Smokin-It User Forum!
Smokin-It Smokers => Model 3 & 3D - The Big Brother => Topic started by: Thin Blue on June 22, 2013, 11:33:47 PM
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I ordered the #3, the cart, chip screen, cover and cord holder yesterday at noon. :)
I have been researching this type of electric smoker for about a year. A friend has a Cookshack, I am hopeful the #3 is as good.
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You won't be disappointed. I have had my #3 for 3 weeks now and have enjoyed it every bit. Smoked 6 racks of baby backs and will be smoking some chicken thighs today. Make sure you follow the directions in the box for seasoning. Also use heavy duty foil and don't press it down, it will help when you start cleaning after a smoke. You don't need a lot of wood 3-4 ozs by weight is good for short smokes (5 hours of less). I did a bunch of research and always kept coming back to Smokin-it. The owner Steve is very responsive if you email him with any questions.
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Awesome, thanks :)
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I ordered # 3 last Monday..it showed up on Thursday, seasoned it on Friday and today (Sunday) I have 3 racks of Baby Backs in and waiting to pull them out.
Good luck with your Smokin-it Adventures...keep us posted
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WOW! My order shipped last night, 6-23-13.
Someone is working OT.
So far so good.
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Congrats on the #3! It's a beast and will be able to feed a pretty decent sized BBQ, but still very compact (even with the cart). Be sure to post results and pics of your first smoke!
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Thanks, will do.
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No worries about the quality of a Smokin-it. You get the same quality of those other units and you have money left over to boot. :)
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Mine shipped on 6/23 and according to FedEx should be here Friday! Cannot wait. Getting everything ready. Putting fresh batteries in the Redi-Check. Moving the old stick burner aside to make room.
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Wishing u a smoke'n good weekend Bigumdaddyo.
:)
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#3 has been delivered to the house. :)
I will be checking it out when I get there after work.
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As soon as you know the pit was delivered, it is now time to come down with a sudden illness so you can get home and unpack that bad boy ;)
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The boxes with the #3 and the stand were on the front porch when when I got home
just waiting to be opened.
Everything I ordered was inside and safe.
Assembling the stand was fairly easy.
Everything looks good.
It was pouring rain, so I will hopefully season it tomorrow evening.
FYI: the grills in the # 3 measure 14 5/8" by 21 3/8" and 4 come with the # 3
smoker.
Once I have the smoker mounted on the stand I will post some additional
measurements.
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Welcome to the club, Thin Blue! I went with a model 1, and couldn't be happier with the performance and quality of the unit. But, the measurements you posted have me longing for a #3! LOL. I can see one in my future!
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Seasoned the #3 for 4 hours at 250d with two sticks of the wood that came with the smoker.
One of the wood sticks pretty much turned to ashes, the other charred on one end and does not
appear to be burned on the other. Not sure if this is an issue or not.
Inside of smoker looks good and smells great.
Any thoughts from anyone on only one of the wood sticks burning?
All and all I am very impressed with the #3 smoker.
Next, I will put it to the REAL TEST, try some Butts over the weekend.
I posted a picture of the wood sticks, I think. If not I will better research how to post a pic.
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Just remember where the hot spots are on the bottom of your wood box and always place your wood there. The cooler spots is where you can place wood for cooks where you want a light smoke taste..................
You would think there would be no hot spots with the wood box running right on top of the full length element, but there are... :o
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Good Info.
Maybe I can turn that anomaly into Lemonade.
:)
Hey, looks like the picture came through, cool. :)
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Try removing the chip tray if you're burning chunks. Can't say for sure that is the problem but it's worth a try.
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Good point, I will remove the chip tray next time I use chunks and see what happens.
I will post the results here.
Thank you. :)
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My smoker arrived today at 2:58 pm. Beautiful unit this model 3. It is currently on the deck running it's initial seasoning smoke. Baby backs scheduled for tomorrow! Happy days!!
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My smoker arrived today at 2:58 pm. Beautiful unit this model 3. It is currently on the deck running it's initial seasoning smoke. Baby backs scheduled for tomorrow! Happy days!!
Congrats, Bigumdaddyo! Many good times ahead of you! Welcome to the club - you'll find a lot of good people, and info, here!
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Enjoy the first smoke, Bigum, and be sure to post pics!
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I just got my #3 a few weeks ago and LOVE it! I noticed the same thing when burning two sticks, but I think it is occurring when I put one stick at the front end of the box. I am going to try to keep the sticks towards the middle and see if that helps.
-Mark
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The chip screen should only be used when your using chips or shredded wood. The wood dowel or chunk wood can go directly in the smoke box. I don't think you have anything to worry about with the one piece not being completely used.
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I took out the chip screen and the dowel sticks that came with my #3 burned just fine.
