Where to get low'n'slow 101?

[Eric]

Hi all

I'm building myself a flower pot smoker at the moment and I'm going back reading masses of old posts on the forum. There are loads of discussions about rubs, brining, finished product, foiling etc but I'm struggling to find some starters guide to cooking on a smoker. For example, various internal temps required, what is stalling, estimating cook times, what is foiling and when should I do it and why? Full on step by step to my first cook.

Is there a list of resources somewhere that address these points, should I buy a particular book? I'm sure people on here would be happy to answer specific questions that arise, but I could do with a good starting point

Cheers all

[robgunby]

No need to buy a book Eric. There are countless guides on the internet, though you will of course find some conflicting advice. However, Toby has done some very informative videos that will show you the basics of low n slow hot smoking. Check out viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2898

I'm pretty sure he covers internal temperatures to pull the meat off at and the other questions you ask, but I'll try and briefly cover them here so as to leave you with no doubt:

-Internal temps. People always debate these, but as a rule of thumb... Pulled pork - 200F. Beef brisket - 190 for sliced, 200 for pulled. Chicken - cooked at 165, some people take it to 185, I tend to pull it off around 170-175. Ribs - look for the meat receding from the rib ends, and the meat being tender and ready to pull from the bone. See the link I will post further down for a table.

Stall - When your meat reaches about 150-160, the temperature suddenly stops rising. This is because surface moisture is evaporating, stopping the fire from increasing the internal temperature. This can last for hours, and brings me neatly to foil.

Foiling - aka the Texas Crutch, this is simply wrapping your meat in foil to prevent moisture loss. This is often done at the beginning of the stall. It can reduce the amount of time in the stall, and ensures the meat stays moist. This can affect the texture of the "bark" on the outside, so isn't to everyone's taste. Leave the foil on for the rest of the cook.

Resting - you didn't ask about this, and may well know, but it is crucial to rest your meat. Minimum half an hour for a big joint. I leave pork shoulders an hour, wrapped in foil and a towel.

Estimating cook times. BBQ is done when it's done, through the miracles of time and woodsmoke. Whatever you estimate your cook time to be, it's worth adding to it to be on the safe side. Nothing worse than friends arriving for dinner at 7 but your meat won't be done til 10! Aforementioned table showing estimated cook times, cook temperatures and internal temperatures can be found at http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-tim ... ures-chart

Step-by-step. Watch Toby's videos, then give us a shout, we can go through any final questions over a pint. Also, if you get stuck in the middle of a cook, you have my number, so you can give me a call if you get stuck.

Hope this helps!

PS, one thing I just thought of that a lot of people fall down on, don't rub your meat too early (hur hur). If you use a salt based rub a long time in advance (overnight for example) it will begin the curing process and draw moisture out of your meat. Opinion is divided on this, but I tend to bring my meat out of the fridge an hour before I light the fire, let it warm up towards room temp a bit, then rub it straight after I've lit my fire, so it pretty much goes straight on the smoker after rubbing.

[Eric]

Hi Rob

That is a fantastic reply thanks very much. I have watched Toby's videos (some more than once) and they are really good, there are a few places though where he rightly assumes that people have some knowlege of what he is doing.

I have been on a lot of sites and my YouTube history now makes me look like some kind of BBQ maniac, but as you said there is a lot of information and few, if any, I've come across, present all the information step by step, so your guide is excellent. I've signed up to the newsletter at the site you mentioned too, it looks like a pretty useful site, not one that I'd come across.

I'm quite excited that I might actually get the smoker up and running at the weekend. I now have most of the parts I need (I might start a thread somewhere to put some pictures in if people are interested). I've ordered a router speed controller as I've removed the little thermostat from the hotplate. This might not arrive until next week but I'm wondering if I can use my "poor mans sous vide" PID controller to simply switch the plate on and off as required at a given temperature instead.

