Okay, you have this new Cookshack smoker sitting out there on the deck. You want to turn your friends green with envy with your fabulous barbecue, but you're not quite sure where to start. Find the answers to your questions below, and then get out there and get somethin' smokin'!
(And, of course, we must state the obvious - read the Operator's Manual that came with your smoker. It contains important information.)
- Where do I put this smoker?
- Why can't I put my new smoker inside my house?
- What kind of electrical hookup do I need?
- I want to cook now! Do I have to season the smoker first?
- What about wood? What kind should I use?
- Okay, let's get serious. I've seasoned it, now I want to put some food in and smoke. What do I do?
- It looks to me like grease is going to get all over the inside of the smoker and it's going to be a mess to clean up.
- How do I set the smoke-cooking temperature?
- Can I freeze smoked foods?
- Is it a good idea to put a dry rub on slabs of ribs the night before, and let it set overnight?
- How do I clean it up so it's ready to go the next time I want to cook?
- Why don't the recipes in Cookshack's cookbooks tell me exactly how long to smoke-cook foods and at what exact temperature?
- The first thing I smoked was a chicken and it came out black as tar and as bitter as creosote. What the heck?
- Should I preheat the smoker?
- How do I know when the food is done?
- Is cold-smoking an option with this smoker?
- Can I use this smoker for anything besides smoking?
- Some Basic (and Good!) Cookshack Recipes
- How long will it take me to cook a brisket?
- Do you ship outside the United States?
- How can I get an Operator’s Manual for my Cookshack?
- What’s the difference between using wood chunks and wood pellets?
- If I substitute pellets for wood chunks, how much should I use?
- What’s the best way to clean my smoker?
- Can I register my smoker online?
- Should I use a water pan in my Cookshack?
- Why is there a warning on the boxes of Cookshack's smoking woods?
Choose a dry, sheltered and well-ventilated location. Don't put it where it will get rained on, and for goodness sake do not place flammable or combustible materials on or adjacent to your smoker. Cookshack makes a dandy cover for each of our models of home smokers. The covers are attractive and weather resistant. Just give us a call at 1-800-423-0698 for details.
A small amount of smoke will escape from the vent hole in the top of the smoker and from around the door. For this reason, operation indoors is not recommended unless adequate ventilation is provided. And by adequate ventilation, we mean a restaurant-quality venthood.
(Note: This does not apply to Cookshack's smoker ovens for commercial use; these smokers are made for indoor use in commercial kitchens.)
Your smoker has a single burner system which uses 120V AC power. Connect the Smokette to the power supply by plugging the power cord into a standard, 3-prong, 120V receptacle that is protected by a breaker or fuse rated at 15 amperes. A long or light-duty extension cord will reduce the efficiency of the heating element. Food will take longer to cook.
Season it! The food will taste better - you know, it's like seasoning a cast iron skillet. Here's how:
- Remove the wire that holds the wood box to the heating element bracket during shipping.
- Place 8 ounces of properly sized wood in the wood box and close and latch the smoker's door.
- DO NOT overload wood box. The wood box lid must close completely.
- DO NOT use the smoker without the wood box in the proper position. The back of the wood box must touch the back wall of the smoker.
- Use only dry wood. Wet wood will release acids that will damage your smoker's heating element.
- Set temperature control knob to 200°F.
- Let the smoker smoke without meat for a minimum of 4 hours. (8 hours is better.)
You may use any fruit or nut hardwood in your smoker, as long as it has good flavoring properties. The most popular woods for smoking are hickory, mesquite, apple and cherry. All of these are available online or by calling 1-800-423-0698. Cookshack woods are cut into chunks to fit in our smokers.
Use local woods only if you are confident that the wood has never been sprayed or exposed to pesticides or other dangerous chemicals. They wood must be cut into chunks which will allow the Cookshack smoker's wood box lid to close completely.
Follow these steps to get your smoker ready.
- Line the bottom of the smoker with aluminum foil and punch a hole in the foil corresponding to the drain hole located on the floor of the smoker. Place a small pan beneath the drain hole located on the smoker's floor and in the trough at the bottom-front of smoker. This pan will catch any meat drippings.
- Cover the lid of the wood box with foil for easy cleaning. Discard the foil after each cooking and replace with fresh foil.
- Place the properly loaded wood box in the smoker. Do not change the wood box's position during cooking cycle. It covers the burner and wood and prevents grease from dripping onto the heat source and creating strong fumes.