I put two 7# butts on at 8:00pm 6-28-13. Started at 225d for first 12 hrs.
Then turned it up to 235d for 3 hrs. Turned up to 250d for last 1/2 hr.
Smoker never got above 227d and meat never got over 187d. Took the meat out and
it was done and well cooked. I ordered a new digital thermometer through
Amazing Ribs. I will see how things go on the next smoke and I will do some
temperature analysis. Best I can tell the temperature drops about 25d before
the thermostat turns on the heating element. Once I get the new thermometer
i will feel more confident in an analysis. Side note, the #3 on the stand measures
24 3/4" from the patio floor to the bottom of the smoker door. The stand is a great
option. Saves the back.
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Few pics.
Good BBQ, time and temp bug me.
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Hey Thin Blue,
i would advise you to run the smoker empty.
Place one of your probes right at the #3's sensor. Then position your other one at the top just to see any differences.
Then set it at the MAX temp to see if it reaches it at all. That way you'll know if yours cooks a bit on the low temp side. If it does contact Steve for a new thermostat.... That's what i'd do....
let us know how it goes!!
Zed
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I will, thanks.
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Hey Blue, the butts look awesome! When I was doing a brisket yesterday, I ran a probe in to check the internal temp on my #1. I had the temp set to 250 (during the foil wrap part), and the cooker varied from around 232-252. Don't know if this is normal, but the brisket came out great!
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I ordered the Maverick Digital (ET-732).
Once I have it, i will run some test and post what I am
coming up with. Thanks for sharing info.
Have a great 4th, I am going to BBQ 2 butts & 2 turkey breast for family
and friends.
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I ordered the Maverick Digital (ET-732).
Once I have it, i will run some test and post what I am
coming up with. Thanks for sharing info.
Have a great 4th, I am going to BBQ 2 butts & 2 turkey breast for family
and friends.
Sounds like you'll be the 4th of July hero!
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"Smoke 'em if You Got 'em"
;)
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Thin Blue
You went all in with the set-up cart and all. Looks good. You will be the talk of your neighborhood.
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Hey thin, I just received my #3.... as i wrote in the other thread I charted the temp swings. Mine is ~12degrees higher average than the set amount!!! GREAT!!
I already had the Maverick.....
I'm very happy with it so far.... Welding could be nicer and with a fewer burn through but otherwise great!!
Zed
Hope yours is a s good!
Tomorrow first test run with pulled pork.....
Alas my backyard is still not ready so the smoker sits in the garage....
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Hey thin, I just received my #3.... as i wrote in the other thread I charted the temp swings. Mine is ~12degrees higher average than the set amount!!! GREAT!!
I already had the Maverick.....
I'm very happy with it so far.... Welding could be nicer and with a fewer burn through but otherwise great!!
Zed
Hope yours is a s good!
Tomorrow first test run with pulled pork.....
Alas my backyard is still not ready so the smoker sits in the garage....
Definitely can't go wrong with pulled pork for a first cook! Good luck!
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Spesso, you need to smoke in open air, if you are smoking a butt you are to require a bit more wood than say ribs (I used 6 oz for my butt). I would definitely plan to have the smoker outside. I can tell you if I open my smoker (not in use) that smoking smell stays in the garage for a while. Be careful.
Tony is right you can't go wrong with a butt. Low and slow is what these machines do. Assume 1.5 hours/pound and add two hours for resting in a dry cooler.
Good Luck!
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Congrats Zed, pork butt is a great way to exercise the new smoker, good luck.
I have used smokers in front of the garage, not in, and
the garage smelled like Grannies old smoke house for weeks.
I thought it was pretty cool at first, then we got some rain, high
humidity, heat, and it was't so cool.
Let us know how it goes.
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hi Spresso...because of rain this week, I ended up smoking wings one day and ribs the next in the garage. I put the smoker right at the garage door so it was close to open air, and I added a fan in the garage to blow smoke out. While this worked for me, I can still smell some smokiness in the garage two days later...
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All went well here for the 4th.
Temp swing still drives me a little crazy, more on
that when I get time. Two 7# Butts in #3 for 16 hours, butt temp
185d had to pull because of time, they were done, rested them in foil in
cooler for hour, and pulled well. Everyone thought the pull pork
was great. I trimmed the 2 - 5# turkey breast of the rib cage and smoked on Brinkmann vertical electric for
3.5 hrs. Turkey turned out great. Used Hickory wood for all. Hope all had good 4th, I
know I enjoyed using my smokers.
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They look great, Thin! I had a 7# butt and removed it at 175F after 11.5 hours ... going by your time, it looks like the butts need more than 1.5 hours per pound that I had read on other sites! I clearly wil need to allow much more time when I attempt my second Boston butt!
