Smoker

I have a Bradley electric smoker. One tip I can give you, and you may already know this, is to keep your top vent open. You want good airflow. If the vent is closed then condensate will form on the roof of your smoker and drip back down onto your meat. This does not taste or look good. As far as what to cook I like pork ribs or shoulders or anything with a good amount of fat that will stay moist. I also smoke lean game like rabbits and squirrels but you really have to pay close attention and remove it as soon as it's done. Really easy to overcook lean meat. Hard to overcook pork shoulder. Chicken thighs are good too. Good luck.

I do ribs, pork shoulder, and whole chickens. I always make my own rubs. Usually cover the meat in yellow mustard, because it seems to help the meat absorb the rub and it sticks way better. Brown sugar is usually the base then mix with whatever spices you prefer. Smoking is fun and always an experiment. I just bought a pork shoulder today to cook within the next couple weeks.

Use a cheap cut like ribs to start off with, that way if you screw it up you dont waste a ton of $. We do alot of ribs, pork shoulders, butts, and poultry. Low and slow is the key. I also like to rub any of my meats down at least 24 hours in advance with home made rubs. Also brine any poultry, especially turkeys.

If the smoker is a digital unit, buy a digital thermometer and double check internal meat temp. "Set at" temp can be different than what it actually is, and top/bottom/front/back can be different temperature inside the unit. I find that the lower and closer to the back the meat is, the faster it "cooks".

Make sure to use some form of moisture in the tray at the bottom unless you are making jerky. Different wood will impart a different flavor to the meat, and how much you "smoke" will also affect the flavor.

Talk to deadeer, he's done a LOT of smoking over the past few years.

There are so many differing opinions when it comes to smoking meats. Just find what you like through experimenting and run with it. I did a lot of research before I started and now like to just try different things on my own. Myself, I’ve never put any liquid in the water tray. Instead just line it with foil and it catches all the drippings from the meat. Never thought any of my stuff turned out dry either. You just never know. Kinda like guns, each smoker will cook differently and treat each meat and flavor a different way. One thing I will be buying shortly is a Bluetooth thermometer, so I can continue to do things around the house and yard and not worry about checking on the actual smoker.

My vent is made so that it will not close completely either.

Do deer ribs in the smoker, you will love it!

I close my vent again could just be the smoker I like to start low and get the smoke going for a hour or two than lay off and increase the heat towards the end

Depends on the meat and fat but I don’t use water at all in the tray beer wine or juice is all I use if I’m trying to keep it moist

Hardwoods are good but they seem to put a harder smoke in the meat I like fruit wood gives it a smother taste IMO

I use mayo on my chicken turkeys rub it all over and than rub or sprinkle with your seasoning it putts a nice crust on it and keeps it moist

On my bigger cuts like pork butt when it gets close to done I’ll pull it off wrap in foil with apple juice and cook another 1/2 hr or so

Let your meat rest when done 10 15 minutes you be surprised at what a difference it makes

Biggest thing just screw around with it everybody’s taste is different
Once you get good try cold smoking

Got a Boston butt for the smoker in the morning. Jungle Jim’s, if you never been go sometime.
miscalculated the time for my first try and got a good temp gauge. Last one not done till about 8 pm. But it was awesome.
Also marinated some deer steaks for tonight. Can’t decide between some fajitas or just steaks? Yummo.