Now you are ready to cook!
Nope, it's easy to clean up. Cover the lid of the wood box with aluminum foil, and line the bottom of the smoker with aluminum foil. Be sure to poke a hole in the foil corresponding to the drain hole, so drippings will go out of the smoker. When it's time to clean up, the grills and racks go right in your dishwasher.
Don't overload the smoker with meat or you won't get the results you want. Check the Operator's Manual that came with your smoker to determine the maximum capacity. Keep meat approximately 1" from the back and side of the oven walls at all times. Arrange the meat so that there is room between the pieces for heat and smoke to circulate.
Arrange load with less meat on lower grill. Heavy loading of the bottom grill will block heat and smoke from traveling to the top of the Smokette. This will result in undercooked meat on the upper grill.
Turn the Temperature Control Knob to the desired temperature. Heat up will take from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the load. Do not preheat the Smokette unless preheating is specified in the recipe you are using.
When you think the product is finished, turn the Temperature Control Knob to OFF. If the product is done to your satisfaction, remove from Smokette. If the product is not done to your satisfaction, continue to smoke-cook, checking for doneness at intervals.
Yes, indeed. One of the best ways to use your smoker is to buy chickens on sale, and smoke 3 or 4 at once. Eat one, and freeze the rest. To bring back a frozen chicken, put it in a 325F conventional oven for 2 hours.
That's okay for 3 - 4 lb. slabs, but it tends to dry out smaller slabs, such as St. Louis cut or baby backs. Especially if the rub has a high salt content. For those smaller slabs, put the rub on about 30 minutes before they go in the smoker. You'll get good flavor, but you won't dry them out.
It's easy. Do this:
- Number One! Always unplug the smoker from its electrical supply before you start clean up!
- Allow the oven to cool off.
- Remove the grills and racks; scrape and wash with soap and water. You can put them right in the dishwasher.
- Tear the foil off the top of the wood box and drop it in the bottom of the smoker.
- Dump the contents of the wood box on the bottom of the smoker. Empty the wood box using extreme caution - it will be HOT if your smoker has recently been turned on.
- Brush the remnant wood ash from burner. Wood, coals and ashes can be HOT-dispose with care.
- Wad up the foil from the bottom and toss it in the trash.
- Scrape loose grease and scale from walls with flat edg scraper. Wipe grease from interior of oven with paper towels.
- Empty drip pan.
- Replace racks and grills.
- Leave door slightly ajar when oven is not in use.
And remember, it's important to keep your smoker clean. Loose grease and scale should be removed regularly to prevent buildup, which may cause strong fumes. Change the aluminum foil in the bottom of oven and from top of wood box after each cooking and remove all excess grease from interior of oven. Be sure that drain hole is open at all times. If drain becomes plugged, oven bottom can fill with grease and a fire hazard may occur.
Allow seasoned coating, such as that found on a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, to remain on the walls. Don't try to restore the oven to a like-new state after each cooking. And don't use nasty oven cleaner on it - that stuff will damage the heating element and the grills (and will void your warranty!).
Alas, low-temperature smoke-cooking is not precise. The times and temps in the cookbooks are to be used as guidelines, along with your common sense. In other words, it ain't an exact science but you will quickly get the hang of it because it's just not that hard.
Oops! That's a chicken that's been smoked with way too much wood. Start out with one piece of wood*. It is just flat amazing how much smoke pours out of a little piece of wood. If you don't get enough smoke flavor to suit you, next time increase the wood size slightly - until you get the flavor you want.
With some things, like fish or vegetables, you might find that the seasoning in the smoker is enough to flavor these delicate foods even if you put no wood at all in the wood box.
*Cookshack woods are sized for your smoker at approximately 2x2x1", and weigh about 2 ounces. "One piece of wood" refers to a piece this size.
Nope, not unless the recipe tells you to. Smoke penetration is better when you start with a cold oven and cold food.
The most reliable way is to check internal temperature. Get yourself a thermometer made for this purpose. You can get them in the grocery store, or for a fancier one, try a restaurant supply company, which provides them for chefs.
Yes. In addition to being a great "hot-smoker" (that is, it smokes and cook the food at the same time) the Cookshack smoker does low-temperature smoking. With its optional Cold-Smoke Kit, a Cookshack oven smokes delicious salmon, jerky, duck breasts and more - whatever you'd like to cold-smoke. To order a Cold-Smoke Kit, go to Cookshack Products for Home Use or call FREE 1-800-423-0698.
