LGHT is right on point abiut that smokey flavor that wood can produce. If you have to use charcoal, use some chips/chunks of wood as suggested by LGHT. Red Oak, Hickory, and Mesquite are all good flavoring woods, especially when combined with fruitwoods when smoking beef. It's all good my friend..
Smokenator 1000
- Thread starter chileaddict
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LGHT is right on point abiut that smokey flavor that wood can produce. If you have to use charcoal, use some chips/chunks of wood as suggested by LGHT. Red Oak, Hickory, and Mesquite are all good flavoring woods, especially when combined with fruitwoods when smoking beef. It's all good my friend..
Not sure who you are referring to, but I would never think of smoking meat, fish, or chiles without using wood chips or chunks. It is possible LHT was referring to the minion method, I don't know. I have been smoking Black Congo, Bhut Jalokia, Red Habanero, and Orange Habanero lately with mesquite and hickory chunks. I have now learned how to keep my temps down and go low and slow with minimal amounts of charcoal. The smoked flavor in the dried chiles is just too amazing, and I have to thank WickedMojo for the inspiration and all you guys for your ideas in the responses.
Minion method has nothing to do with using charcoal only. It's a way of making the charcoal base last longer, you still add wood for the smoke. If you end up adding more coals later, they are usually unlit, right? The idea is to use the minion method to make one pile last the entire smoke so you don't have to. If you use wood only, then obviously this method is not for you. For a charcoal-base smoke, if you are worried about the flavors unlit coals impart try a 100% natural charcoal. But what's the difference in minion, and adding them by hand later? Nothing, except burn time and controlled temperature.
Theres a local shop that sells just grills/smokers etc and every weekend in the summer he does demo's using them, and from talking with him (and hes not just a salesman, he will tell you what you need for what you want even if its a less expensive product) but anyway I learned that if your going to invest your money in a smoker, you should do so spending atleast a couple hundred dollars.. This is because there is really a difference in quality and when you spend a few hundred more, the smoker will last so much longer, instead of spend 200$ and it only lasting a short amount of time.
Just some thoughts, I dont have a smoker yet because of this... dont have that much money to drop on one yet!!!
hope this helps
xoxo nicole
Just some thoughts, I dont have a smoker yet because of this... dont have that much money to drop on one yet!!!
hope this helps
xoxo nicole
@chileaddict - I know it's probably a little late now but I used to use a Smokenator in my Weber grill. I used it for an entire season just about every weekend for all my smoking needs. It was a great device but the metal started to warp a bit after all the use and it wouldn't fit as snug as it first did. It was totally worth the fifty bucks though. I stopped using my Weber when I bought a Big Green Egg. I still have my Weber and Smokenator, just in case I need it for a really big cook. Both are great products.
Thanks Jasper. I have done quite a bit of smoking (mostly chiles) on my Weber since I started this thread. The good folks here schooled me pretty well. I do have a couple of the Weber smoking inserts, so I don't need a smokenator. I have gotten quite good at controlling the heat, and using the big wood chunks has helped a lot too. I made so many mistakes when I did a brisket. That experience turned out to be a great way to learn. I would love to have a Big Green Egg, but for now the Weber works just fine for me.