GLOCKer
Knows what a fatty is.
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2016
- Location
- Marietta...
I fired up my new gas smoker this past Saturday to season it and try it out. I've got some thoughts on it as it compares to my other smoker, a kamado grill; but first, the wings!
I bought a vinegar based jalapeno sauce as a BBQ competition (the BBQ competition were our team won the smoker that I later won in a team lottery!). I really like the flavor; very wing sauce like without the butter typically used in home made wing sauces. So I thawed and marinated the wings overnight in the sauce. The next day I fired the smoker up at 2pm after spraying the inside with cooking spray. After roughly an hour of seasoning with apple wood chips, I put the wings on and added some more apple wood chips to the box. About 3:30 I flipped the wings and I pulled them off the smoker right on time to eat with the kick-off of my college game. I tossed them in some more of the jalapeno sauce and served with a side of crispy fries out of the air fryer. They were great!!!! My wife, who doesn't eat wings, had five of 'em!!!
So here are my thoughts on the gas smoker versus the kamado:
The gas smoker was easy to set up, easy and FAST to get going at that prime spot where your producing smoke and are at a smoking temperature. And it was EASY to clean up to put away!
On the downside, I think I like the process of smoking with a kamado better. There seems to be more craft to smoking on the kamado, even if it takes longer to get set up and dialed in where you want. I also have to say that I'm pretty sure a kamado is going to produce a cleaner smoke.
Temperature control is also a little weird with the gas smoker. Closing the vents to kill airflow causes the smoker to heat up. And heat up it does! Like to 400 degrees! But opening the vents causes it to drop pretty quick, and LOW! I've read complaints that cabinet style gas smokers are hard to get below 250, to lets say, a prime low-n-slow temp of 225. This thing would sit at 200 to 225 all day if I wanted it to! But the problem with that is, anything under 250ish to 275ish wasnt high enough to get the wood chips to smoke!
And the smoke wasn't that clean smoke that you get with a kamado. I'm talking about that kamado smoke that comes out almost clear and like a jet once you have your kamado vents all dialed in. Once this cabinet smoker was actually smoking, it was belching smoke. Most came out of the top chimney, a little came out of the side vents. Closing the side vents to encourage flow out of the top dampener really just causes the temperature to rise. So there was a little ping-ponging the temperatures as I screwed with it.
But the wings were good!
The smoker in question: Landmann Smokey Mountain Series gas thingy...
Smoker seasoned, wings on!
A good cook stays lubricated!
Just after the flip!
Just outa' the cabinet, before being sauced!
Sauced and served!
I bought a vinegar based jalapeno sauce as a BBQ competition (the BBQ competition were our team won the smoker that I later won in a team lottery!). I really like the flavor; very wing sauce like without the butter typically used in home made wing sauces. So I thawed and marinated the wings overnight in the sauce. The next day I fired the smoker up at 2pm after spraying the inside with cooking spray. After roughly an hour of seasoning with apple wood chips, I put the wings on and added some more apple wood chips to the box. About 3:30 I flipped the wings and I pulled them off the smoker right on time to eat with the kick-off of my college game. I tossed them in some more of the jalapeno sauce and served with a side of crispy fries out of the air fryer. They were great!!!! My wife, who doesn't eat wings, had five of 'em!!!
So here are my thoughts on the gas smoker versus the kamado:
The gas smoker was easy to set up, easy and FAST to get going at that prime spot where your producing smoke and are at a smoking temperature. And it was EASY to clean up to put away!
On the downside, I think I like the process of smoking with a kamado better. There seems to be more craft to smoking on the kamado, even if it takes longer to get set up and dialed in where you want. I also have to say that I'm pretty sure a kamado is going to produce a cleaner smoke.
Temperature control is also a little weird with the gas smoker. Closing the vents to kill airflow causes the smoker to heat up. And heat up it does! Like to 400 degrees! But opening the vents causes it to drop pretty quick, and LOW! I've read complaints that cabinet style gas smokers are hard to get below 250, to lets say, a prime low-n-slow temp of 225. This thing would sit at 200 to 225 all day if I wanted it to! But the problem with that is, anything under 250ish to 275ish wasnt high enough to get the wood chips to smoke!
And the smoke wasn't that clean smoke that you get with a kamado. I'm talking about that kamado smoke that comes out almost clear and like a jet once you have your kamado vents all dialed in. Once this cabinet smoker was actually smoking, it was belching smoke. Most came out of the top chimney, a little came out of the side vents. Closing the side vents to encourage flow out of the top dampener really just causes the temperature to rise. So there was a little ping-ponging the temperatures as I screwed with it.
But the wings were good!
The smoker in question: Landmann Smokey Mountain Series gas thingy...
Smoker seasoned, wings on!
A good cook stays lubricated!
Just after the flip!
Just outa' the cabinet, before being sauced!
Sauced and served!
