I have a bbq/smoker combo and I’d really like to learn how to smoke meat. I don’t really have anyone in my life to teach me. I know how to bbq, with propane, so most of my help would need to be centered around the prep, fire making, and smoker specific items I’ll need. I have the smoker and a meat thermometer and that’s it, so I know I’ll need to get more stuff. Anyone know any good videos or articles that really go over the basics of smoking?
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Amazing Ribs is an excellent website. Lots of great info.
Some of my YouTube follows I’ve found helpful:
Mad Scientist BBQ Malcom Reed, HowToBBQRight Ash Kickin’ BBQ Meat Church BBQ American Smoke (he started using a Pit Boss vertical smoker like mine) Chuds BBQ Smoke Trails BBQ (he’s a bit of a character and has an unhealthy attraction to Aaron Franklin, but has some entertaining content).
They all go through prep to varying degrees. Some use pellet grills, most use stick burners, some charcoal. Jirby from Goldee’s BBQ has some stick burner fire management content on his YouTube site, as does Mad Scientist. Chums might too.
I’ve found a lot of “stuff” really isn’t needed to get started. Gloves have been very helpful (I like to use cotton gloves with disposable gloves over them), spray bottle to spritz, and a good instant read thermometer. A good sharp boning knife for trimming. A good slicing knife for cutting done ribs. A notebook to take notes of your cooks so you can track what worked and didn’t work. Maybe disposable cutting boards, nice but not needed. Sure you have a decent cutting board in the house.
Keep asking questions, it’s how we all learn. I didn’t have anyone in my life either to get me going in smoking and I’m moving along OK thanks to the community.
I learned all my basics from AmazingRibs.com. Kind of a cheesy name, but there’s so much good info on there, even with a free account. Info on all different meat/food types, cooker types, and how to prepare and use all of it. Tons of unbiased product reviews for more than just grills and smokers. I love that they “myth-bust” so many things with tests, proofs of the tests and actually explaining the science behind the “why”. There is a lot of reading on there, but really just pick a recipe or a cut of meat, pick a method for how to do it, and follow the instructions, lol. Most importantly, keep doing it and take notes. Weather, fuel, meat, etc all make huge differences on the outcome. And just because you might have messed up something once doesnt mean you shouldn’t try again! It’s an art form that takes experimenting, patience and practice!
Thanks I’ll give that site a look!
What kind of smoker do you have?
I’ve got an Oklahoma joe smoker/propane bbq combo. Half the chamber is a propane bbq the other half an offset smoker. So I’ve been using the bbq side only since I bought it.
Well I’ve never used an offset so I don’t have specific advice. Figuring out how to manage the fire and avoid big temperature swings will be key. Youtube is your friend here.
Really what you want is to learn how to dial it in so you don’t have to babysit a fire all day. I have to fight my wsm to run at anything but 225, but it took some practice.
I was constantly fiddling with vents at first. And my temps were running like 300, dropping to 185, back up to 290, 210 and dropping…
Making small adjustments and waiting at leat 15 minutes for things to level out were the keys here.
Start with a bone in pork shoulder (aka pork butt.) Pork butt is very forgiving. You can do a basic rub, throw it on and play with fire all day to learn your smoker. The end result will probably still be delicious pulled pork. And if not, well at least you only spent $20 on a pork butt instead of $70 on a brisket.
Hey, welcome to the hobby! Take it slow and be kind to yourself, everyone makes mistakes.
Think about smoking as these steps.
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Prep meat (trim fat, remove silverskin, etc). Lots of great tutorials on YouTube for each cut of meat.
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Season meat (brines, marinades, rubs, etc)
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Smoke meat (keep smoker at consistent temp until meat reaches the desired internal temp).
The specifics will change based on the cut of meat you’re using, but the above steps apply to everything.
I’d pick a forgiving and shorter cook time meat and look up recipes (basically the recipe is for the rub/brine). My favorite dead simple and crowd favorite cut is pork belly.
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