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Remember, the 1.5 hour per pound calculation is a a rough calculation for stick burners, gas smokers, and electric smokers alike. Even competition cookers will agree that depending on a wide variety of variables (meat characteristics, environmental factors, initial cooker temperature, air movement and humidity, etc.) that directly impact cooking time.
The plateau with electric smokers tends to be a bit longer than others ... I still recall being 50% freaked out and 50% pissed when I saw dropping on my meat probe when it hit 163. Three hours later and it finally started crawling upwards again ...
Remember ... it's done when it's done. Perhaps give yourself 1.75 hour per pound plus your 60-90 minutes of resting time; if it's done early, you wrap it and put it in a cooler. If it takes longer, open another beer. ;D
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Thanks, Joe! When I first started the smoker, I was amazed by how fast the butt came up to about 140F and thought to myself, wow...this thing will be done early! Now I know. I can't wait to try another butt, and this one is NOT coming off the smoker until 200F. I may even budget myself for 2 hours per lb and see what happens.
I am going to do some more research on the SMF site regarding other factors. For example, the butt that I had did not have a lot of fat on the top and I wonder if that affects cook time. Truth be told, I am not even sure if I had the fat side up in the smoker, which may be another issue. Much to learn!
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I smoked the two 7# butts at 235d, best I could tell, on the #3.
I smoked the 2 turkey breast on my 5 year old Brinkmann vertical electric
Smoker. I let the Brinkmann warm up for 1.5 hrs. With the water pan full
of water. It held at 225d for the full cook 3.5hrs.. The breast temps
were 162d and 163d when I wrapped in double foil and put in cooler for
2 hrs.. I then removed from cooler and sliced as company consumed.
They were completely done. Probably could have taken out sooner and they
would have been moister. It is amazing how much cooking progresses
when meat is wrapped and given time to rest in a cooler.
Happy cooking.
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If you're pressed for time, you can "fast forward" through the stall (like Joe said, around 163) on large cuts by using the "Texas crutch." The Texas what?? Simply put, pull the meat and wrap in heavy foil, or place in a foil pan and cover tightly with foil, and continue the cook. The stall, or plateau in temperature occurs when the fat and connective tissue in the meat begin to liquify and all that juice rises to the surface of the meat. Why does the temp stay steady for so long, or actually go down a bit?...evaporative cooling! Just like us when we get hot outdoors and start to sweat - the breeze will cool our bodies (pretty sure we were designed that way:). Cooking meat is the same. The Smokin-It smokers are pretty tight, but there is still air flow through them (if there wasn't, our wood would not smoke).
Pros to the Texas crutch: Will shorten cook time up to 2 hours on a brisket or butt. When foil wrapped, you'll see the temp steadily climb because evaporative cooling is stopped.
Cons: The bark is not as dry and chewy. One option is to wrap until temp reaches about 180, then finish the cook unwrapped to firm-up the bark. The other option is to just enjoy the flavor and moistness you'll have in your finished product.
If I have a lot of time to kill, I'll let it work it's way through the stall on its own. If I want to shorten cook time, I'll foil. I usually never foil a pork butt.
Here's a great explanation of the stall from amazingribs.com, and one on the Texas crutch, too:
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/the_stall.html
http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/texas_crutch.html
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Intriguing, I have never finished prduct in foil, may be time to try.
Thanks for info Tony :)
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Hi guys, good to hear some activity from all!
No worries, I smoked the PP in the garage but both doors were open, in fact the rear door too, so there was a draft. My garage is not attached to the house and the cars are outside due to the backyard project. Only the tools got smoked a bit :-)
HUGE surprise though.
My fave place ran out of pork shoulder so I went to another place. They only had 1 piece left a 3.5 pounder. That looked a little too lean. No choice. Had to get it.
Put it on before 9 am today. 12 hours later. yes twelve! 9pm the meat was still only at 172. Had no choice . pulled it and waited only 10 minutes..... Oh well.
The taste was great , but not pulled. Sliced nicely though .
I have never seen a meat that would need 5 hours per pound before....
So first smoke in the #3 was a hmm.....
By the end I had 4 thermometers running as I was getting freaked out a bit. Had a few beers that calmed me down :-)
I only used 3 oz of wood but there was plenty of smoke flavor. Unlike my other "smoker" that needed a half a bag of chips for a smoke.....
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Wow ... that's a new one. A couple of troubleshooting questions:
1. Were you using a water pan to stabilize the chamber temperatures?
2. Were you opening the door or leaving it shut?
3. Were you keeping an eye on both the meat temp and chamber temp?
4. Was it bone-in or boneless?
With a 3.5 lb pork butt I'm a bit shocked you only hit 172 after 12 hours. The good news is that you were right on the mark well for sliced pork (my personal favorite). Glad the flavor was spot on, though.
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Yeah huge suprise for me too. never happened before.....
