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Super Contributor
Posts: 481
Registered: ‎04-06-2010

Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

I have been wanting an electric smoker for ribs, brisket, sausage, etc., so we finally broke down and ordered one. What is your favorite meat to smoke? Any special rubs? Thanks.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 32,482
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

@nanny24 The rub doesn't matter all that much.  Anything from salt and pepper and garlic salt to complex recipes will work.  Pork Butt is the easiest to smoke and is pretty much a sure thing.  We like the bone ones the best.

 

Brisket takes a long time.

 

Check online to see at what temps meats will pull or slice--there is a difference. 

 

We love using ours and have done hams, chickens and all sorts of things.  The best advice is read up on meats and learn to tell the better cuts and how to know them when you see them.

 

It's easy and fun.  Enjoy the summer!


@nanny24 wrote:

I have been wanting an electric smoker for ribs, brisket, sausage, etc., so we finally broke down and ordered one. What is your favorite meat to smoke? Any special rubs? Thanks.


 

Super Contributor
Posts: 481
Registered: ‎04-06-2010

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

Thank you, Sooner, we have a pork roast in the freezer. Do you use yours on your patio or porch? Does it smoke a lot? The instructions say to not use it under a roof, but other than our patio, it would have to be in the yard. LOL!!

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,040
Registered: ‎09-12-2010

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

Congratulations on your new smoker! They're wonderful - we love our Trager. My favorite is baby back ribs - no barbeque sauce! Just a good pork rub that you can find at any grocery store or  hardware stores that sell smokers. We put the rub on thick, and smoke them for 6 to 8 hours. We've also wrapped them in foil and cooked on low for a few hours and then removed the foil and smoked them until done and fall off the bone. I also like to smoke pork tenderloins, and they don't take as long as ribs. Rub them first and then add a thin layer of bbq sauce toward the end if you want. We've always found that the rub is the key for smoking meats.

 

We always have had the Trager on our patio....they do smoke on and off, but I think the recommendation is not to use them in an enclosed garage or enclosed porch.

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Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,169
Registered: ‎02-27-2012

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

[ Edited ]

@nanny24 

 

Enjoy your smoker!  It was the best thing I ever gifted my hard-to-buy for DH!

 

We have the Masterbuilt electric.

 

We smoke everything.  Chix, every cut of pork, every cut of beef, steaks, burgers, meatloaf, M&C, veggies, corn,  Hams....our grill has been silent for a long time now!

 

Whole chix are fab and one of my favorites!  We have a huge assortment of rubs, mostly from The Spice House (.com).  Their blends are fantastic!  You can't go wrong w/ any of them.

 

I have a recipe for Smoked M & C, let me know if you woud like me to post it...or you can find it online. 

 

DH finds ideas and recipes online but also has Myron Mixon's books (great gift idea!)

 

OH!  And Turkeys!  Wait til you smoke a turkey!  Your Thanksgiving bird has never tasted so good (and no calories from deep frying).  At holiday time, when they are so cheap, I stock my chest freezer to the top so we can have them all year round.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,930
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!


@nanny24 wrote:

Thank you, Sooner, we have a pork roast in the freezer. Do you use yours on your patio or porch? Does it smoke a lot? The instructions say to not use it under a roof, but other than our patio, it would have to be in the yard. LOL!!


@nanny24 

 

We use ours out back on our covered patio. I don't know why you cannot use it under a roof. Our patio is not enclosed.

Dh uncovers it rolls it where he wants to use it.

No it does not smoke a lot like a traditional offset smoker.

You can control your smoke or how much smoke flavor in your food with the amount of wood chips you use.

DH has been buying wood chips at Academy Sports. He said they have a good price.

Go to mrecipes dot com to see lots of Masterbuilt Smoker recipes.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,169
Registered: ‎02-27-2012

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

I forgot to answer where we have it til I saw @Nightowlz  response....

 

In the summer, it is outside by the pool.  We have a heavy gauge cover for hard rains.

 

In the winter, we move it inside the garage. I live in Western NY, winters are brutal.  Cold and heavy snow, so it would struggle to maintain temp outside.

 

 It is not too smokey at all.  Some days, we might crack open the garage door a bit, but not totally necessary.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 14,930
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!


@RespectLife wrote:

I forgot to answer where we have it til I saw @Nightowlz  response....

 

In the summer, it is outside by the pool.  We have a heavy gauge cover for hard rains.

 

In the winter, we move it inside the garage. I live in Western NY, winters are brutal.  Cold and heavy snow, so it would struggle to maintain temp outside.

 

 It is not too smokey at all.  Some days, we might crack open the garage door a bit, but not totally necessary.


@RespectLife 

 

You use it in your garage with the door closed? I would be scared to do that. If we use ours in the winter when it's cold DH still uses it on the patio. We don't cook out as much as we used to when it's really cold.

I like how we can control how much smoke flavor in the food. My stomach no longer likes too much of it. Most bbq restaurants have too much smoke to theirs because their smokers have so much creosote build up. I hate it. You know when it's like that because when you eat it it makes your tongue feel kind of numb.

Super Contributor
Posts: 481
Registered: ‎04-06-2010

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

Thanks ladies for the tips! I want to try the pork tenderloin and a turkey. Also, thanks for the tip about the Masterbuilt website for recipes. Happy Smoking!!

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,129
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Just got an electric smoker. Any recipes/tips appreciated!

@nanny24 

You have gotten some great advice.   I bought our first smoker for DH (a Masterbuilt electric) against his LOUD protests but after using it a time or two, he was hooked.  When that one wore out, he purchased another Materbuilt which was a tad bigger than his first.   Just a month or so ago, the Q had a Traeger for a TSV and HE ordered that one, so we now have an electric and a pellet smoker.   The point in telling you this is once you start cooking in it, you will start to experiment and find all kinds of things to prepare in it.  We smoke mac and cheese as well as veggies, and DH is so hooked, I had to make him his own cookbook with recipes he has printed off the internet as well as to hold the little cookbooks that came with the smokers.   I did buy him the 
"Dad Gum That's Good " cookbook which covers smokers and fryers, and those silicone gloves come in handy handling hot meat.   I think DH now has 3 pair!