pecan smoke.

Me: "Wait for it...."

Me: "Ka-blamo!"

Your name here: Action - Your face melting

Your name here: "Holy smokes Joe! Is that a 6 x 5 extra thick bacon weave!?! "

Me: "DAMN RIGHT IT IS!!!!"

Me: "Hail BBQ God, Full of Taste, The Grill is with thee. Blessed art thou with spices and rubs, and blessed is the fruit woods, pecans, and hickorys of the Missouri Ozarks. Holy BBQ Pit, Mother of the Smoke Ring, pray for us eaters now, and at the hour of dinner."

Me: "Bear down Chicago Bears"

The finished product

Only one thing left to do - Eat and drink with friends. Sorry Ryan and Lauren, apparently I felt it necessary to protect the innocent...or maybe I had too much to drink by this time.

Thanks BBQ Addicts! Good luck with your new product!

P.S. This beer holder has a patent pending.

BBQ Season happening

BBQ. What does it mean to you? When I first moved to Missouri, BBQ, to this Chicago kid, meant chicken breasts grilled on a propane grill slathered in a sticky, sweet red sauce. My understanding of BBQ has become altered through my culinary adventures since moving to Kansas City. BBQ meccas = KC, Texas, Memphis, the Carolinas.

Barbequing is cooking a piece of subpar meat using wood powered heat and smoke at a low temp over a long period of time turning the once tough meat tender, juicy and creating "flavorplosions" (yep, I cam up with that) in your mouth. Cooking is done by heating a barbeque cooker (smoker) to 200 to 250 using wood or charcoal which infuses the meat with a smokey flavor that brings out the cave person in all of us. It is a long process, taking anywhere from 4 hours to roughly 22 hours, with a median time of 18 hours. The longest I have cooked something was 18 hours. Cooking "low and slow" breaks down the connective tissue in the meat and melts the fat causing the bbq'ed item to fall apart. BBQ food examples are brisket, pork butt (shoulder), turkey, chicken, sausages, ribs, whole fish and potatoes.

Grilling is cooking food over direct or indirect heat source using charcoal, wood, or anything else flammable on grill. Grilling is quick, convenient, and delicious. Steaks, fish fillets, whole chicken, shrimp, clams, mussels, veggies, fruit, pork chops/tenderloins, and marshmallows.

I like both methods for flavor, but I really enjoy BBQ. What other food is an event and what other food generates such positive reactions.

My smoker is a barrel smoker.

The large part of the smoker is where the meat is placed. The small part on the right is the firebox where wood is combusted. Regional BBQ and wood go hand in hand. Wood used for bbq is based on availability.

Since KC is by the Ozarks, I use Ozark pecan wood from southern MO vendors and apple wood (from Mark W.'s backyard). The wood burning in the firebox is the pecan wood.

When the smoker is in action, I control the heat by controlling the amount of air allowed into the smoker. This is done in two locations. The primary location is an adjustable air vent on the right side of the firebox or by opening or closing the flap on the top of the smoke stack on the left of the smoker. Basically, the heat and smoke flows from left to right going out the top of the smoke stack. This bathes the meat in smoky goodness. The process is long, but yields excellent results. See below.

The pics below are of a brisket which I cooked for 18 hours

The brisket is in a tin after being cooked on the grate for the first half of the process.

The brisket should be covered during the final cooking process as it keeps the brisket moist.

I use a rub whenever I BBQ. A rub is a strong spice blend made of paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar and some extra spices (garlic powder, onion powder, chile powder, cumin, or anything else that sounds good)

Looks like I added some red pepper flakes to this one.

This is the pork butt I made for our float trip. Once the pork is pulled off it is important to pull it when it it hot just because it makes the process easier.
The shoulder/butt develops a nice black crust near the end of the cooking process due to the sugar in the rub used. That outside is nothing but pure flavor. Yum.

This is what the pork looks like when it is pulled. I pull the pork with two large serving forks. This just fell apart. The key is to cook the shoulder to 180 degrees. This melts the collagen and fat making the pork tender and moist. Doesn't get much better than this.