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28 replies

How i did the turkey.

FM Former Member
I posted this in the open forum on the 23 of Dec.

While some might have preferred more smoke,i smoked only lightly.
I will brine the next bird as i always brine pork and poultry regardless of cooking method.
In this case i was afraid to brine a butterball. It would have been fine.
Anyway....here is the post of the 23 rd. as requested.The bird was delicious and crispy.

Thnks Dennis for the summary of ways around
The poultry problem.
No one offered any comment when i mentioned my friend Willi's solution, so i forged ahead.
The turkey i smoked today was 11.5 lb.
I did not lift the skin .
I did not dry the split turkey.
I did not finish on the grill nor in a hot oven.
All these "workarounds" seemed to me to be just that,a way to salvage a poor way to prepare turkey.
I selected a Butterball as i was short on brining time.
I slathered the split bird with Cookshack spicy chicken rub which i have used in oven roasting for years. I added brown sugar and black pepper and let it reach 46 f on the counter.

This made it very wet as the salt drew moisture. Bad right?
It cooked at 250 with 3 oz of apple for 4 hr with my 3 inch dia. flue and damper wide open.
I pulled at 175 in the thigh and let it
cool to room temp as i don't enjoy smoked meat while hot. The skin as i expected, was golden and crisp.
Not crisp as in strike a match on it but truly crisp and absolutely delicious!
At least for this one turkey i can say with conviction that a 3 inch adjustable vent
solved the bad skin problem often reported here as a "poultry problem".
When Willi explained to me 10 years ago the necessity of venting moisture on some products lest they steam, it made sense.
Opening the door did not.
He said a 5/8 vent hole was wholly inadequate for fish or fowl.
I'm nibbling on the results of his wisdom as i type.
Best.
dick.
Original Post

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FM Former Member
Wheelz.
I will attach a sketch of the flue and damper,but if i had a day job i'd keep it!
I'd be happy to interperet the sketch if it's not readable.
dick
All must bear in mind that i did not make this modification and i'm not encouraging it be made.
The effect on poultry skin and on fish smoking is terrific.
OOOPS the size exceeded etc.
Will try again.

dick
FM Former Member
Hi Puff!
For 20 years I watched my late friend Willi turn out incredible smoked foods of many kinds with 2 electric "Chiefs"
When he bought the 50 he said "This will be a good smoker as soon as i fix it"
He had tried it "as is" and proclaimed it ok for some things but hopeless for poultry or fish because it steamed those products due to limited and uncontrolable venting.
The flue instalation gave him a full range of venting and for the next 9 years he smoked or re smoked most anything that came to hand.
He considered the temperature range sufficient
for his purposes.
I was fortunate to inherit this fine piece of gear and from what i read here i'm glad my friend modified it.
Best.
dick
FM Former Member
quote:
When Willi explained to me 10 years ago the necessity of venting moisture on some products lest they steam, it made sense.
Opening the door did not.


Willi's modification is a change to the smoker and will invalidate any warranty.

Opening the door will let out heat and let out moisture so it works just fine and has no impact on the warranty.

If you feel so strongly about the mod, send an email to CS and tell them of your experiences and see what they think.

Smokin'
FM Former Member
Hi Smokin!
If i had just purchased the unit a warranty issue might be of concern.
Willi made the change 9 years ago because he felt the unit was not satisfactory for his purposes.
I inherited it with extra thermostat ,heating element ,wood box etc etc.
When i asked 9 years ago about cracking the door from time to time Willi said:If you have to let out what little heat you are cooking with to reduce moisture you need to fix it with a flue and damper which he did.
Jerry Newsome at CS courteously suggested i remove the flue and return the vent to 5/8 .NO WAY!
I have not used the unit enough as yet to "feel strongly"Willi felt strongly!
I have however been happy with butts (damper closed)and with turkey (damper open)and crispy skin.
This weekend i will do wings in response to posts here commenting on limp skin on wings.
I expect crispy wings but will report either way.
Best.
dick
Last edited by Former Member
FM Former Member
One might surmise with a 3" hole on top and the damper wide open, so much heat would be lost up and out and the element might be overworked keeping the temp up and actually be alot hotter in the lower half of the smoker, therefore helping evacuate moisture out the top and actually cooking hotter than 250*F, at least if the turkey or wings are sitting in the lower half.

I am pretty sure that is the longest sentence ever typed by these long fat fingers.

Cool
FM Former Member
GLH
Yup,one might so surmise.
When i do the wings,i hope tomorrow, I'll dangle a probe and see what the temps are above the wings.
I did notice wnen i did the turkey that there seemed to be little heat escaping the flue but it WAS wet.
The heating element has been operating for nearly 9 years so far, most of the time with damper partially to fully open as Willi did more poultry and fish than roasts.
Best.
dick
FM Former Member
Hi All,

Long time no post....

I think the topic should be "How I modified the Cookshack". Anywhoo, what I would like to know is how did he make the 3" cut and what tool did he use?

The turkey looks great, I only get those kind of results on my Weber Bullet would prefer to be able to use the smokette as it is a heck of a lot easier to use.

Dang I sure missed barbeque...

Regards,
PrestonD
FM Former Member
Thank you mr jig for all your explanations and your diagrams ect. Im so happy that your now deceased friend gave you his cooker. If the other posters would take the time to carefully read your posts they would understand that you recieved this gift as is.
Im so happy its working great for you. Please dont get discouraged w/all the questions that folks are asking.
Your just trying to the best you can.
Thanks again for all your time and effort in attempting to satisfy everybodys querousities.

Mike
FM Former Member
Sorry Mr Jig,

I was actually referring to Mr Willi and conjecturing on how he made the original cut (sorry Mr Jig and others if you were labored by my post) and was hoping perhaps other mechanically inclined and interested forum members would reply with suggestions, as that may be a mod I would like to try.

I do appreciate the post and results most graciously. Mr Willi was one smart gentleman I think he got this right on.

Thank you,
Preston
FM Former Member
Preston.
Absolutely no apology necessary.
Most posters do not so much follow threads as grab a moment read a post and respond if the subject takes their fancy.
Lacking history, questions are re-asked etc.

I would be happy to share the mechanics of the conversion but i simply don't know.
Willi was a master carpenter and coach builder as a young man in E Germany.He learned the smokers art there.

He worked here as an auto body man, repaired printing equipment and fixed ANYTHING that broke in his neighborhood.He had lots of tools of course and great mechanical talent.
Alas i have neither!
Best.
dick
Last edited by Former Member
FM Former Member
Yeah I kept having this picture of my saws-all (reciprocating saw) making the cut but thats like handling a buckin' bronco at times on hard metal. There is a hole punch kit for enclosures that may work. You drill a hole and then tighten down on this circular clamp like device and it punches a hole. Not sure that would work on double walled insulated smoker like the CS.

I am gonna check out the sausage.com site and see.

Best regards,
PrestonD
FM Former Member
FYI, though I am not recommending doing this mod!

Do not use recip or sabre saw, they will stretch/warp stainless in most instances.

Greenlee makes a tungsten carbide hole saws for stainless, as does Lenox. Do not get the "grit" (they are for tile) saws.
Be sure to get the optional arbor with a cobalt/carbide pilot bit. They both have a spring ejector that keeps the cutout from following up the bit into the saw.

I have used both on stainless kitchen cabinets and steel beams and it is amazing how quick and clean a job you can do. Be sure you have a very slow turning 1/2" angle drill and hang on.
A floor model drill press would even be better.
Last edited by Former Member

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