Great Outdoors Propane Smoker

[Pat]

I'll be tryin' Tang AND cayenne. I was at the "Spices of India" market day before yesterday in OKC and got some neat stuff and a few kinds of tea. One purchase was a two pound bag of EXTRA HOT GROUND RED CHILES. That should last a while. And thanks to Hakim now that I know about garam masala I stocked up on a couple brands of that and some other prepared spice blends.

I suggest for those who can get to an Indian market, do so and read a few labels. They have some terrific spice blends I would never see in a super Wally World. Some of these blends compliment various meats and preperation styles. Indian cuisine includes many interesting spice blends suitable for using on grilled or smoked meat.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[LazyJ_Arabians]

Tang factoids:

Manufactured in 30 different formulas based on region of the world and their local taste preferences and vitamin/mineral supplement needs. I've tried maybe a dozen different ones and the South American variety is my favorite, very tart. The U.S. formula is too sweet IMO.

Some people use it as a cleaning agent. We run a tad through our dishwasher occasionally to remove odors.

[Pat]

Now THAT IS interesting! Who'd have guessed Tang came in 30 varieties. I know fast food franchises are different in different countries, i.e. Micky D's or Jack in the Box is not the same in Egland as the US, close but not the same.

I too think Tang is too sweet and wish there was a less sweet version at a local market. I also would like a lemon, lime, or lemon-lime equivalent. But what would you expect from a guy who as a pre-teen went through a phase where I would buy a bottle of Real Lemon and drink it straight from the bottle. But then I used to salt the salt pork while it was frying too for a while in my earlier days.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[49tandc]

For ALL of your smoking questions, and some GREAT recipes - http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/

You gotta try the Atomic Buffalo T_rds and smoked meatloaf - OUTSTANDING!!!

49T&C

[RAQUELO]

HI. I JUST BOUGHT ONE OF THESE SMOKERS THIS WEEK AND I WILL BE TRYING IT THIS WEEKEND. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE TOP PART (EXHAUST THING) HAS TO BE SHUT ALL THE WAY BECAUSE IT WON'T HEAT AS WELL OR IT WON'T SMOKE AS WELL. WELL MY DOESN'T CLOSE COMPLETELY. DOES YOURS? DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? ALSO, WHEN YOU CHECK ON YOUR FOOD, DOES IT TAKE FOREVE TO GET BACK TO THE TEMP YOU HAD IT?

THANKS,

[Bird]

Way back when this thread was started, I mentioned that I didn't have a smoker any more; just used the grill. But I bought one of the Great Outdoors smokers in February of this year. The manual specifically says the dampers should never be fully closed, and of course the design prevents that from happening anyway. It does say that opening the top damper exhausts both heat and smoke, so you probably do want it closed as much as possible unless it's getting too hot. And of course you can't go entirely by the manual because the manual mentions "side dampers" which do not exist. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[leejordan]

We've had our Great Outdoors Grill Co. 34" Wide Body Smoky Mountain Gas Smoker for about three months now and we love it!

I had to smoke several briskets and a batch of smoked baked beans for a graduation party a few months ago. I had considered buying the brisket from a local BBQ restaurant, but at $9-11 per pound, I thought I could justify spending $135 for a new smoker since I was cooking for 50 or so people.

I have an old 55 gallon drum smoker (not an offset smoker), but I could only smoke one---maybe two briskets if I squeezed them together and, again, I also needed to smoke the baked beans at the same time.

Initially, I had looked at smokers at our local Wally World (by a name--Walmart), Home Depot and Lowes. The smokers I saw were either too small, too expensive, or both. Then I stopped at a neighboring town's Wally World and BINGO! There she was, a Great Outdoors Grill Co. 34" Wide Body Smoky Mountain Gas Smoker.

I smoked the two briskets on the GO smoker and the baked beans on my barrel smoker, and they all turned out great! Over the years, after countless experiments with marinades, injections and rubs, a co-worker gave me his secret rub recipe. Every once in a while he brings a brisket to work and it always tastes great--just the right amount of spiciness with a hint of salt. When he gave me the recipe, he made me promise not to tell anyone it was just salt and pepper. . .OOPS!

Now you know the secret rub recipe. I use about 1/8 to 1/4 cup of salt and pat it all the way around the brisket, then I pat on as much pepper as I can. In fact, after I pat on the salt, I mist the brisket with a pump sprayer filled with water and pat on lots of pepper.

Several of our friends came over a couple of weekends ago for brisket just off the smoker. They loved it so much, they bought the exact same smoker from Wally World the next weekend. They had been looking at much more expensive smokers, but for the price and the flavor, it's hard to beat the GO smoker!

Our friends did do a modification to their smoker--they added a smoke stack from parts bought at Lowes. When he emailed the pictures to me, I did the same thing to mine. I also riveted a handle to the damper that comes out of the side of the smoke stack (I can't attach a photo to this posting, so I'll see if I can do it separately). You don't need to do this, it's just the when I used the smoker the first time for the graduation party, it had been raining like cats and dogs and I had been concerned that rain water would wash the secret rub off of the briskets.

I would recommend this smoker to anyone!

FELICIS FUMO!! [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Lee

[Bird]

Yep, Lee, that's the same smoker I have and I smoked a batch of baby back ribs yesterday in it. For seasonings, some use nothing, some just salt & pepper as you said, and I know one guy who makes some very good brisket using only lemon pepper.

You can buy so many different rubs in the grocery stores that you'd never get around to even trying all of them to figure out which is best, so I looked at recipes in a barbecue history book I have, recipes on the Internet, etc., sorta took the things many of them have in common and made up my own rub that I've used the last few times, both on pork ribs and on beef brisket. So now my own personal recipe is:

3 parts salt (I use non-iodized)
3 parts brown sugar (I use the light brown)
2 parts garlic powder
2 parts paprika
1 part cayenne
1 part cumin
1 part chili powder

I sprinkle it liberally on the meat and pat it in a bit the night before and put the meat in a roaster pan with lid overnight in the refrigerator. I use a shaker with big holes in the lid (made for grated cheese or the big red flakes of pepper that pizza places use).

Then when I'm cooking the meat, about once an hour, I spray it good with a very fine mist of one-third red wine (Burgandy or Paisano), one-third 7-Up or Sprite, and one-third water.

For the ribs, I cook them only in the smoker for about 5 to 6 hours with the gas turned as low as it'll go (200 to 250 degrees according to their thermometer). For brisket, I like to put it on the smoker for 2 to 3 hours, then in a roaster pan with lid in the oven at 225 degrees for another 6 to 8 hours.

[Pat]

Bird, You culinary devil... I'm glad I read your info on a full stomach. Otherwise I'd be having a screaming case of the munchies!


I keep intending to build a smoker and here we are years later without one. Maybe I should just buy one like yours! After all nothing succeeds like success.

Pat

[eeeeeeeazy]

Hmmm, just found your site and I just purchased a GO smoker. My question is: "With all the concern about products manufactured in China, is there any concern about the paint that was used on my smoker?" It has the black paint coating and just wondered if the heat would release any potential chemicals in the paint.
Great website folks and hopefully I will learn a bunch from all you "veterans" of country living. We plan on moving out of California this year (retiring) and looking to relocate to a much more peaceful environment. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]