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6 replies

Accessories

D dredMember
Hi All:

I am brand new to this forum, and I am strongly considering the purchase of an Amerique, hopefully sooner than later (the wife and Dave Ramsey be damned!) It's an expensive toy but it looks to be a good investment over the long term. I like the fact that it holds a lot of meat when needed, has wider shelves, can hit 300, and can go into hold mode, which is very important since I'm a busy guy, and I need things brain-dead easy!

What I haven't seen much of on this forum is a discussion about accessories. Since some places offer free shipping on accessories when purchased with the smoker, I was thinking of getting a few. I have only had a Brinkman water smoker and a Brinkman electric, so my smoking experience is pretty limited and occurred long ago, so I'm not sure what meats I plan to smoke (ribs, butts, turkeys, etc). Mainely Dave has me thinking of a whole new world of adventure!

Are there any accessories you thought you wouldn't need but now can live without? Did you find a type of smoking you never thought you would do but now it's your favorite sport?

Conversely, are there any doodads you thought you would use but never do anymore, and they languish gathering dust in the garage? Or did you find something else that worked better?

I know I need a cover, but I have chipmunks, squirrels and a few mice that love to crawl under my grill's cover and chew it up for bedding. They actually leave the grill alone when it's not covered, so the cover sits on the ground and collects water and dirt, and the grill gets very dirty. Is there a way to keep critters from getting under the covers of the CS smokers? Is the cover tight enough to resist their assaults?

A few other items (maybe these need to be elsewhere!): My wife really isn't too fond of smoked foods, although we eat ham from Costco that has EXCELLENT and strong smoked flavor and she loves it. Do any of you have the same problem? Are there any foods that your spouse enjoys even though smoked food isn't his/her bag? Do the CS smokers change the minds of unwilling and resistant spouses? I have four kids to help eat the products of my hobby, but eating most of my labors will make me one fat boy!

My brother-in-law is severely allergic to salmon, but I love smoked salmon. And is there a good way to keep a smoker from retaining the fishy odor after smoking fish? I would think being able to do this would also reduce the residual allergens carried over during subsequent smokes....I had a turkey taste like salmon from a prior smoke in the Brinkman water smoker. Yum.

Thanks for all your help and advice. Your previous posts have really helped me already.

Ed
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Q qnorthNear Traverse City, MI
Just a few thoughts:

You might want to consider a cold smoke baffle. I use mine for cheese and uncooked bacon (to give it more smoke).

I have the seafood shelves but never have used them.

Buy the jerky rods if it doesn't come with them. Also the rib hooks. Both are pretty inexpensive.

Buy more wood if the shipping is free (and I think it is)

I find the CS rubs to be too salty for my taste so you might want to try their samples first.

Their BBQ sauces are pretty good. I use a lot of the spicy as a baste and also for serving.

If you have a place to put the AQ out of the weather, you shouldn't need a cover. I have my 055 on a back porch, under the eaves, and it does fine without a cover.

My wife normally doesn't like salmon that well but I cook it in the smoker, in a pan with a butter/onion/lemon/lime sauce on it and she loves it. Also the ribs and all the rest. We have also made smoked almonds that taste as good or better than the Diamond brand.

Oh, and the best: a prime rib roast that's better than any you'll find in a restaurant.

There are lots of things you can smoke once you put your mind to it. Big Grin
FM Former Member
Ed
About your wife not liking smoked food. My wife doesn't like much of any smoky taste either. But she loves my stuff done in the cookshack. The cookshack allows you to vary the smoke because it requires so little wood to start with. I use mainly hickory for beef and pork. For chicken I use 3 or 4 ounces of apple along with a few chips of maple wood. It comes out with a very light mild smoke and she loves it. I just adjust the amount of wood when smoking for the family as opposed to customers etc. I have also done meat with little or no wood in. The very moist cooking environment is still ideal for many cuts of meat, even without smoke. Of course we don't want to completely defeat the purpose of buying a smoker!

Jack
D dredMember
Thanks for the info. It's funny that you should mention the prime rib. I had actually included a paragraph about that very subject but had deleted it since my entry was so long. I cook prime rib every Christmas, and I've been dreaming of smoking it sometime, ever since I first tasted smoked prime rib at Jack's Stack here in KC several years ago. My wife is frightened that I'll oversmoke it since she isn't fond of smoky food, and I'm thinking a prime at $7-8/lb wouldn't be the best tester meat to practice on. So I'll just season the prime with some junk, including Liquid Smoke (heresy, I know), and grill it for about 10-15 minutes before sticking it in the oven to finish off.

Two other questions: Does anyone pull their food out of the smoker prior to completion to finish it off in the oven, in order to speed things along or to crisp up chicken/turkey skin?

And since the AmeriQue has its own temp probe, does anyone use other thermometers? If so, why? Do they use them to monitor the internal oven temp or as a secondary probe for backup or to check a second piece of meat? Or is it because a secondary thermometer can transmit inside the house when it's too cold or too hot to go outside?

Thanks.
Q qnorthNear Traverse City, MI
quote:
Two other questions: Does anyone pull their food out of the smoker prior to completion to finish it off in the oven, in order to speed things along or to crisp up chicken/turkey skin?


My wife likes to have turkey with stuffing but that's a bit tough to do in the smoker. (food safety and all) What I have been doing is to smoke the turkey for about 3 hours and then let her stuff it and put it in the oven. Best of both worlds.
FM Former Member
quote:
Two other questions: Does anyone pull their food out of the smoker prior to completion to finish it off in the oven, in order to speed things along or to crisp up chicken/turkey skin?


I'm okay with doing it for the skin issue, but don't see a good result of throwing it in an oven. Start it soon and let the smoke do what it's designed. I personally think it can change the results (because most people wrap it in foil and you know how I feel about foil)

Well the thread is about accessories, if you really want to get into your question, it's a good one, maybe a new thread:

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