Fifth Electric Smoke:

½ hour pre-heat with 3 cups RO water in pan, vent closed and smoker temperature set at 225*F

At 14:15 the smoke was started. I put 1@ Salmon Fillet (no brine or spice), 1 @ Steelhead Fillet (no brine or spice), 1@ 5.46 Lbs. Pork Tenderloin Roast (Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Ground Red Chili Powder), 1 @ 2.58 Lbs. Beef Chuck Roast (Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder), 2@ Pork Rack of Ribs cut in ½ (Bill Johnsons BBQ Sauce), 3@ Potatoes, 3@ Zucchini Squash and 2 @ Summer Goose Neck Squash.

This is a low sodium healthy living smoke. The BBQ sauce is the only thing that has salt in it.

This smoke I am using split up Hickory pieces form http://www.woodinc.com/. I use them in their “cookin chunk” size for barbequing instead of briquettes.  

 

I ran out of room on the rib rack so I rolled up ¼ ribs on the roast rack. This is 10 minutes into smoke. The breeze cleared the smoke well enough for a clear picture.

I added more hickory chips 1 hour into smoke at 15:15, after 2 hours and 3 hours.

I pulled the fish @ 3 hours. It was perfect with internal temperature of 170*F. I check the internal temperature of the two roasts which also were at 170*F.

The skin just lifted off. The meat is moist, tender, flaky and tastes amazing. At 225* in the electric water smoker the results are incredible. This would have never been this good in a wood smoker.

I dropped the smoker temperature to 170*F at 3 hours into smoke to hold the food temperature and tenderize the ribs, and roasts. They are looking really good.

The smoker was still at 185*F until I opened the door to pull the vegetables at 4 hours into the smoke. If you like BBQ’d zucchini you’ll be in heaven with electric water smoked vegetables. They are so tender, flavorful and moist.

The old wood smoker trick of hot seal to start, and then low to tenderize worked like a charm for this smoke.

I pulled the meat at 5 hours into the smoke or 19:15.

Everything was succulent, moist and tender. This was a perfect smoke.

3 hour at 225*F then drop the temperature to 170*F for the last 2 hours.

Fourth Electric Smoking:

At 14:25, I started the pre-heat at 225*F No water in pan.

The Base Rub for this smoke is one part each Garlic Powder, Onion Powder and Black Pepper. Other spices include: Oregano Powder and Cilantro Dried Crushed.

4 @Elk Chuck Steaks – Base Rub, 4 @ Chicken Thighs – Base Rub and Oregano, 4 @ Chicken Thighs – Base Rub and Cilantro, 3 @ Chicken Breasts – Base Rub and 1 with added Cilantro. 4 @ small Potatoes – N/A

Started smoke at 15:20 at 225*F. No water in pan. Mesquite twig pieces dead/dry. The top vent is closed.

I added mesquite twig pieces at 16:24.

I pulled the elk steaks at 17:30. Then I put a Poblano Chili and a Green Chili into the smoker. I added more mesquite.  

Everything was done at 19:00. The internal temperature of the chicken breasts was 175*. The thighs hit that one half hour before.

The potatoes are fantastic. The smoke flavor made it through the skins, and the moisture stayed in. I did not poke any holes in them. The insides were as tender as mashed potatoes; the skins are tender and not dry. All the meat was perfect. Smoked chilis are awesome. The skin just falls off and the seeds add extra heat.

Third Electric Smoking

4 Salmon Filets Wild Caught at 2 Lbs. each – Prep started the night before for Dry Cure Low Sodium Method. Yes, I said LOW Sodium.

Dry Brine Method – Sprinkle lightly with salt to taste only (this is a no rinse brining). You can add other spices like garlic powder, basil, thyme or black pepper. Put in 2 gallon plastic bag and place in refrigerator overnight. 

All Salmon Fillets with Dry Brine 18 hours in refrigerator and spices added before drying; 2 salmon with Basil, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder; 1 salmon with Nellies Lime Juice, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder; 1 salmon with Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder. After seasoning I let the salmon set on counter for an hour at 8% humidity 72*F in home. The surface dried to glazy-moist tacky (pellicle).

Start of 3^rd Smoke: The 4 Salmon Fillets above, 9 Elk Steaks marinated in our close friend MaryAnn’s Philippine Marinate (12 hours), 2 Hot Italian Sausage (raw, still frozen), 5 “Casual Gourmet” Chicken Sausage (comes pre-cooked, but still frozen).

I started the pre-heat @ 13:00 with RO water in pan and vent closed. Started all the meat at 13:30 at 120*F and added mesquite twig pieces. The wood chips are dry/dead branches from mesquite trees on my property. I don’t wet them.

Increase temp to 140*F add mesquite twig pieces @ 14:30.

Add mesquite at 15:30.

