On the fence with the cook shack

From what I heard about Cookshacks electric smokers is that you only need a couple of fist size pieces of wood or else you will get too much smoke flavor.

Lack of smoke will NOT be a problem, but I've never been able to get a consistent smoke ring, even with some of the tricks like using a chunk of charcoal in with the wood. Sometimes the ring is there, sometimes not.

The best thing about the CS units is ease of use, and consistency of product, smoke ring not withstanding. If my best effort on a wood pit could be considered a 100, then I would say that my efforts on a CS are reliably a 92-95, and while that may be short of my best on a wood pit, it is far better than my average I think, and it's repeatable, easy, and inexpensive.

BTW, I went to your website and the pictures made me hungry. Great looking food!

thanks Todd, it's been a real hit here in saskatoon, thats why we're looking into the restaurant. I'm just hoping my barbecue comes off looking as good with the cook shack. From what i've been reading, as long as you take the time to add that loving touch, the cook shack will do the rest. Thanks for the info, if anyone has any pics i'd love to see them.

I cook on a Cookshack 160 traditional and you can push all the smoke you wish onto your product.

Don't know where you are that the patrons come seeking a smokering,but the old comp trick used to be to add a little TenderQuick,or cure to your rub.

You can have all the smokering they want.

We also cook comps on FEC s.

There are a number of folks that use a CS 160 and an FEC 100 in the cater trailers.

You might talk to Cookshack about that combo,as well.

So many choices, well help answer any questions.

quote:

Originally posted by Schryers BBQ:
My next choice was a fast Eddy 500, but i found out it would be alot extra for ventilation and it too was a little too large for a 500lb capacity.

So after looking into it further i'm thinking of going with a cook shack 350. Great for size, price, capacity and wood usage.

So the ventilation for the 350 is cheaper? Check close, do they require a vent hood over the open door? While the FE300 is about 2K more, if ventilation is expensive, I understand your point.

One thing to keep in mind is growth. The 350 is a big unit and will serve you well, you can always add say a FE 100 for a second unit (which gives you the option of other flavors, temps, etc) when you business grows.

What about putting the smoker on a trailer and putting it outside, is there a space you can put it (or build to keep it). That gives you an option of hitting the road for catering.

ventilation on the FEC would need to be a hood big enough to cover the unit, and the location i'm looking at does not have a big enough air make up unit or exhaust fan to add that much extra ventilation, the cost of adding it would be over $10,000. With the CS350, it's a small hood for about $900 bucks, and the fan had a very low CFM so it won't glue my doors shut with air pressure.

i was trying to open up originally with my Traeger COM200, but health department up here voted no on the use of an outdoor smokers for a restaurant,

strange thing is that they approved my business license to operate as a mobile concession with an outdoor smoker but will not budge on allowing an outdoor smoker for a sit down restaurant. they are a screwy bunch at the Health Department.

quote:

So the ventilation for the 350 is cheaper? Check close, do they require a vent hood over the open door? While the FE300 is about 2K more, if ventilation is expensive, I understand your point.

i checked into the ventilation on the CS350, unlike the FEC which buns woodpellets with an open flame, the CS350 only uses electric elements, whats great about it is that your are not required at install a fire suppression system with your vent hoods. That alone saves even more money on install, and fire department loves the safety of it.
i can expect some smoke to escape the smoker when i open it, but thats just going to add flavor to the restaurant.

I think the moisture in your wood is going to give you a better determination of just how much of a good smoke ring you will be getting in Brisket (and by that I am not talking about soaking wood, but the actual moisture percentage in the wood you use - is it aged and seasoned correctly?)

Check this site out - these guys know more about wood than anybody (even the guys from Texas having given these "Yankees" the nod of approval).

http://www.smokinlicious.com/

Go to the Ask Dr. Smoke section under the Basics of Smoking.