You bet. Your Smokette is an excellent slow cooking oven, without wood. Use it for slow-roasting meats and poultry. Cooking times are the same as for smoke-cooking.
BEEF:
Brisket
(1) 6-10lb. brisket, untrimmed
The brisket needs no seasoning. Smoke-cooking will give it a wonderful taste. If you like season brisket to taste with a marinade or dry rub. If necessary, cut the brisket into two pieces to fit it on the grills in your Smokette. Smoke-cook at 180F for 10 hours. The brisket will be done after 4 - 5 hours. The longer cooking time is necessary to tenderize the meat. The internal temperature of a well-done brisket is 165F. Recommended Wood: 4 ounces hickory.
Important Brisket Tip!
After smoke-cooking the brisket one hour per pound, to test for doneness, push on the fat on the brisket. If it does not tear or "give" to the touch, cook the brisket a couple more hours.
Smoked Prime Rib
(1) 12lb. bone-in prime rib of beef
Prime rib can be smoke-cooked unseasoned, seasoned with rock salt and ground pepper, or seasoned with Cookshack RibRub. Smoke-cook a 12-lb. bone-in prime rib at 200F for the times specified below:
Internal Temperature: Medium Rare 140 - 142F
Cooking Time: 2 hours at 250 degrees; hold at 140 degrees for 3 - 4 hours
When this cooking cycle has been completed, reduce the temperature of the Smokette to 140F and hold for a minimum of one hour.
Recommended wood: 2 ounces hickory
It's done when it's done, in the words of the Smokin' Okie. A general rule of thumb is an hour per lb. per cut of meat. For example, a 10 lb. brisket in theory will be ready in 10 hours. Smoke-cooking, however, is not rocket science and variables such as the characteristics of the cut of meat and the temperature of the meat when it goes into the smoker make a difference. Here are a couple of methods for figuring out when it's done.
The "Mash On It" Test
When you think it's done, press on the outside of the brisket with your finger. If it's done it will have some give to it. This takes practice! The more you do it, the better you will become at knowing when it's done.
The Probe
This is the most reliable method of getting exactly the results that you want every time. Some of our models include a meat probe that you insert into the meat. You set the desired internal temperature and the smoker smoke-cooks the meat until that temp is reached. There is absolutely no guesswork with this. If you want your brisket falling apart, cook it to 190F. If you want it a little chewier, take it to 180F.
The bottom line ... follow the directions that are included with your smoker and you can't go wrong. With practice you will refine your technque so that you get exactly the results that you want.
Yes, we ship worldwide. We have distributors in many countries. To learn more, contact us at 1-580-765-3669 or send us an e-mail.
You can download the Operator’s Manual for all current models of Cookshack smokers at www.cookshack.com under Customer Service. If you have an older model, call 1-800-423-0698 for assistance.
As long as you are using a food grade pellet there is not much of a difference between using wood chunks and pellets. Pellets give you a more consistent flavor as they are kiln dried and have the same moisture content all the time. With wood chunks, the flavor can vary depending on how long the wood has been cut.
One-half cup of wood pellets is approximately equal to 2 ounces of smoking wood.
We recommend covering the floor of the smoker and the top of the wood box with aluminum foil. Punch a hole in the foil on the bottom of the smoker, corresponding with the hole in the bottom of the smoker so that drippings can exit the smoker.
After cooking remove the foil and wipe the bottom of the unit out with soapy water. The unit will cook better if you let the side walls stay covered with smoke. We recommend that every 9 or 10 times you cook that you scrape the side walls with a plastic scraper.
At this time we do not have our website set up to handle product registration. If you will send the information to us by e-mail we will register it.
There is no need to use a water pan with our smokers. Cookshacks move such a small amount air that the humidity that is created when cooking stays in the smoker.
Several years ago, the state of California passed a law that allowed attorneys to file suit against companies that they thought were selling products in the state of California which might cause health problems. We were involved in a class action suit along with Kingsford and several other large producers of charcoal and smoking woods. The state of California's suit stated that they believed that long term exposure to wood smoke could cause cancer. As it would have cost millions of dollars to prove otherwise we all settled the case. Part of the settlement was the warning that we have to put on each box of wood we sell.
As far as we know there has never been a study on wood smoked foods that found them to be hazardous in any way, a number of years ago a study was done that found that the chemicals in smoke from burned grease was a carcinogen, but this study was done on grills, not on slow cooking.