Meat Smoking - Recipes and methods - photos of smoker added at end

Dave Diefenderfer

Dave Diefenderfer

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In preparation for the new recipe category, I spent 2 days last weekend building a smoker. I loosely followed the plans from the UCONN Extension service:

http://animalscience.uconn.edu/extension/publications/build_smokehouse.pdf

Of coarse, I way overbuilt mine.... 2x4 framing, rough cut western red cedar, board and batten style, all SS screws, no glues or adhesives so no out gassing. I moved it to a concrete pad last evening, and plan to "season" it later this week to figure out the air flow and smoke generation/temp control before I commit to some meat.

Anyway, I need some recipes for wild pig, duck, turkey, etc....

This will be cold smoking (wooden smoke house!) so temps less than 180F as I read it.

Thanks in advance,
 
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google on line. I use different brines for different tastes. Brown sugar, salt and other spices are a good base. I keep exact records of each one. Keep them in a bound book, good reference. Also outside temp, inside temp time etc. Go to the book store and look at a few books. Buy a couple, very informative
 
I've smoked more salmon and lake trout than anything else. I like to smoke chunked salmon about 6-7 hours with the last hour over 170 degrees. In that 6-7 hours I will use about three loads (frying pan loads) of wood chips. I brine in a lighter brine over night with brown sugar, salt, spices. Let the fish dry in front of a fan before smoking. I did a Christmas turkey one time that I brined way too long in a brine that was way too salty - tasted kind of like country ham when it was done. Remember, you don't have to completely cook something in the smoker, you can always finish it in the oven.

The guy that got me into smokeing used to do the Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey in a smoker made out of a cardboard box - smoke the bird for an hour or two and then bring it in the kitchen and finish it in the oven.

The best cut of meat, bird or fish will naturally become the best finished product. As good as the salmon I smoked was, the absolute best fish I ever smoked was a Lake Michigan 5# Brown Trout.

I found that temperature control was the most difficult thing about the whole process. With my cheap sheet aluminum smoker I would have to wrap an old sleeping bag around the smoker if the ambient temperature was too low or I couldn't get the smoker hot enough to finish off the fish. The other challange to the temp control issue was a heat source that always seemed to struggle to keep the temp where I wanted it - make sure you use one that is big enough.
 
Dave,

that's pretty cool! I may have to build something like that eventually. Right now all I have is my Little Chief, and I love it. It works great for ducks and fish, but some geese just won't fit in it.

This year, the few mallards that I shot, I spent the extra time to pluck them. I smoked them for 1-2 hours with just one pan of wood chips and then roasted them in the oven to medium rare, and they tasted like prime rib!
 
I've got a Master Forge propane fired smoker. I've smoked pork shoulder roasts up to 8 lbs., whole turkey breasts, racks o' ribs, chicken thighs and drumsticks. I typically run it at about 200-225 degrees during the first several hours of smoking. I use an instant read digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the meat when I think I'm getting close. My rubs have some or most, if not all of the following ingredients:

brown sugar
granulated sugar
garlic powder
smoky paprika
cinnamon
crushed red pepper
fresh ground black pepper
kosher salt
cumin
chili powder

When I do rubs, I like to coat the meat heavily in the rub, put it in the refrigerator in a glass casserole dish, covered with plastic wrap. I leave it for at least 12 hours. This allows the meat to absorb the spices deeper into the meat. The next day I remove from the 'fridge and let the meat come up to room temperature for a couple hours. I then re-coat with rub, and put in the smoker. BE PATIENT! Don't open the door and check it every half hour or hour. Mine has a separate door for feeding wood chips, so when I see the smoke dropping off I add more wood chips. Usually I'll bump up the temperature to about 250 for the last 1-2 hours before I pull the meat off the grill. I wrap it tightly in foil and let it rest 15-30 minutes before slicing/pulling. I just did a 7.5 lb. pork shoulder roast and an 8 lb. turkey breast last week. They were in the smoker for almost 11 hours...
 
Here is a brine recipe I've used for goose breasts. I'm not a huge fan of jerky, but I do grind goose and make smokies/snack sticks with it. If I am going to smoke whole goose breasts, I brine them in this brine for at least 24 hours. Then smoke until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees minimum. They are tender, moist, and very tasty after being brined and smoked.

Brine recipe:
Ingredients:
· 1 gallon cold water
· 2 quarts apple juice
· 2 quarts orange juice
· 2 cup salt (3 cups Kosher or coarse salt)
· 1/2 cup brown sugar
· 10 whole cloves
· 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
Preparation:
Pour apple and orange juice into a large pot over a medium heat. Add salt, brown sugar, cloves and nutmeg. Simmer for 15 minutes until salt and sugar are completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add cold water.
Place poultry in a large plastic container. Pour brine over top. Brine poultry for 1 hour per pound in the refrigerator.
I cut the quantities in half for most everything I do. The original recipe was for submerging a whole turkey.
 