Best wishes to you!

quote:

Originally posted by sly2kusa:
I think the moisture in your wood is going to give you a better determination of just how much of a good smoke ring you will be getting in Brisket Go to the Ask Dr. Smoke section under the Basics of Smoking.

Best wishes to you!

Ah, time for a "Smokin' Post" as Tom would call them.

thanks for the link sly. Not to disagree with a name like "dr wood" but he's not really explaining it right. Maybe he knows more about wood than me, but I'll guarantee he doesn't know more about wood and BBQ together than me. Going on 40 years of wood burning and BBQ.

Anyone in our forum will know I'm all about the food science. I'm all about the eduction side of BBQ when I see general statements like that, so here goes...

Went through his site and except for a lot of information trying to sell his product, his approach on wood is missing some key elements about smoking information. Maybe it's there and I missed it.

Burning wood with more moisture (which he recommends) really isn't the issue for a better SR. The amount of Nitrates/Nitries generated do.

What is DOES is create a more INefficient burn and you'll actually produce more white smoke.

I don't want white smoke, I want clear/blue smoke (as a BBQ'er).

A LOT of newbies think you have to see the smoke for it to work, and that's actually just the opposite. What you're seeing in the white smoke are the impurities of the wood burning off.

Think about it if you've ever soaked wood. How much smoke did they generate? A LOT and it was all white. It was because the wood burned inefficiently.

And it's pretty near impossible for the home user to ever know how much moisture content is in their wood, without testing.

The CS produce plenty of smoke, for flavor, because in the CS 350, the heat is generated by the heating element and the wood is for flavor only. You can burn more wood in a 350 than you'll ever need. I can't name them (policy) but there are plenty of resturants using that line of smoke and I don't see them closing down.

Just my opinion, thought I'd share

Thanks!

I was goin' to just say "huh"?.

I guess I also missed the part about the relative humidity at the cooksite,and maybe air temp?

Reckon them boys smoke as many packers,as you fellows out in the SW?

Hello hand, I use a CS model 360 first of all. This is what I do to get that ever coveted Smokering:

1. I sprinkle Morton"s Tender Quick on my brisket
or Pork butt and let it stay on for about 3hrs
in the fridge.

2. Take it out and give it a good rinsing under
cold water.

3. Dry meat off with a clean towel, then add your seasoning.

4. Let meat sit at room temp for about an hour so it can come up to room temp.

5. Put it in your smoker and let it smoke til it's finished

6. Wrap meat in foil and put in a Styrofoam cooler to finish the tenderizing process.

7. ENJOY...YOU HAVE SOME KICK-ASS BRISKET OR BUTTS

As articles on this subject indicate, a smoke ring is a combination of nitrogen, oxygen, moisture, and myoglobin. the use of high temperature combustion to produce nitrogen dioxide along with the moisture and myoglobin will produce nitrous acid which creates the smoke ring. The use of green wood will enhance the smoke ring as it produces more nitrogen dioxide and increases the moisture level. The same effect can be obtained by using propane and a water pan.

Some people use Mortons "Tender Quick Salt" which contains a very small amount of nitrite and nitrate which meet the FDA requirements as these products in concentration, are toxic. When used as a part of the salt content of rub, this will create the chemical reaction necessary to produce the “smoke ring” without the use of wood.

In conclusion, the smoke ring can be produced in an oven and has absolutely no indication of anything other than chemistry of the moment and time and will change tomorrow.

The use of a Texas Crutch to make brisket into pot roast is acceptable but, if you wanted pot roast why not start with a good cut of beef?

Just my 2 cents.

thanks for all the advice, but i think i'll get my smoke ring the old fashioned way, with wood burning smoke, not a tender quick rub.

Decided to spring for the FEC 500

My new FEC 500 just showed up yesterday and we wheeled her right into the building, i was lucky enough to get a building with double doors in the front so getting the smoker in place was easy and i didn't have to knock down any walls to do it!

I agree with you. I would try to stay as natural as possible regarding the TQ.

Congrats on the 500.