Built an Alton Brown smoker. With pics!

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

As long as it's at 145ºF internally, it's technically safe to eat...

 

[HannibalX]

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

The pound per hour method hasn't been in popular use for quite some time. As Eli mentioned, it's all about internal temperature.

Nice work Eli, welcome to the BBQ club.

 

[uclaLabrat]

I've read, and have tried, smoking the meat and making sure the internal temp gets all the way up to 180 F. Makes the meat more tender as the proteins start to render...holy crap, poet and don't know it! Anyway, it tastes damn good. For a rub, try some garlic salt/pepper, lots of paprika, and even more brown sugar. Mmmmmmmm pig!

 

[Superself]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

As long as it's at 145ºF internally, it's technically safe to eat...

Maybe a pork loin, but not a pork shoulder.

 

[Superself]

Originally posted by: iFX

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

The pound per hour method hasn't been in popular use for quite some time. As Eli mentioned, it's all about internal temperature.

Nice work Eli, welcome to the BBQ club.

It is still a good estimate. You may not use it, but when preparing large meals it can give you a good idea of how long your cook may take.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

As long as it's at 145ºF internally, it's technically safe to eat...

Maybe a pork loin, but not a pork shoulder.

According to the back of my meat thermometer, Pork and beef are 160ºF and poultry is 165ºF.

As Alton says in that episode though, there is a big difference between cooking something to tenderness and cooking something to done-ness. You could cook a pork shoulder like a steak and it would be edible, but it would be tough and rather unpleasant to eat.

Remember - when it comes to thick cuts of meat, the inside is still sterile. You only have to cook the outside. That's why it's safe to eat a steak rare. A steak is rare with an internal temperature of about 125ºF. Medium at ~145ºF.

 

[Jadow]

So I spent 600 bucks on a big green egg when I coulda done this!

 

[zinfamous]

yeah, I been wanting to make me one of those ever since I saw that.

$75 = awesome.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

As long as it's at 145ºF internally, it's technically safe to eat...

Maybe a pork loin, but not a pork shoulder.

why? are you worried about something that hasn't been an issue for several decades now? (trichinosis)

 

[LS21]

While food above 140 (40-140 rule) is safe to eat, pork should is not finished until 200. you want to bring that bitch to ATLEAST 190. otherwise, its not smoked bbq

alton brown food sucks, but his smoker is very intruiging. not so much for americans, but i sent it to my german friend. there, a normal 100$ weber kettle grill is 400$ usd. NO SHIT. a 400$ weber mountain would be 1000$+

i cant explain it

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

No, I'm not kidding. After 5 hours the meat pretty much just falls apart. Pork shoulders aren't some giant tower of meat. They're...well....alternator sized.

 

[dbk]

oh snap

 

[waffleironhead]

For the loin. This may or may not work in a smoker, but in the oven or on the grill this is a great recipe for pork.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Porketta-Roast-17160

porketta

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

No, I'm not kidding. After 5 hours the meat pretty much just falls apart. Pork shoulders aren't some giant tower of meat. They're...well....alternator sized.

:laugh:

 

[danzigrules]

I have redone my hotplate with the one Eli uses, but I did some more modifications.

I did the same as Eli, but I took the thermostat completely out of the unit and wired in an old oil furnace limit switch that shuts the burner off and then turns it back on at a set temperature so that I do not have to constantly monitor the temp.


I will take pics later of the whole setup.

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: Fritzo

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

No, I'm not kidding. After 5 hours the meat pretty much just falls apart. Pork shoulders aren't some giant tower of meat. They're...well....alternator sized.

so you cook bulk pork then?

 

[ElFenix]

i wonder if i could do a hot plate in my weber kettle? use some sand as a heat sink to keep the temp even.

 

[BW86]

congrats

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Superself

Originally posted by: Fritzo
I'm a smokin' fool I slow cook everything on the weekends. It's my "quiet time."

Anyway, pork loin doesn't need much done to it, because it's a fatty/moist meat to begin with. Pork shoulder is actually best- darker pork meat lends itself to smoking better than white meat.

I soak mine in oil and some seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, maybe some chopped onion) for a couple of hours until it gets to room temp, then throw it on the smoker. 10lbs takes about 5-6 hours depending on how hot your wood/coal gets. You want to keep the heat between 160-180 during that time.

