Sweet blue question

I've had problems telling if I had good smoke or not when getting my smoker started at night or in the early am. Not enough light to really tell. Like another said, just putting my hand over the exhaust is the best way for me to tell if I'm burning clean. If my hand smells like a campfire I wait. If it smells like smokey goodness I throw my meat on. Although if it smelled like a burnt shoe I'd be at a loss. Best of luck getting it tuned in!

Fatalis.... I forgot to give you some money shots...

Ron_L said:

I don't smoke (except for food :-D). Can I have an alternate prize?

:becky:

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Pine cones??

Jackalope Milk??

Cold Beer??

Wyoming Whiskey?? Oops... its already sold out...

I have an electric box smoker and you need to use a very small amount of wood,like about the size of a nickel.Just put the chips on more frequently.

Fatalis said:

Thirdeye, you are the BOMB!!!:clap:

Thanks so much man, I can't wait to use my smoker again, Im going to use it asap, your pics look so gooooooooood!

Im glad to see that you have success with a big/little chief, was getting a little bummed but now I have seen the light and a glimpse at the possible future :grin:

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You are welcome. The Chiefs are a good tool to have in your arsenal of cookers and as long as you don't exceed their capabilities you will do fine. I actually refer to them as 'flavor smokers' as they are tough to get to a high enough temp to finish off most of your barbecue meats or sausages, but they can give you some good flavor prior to finishing your meat on another cooker or wrapped in foil in the oven. That said,... I have some insulation modifications that let me use them in cooler temps. Today for example, was in the 20's and I got my Little Chief up to 175°, my cured salmon reached 150° internal in just under 4 hours. In the summer I can get the Chiefs into the 220°+ range.

I would not use hickory for trout. I would try cherry or perhaps alder.

No matter what type of wood or charcoal you are BBQ'ing with, the hand over the exhaust trick will always tell you how things are going. Smell that hand

I have been smoking on the chief's for 30 years, sometimes that awefull smell comes from would that is TOO dry, I normally soak my chips for 4-6 hours before using them, it will mellow out the smoke.

columbia1 said:

I have been smoking on the chief's for 30 years, sometimes that awefull smell comes from would that is TOO dry, I normally soak my chips for 4-6 hours before using them, it will mellow out the smoke.

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Some of the wood chips are dried more than they should be because they are packaged in plastic bags, this is to avoid mold growing while it is in storage. (Some wood dealers will sell you wood chips packaged in paper sacks). Anyways, when using brands packaged in plastic.... try soaking them 3 or 4 days early. I don't mean soaking for 3 or 4 days, I'm saying if you are going to be smoking on Saturday.... just wet the chips on Wednesday for several hours, then drain the water off. This will re-hydrate them to some degree and by Saturday they will have appeared to have dried, but in fact they will have retained some moisture. This way you are not using totally wet chips for smoking.