“I’ve been wanting to give this a try for quite some time and I’m so glad I finally did!
I started with a couple of choice ribeyes, seasoned liberally with kosher salt, black pepper, and granulated garlic. I let them sit for a few hours to draw in the salt and seasoning.
After letting them come up to room temperature on the counter, I put them in my SmokinTex 1400 with only about an ounce of hickory chips @225°F. I smoked the steaks until they reached an internal temp of 110°F. After that I let them rest while heated up a grill to about 600°F.
I brushed the steaks with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on both sides and seared them on the grill for about a minute to a minute and a half on each side, and then resting them under foil with a pat of compound butter over the top.
The steaks came out perfect! I don’t think we’ll ever just grill a steak ever again without smoking them first. It was better than any steakhouse steak I’ve ever had, and this wasn’t even prime meat.
I put a couple of cobs of corn in the smoker along for the ride, and they turned out great also.”
“I smoked them (pork bellies) for three hours at 225°F giving me an interior temperature well over 165°F and then I actually cool them off with a breeze from a fan, let them sit overnight before I cut them and actually fry them or grill them from there. These are thin bellies though. If they were thicker I would’ve gone for four hours. I just want to make sure they’re above that magic 165°F degrees.”
“Local butcher had eye of round on sale. Picked up a 2lb roast. Rubbed down with a rub of garlic, salt and pepper. Sliced a large onion in half and placed the roast on top. Added some beef stock to the pan. Loaded up the smoker box with some cherry chips and a couple charcoal briquettes. Smoker set at 225°F. Shooting for an internal temp of 130°F-140°F.
I’ll slice it really thin on the meat slicer. And yes there will be horseradish. I love horseradish on my beef. I’ll agree eye of round can be really tough as leather sometimes. It’s not my preferred choice to make pit beef, but I couldn’t turn it down for the price.”
Into the smoker at 140°F w/o wood for the first hour.
13 hours later the internal temp reached 154. Removed sausage and placed in an ice water bath to stop the cooking.
Ingredients:
4lbs. Ground chuck
1lb. Ground pork shoulder
7.5 teaspoons Morton Tender Quick
2 tablespoons mustard seed
3 tablespoons garlic power
2 tablespoons 1/4 cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon salt.
5 – 2.4″ X 12” MAHOGANY FIBROUS SUMMER SAUSAGE CASINGS (soak in warm water 30 minutes before using.)
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well. Cover with plastic, and refrigerate for 3 days, mixing well once a day.
On the forth day stuff your sausage casings with the mixture. Place the sausage on a rack in your smoker, make sure they are not touching one another. Set your smoker to 140 degrees and remove any wood from the smoker. After one hour add your wood to the smoker and increase the temp to 150. I like to use hickory. Raise your temperature by 10 degrees every hour until you reach 170. Continue to smoke at 170 until you reach an internal temp of 154. Once the sausage has an internal temp of 154, remove from the smoker and place in a ice water bath for 20 minutes to stop the cooking process. Remove from water and dry the casings with paper towels. Hang to air dry for about 2 hours to let it blossom.
Notes: I buy chuck roast and pork shoulder and grind my own using the grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer.
The 6 lb batch I made took 13 hours to reach the internal temp of 152°F.
“Rubbed with SuckleBusters “Hog Waller”. Used an entire 4oz shaker. Ingredients in the Hog Waller: Sea salt, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Chili Peppers, Spices & Silica.
Set in icebox for 24 hrs.
After removing from icebox, reapply about 1oz of the Hog Waller rub.
Once internal temp reached 195°F degrees (measured using a thermometer from SmokinTex) removed from smoker and let sit in a cooler (double wrapped in heavy duty foil) for 2 hrs.
Pulled apart with two forks.
Took to a family reunion. My Pork Shoulder was the hit of the party. I ate till I was full as a tick.”
6 – 8 pounds Salmon Filets
4 cups Brown Sugar
1 cup Non-Iodized Salt
1 cup Honey
Alder Wood Chips
“Now here is a way to make authentic smoked salmon, using an old traditional Alaskan method!
Use boneless Salmon filets, preferably Red, King or Silver Salmon (Sockeye, Chinook or Coho) if you can get it. Atlantic salmon will work, but not as desirable. Avoid Pink (Chum) Salmon altogether as it is just too oily. Remove the skin and cut the fillets into about 1-1/2” thick strips, the vertical length of the fillet. Think “jerky” as you cut the strips, because that is essentially what you will end up with. Please note you can use larger pieces, even up to a meal size portion that would be 2 to 3”s thick and it will work just fine. Strip size is really a preference call. I personally like the jerky size. Trust me; it won’t last long around the house!
Mix the brown sugar and salt together. Use a non-metallic deep plastic container or large bowl. The objective is to generously coat all surfaces of the fish pieces with the brown sugar-salt mix. Note that no water is added. Cover the container and let sit about three hours in the fridge. Open the container and mix the fish around to ensure all surfaces are in contact with the brown sugar-salt mix. Do not drain any liquid. Recover and leave in the fridge about 18 to 24 hours total. The brown sugar-salt mix is actually pulling the water out of the fish and providing the first stage of preservation.
Once finished, lightly wash each piece and dry by pulling through the space formed between your thumb and index finger. Place each piece on a drying rack in the kitchen at room temperature. Use a table top fan to force air across the drying racks for about three hours. The fish will take on almost a translucent appearance, which means they are dry curing and ready for the smoke.
Transfer the fish to your SmokeinTex smoker racks. Use a generous amount of Alder wood, the traditional wood for salmon smoking. Set the smoker for 165° F and smoke for about 6 hours. You will need to add Alder wood once or twice as needed. Melt the honey in a cup in the microwave. Now brush the honey on to each piece of fish and continue in the smoker for about an hour, to form a glaze. Some folks also add other spices such as cracked pepper, garlic, etc. Some also either add pure maple syrup to the honey, or substitute it for the honey. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Now remove fish from the smoker and ENJOY!! While it won’t last long and is best served straight out of the smoker, you may vacuum pack and freeze for longer term storage. Unfrozen, it will keep several days in the fridge.
This dish is one of the true delicacies that can be made with your SmokeinTex smoker. I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!!”