I can only think that it must have been the meat as it was unusually lean...
by the end I had 4 thermometers going and had teh door latched . did not open until the 4 hour mark to peak....
no water pan.... but the temp was good. never below 200. sometimes as high as 250....
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That blows me away ... you should have been able to smoke a piece of meat nearly twice as large in the same time. Well, once is a fluke ... but to be sure I'd avoid that market like the plague in the future. ;)
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Wow! That doesn't make any sense that a piece of meat that size should cook so slowly. Ben or Steve might shed some light on this one. I cooked a 4-lb pork loin (very lean) up to 155 for slicing in about 2 1/2 hours. If I'd have kept it in, it wouldn't have taken much longer to get to 195. Granted, a loin is shaped like a tube instead a big round hunk like a roast, but still, mass is mass. And, a 3 1/2 lb shoulder just isn't a very big piece of meat! This one's a real head-scratcher!
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I think that pig must have been a freak of nature :-)
NO other rational explanation.... :o
I have done countless smokes in my Weber before and cooked on open fire etc....
I haven't seen anything like this before....
I'll avoid that market for sure. I was just desperate to get a piece of meat for my first smoke in the #3 so I got that piece of meat against my better judgement.
We'll see how my next smoke goes. Might have to wait a little for it as I'm short on time at the moment....
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Few questions:
Meat or rock?
3.5# or 8.5#?
Your elevation above sea level?
Brown out?
GFI?
Extension cord?
How many times was the door opened?
Water pan?
Top grill or bottom?
Did you monitor the smoker the total cook time?
Any solar flares nearby?
Did you pay the electric bill on time?
Low octane electric?
Was the butt in the smoker?
Your breaking the laws of physics! ;).
Try again with 3.5 # butt.
Best of luck, keep us informed!
:)
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PLaced it right in the middle. 2 probes in the smoker initially. By the end 4!
The temps around the meat was perfect. Honest, GOV!
Must have been the curse of the angry wife. (who did not know I was getting the smoker for sure until it showed up in the garage :-)
Btw Thin Blue sorry for hijacking your thread, but it seemed to have turned into a nice all around discussion of the #3!!!
Zed
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Zed, its all good. We are all interested in use and developments with Smokin-it Smokers.
Based on your post, the truth is starting to surface. The fact is someone unplugged your smoker for a period of time.
Not pointing any fingers, but. ;) :)
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Couple of nice 5# rubbed breast for the 4th. ;)
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Couple of nice 5# rubbed breast for the 4th. ;)
Nice pair, Blue! :-* Give us details! Rub, how long, wood ...always want to know more about turkey breasts! Good thing we keep it family-friendly here! You've opened a door here that we have to have discipline to not go through! lol
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WOW, senior members know just what to not
say.
Stubs rub, 2 chunks Hickory, 225d,
Brinkmann vertical water smoker, take to 160d, about 3.5 hrs.
wrap in foil, put in cooler for at least hour,
the ladies love it. The Turkey. ;)
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Correction: Stubbs
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WOW, senior members know just what to not
say.
Stubs rub, 2 chunks Hickory, 225d,
Brinkmann vertical water smoker, take to 160d, about 3.5 hrs.
wrap in foil, put in cooler for at least hour,
the ladies love it. The Turkey. ;)
Hehe...yeah! Comes with "experience!" Hahaha! ;D Like I said...discipline! Really, though, that sounds good. Can't go wrong with Stubbs - it's from my neck of the woods (Hot Springs, AR). Gotta try them in the Smokin-It next time, though!
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Before and after pics of my new #3 butt weight reduction system.
4th of July pics ;)
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they look good!
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Thank you Zed.
have you had a chance to exercise you new #3?
:)
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Well unfortunately not after the initial freak-show :-)
I`m still working on the backyard and limited to extension cords and such due to the garage distance from the house.
I hope to be fully functional in maybe 10 days 2 weeks most.....but could be longer as I have seriously underestimated the times some things take....
But I`ll do another PP this Friday just to ease my mind ;)
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Ah!!! Extension cords might be the root of your issue. There's been significant anecdotal responses from people who have noticed power fluctuations that affect the thermostat ... in fact, many manufacturers recommend not using them, even if it's a short run industrial-grade extension cord.
Here's a pretty succinct article referencing the issue of using extension cords with this type of application: http://www.amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/smokers/electric_smokers.html
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Before and after pics of my new #3 butt weight reduction system.
4th of July pics ;)
Nice! Now THAT'S a "weight reduction" plan I could really get excited about! I think you may be on to something, Blue!
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Hehe, if that works I`ll just sit in there for 12 hours ;D
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Hehe, if that works I`ll just sit in there for 12 hours ;D
That's what I'm talking about! Uh-oh, probably gonna have to order the #4 for that to work for me! ;)