My boss got a new pellet smoker & passed his Brinkman vertical charcoal smoker over to me.

Similar/same to this one:


Never really cooked on anything but gas before, so this is new territory for me.

Figure at minimum, smoker & meat temp probes would be good to have.

Anything else & brands/recommendations?

Yep Temp probe is invaluable.
After that it up to your experience.
Eff one cook up then next time -don't do that.

You definitely want to invest in a quality digital temperature monitoring system. Accurately knowing the temperature of your smoker and your meat is the key to smoking well.

You'll want to be able to monitor a minimum of two probes: One ambient probe to monitor the temperature inside the cabinet (don't trust the cheap dial thermometer built into the door), and another leave-in penetration probe to put inside the meat to monitor the meat's internal temp as it smokes.

(Note: Instant-read probes like a Thermapen are not what I'm talking about here. Those are fine for checking if the steak you're searing on the grill is ready, but when smoking low and slow for hours you don't want to be opening the smoker constantly in order to probe the meat for an instant temperature reading. Leave the smoker shut unless absolutely necessary.)

Thermoworks is one of the most popular companies offering digital temperature monitoring systems. Their Smoke is popular and affordable, while having everything you need in a basic system to get you started: https://www.thermoworks.com/smoke/

If you want to get fancier, with additional capabilities and the ability to monitor multiple meat probes, I use a Fireboard: https://www.fireboard.com/

Here's another recent thread with a bunch of additional recommendations for digital temperature systems for smokers: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...0601935/m/8310085694

I have this from the two probe Smoke remote from Thermoworks. I have had it a couple years, it's accurate and reliable.

https://www.thermoworks.com/smoke/

On sale at the moment

Besides the Thermapen as mentioned - a requirement.
I also use the Meater quite a bit too.
Works with your phone app - quite handy.

Yea - the remote/probes are a must have. Out side that a bunch of different rubs, woods, and meats.

Get to smoking!!

Have the Smoke in a cart.
Boss tossed in a lot of charcoal & wood chips with the smoker.

Probably do something small to start before attempting to ruin a big brisket.
Wife actually bought a couple small turkeys last night, maybe start with one of those.

A good cutting board, dalstrong slicing knife, nitril gloves with cotton liners and meat probes and thermometeres.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Probably do something small to start before attempting to ruin a big brisket.
Wife actually bought a couple small turkeys last night, maybe start with one of those.

Tri-tips are a great piece of beef to learn on. The end result is similar to a brisket, but with significantly less effort. (2ish hours on the smoker versus 10ish.) And a tri-tip is smaller and cheaper than a brisket, so it's not as big of a loss if you happen to ruin one.


Smaller (3-4 pound) pork butts can also be pretty forgiving for learners.

Buy PRIME cuts of beef when you can.
Nothing tops a good cut.
Fat is Flavor.

Down the rabbit hole we go.
Will have to start a wish list for some outdoor cooking gear.
Good thing Christmas & my birthday are just around the corner.

Gloves to handle meat, and hot pans.
remote thermometer (I use a Webber Connect)
good knives
stainless steel plate for smoking fish, cheese, cream cheese.
spices to make your own rubs
molasses to use as a binder
brown mustard to use as a binder

Have fun with this.

My meatloaf is 3 pounds ground beef, one pound sausage, one package Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli soup mix, green chilis, olives, mushrooms.

mix ingredients, form loaf, smoke until internal temp of 170.

ThermoWorks Smoke ordered.
Will give the smoker a look-over when I get home & see what all I have with it.

Use lump charcoal not briquettes

Some people say not to start it with fluid because it ruins he taste…but if you let the coal ash over before you use it there is no smell/taste of lighter fluid

Sometimes less is more-wrt types of wood for smoke
Oak is a light flavor where mesquite is strong and overwhelming, cherry, apple pecan are all good
Use hickory sparingly

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Besides the Thermapen as mentioned - a requirement.
I also use the Meater quite a bit too.
Works with your phone app - quite handy.

+1. Thermapen and meater and you are good.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Use lump charcoal not briquettes

Some people say not to start it with fluid because it ruins he taste…but if you let the coal ash over before you use it there is no smell/taste of lighter fluid

Sometimes less is more-wrt types of wood for smoke
Oak is a light flavor where mesquite is strong and overwhelming, cherry, apple pecan are all good
Use hickory sparingly

My boss said the same re charcoal & gave me a bucket of lump charcoal since he's going to pellet.

Finally be able to make use of the outdoor cabinets & storage.

As far as lump, HEB sells B&B brand and my favorite is their Oak Lump. I light it with a $8.99 Harbor Freight heat gun and my back-up are the BGE brand or the much cheaper Rutland Fire Starter Squares. Both of these impart zero flavor on the smoker and are super easy so it doesn't make sense to ever risk lighter fluid.

As far as smoking wood, I go with chunks as chips are a waste of time (consumed too quick). Here are my thoughts on smoking wood chunks:

Hickory - my "go to" for beef and pork

Cherry - my "go to" for poultry

Pecan - nice change of pace that works on beef, pork, and poultry. I consider it optional.

Alder - love this for salmon. Alder smoked salmon is better than cedar planked salmon.

Apple - quit using it and gave it to my neighbor. Too bitter for poultry. Neighbor uses it for pulled pork.

Mesquite - I was first introduced to Texas BBQ in Midland where mesquite is plentiful. Once I moved eastward, I discovered hickory and never looked back.

You can buy both hickory and cherry wood chunks at HEB (right next to the B&B oak lump).

Speaking of wastes of time, don't bother soaking your smoking wood in water as it makes zero difference. All you end up doing is wasting time and cleaning whatever you soaked it in.

Thanks, T, will take a look next time I'm in HEB.
We have some salmon, as my wife has picked up a bit of taste for fish since her taste/smell changed from da 'Rona last year.

Thinking a [small] turkey first (prepackaged Butterball, maybe just a breast), and need to see if we got any tri-tip in the 1/2 cow we bought earlier this year.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
and need to see if we got any tri-tip in the 1/2 cow we bought earlier this year.

You should, unless for some reason you had just had them do something like process out the ribs, brisket, and some steaks and then grind everything else into hamburger.

The tri-tip is the triangular lower tip of the bottom sirloin.

It takes time to figure out vent opening vs temperature and how long lump will last. Fattier meats are more forgiving (i.e. more margin of error) and lean meats are the least forgiving. Therefore, I recommend starting with one of these three:

Pork butt

St. Louis ribs. These are trimmed down spare ribs that after trimming look like baby back ribs. However, they are fattier so much easier to produce quality food while still learning your smoker.

Unsmoked sausage. This is the first thing I did on my BGE when I got it over a decade ago. It's fatty so it's forgiving and gets finished much faster than two previous options.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Thinking a [small] turkey first (prepackaged Butterball, maybe just a breast), and need to see if we got any tri-tip in the 1/2 cow we bought earlier this year.

Here is Thanksgiving Part II link for how I did a bone-in breast. However, since it's a lean meat I'd suggest making it your 3rd or 4th smoke not your 1st or 2nd.