I smoked salmon today. It was really amazing. I had about 1.5 pounds. I brined overnight with kosher salt and brown sugar. I rested the fish in the fridge for around 7 hours. I placed the salmon in the smoker (SM066) at 150 degrees for two hours. For the last hour I turned the heat up to 175 degrees. I pulled the salmon at 140 degrees. I used apple wood and brushed on straight maple syrup every hour. With only a pound and half of salmon, my temps ran about 5 degrees above. I set the temps at...Read More...

Looks like it has been a while since this topic has been discussed... Need some recommendations on a pair of grill gloves. Something with good dexterity (MUCH better than the oven mitt style I currently have) and something that would protect me if I accidentally touch the grate of my PG. Something I could carry my dutch oven from the grill to the kitchen would be nice, but not necessary. Just did some amazon browsing and seems like there is a crowd of products in the $25-35 range with nice...Read More...

I have a SM066 that was manufactured in 2006. My dad has had it sitting in his metal building for probably 10 years because he said it kept shutting off. I decided to try and figure out what was wrong with it, so I picked it up and have been messing with it this weekend. I have my Fireboard remote temp sensor in it and it seems like the heat is shutting off after the 1st or 2nd "cycle" of heat. It ramps up to the initial set temp, cools for a bit and then ramps up to the set temp again.Read More...

Throwdown with Bobby Flay on Wednesday night had him in Raleigh NC challenging Ed Mitchell. Ed's a legend around here, and unlike many legends, he's also a very, very good BBQ cook. But.....I have to ask, did anyone catch that he cooks his spare ribs for just 20 minutes per side on a grill? No smoking at all, and no boiling that they mentioned. I had to hit rewind on the Tivo, but that's what he said. And the judges said they were fall off the bone tender!??????? He must be getting some of...Read More...

This is my first lengthy cook on my new SM066. Every BBQ channel I watched on You Tube said pork loins take around 3-4 hours at 225. I cut the loin into thirds and seasoned each piece with a different flavor rub. I just pulled mine at 2.5 hours and the temp was reading 150 to 160. I checked all three with my Thermapen. They have been FTCd. I have ribs on there as well. They by all accounts seem to be cooking properly. I am trying to learn this smoker without all of my BBQ accoutrements. This...Read More...

Have a FEC 100 for sale. It’s probably been used 50 times Don’t have to sell, but I’m not using it. It’s stored inside let me know what you think. I never clean inside consider that seasoningRead More...

I got a tool/grinder stand a harbor freight and my SMO25 is a perfect fitRead More...

Hello! New to the board here, waving a hand at y'all. I am sure you have fielded these questions on more than one occasion, but please bear with me. I am starting a mobile BBQ concession trailer. I plan to put this in a semi permanent locale. I am trying to decide on a great smoker for my business. As a newbie to the BBQ business I have been educating myself as much as possible. I have looked at Southern Pride and Ol' Hickory smokers. I stumbled on the Cookshack today and would love to hear...Read More...

I made smoked shotgun shells for the Super Bowl. I had some left over. I vac sealed them and stuck them in the freezer. My wife reminded me about them tonight. So I tried them. When I opened the bag, I was immediately hit with hickory smoke (unbelievable). I microwaved them for two and a half minutes. They were very tasty and a little chewier (not as soft when they come off the smoker). The BBQ sauce was not frozen either. I could taste the smokiness. I have 5 left. I will eat them tomorrow.Read More...

Not sure what model, think it's around 20 years old.... serial number, wheels, racks, vent, woodbox, and the back/bottom all gone lol. It takes a 14x14 rack more or less. Anyway it still works somewhat and I'm thinking of insulating it again because it doesn't really hold heat that well. Has a hard time getting above 180 in 90 degree weather so I'm thinking that's probably the issue unless the thermostat doesn't work very well. Anyone that can provide some materials that will work I'd...Read More...

Live in upstate NY. Old guy at 82. Been smoking for some time but this is my first CS smoker. Father’s Day gift from my kids. Built a stand for it and seasoned it today. Some BB ribs to go on tomorrow. I’m going to try a brisket for the first time next week..Read More...

Has anyone tried pellets in their SM025? Just watched a Smokin Joes BBQ segment where he smoked a brisket using Everything Bagel seasoning and then smoking it on a pellet smoker using crushed pecan shells. Sounds Tasty. Any thoughts?Read More...