Here is the completed smoker...

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DeWayne, teach me! I have never done this, so open to any experience. Last weekend I tried making smoke. I soaked the chips for 30 minutes, and then put on the heat, took awhile for the water to steam off then the chips burned/smoldered. I did not see copious amounts of smoke, so I am thinking I was too hot? Internal temp in the house got up to 250F which I know is too hot. I will try making smoke again before I commit to meat. But open to any and all suggestions!
 
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Dave, your neighbors must be very worried.

If you are looking for a cold smoke you may not be able to lower the heat enough with the large fryer burner. Try a run with it on its lowest simmer flame setting and see what temps you hold at. If it is too high for your liking a smaller burner might be needed that has less BTU output. Even less heat will be needed as the temps warm this spring.
For smoke you just need to let the chips burn over the heat of the pan. Wet Saw dust works also.
Our upright box is metal but uses a burner for hot smoke or a remote fire box to do true cold smoke. sausage that's smoked is awesome. So are venison hind quarters.
Bob
 
Dave, your neighbors must be very worried.

If you are looking for a cold smoke you may not be able to lower the heat enough with the large fryer burner. Try a run with it on its lowest simmer flame setting and see what temps you hold at. If it is too high for your liking a smaller burner might be needed that has less BTU output. Even less heat will be needed as the temps warm this spring.
For smoke you just need to let the chips burn over the heat of the pan. Wet Saw dust works also.
Our upright box is metal but uses a burner for hot smoke or a remote fire box to do true cold smoke. sausage that's smoked is awesome. So are venison hind quarters.
Bob
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Worried? Because it looks like an outhouse? My neighbor is used to my activities/antics.. he stiopped over to check out the smokehouse and wants some samples!

The weekend they moved in I had a deer hanging from the basketball hoop! They wanted to know when we were grilling the backstrap! I am very fortunate to not have and HOA!
 
your chips might not be fine enough should start with temp @ 140 for 1hr or 2 and slowly raise
high temp right away will dry meat out

it does need a moon on it lol
 
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LOL, that does look like an outhouse. Well this thread inspired me. I checked the pantry and found I had a store bought brine, then I checked the garage an found I still had some apple wood chips. I currently have several mallard breasts soaking. Figure they'll go into the little chief right after church tommorrow. I can't wait to celebrate presidents day with some jerked duck! Fore fathers would be proud.
 
LOL, that does look like an outhouse. Well this thread inspired me. I checked the pantry and found I had a store bought brine, then I checked the garage an found I still had some apple wood chips. I currently have several mallard breasts soaking. Figure they'll go into the little chief right after church tommorrow. I can't wait to celebrate presidents day with some jerked duck! Fore fathers would be proud.
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Blasphemy! Just kidding Brad, but I treat my mallard breasts like the finest beef tenderloin. A little fresh ground black pepper, a little garlic salt, and a little onion salt, grilled medium rare. I do find goose breasts benefit from brining before smoking. Get the meat to about 160-170 internal temperature with a good smoke and they should be moist and tasty.
 
Nice job Dave. Interested in how your burner works. I've had difficulty adjusting mine down far enough. What they need is a fine adjustment. Also, you might consider drilling a hole in the side of your smoker for the thermometer probe so you can monitor the temp without opening the door. Were the expanded metal grates recommended on the plans? Seems like they will be a bitch to clean.
 
DeWayne, teach me! I have never done this, so open to any experience. Last weekend I tried making smoke. I soaked the chips for 30 minutes, and then put on the heat, took awhile for the water to steam off then the chips burned/smoldered. I did not see copious amounts of smoke, so I am thinking I was too hot? Internal temp in the house got up to 250F which I know is too hot. I will try making smoke again before I commit to meat. But open to any and all suggestions!
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Dave, if you have anymore of the expanded metal, you could put another shelf in right above your chip pan. The heat and smoke rising up around the water pan will help carry the steam up. You could use a fairly shallow pan, something along the lines of a pie pan for instance. The bigger the better so you don't have to re-fill it hopefully during a smoke cycle.

As for your lack of smoke, I'm not sure what kind of chips you are using, but 30 minutes of soaking should be plenty, unless you are using big chunks. I tend to really load up my chip pan, especially at the start. For me, if the temperature is running 200-220 for the first couple hours I'm happy with that. Lots of good smoke and the meat doesn't get a bark on it too quick and not take the smoke. Here is a pork shoulder roast I did a couple weeks ago. Started out at a little over 7.5 lbs.

Pork.jpg


The resulting smoke ring in the meat:

Smoke.jpg


I had an 8 lb. turkey breast in the smoker too that day. Didn't take a picture of it though.

One thing that may be an issue for you is a lack of draft, possibly? I'm not sure how tightly your door seals, but the volume of that unit looks pretty big and it doesn't look like you have very large air inlets and outlets.
 
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