Chop it up on a cutting board, serve with some warm BBQ sauce, and the neighbors will come to your back yard like zombies looking for brains.

You are kidding right??

Typical rule of thumb is 1-1.5 hours per pound between 220-260!
With 10 pounds of meat at 180 for 6 hours, I doubt it is safe to eat anything you are plating.

As long as it's at 145ºF internally, it's technically safe to eat...

Maybe a pork loin, but not a pork shoulder.

According to the back of my meat thermometer, Pork and beef are 160ºF and poultry is 165ºF.

As Alton says in that episode though, there is a big difference between cooking something to tenderness and cooking something to done-ness. You could cook a pork shoulder like a steak and it would be edible, but it would be tough and rather unpleasant to eat.

Remember - when it comes to thick cuts of meat, the inside is still sterile. You only have to cook the outside. That's why it's safe to eat a steak rare. A steak is rare with an internal temperature of about 125ºF. Medium at ~145ºF.

For meats with significant amounts of connective tissue, the primary aim is not to cook them until they are safe to eat, but rather until they are edible. This happens only when the collagen inside hydrolyzes to gelatin, and can be judged by the internal temperature. 190-200F is a good target.

 

[Nik]

Just saw this thread. Very nice, Eli! :beer:

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

I have also built one of these. I used a slightly more powerful hotplate than Eli's (mine is 1000W and his is 800W). Mine came in a square metal housing that didn't fit very well into the bottom of my pot, so I disassembled it down to just the heating element and the wiring. This also let me run the dial outside the pot thru the hole in the bottom so I can control it without having to open the smoker.

One thing I also did was to simply cut out the thermal fuse entirely, but now I have the problem that I can't keep my temps low enough and in control. I think part of the problem is that my wood chunks are too dry and burn too fast, creating superfluous heat, and the other is that the controller knob that it came with isn't very precise.

I think I'd like to wire in a better device for controlling the current flow, but I'm not expert enough in electronics to decide what would be the best to use. Anyone making recommendations would be met with gratitude. I've also PM'd danzigrules for more info about his limit switch implementation.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Eli
According to the back of my meat thermometer, Pork and beef are 160ºF and poultry is 165ºF.

As Alton says in that episode though, there is a big difference between cooking something to tenderness and cooking something to done-ness. You could cook a pork shoulder like a steak and it would be edible, but it would be tough and rather unpleasant to eat.

Remember - when it comes to thick cuts of meat, the inside is still sterile. You only have to cook the outside. That's why it's safe to eat a steak rare. A steak is rare with an internal temperature of about 125ºF. Medium at ~145ºF.

Those meat thermometers are so far off it's not even funny.

I have one that says beef is done to medium at 150. I made a prime rib at my parents' house a few weeks ago and I wanted to take it off at 125 because I know by experience this will rise to 130-135 during resting and will be a nice medium. My dad was a little worried so he made me keep it on until 135, it rose to about 140. We cut into it and it was into medium-well territory. The very center of the roast was light pink and that was it. Letting the thing cook to 150 would have been well done and then some.

 

[danzigrules]

My PM to Cerpin Taxt:


Not Cheap but my dad had one laying around the house from when he updated his furnace to a heat pump.


All I did was take the dial control that came with the hotplate out of the picture. Replaced it with the limit switch.

I redid all the wiring with hi temp wiring, so that the wires didn't melt.


I use the limit switch on the top where you normally put the thermometer.

Mess with the temp setting on the switch a bit and find the sweet spot that turns off the power at ~220 and it turns the power back on ~200.

Makes it completely automatic.

Only have to change the wood when needed.

 

[biggestmuff]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
i wonder if i could do a hot plate in my weber kettle? use some sand as a heat sink to keep the temp even.

Your Weber kettle grill can smoke meats. Set it up for indirect cooking, but with the lump coal only on one side. Put your meats on the other side of the grill on the cooking surface. The only thing you need to watch is the temperature which you'll regulate with the lower and upper vents.

 

[sactoking]

I generally like Alton's ideas, but I've built one of his terra cotta smokers and I can safely say that it's crud. If you want to smoke food cheaply, get a 55 gallon drum and turn it into an Upright Drum Smoker. If you're willing to pony up $75 for the Alton smoker, spend an extra $25-50 and get a Chargriller or Silver Smoker offset where you can smoke AND grill.