Got a PM asking about Wet Aging and so thought I'd bring it here to discuss as we've got a thread going for Dry Aging. Aging ONLY applies to beef, not chicken or pork Wet aging has really grown in use by Restaurants over the last 10 years for one reason; less waste. WHY? Aging is supposed to intensify the flavors SHOULD I AGE? Ah, good question grasshopper. I find, that the more complicated the recipe the less important it is. If you're going to cover the beef in complicated rubs and sauces...Read More...

Hi all. New member/first post. Been catering barbecue since 2012 with an ugly drum and a stick burner. We are now doing a ghost kitchen and launched a food truck. Looking to streamline the labor side of our operation at the smoker. I found an SM250 from 2005, and they are asking 2k. Any advice or opinions are much appreciated. Thanks!!Read More...

I only use the temperature probe on my SM025 for larger chunks of meat. Since using it for a couple of pork butts awhile back, even without the probe attached, there's a temperature readout on my controller. I'll eventually contact Cookshack support. But has anyone else experienced this?Read More...

I just tried this out for Superbowl Sunday. I smoked 2 boxes of manicotti pasta shells (28) filled with 8 oz of cream cheese, 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, 1 lb. maple sausage, 1lb. 80 /20 ground beef, 2lbs. of thick cut bacon, Kingsford Sweet and Salty rub, and topped of with some Sweet Baby Rays Honey BBQ sauce. I smoked at 300 degrees for about an hour with 2 oz of hickory. They were very smokey and the pasta was soft and not overly chewy. I could not taste the maple in sausage. They were...Read More...

Disregard dryness or tenderness. Has anyone really ever noticed a difference in taste on Standard Choice vs Angus Choice? ThanksRead More...

Hi all, I saw a cryovac package of "pork brisket bones" at BJ's today. My quick search says these are basically rib tips. Lots of grilling recipes but not much for smoking. Has anyone ever done these? I'm thinking it would be a great foundation for a Super Bowl party meal. I thought I'd treat them like loinbacks, but not as long in the smoker. Any ideas/experience welcome. Thanks!Read More...

This is the first issue I've had with the smoker since getting in for Christmas in 2020. I'm trying to smoke some pork butts for the championship games tomorrow, but I can't get my SM066 to hold temp. When I turn the unit on, even with the probe disconnected, it says probe instead of time and the probe temp shows 200. This causes the smoker to hit DONE in just a few minutes and switch to hold mode at 140. This means I can't smoke the butts even with a third party temp tool because the smoker...Read More...

So when I first got my 240 I was not properly cleaning the ash which resulted in igniter failure but since then I have been cleaning it vacuuming it and taking care of the ash cup properly and I believe my igniter went out again? Pellets are dropping in but no fire anyone have any ideas or suggestions?Read More...

I wanted to cook a breakfast fatty but decided against taking a loan out to buy some eggs. I had all the other ingredients on hand to make a pizza fatty. This one cooked faster because I could not roll it closed. I over stuffed with cheese, onions, and pepperonis. It cooked pretty quickly compared to my cheeseburger fatty. It was very delicious according to my coworker. He is my test dummy while I get used to the new smoker. I used skewers to try to hold it together. It didn't work so well...Read More...

I cooked this morning with the probe. When that was done I put something else in the smoker but wanted to do time instead of probe. I disconnected the probe and turn the amerique off, waited 30 secs and then back on. Came up showing that it was using the probe. Tried a few times but it still thinks the probe is connected.Read More...

I just sent an e-mail to Cookshack. I own a stainless steel Amerique smoker. It is 9 years old and even though I store it in a Cookshack Cover on a covered porch the controllers either do not work, the original controller, the LED lights burn out, the second controller, or just quits working not showing it has power after about a year, the third controller, so I will have to purchase a 4th controller. Also I have to run an extension cord to a non GFI plug as from the get go it as always...Read More...

We bought a Model 45 quite a few years ago, it was made in 2011. It lives outside on our covered deck, with the cover on. I've been trying to smoke goose pastrami and am having difficulty controlling the temperature. I set it to 160F yesterday, expecting about 4 hours to reach the target of 140F internal. Didn't happen, and the oven temp dropped to the mid 140Fs for no reason, and the internal temp only got to 123F after 6 hours. I ended up trying to increase the oven temp, but it was all...Read More...

