Absolute beginner

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Absolute beginner

Postby delooney » 20 May 2010, 07:52

Hello all,

I have just purchased a Pro Q Excel 20, very pleased, just one thing, I'm an absolute novice at this and would really appreciate some help from the pro's out there!!!

So here's what I need to know really:

Should I burn some coals and have the unit empty of food before I cook any food? To get rid of any 'crap' inside from manufacturing?

What coals to buy, anything special or in particular? and where online please?

Pellets or wood chips? Difference please?

Same with wood chips, what and where?

I've been told about smoking you need to top up the coals but must top up using already cooked (white) coals as to not 'poison' the food, what can I buy and where to pre cook these coals before adding to my E 20 please?

How often should coals be added? Or is it when the temp starts to drop?

If I want to smoke do I always have to use the water bowl?

Dry rub/wet rub what's this? What works best?

What's the best techniques to getting the fire going? Bit of newspaper under coals etc?

I know this is a lot to ask, but if people could maybe just answer one or two it would really help me out.

Many thanks!!!
delooney
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Re: Absolute beginner

Postby Steve » 20 May 2010, 09:49

Hi welcome to the forum, there's a couple of beginner forums in the new to smoking section, I'd recommend you spend some time browsing these. However to answer your direct questions...

1. Run your cooker empty for at least a couple of hours with charcoal and wood in it to season it. This puts a protective layer of smoke on the inside and helps to seal up any little gaps. You'll find that your smoker gets better over the course of ten or so cooks as the seasoning builds up.

2. With charcoal, never buy any instant lighting products, they're full of nasty chemicals you don't want in an enclosed cooking environment. Buy either restaurant grade lump wood charcoal (found in Makro and Booker) or high quality briquettes such as Heat Beads or Supagrill Cocoshell briquettes

3. Pellets are compressed sawdust, chips are.. well chippings, both will burn up quickly if put directly on the fire. I wouldn't recommend soaking them because that just gives you a damp wood taste to your food. Make a little foil pouch for your chips and prick some holes in it before throwing it on top of your coals. The other option you have is to use proper chunks which are bigger and can just be nestled in with the charcoal. Speak to Paul at http://www.smokingwoodsupplies.co.uk if you want some good wood chunks.

4. The lit/unlit charcoal issue is a bone of contention. I would never put an unlit briquette in my smoker as they smell a bit wrong when they are lit. With lump wood it's a different matter, it is 100% wood and I don't think it effects the food. I use what's called the Minion Method for smoking which uses a mixture of lit and unlit coals, I'm not going to explain that here as it would take too long and it's covered elsewhere on this forum and all over the web. You want a chimney starter for lighting your charcoal (this answers another of your questions too) Pick up a Weber Chimney Starter from a Garden Centre or online and use 3 sheets of newspaper to light your coals.

5. Add coals when you need them to maintain your temperature, remember that when you get temp drop offs, sometimes, just stirring the coals (or giving the bottom of the smoker a kick) will shake off the ash and temps will rise. No one could give you perfect answers on this, it's a matter of experience and every cooker is slightly different (my 2 E20s behave quite differently).

6. I never use water in the water pan. I either foil it and leave it dry or I put a teracotta saucer in there to act as a heat sink. I always have the pan in place as it acts as a baffle but I no longer use water. The cooker behaves differently depending on what's in the pan, if you leave it totally dry it will be more prone to spikes and wild temp fluctuations.

7a. A dry rube is a blend of spices, salt, sugar etc. You apply it to your meat before cooking.
7b. A wet rub is similar but will contain wet ingredients so it's more of a paste, like a masala.
7c. Also consider marinades and injection marinades for getting flavour into your meat.


HTH

Cheers

Steve
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Re: Absolute beginner

Postby delooney » 20 May 2010, 11:33

Steve,

Thanks very much for your time and effort on replying to my post. It will save me huge amounts of time searching. I'll take what you've said and see how it goes.

Thanks again!!
delooney
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Re: Absolute beginner

Postby Steve » 20 May 2010, 11:56

No worries.

You'll probably still spend ages searching and reading, especially if you get bitten by the bug.

Please do come back with any more questions and as you learn contribute to the forum and help out future beginners.

We love food pron on here!!!!
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