Given that it all works, and comes up to temperature and stays pretty stable, what you recommend for testing? Go straight for something like a pork joint? Or a chicken (a bit cheaper generally), or just some sausages (though I was reading something last night that its a bit hit and miss depending on the sausages chosen).

Cheers

[ConorD]

The biggest bit of advice which no one really says in these vids is BE PATIENT.

Give yourself more time than you need, meat can always rest for longer but will not be good if taken off too early. Low and slow is very forgiving if you go a bit over the time to perfection but will sting you if you go too early.

Good bbq is done when it is done - sounds simple but when you are cooking something that smells so good for 16-20 hours human nature just wants it to hurry up and the "ah well that should do it" mentality can be the difference between melting goodness and chewy crap - believe me I have had my far share of the latter.

I started with day cooks where I could monitor closely and get used to controlling temps, so things like chicken and small shoulders (or parts of them) helped me to practice. Ribs are what I wanted to aim for but have found them to be the hardest to perfect.

Happy cooking and keep asking questions (and posting pics of your progress) because that is what this forum was set up for.

[robgunby]

I don't have swathes of experience with electric smokers Eric, but from what I read, yes, a PID controller should work fine. What wattage is your hotplate out of interest?

If you're heading through Sheffield station tomorrow night I could nip down for a pint at the tap if you want to run through any last minute questions.

Conor's advice about day smokes is good advice. It will knacker you, but getting a smoke on at 6am means you stand a chance of getting it off the same day, meaning you get to watch how it all happens. Once you are comfortable with your setup (build a UDS!) you can get into overnighters.

Pork shoulder is about the most forgiving meat you can bbq. MIght sound obvious, but remove the skin (I get my butcher to remove it for me). Bank on at least 1.5 hours per pound. I would do this before chicken. You can do a small piece. You should be looking about £1.30 - £1.50 per lb.

[Eric]

Thanks Conor and Rob

Rob, I'm not headed through Sheffield tonight, I'm still working in Bakewell until the end of the month. Depending on how things go I may give you a call over the weekend if you're free if I get stuck.

The hotplate is 1500W, which is larger than most of the FPS builds I've read, mostly they are 1KW, but this was as small as I could find. I've had a router speed controller arrive which can handle up to 2KW, so I now have the option of a fixed wattage or a connecting it to the PID at full wattage or combining the two.

A question that came to mind the other night was; Most of the FPS builds I've looked at seem to have the top vent closed. From what I've read, you should allow smoke to continue to flow freely through the smoker to stop the build up of creosote from stale smoke? What's your opinon on this? There will be a matching hole on the bottom that the power cable runs through. There isn't the same fire control requirements on the ventilation compared to using charcoal, though the chips will be smoldering in the pan.

[robgunby]

Hi Eric,

Yes, feel free to call over the weekend. Reason I asked about wattage is because many hotplates are only 750W and don't really do the job. 1500W will be fine.

Yes, you need some ventilation on the top. How much depends on how cool or hot your smoker is running as to how much heat you can afford to lose. Smoke won't escape out of the bottom easily enough to prevent stale smoke. If you can just leave your lid slightly ajar that should be adequate.

Whatcha cooking?

[Eric]

Not 100% decided on what to test cook. If I can hold a suitable temperature I'd be tempted to nip out and get a pork shoulder, maybe something around 3 or 4 lb so it is a significant cook but not too long for the first time.

[robgunby]

Sounds sensible, you could afford to risk a little larger though. Tesco sell a "value" range shoulder joint that's about 5lb if memory serves. They work quite well in a pinch and are cheap enough. You lose about 50% of the weight that goes on the smoker, and that's not counting the weight you lose from the skin.

Keep a good fat cap on the top when removing the skin. Nothing more than 1/2 - 3/4 an inch, anything more than that, and any loose flaps of fat, can be cut off.

[Eric]

Sound like a good plan . Do you have a 'go to' rub recipe? I've been looking at a few options. Most seem to be similar in concept, sugar, salt pepper, onion, garlic etc