Fish smoker

[Jonty]

I had family over this weekend and we put a trout (stocked) I’d caught at my local tarn in the electric smoker - it was really good, smokers are a bit like guns, they do tend to multiply.

[Mickeydredd]

On 09/08/2020 at 13:24, KFC said:

I bought a Callow smoker from Amazon and it is superb. Fuelled by meths it is easy to set up and use. Two burners, 25 minutes, fuel burns out, job done.

My Callow smoker arrived today and I got some Meths from B&Q.  Going to try some venison in it tomorrow.

How much meths do you put in the burners for it to burn for 25 mins?

[KFC]

46 minutes ago, Mickeydredd said:

My Callow smoker arrived today and I got some Meths from B&Q.  Going to try some venison in it tomorrow.

How much meths do you put in the burners for it to burn for 25 mins?

Half full mate, just cover the gauze, up to the seam inside. If you fill above the seam then meths can leak out of the burners and cause fire to spread. I use one of the long gas lighters to light it.

If it's a larger joint of venison then it can be smoked for 25 mins then finished off in an oven.

One thing to do before the first smoking is to wipe all the inside surfaces with veg oil then give it a 25 min burn, this 'seasons' the smoker.

Good luck with it and let me know how you get on.

Geoff

Edited August 12, 2020 by KFC
additional info

[Mickeydredd]

Thanks Geoff, update later!

It is just steaks so 25 mins should be fine.

[Mickeydredd]

Tried the smoker this evening.  The venison, whilst nice, was way overcooked so think I should have had it higher up in the smoker so further away from the heat.

Will keep experimenting!

[Smokersmith]

On ‎12‎/‎08‎/‎2020 at 22:58, KFC said:

Half full mate, just cover the gauze, up to the seam inside. If you fill above the seam then meths can leak out of the burners and cause fire to spread. I use one of the long gas lighters to light it.

 

I used mine last week after a spell in the shed .. clearly there'd been some corrosion on the burners, and flames were shooting out of new orifices!!

The food was still spot on, and I've since found that new burners are easily sourced from China.

Which is nice !!

[KFC]

14 hours ago, Mickeydredd said:

Tried the smoker this evening.  The venison, whilst nice, was way overcooked so think I should have had it higher up in the smoker so further away from the heat.

Will keep experimenting!

The vents on the burners can be closed down to reduce heat and it is better to use too little wood rather than too much for starters. The top vent can be opened too to let a bit of heat out but it doesn't make a lot of difference. It took me a couple of goes to get it perfected👍

[Mickeydredd]

yeah, I had the vents half closed as spotted during the test when I burnt off the veg oil coating that the flames were a bit too much.

I think having the meat higher and further away from the heat is probably the solution.

Will keep testing it (shot a couple of bucks at the weekend so plenty venison in the freezer!

[walshie]

I bought one of the cheap fish smokers off ebay but only because I had a £10 off voucher,

There's so many variables. Amount of chips, type of chips, burners fully or half open, cooking time, vent open or closed, how full the smoker is. I've done a few mackerel so far and given them marks out of 10. The highest mark is my baseline for my next smoke. 

The first ones I did were over apple chips. Very moist and tasty, but I found a bit of an aftertaste. I don't know if that was too much smoke or the chips. 7/10.

Next batch was over oak chips and cooked for a shorter time with the burners half closed. They seemed browner than the first batch but were much tastier. 8.10. Maybe because there was less fish to cook. Probably going to try the alder chips over the weekend.

Still if you got it perfect first time there would be no fun in experimenting.

Apple chips:

 

Oak Chips:

 

[walshie]

12 mins, alder chips and vent half open.

[Jonty]

Looking gold Walshie, I bet that type of experimenting is never a chore.  RE the aftertaste, did you have the vents open or shut?  Ideally you want them open so the smoke bathes the fish/meat but can exit the smoker.  It can leave an acrid flavour if there’s no flow of smoke - if that makes sense .

[walshie]

19 minutes ago, Jonty said:

Looking gold Walshie, I bet that type of experimenting is never a chore.  RE the aftertaste, did you have the vents open or shut?  Ideally you want them open so the smoke bathes the fish/meat but can exit the smoker.  It can leave an acrid flavour if there’s no flow of smoke - if that makes sense .

I think it was closed the first time which would explain it. I opened it for the other 2 efforts (well half open) so I'm not sure if it was that or the different type of chips. I've still got a freezer full of mackerel to experiment with so i'll get the magic combination eventually. 👍

[Walker570]

I have an original ABU hot smoker which I purchased back in the '70s. It is small but very handy should just my wife and myself wish to smoke some fish or meat.  I also have one about half as big again which handles larger cuts of fish or meat but to do large pieces such as a whole brisket I built one from a 45 gal drum and some scrap racks I found.

Watch BBque Pit Shop Boys on you tube and they always put some hot coals on top of the charcoal, wait till it gets burning then add a chunk or two of preferred wood which has been soaked for an hour in water.  Usually do this when we have friends in for a meal in the evening and the meat has been cooking/smoking since 8am. There is rarely enough left for me to have a lunchtime sandwich the next day.