I am on my second Green Mountain pellet smoker and still am not happy with the amount of smoke flavor in the meat. I have tried several things and am just done. I think its time for a new machine. The Cookshack SM045 looks promising but before I go even deeper in the hole I want to be sure that I will be happy with the amount of smoke flavor it produces. Being that it uses real hard wood and not compressed pellets Im hoping this is the right direction. Any information is greatly appreciated.Read More...

I have had my SM150 for some years now it is a 2001 model. Still looks great, but I do like to clean it up really good sometimes and I can never seam to get it looking really clean on the inside. Usually I spray it down with degreaser and pressure wash the inside. Do not know it that is a good idea or not but it has never seamed to affect the working of it. On the door function I have never gotten the error message that the door is open. It appears to have a magnetic type of switch. Just...Read More...

Having trouble regulating temperature 🌡 Set a little under 150. Temperature got over 200 in the box. Is there a way to calibrate the controller?Read More...

Hello everyone)! Bought smoker on trailer. Is anyone know what procedure to get NSF certification? God Bless you!Read More...

I found Pork Cushion on sale and picked up a couple of packages. This totaled 8 roasts. I picked out 3 of the best looking ones to freeze, and smoked the rest. One of these I did as a pork roast, and the others I did for pulled pork. The didn't turn out too bad.Read More...

Any one tried to smoke Picanha? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picanha) It's the main attraction in Brazilian steak houses, and is usually spit roasted. I've "reverse seared" one (in 275* oven until internal is 120*, rest 15 min., then sear in cast iron skillet (I lay mine directly on charcoal) about 2 min. per side--really good!. I've thought of using the smoker instead of the oven, but also wonder about skipping the sear and letting the Picanha go to 140*Read More...

I decided to make a cheeseburger fatty as the initial cook on my SM066. I have never cooked one these before. I've done briskets, ribs, chicken, and butts. I figured the bacon weave and rolling would be more difficult than it actually was. I set the smoker for 275 and cooked until the ground beef was 160. The cook took under two hours. The Cookshack probe was within 1 degree of my Thermoworks. It looks good and smells good. I did not eat any because I'm going to take it to work with me...Read More...

Second cook and noticing a few more things, the heating element is tweaked a little one side is higher than the other I noticed when putting the wood tray back in it is actually pushing down on the raised side of the heating element, So is this nothing to worry about? Not sure if the element can be straightened or do I need a new element or just leave it alone, I did notice it's leaving a mark on the element where it touches.Read More...

I know that water and electricity don't mix at all when combined. My smoker sits on my back deck under and eight foot overhang. It does not get rained on directly but gets hit with the mist or overspray. My power outlet is a GFCI and is inside a waterproof cover. If I cover the control panel of the smoker with a plastic tub or bag, is that safe enough to use when it's raining. It is raining today (which I'll take all day. it is 39 out. Normally it is 0 or single digits). My thoughts are...Read More...

I seasoned for 6 hours at 275. For the first 2 hours, I had some temperature swings ranging from 6-12 degrees (oldsarge said it was normal - THANKS by the way). The temps settled down and ran at 275 for the remaining 4 hours. My order came with hickory. Smelled awesome while seasoning.Read More...

Hi All - I picked up the seasoned brisket flat shown in the attached picture from Sam's Club and it was really good. I smoked following the directions on the package (250 degrees in smoker for 2 hours, wrap in foil, and cook until 201 degrees, which probably took 3 or 4 hours wrapped if I had to guess) except I didn't bother with using a small container of water in the smoker. I used hickory wood. It had a nice level of spiciness (probably a little bit too salty though) and I want to try to...Read More...

I am in the market for a new smoker. I have been looking at the Amerique SM066 for a while. I discovered the Lone Star Grillz (LSG) Pee Wee on accident. I really like the SM066 for the set and forget and temperature holding capabilities. I do not care about the lack of a smoke ring concern using an electric smoker either. But with that said, I have some minor concerns about the SM066. 1. I've seen posts about the smoker tripping GFCI outlets. It's going on my porch and both sets of outlets...Read More...

Does anybody know if the SM-066 controller can be put on a SM-045 smoker? I don't need the extra room of the SM-066 but would really like to have more features of the SM-066 controller. I sent a message to Auber controllers to see if they had anything that would work on the 045 but since it's digital I may be out of luck.Read More...

