Help for Smoker design

[gone_phishin]

Thanks Noelm!! Would you mind posting the "pickling" recipe as well?

Cheers
Geoff

[Noelm]

Okey dokey, first off the fish must be cleaned and any blood meat cut off, unless you are doing whole fish or you want the skin on, for you guys up North Spotty Mackeral or great, for us Southerners Salmon, Tailer and so on are great, so now it is cleaned and ready to go, mix up half a cup of salt, half a cup white sugar, third cup brown sugar, 1 cup Soy Sauce and a litre of water, stir around untill it is all disolved, put the fish in the mixture, put it in the fridge overnight, next day, get them out, pat dry with paper towel and it is ready to smoke. Once you have done some, you may want to up the salt, or reduce the salt, l like the salt taste when smoked, also get elcheapo Soy as it is a lot cheaper, and you are going to chuck it away when finished. This recipe was given to my years ago by a mate in Caloundra and every time I go up there, I make sure it is Spotty Season if I can.

[gone_phishin]

Cheers Noelm! The missus is in town picking up the heat beads and I'm heading for the tip when she gets home...then I guess it just means we'll have to go fishing to get some beasties to smoke! Your help is much appreciated.

Geoff

[Noelm]

hope it all works out for you, just remember, you might have to adjust your heat beads or cooking time untill you get it all worked out to suit your setup, but it will give you a good head start.

[gone_phishin]

Do you have any favourite timbers?? I'm sure I read somewhere that Pecan was supposed to be really good, and I have a big Pecan here so no problems with using that!

Cheers
Geoff

[disorderly]

Do you have any favourite timbers?? I'm sure I read somewhere that Pecan was supposed to be really good, and I have a big Pecan here so no problems with using that!

Cheers
Geoff

Geoff,

I just use a traditional rectangle stainless smoker(maybe 2foot by 1 foot with 2 racks in it).About $65 or $70 bucks and metho in a tin is used for fuel.
Noel is right in suggesting chicken pieces as they are just so damn tasty,hot or cold.It just takes a bit of practice to get them just right right though.Do not overcook and dry out the cuts of meat but make sure they are not undercooked(as in blood dripping around the bone of chicken.The good thing I find with using a container of metho is that I can gauge how much fuel to use to get it real nice and it just burns itself out when cooked.(most of the time anyway.)
Hickory(pecan,walnut) is my favorite,Just crank up the chainsaw,a sheet of plastic and cut up a branch of that ole Pecan and its a better tasting timber than the aussie hardwoods IMHO.
Some real good ideas from noel there to obtain similar results at a budget price though.Good stuff Noel!!

Scott
.

[gone_phishin]

Thanks Scott!

I've got one of those petrol driven mulchers that I normally blast the fallen branches from the pecan tree into almost shavings so I reckon they're not going on the garden anymore I've also got plenty of the normal oz hardwoods as well as huge mangoes and macadamias on the property, so are any of them good or bad for smoking?

I'm probably going to go with the weber due to the amount I want to do, as one of the mates wants me to smoke some eel for him as he sells it to restaurants etc. and wants me to do it his way, but I also want to learn the basics like this for my own use. My only worry is if the eel will put any smell or anything into any other smokings I do. He reckons not though.

Cheers
Geoff

[Noelm]

in the weber I just use a "lump" of wood, not sawdust, but in the little smoker that you have with the metho burner I use sawdust, sometimes I just buy a bag at the tackle store or barbie place, it lasts for ages.

[Noelm]

OH and I doubt the Eel will cause any drama with smell.

[disorderly]

in the weber I just use a "lump" of wood, not sawdust, but in the little smoker that you have with the metho burner I use sawdust, sometimes I just buy a bag at the tackle store or barbie place, it lasts for ages.

Do you just put the lump of wood on top of the heat beads,Noel?.
BTW what are the beads made of?maybe charcoal or something else?

Scott

[Noelm]

yep, just plonk it on the beads, not too sure what they are really made of, but they start off black and then go white and stay hot for yonks, can cook on them for ages, you need those "firestarter" things to get 'em going, and do not put any food anywhere near the heat untill the firestarter things are all gone! and you buy them almost anywhere from Woolies to a BBQ shop

[gone_phishin]

Now all I've got to do is get me some of them lovely Golden Trev's that everyone tells me are great smoked! Damn the 20knot winds! Might try some chicken in the meantime..do you have to pickle them or is there another recipe Noel?

Cheers
Geoff

[Noelm]

nope, same thing, does not matter what you use, I have tried them just as is, but they seem to go all sort of dry, but try a couple each way, pickled and not pickled, taste is a very personal thing, and after a few successes and failures, you will find you will have your own "secrets" and how long to cook, how many heat beads, you just need something to start you off then adjust to suit you.

[gone_phishin]

Probably totally off the subject Noel, but do you know how to make Biltong or Jerky and can you do it in a Weber as well??? I used to love the stuff but the recipes they have in the shops today don't really do anything for me.

Geoff

[Noelm]

yep, made jerky heaps of times, just get some strips of beef, put in the smoker for a while to "harden up" and your done! takes about the same amount of time as fish, but I used to cut it into thinish strips so it went all hard after smoking, I have tried all sorts of stuff, sometimes with great success ,sometimes with rubbish, tried some Plichards once, they came out like sh!t, but then I filleted some (took forever) and they were OK