Newbie questions

cajunman I don't think the drippings in the pan would be safe to use. The foil you saw over the element was covering the wood box to keeping all the drippings from staining the lid and reducing the clean up.

Keep us posted, Jimbo

I can't believe, that in the 2895 postings so far you missed the one about gravy drippings....LOL

Actually the more popular we get it may be harder to find, guess that will be the price of popularity.

I've heard some good and a lot of bad about trying to do this.

The bad involves trying to keep the temperature of the drippings from approaching the "danger zone" where the temp drops below 140 and all that bad bacteria develops.

The good involves finding a way to catch some of the drippings inside the smoker, taking those out and using just a little for flavoring.

But I'm sure someone will find a way, if there is a way, to do it. And being the forum that we are, we'll share that info. If you're really needing it, just avoid the bad and try the good.

Smokin'

Cajunman, I haven't tried this but when Smokin mentioned about catching drippins inside the CS this popped into my mind. Put a shallow pan on one of the lower shelves under your brisket. Now the questions are should this be done up front or after its been cooking for awhile. Also when to remove the pan to keep the drippins from possibley scorching, drying up, carmelizing, etc. Hopfully some of the experimenters out there will figure it out for us.

Charlie

Charlie, et All, you might put some water into that drip pan...might stop the drippings from drying up. Would use hot water for safety sake. Then take out pan and skim the drippings.

Regards, Mike

My belief is that with the smoke the dripping would be tres bitter. I recommend making a stock on the stove with (1) the bone ends, roasted first, (2) a piece of beef, or whatever you are using, or (3) canned stock. Either way, reduce until you have a very concentrated mixture. If you guys can find it, look for a product called Bisto. Buy the original recipe, and use this to thicken and flavor gravies. You won't be sorry.

I agree with Andi that the smoke would probably make the drippins bitter and I think Mike has a good idea with adding water to the pan. Therefore I would put the pan in after the wood has quit smoking or after the meat has passed the 140 degree mark (where it stops absorbing smoke flavor), just remember to remove your wood box. Just a thought.

Charlie

Hey,Smokin'....I can't figure out how those drippin's missed landin' in that big flat cake pan of beans on the bottom shelf ....It sure won't make them bitter. I like Andi's classic approach to making the gravy...Save the smoked beef bones in the freezer for next time....Place in a roasting pan with aromatic vegetables,roast till brown,add stock and wine ,cook as long as desired,strain and that will be your smoked gravy base. ...Ask Topchef for details,as he will be our resident classical cooking authority. Hope this helps.

Thanks for all the tips guys. I like the water in the pan idea. Will try it when my cooker arrives and report back - need gravy only for the prime rib.

Tom,

A shallow cake pan for the beans!! Brilliant. Do you use aluminum or something else?

The aluminum works fine.....The sous chef/wife keeps a bunch around to make those box mixes and they are about 1.5 in. deep covers a lot of the bottom rack,lets plenty of smoke pass by,and the bottom rack helps cook off some liquid.

Another neat trick is to put your meat on a wire rack (like a cooling rack) and put that in an aluminum pan as described above, being careful not to block airflow. The grease drips into the pan only, which makes clean-up tons easier. This only works on small pieces of meat, but is useful when you are only smoking a few items.

George

When catching drippings, inside or outside the CS, watch for overflow. Especially with fatty pieces of meat (butts, briskets, etc).

I put a big ol' pan (aluminum) of doctored up beans to catch the drippings and smoke while doing 2 briskets. It was difficult pulling the pan o' beans out because of the flimsy aluminum pan and it was full to the brim with juices. I skimmed the fat off ... man were they good!!

But, I tell ya, my drip pan outside the CS was also full to the brim - that can get a bit messy.

Hey,AAHH...Live and learn,been there- done that.....Did 15 lbs. spares today and it almost got away from me. ....I do use a pretty heavy cake pan....The sous chef actually is a baker/pastry maker...Ya know those people that measure things,don't let adult beverages unduly distract them and really anticipate perfect results.

Hey guys, we don't quite understand what's happening with all the accumulation of grease you're getting.

Is it you or is it us? We cooked 2 12 lb packer cuts and filled about a third of the drip pan. Did 6 slabs of STL spares and had about the same amount of grease.

Why do I get so much less grease accumulation than you guys get?

Regards, Mike

Mike, I am wondering the same thing. Especially the one about OUTSIDE the smoker. I accumulate little creosote and even my chix I did the other night didn't drip much. What gives?

Andi, Was using 50 and now 150. Don't see how more grease could be a factor attributable to the Smokette, but, we've never used a Smokette.

Can only make some guesses...the meat. We buy the best meat we can find. Choice Angus for brisket, pretty lean STL cut spares, and we trim them just a bit after removing membranes. Assuming others are doing likewise, it's not their meat.

Another possibility...cooking the ribs to a different degree of doneness. We cook spares at 225. Did 4 slabs this morning for a lunch meeting at the office. Cooked by time for 3.5 hours because Jan took them off and brought them to us. Little grease in the outside pan. A bit of a mess, as usual, in the CS.

We read here of smoking ribs at 225 for 5 hours or more. We don't understand the additional time, unless their pit temp is lower; their door is being opened too early, too often, or left open too long, to check for doneness; the Smokette takes considerably longer to cook than the 50 and 150?; or the Qers are cooking the juice right out of the ribs (doubtful, but possilbe, especially if their goal is to have the meat fall off the bone). You could get a lot more drippings by cooking an hour and a half (or more)longer.

Same with butts...We've done one so far, but it went pretty much as expected...about an hour + per lb. We read here where an average size butt took 15-16 hours (or more). We don't understand how...unless the same conditions mentioned for ribs, were applied to butts. Cooking a 7 lb butt at 225, just can't take 2.5 hours per lb.

Briskets? We had the most drippings with the last two packers...both were 12 pounders. The pit was messy and the outside pan was about 1/3 full.

Quick thoughts (with little merit):

Is the pan a lot smaller on the smokette than the 50 and 150 (which seemed to use the same pan?)

Improperly calibrated thermostats in their cookers causing over-cooking?

Cooking by thermometer and it's way off?

To repeat: we do not understand where all the "extra" drippings are coming from and would love to hear other's thoughts on this.

Regards, Mike

Yowza, Mike! You made some dang fine points there. I wish I had more experiance with my CS to comment. Fish doesn't make drippings...and she's dedicated to fish right now...day and night. I make my years wages in the next two months and can't say enough about my lil Smokette. I did some salmon in my homemade and it wasn't near as good! I upped my prices! Folks in Moose Pass are raving about my salmon!

And...I still don't get the excess drippings thing either.

Hey Andi, How much is the "CS Owner's Price" for that smoked salmon you make and sell? Sounds wonderful.

We buy some pre-packaged smoked salmon (giftware) and it's "ok". Would love to find some really great stuff.

Regards, Mike

E-mail me, Mike and I'll give ya the old Smoked Salmon Spiel. My giftpaks should be ready to go out Sept.1.

I fear I have to admit crop failure for my honey production, so I am going to substitute HighBush Cranberry Catsup for the honey in the gift paks. You want something to put on your Butt? This will make your eyes roll! Delicious with venison and goes well with ANY smoked meat.

quote:

You want something to put on your Butt?

hmmm...