I am getting ready to fire up the 066 to finish up my cheese smoking. I didn't do much cheese last year and it bit me in the rear this year. I told my wife that I was going to cut back on the normal 50 some odd pounds of cheese I usually do. I have been buying cheese over the last couple of months and storing it in the fridge. When I finally started to get everything out, I had just over 110 pounds of cheese. I have done everything except the Jarlsberg, regular Swiss, and a new cheese from...Read More...

Has anyone had experience with cold smoking? If so, what kind of foods do you cold smoke and how often do you do it. I'm thinking of adding the cold smoke tray to my set up which by the way will be in it's new home similar to BBQ Rods very soon. Thanks for the great idea Rod!Read More...

Can the wheels be removed easily on this smoker once they are installed. I just replied to another post about carts. I am thinking of using this steel wagon from harbor freight. https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden/gardening-garden-tools/wagons-rolling-seats/1000-lb-mesh-deck-steel-wagon-60359.html It's plenty wide and I hope the I can just mount the smoker down to the cart with threaded rods through the wagon floor. Thanks.Read More...

I currently have my SM066 on a heavy-duty rolling cart. I am not able to invert the top of the cart to provide a flat surface for the smoker to sit on so I have it on 2x6" pieces of wood that raise it up enough for the door to open and the pan to fit underneath. I am looking for/trying to think of a suitable flat work surface that I can lay across the cart and in front of the smoker that I can set pans on and that can catch meat and drippings from when I am pulling from the smoker. So a...Read More...

I recently ate at Famous Dave's and really liked their brisket. It tasted different than the brisket I usually make in my smoker because the smoke taste in FD's brisket wasn't just concentrated on the edges of the slices ... it seemed to go through the entire slice, and the slices didn't have much bark on the edge. Does anyone have a guess as to how FD's prepares and smokes their brisket? What internal temp do you think they take it to? What kind of wood do they use? Do you think they add...Read More...

I need help with my chicken. No matter what cut of chicken I use I can never get the skin crispy when I smoke it. When I groll it turns out perfect, but I need advice. My skin is always rubbery https://6newslawrence.com/rubbery-chicken/ and I have tried rubbing oil, cooking spray, etc on it before the smoke but nothing. Any suggestions? My other question is on the legs, the exposed meat always get hard and over smoked. Has a thick smoke taste that isn't pleasant. Any advice is greatly...Read More...

I put the butts in at ambient temp as dry as possible? And leave vent wide open ?Read More...

I purchased the SM025 on 5/21/2022. It's been used several times a month with great success. Yesterday (Christmas Day, 2022) I smoked a very expensive 7.76 pound prime rib, this was a prime grade cut of meat. I ordered it from my local butcher without asking about the price - I probably would have gone with choice if I knew prime was 24.99 a pound! Caveat Emptor and all that. - but a frick'n amazing roast. Anyway, put it on the smoker at 225* at 10 AM. Used about an once of cherry and...Read More...

Smokette on custom cart. See pic. ThanksRead More...

Wondering if anyone has done these. We had them from a caterer at a function last week and they were phenomenal. I want to try them. I have looked at several recipes and the main difference is the smoke time and temp. It ranges from 60 - 80 mins at 225 to 300F (the max for my AQ), and I want the bacon pretty crisp. Any tips would be appreciated. BTW, based on my one experience, these are worth it!Read More...

I currently have the large Kamado Joe and it’s a great cooker. I’m just tired of messing with charcoal, and buying charcoal. But I do love the taste of the food that comes out. I also need more space. I thought about buying an expander rack, but Mike I said, I’m getting tired of messing with charcoal, and periodically checking on temp. I’d rather sleep, or play with my kids. Lol. So I was looking at the cookshack sm025. That’s what my budget allows. I’m after the same wood fire/smoke taste I...Read More...

So tonight is the night for the first cook on the sm 045. I have 2 questions, is 3 oz of apple wood too much? Also does anybody put a drip pan under the butt or just line the bottom with foil and let it drip? I usually don't trim the fat cap much, but was thinking maybe the juices dripping on the smoker box might produce some flavor. Thank youRead More...

Wishing all a Merry Christmas Happy Hannukah Happy Kwanzaa and if I missed anything, please add! DavidRead More...