Increase temp to 175*F add mesquite twig pieces @ 16:30, three hours into the smoke.

Above: is a picture of the wood chips tray with mesquite twig pieces. Below: is the smoking wood chips chamber.

At 17:30, I opened the door to the smoker for the first time to install the temperature probe. The salmon did not look like I had expected it to look. The salmon has fat beads forming on top and is looking poached. Is it too much moisture?  Increase temp to 200*F, removed water tray, opened top vent and added mesquite twig pieces. The internal temp of the salmon is 150*F. The sausage is at 164*F.

Well I pulled it off. It was a moisture problem. I pulled everything at 18:30. The internal temperature on the salmon is 162*F and the sausage is at 176*F.

All the meat tastes awesome, but the salmon is incredibly amazing. It is flaky and very moist. The mesquite flavor is better than alder smoked salmon that I did years ago in the wood smoker. I flipped the fillets over on a platter and just lifted the skin off with just my fingers.

The elk chuck steaks were well done but very tender. Yes one is missing, yummm. This pick was hot from the smoker. The sausages wrinkled up as they cooled.

Electric Smoking Thoughts

Electric smoking is a whole lot different from my old Sportsman Wood Brinkmann. Electric is way easier but still is an art. The temperature in the electric smoker is very stable and moisture is easy to regulate because there is no need to have a supply of oxygen. There is no need to soak the wood pieces/chips.

I’ll never forget the wood smoke I did that had a gust of wind blow grass trimmings into the smoker. I had to rinse the roast off with beer to get rid of the burned grass taste before continuing the smoke. With electric you never have to worry about a lot of things that happen in a wood smoker. Why didn’t I buy electric years ago??? I Figure it cost about $3 for a 9 hour smoke in the electric. My gas would cost about $12 for the same smoke, but I could always taste the propane.  

I use Velvet Mesquite native to Arizona including the southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico. They have some in far west Texas, but most of Texas has Honey Mesquites. Velvet Mesquite grows from sea level to 5,000 feet in elevation in Arizona. Be careful that you don’t mistake Catclaw Acacia for mesquite. Remember mesquite thorns are straight, never curved. Catclaw has a very strong smoke.

Hawaiian Kalua Pig is wrapped in Ti and Banana Leaves, and then it is cooked in a pit called Imu fueled with mesquite wood called Kiawe and hot rocks. I was told the mesquites that were on the dry side of Maui were planted in 1828.

I also like Sonoran Scrub Live Oak (Quercus turbinella) for a lighter flavored smoke. Gambel Oak is good also but you have to be careful that you don’t get moldy wood. The mold adds a bitter flavor to the smoke. Blackjack Live Oak is great too.

Other Arizona – Verde Valley trees that are good for smoking are apple, pecan, almond, plum, cherry, peach and apricot.  

The Arizona plants not good for smoking are: Arizona Alder is very pungent and Oleander is poisonous. A list of more Arizona trees not to use for smoking: Pine, Mulberry, Sycamore, Ailanthus, Tamarisk, Cottonwood, Palo Verde and Willow.

I bought a cheap dolly drilled holes through the plate leaving 1” gap at smoker side, put feet bolts through the holes and a strap at the top door hinge. I had to remove the lower strap on the dolly with a grinder and welded it back on well above the wood chips tray.

Second Electric Smoking

Pork Shoulder Roast 8.21 with sprinkled rubs (the following all in this smoking)

½ hour preheat 225*F with 2/3 filled RO water in pan and vent closed 08:00 

08:30 start pork shoulder with scrub live oak dead/dry twig pieces; 11:30 add mesquite dead/dry twig pieces.  

2 pork rack ribs smothered in Stubbs original BBQ sauce in at 14:15

4 chicken thighs with no seasoning also at 14:15

Also at 14:15 I added mesquite twig pieces and installed the probe from the “Backyard Grill Wireless Thermometer” purchased at Wal-Mart into pork roast and added water to pan.

17:35 removed pork roast with an internal temp at 177*F

I pulled the ribs and chicken at 18:00 to 18:30 when the internal temp 175*F

The chicken thighs and pork ribs were absolutely delicious. They were tender, juicy and falling off the bone. This electric with water smoking is amazing. Closing the vent on top traps all the moisture in the smoker keeping the meat moist throughout the smoke.

First Electric Smoking

2 Whole Chicken Fryers 5 Lbs. each with sprinkled rubs (1^st time electric smoking)

½ hour preheat 225* F with 2/3 filled RO water in pan and vent closed. 

I smoked at 225*F for 3 ½ hours with mesquite dead/dried twig pieces at beginning. I added mesquite again at 1 hour and 2 hours into smoke. The chickens were done and tender, but not falling off the bone. They could have gone 4 hours or more. (Did not have thermo-probe for checking internal temperature of the meat yet)