my first bacon fatty...

[Legacey]

I've always wanted to try a bacon fatty and use the smoker.

I some what followed a receipe and came up with attached. I used a bit of cream cheese, peppers, green onions etc in the mix.

....it was on the smoker for almost 7 hours and I was getting frustrated and

I'm thinking I'm doing something really wrong with my smoker. I don't think this should have taken this long and I'm having a bugger of a time keeping a good heat. It shows the temp in "good, ideal, hot" only. I have to check it constantly.

I didn't use charcoal briquettes this time, but the 1-2-3 easy briquettes I think they're called. They're charcoal but the size of your hand, about 3 inches thick and 2 are supposed to cook a chicken. I went thru 10. When I use briquettes, it still takes me forever.







There was a beer can chicken on it too and I put the BF on tin foil at first but removed it later...still seems a bit long.



Any suggestions would be awesome....it's a new medco smoker that I was given recently and think a new one is in order.

Cheers,

Paul

[Button Bone]

- get yourself a digital thermometer that you can keep inside he smoker during cooks so you know exactly where you stand with your heat

- never heard or seen those style briquettes but i'd stick with tried and tested charcoal lump or briquettes (Royal Oak is decent and cheap)

- how many vents are on the bottom of your unit and how wide open are you leaving them? this will pretty much determine how long and hot you can get the cooker up to

[Legacey]

I'll do that for sure...I've only used a smoker a few times now and won't give up.

I don't have any vents on the top or bottom per say....just the open sides where the water bowl and charcoal is as seen here with the lid off....



I think I'll hobble along as is and look for a new unit...

Cheers

Paul

[Peter]

I have a smoker that looks to be the same as yours. I use lump or briquets in mine (I have used wood only a couple of times when I ran out of charcoal, but that is another story).
I would suggest covering with an old quilt to keep the temps up and don't forget to keep that side door closed. Fill the water pan with hot water.
You don't need a new cooker yet.
BTW good looking eats! Keep the pics coming; it gives us strength to get through the winter

[Legacey]

Thanks Peter.

I usually keep it open a pinch for circualtion...maybe the little that I do is a problem.

I'll keep going at it for now....I'm hoping to make poppers this weekend but a new one I do think will be in order.

I'm obsessed with it now.

Cheers,

Paul

[Peter]

I would recommend shutting it tight. It's surprising how much a little extra air flow will kill the temps.
The thermometer on mine is on the lid; it runs right in the middle of the "ideal" zone without much effort. Yours at grill height will give a more accurate reading IMO. The suggestion for a digital probe is good advice. Once you have a correlation between the actual temp and the built-in thermometer reading you can use the probe for meat temps.

[BobEQue]

Nice fatty.

How are you lighting the charcoal? do you start with boiling water in the pan? That saves the heat required to heat it.
Do you use the minion method? As noted above, less air is better, so you want to keep the vents closed. The digital thermometer suggestion is a good one too. Drill a hole in a small piece of wood and slide the probe through. That will give you a true grill temp.

[Legacey]

Thanks for the reply, BobEQue....

Great handle by the way.

Cheers,

Paul

[Peter]

Hey, Paul .... whatcha been cooking in the last month? Any progress in holding temps? Most important; where are the new pics?

[Legacey]

Hey Peter,

I've made my first jalapeno poppers on the weekend but on the Q! I think I cut them wrong though and will be looking into a popper holder.

I didn't have time to use the smoker...but will try it again soon. I stupidly didn't take any pics...

Sunday is my day to cook and relax with the good old Capt. Morgan. He and I hang out and cook whatever comes to mind so our day was spent making those, stuff'd shrooms, cedar wrapped pork loins, turkey stuffed won-tons (I saw this idea here) and turkey alfredo. I had it under control until buddies showed up so in the end, I was rushing after a few beers to get caught up and it slipped my mind to get some snap shots.

I hope to fire it up this weekend and see what I can come up with...I have a hankering for ribs and the pics I've seen on here only made that worse. I will for sure take pics.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know.....

Cheers,

Paul

[Peter]

Hey Peter,

I've made my first jalapeno poppers on the weekend but on the Q! I think I cut them wrong though and will be looking into a popper holder.


Cheers,

Paul

Paul, there are 2 ways to cut them (that I use). First; slice them end to end, hollow out the veins and seeds, fill, wrap and cook on a tray. Some folks put the second half of the jalapeno back on top before wrapping and cooking; others just fill, wrap and cook the half pepper. Second; cut off the stem end, hollow the veins and seeds, fill, cap with bacon and cook in a popper holder upright.
Do yourself a favour and wear rubber gloves for the handling part, if you do enough of them, bare hands will begin to burn after cleaning out a few peppers.
Look for ABT's or poppers in the archives, there will be lots of pics, I'm sure.

[Legacey]

Thanks Peter.

I did both designs...used just 1 half, stuffed and put a piece of cooked sausage on top then wrapped in bacon as well as putting the 2 sides together (sandwiched) and made the same with added sausage.

I've been looking at the popper trays but it doesn't look like their suitable for wrapping bacon around the popper to cook.

Would this be correct or is there a suggestion you may offer for a type / design?

I'd like to make these again soon...the buddies that were over didn't get to try them out so am getting attitude from them to make more....

Cheers,

Paul

[Peter]

Paul, I have never used the popper trays. From what I have heard/seen, the bacon is simply draped over the open end and pinned with a toothpick through the sides. Most of what I have done is with 1/2 pepper and bacon wrap. Filling can be anything from avocado to lobster. Chicken and shrimp are 2 of my favs. Leftover pulled pork is a perennial crowd pleaser.
Sabotage a few with a slice of habanero and watch your guests to see who gets the bombs.