Big chef smoker

[HULI_ISDA]

Sup guys got a question here, does anybody own a big chef smoker on here? Me and Dad invested on one my question is can you set up the smoker inside the house or it gotta be outside? Thanks

[spoonman]

Would you start a fire in your house?

[Bmastro777]

Huli, you must keep it outside!

[bassplayer17]

If you want to smoke your house

[jd39]

Not only outside but away from your door too, too close and you can still end up with a living room full of smoke and a pissed off wife who won't care that it was raining. That smell did take awhile to dissipate....
Good luck!

[BentRod]

If you want to smoke your house

How would one go about brining one of those?

[HULI_ISDA]

Thanks fellas...I'm looking for a nice answer not sarcastic one... This whole smoking thing really never existed where I grow up so its a whole new think for me. Thanks for the reply tho. very appreciated.

[jd39]

I use peterson's pucks instead of wood chips, much easier and puts out a quality product in my opinion. PM me with questions, I started smoking last year and have had good luck with it, always a hit and tasty. And honestly, don't put to close for your door for convenience or to keep it dry, that was a bad experience, fish still turned out though!

[goodtimesfishing]

If you want to smoke your house

How would one go about brining one of those?

use a dry brine....the roof and siding always seem to turn out better with a dry brine.

[MotoBoat]

There are a few members using Big Chief smokers on this site. I am guilty! The big chief does a good job of smoking fish. They are temperamental in the length of time it takes to smoke though. The warmer it is outside = less time to finished product (6 hours + or -). Colder the outside temp = longer ( 10-12 hours smoking time).

You can use the box for insulation. Use to be instructions on the box or in the manual, how to cut out a door in the box for wood chip pan access, with the box slid over the smoker. Box is upside down, slid down from the top of the smoker, to the bottom.

As far as chips go. I discovered wood pellets. Not the ones used in a "pellet stove" for heating the house. The flavored ones used for smoking food! Pellets are much cheaper per quantity than chips, and the big chief has a hot enough burner to burn the pellets. Little chief does not.

Sorry, for all the stand up comedians.

Another tip. Is to pick a spot under and overhang, out of the weather. And if possible, pick a side of the building to shield the smoker from the wind. For insulating the smoker in cold temp's, I use a flannel shirt in size XXL. I button the shirt up the front of the smoker, just like if wearing it. The handle on the lid ends up in the neck hole of the shirt. I made slits in the shirt to line up with all vent holes.

When all buttoned up, I call the big Chief............ "smoking man!"....lol!

[natetreat]

Smoking fish is exactly that: cooking it with smoke. The smoker is not self contained, all the smoke leaves it. Were you to run it indoors, you would end up not only making the house smell like smoke, but putting enough carbon monoxide into the air to kill you if you ran it while you were sleeping. Remember the stories from the last big snowstorm power outage when people forgot to open the flue, or the guys that tried to burn their barbecue inside to stay warm? They died. Granted the smoke from your smoker will drive you outside before it kills you, it's not a good idea. Run it outside, away from the door and enjoy the smell of smoke from a distance.

[natetreat]

There are a few members using Big Chief smokers on this site. I am guilty! The big chief does a good job of smoking fish. They are temperamental in the length of time it takes to smoke though. The warmer it is outside = less time to finished product (6 hours + or -). Colder the outside temp = longer ( 10-12 hours smoking time).

You can use the box for insulation. Use to be instructions on how to cut out a door in the box for wood chip pan access, with the box slid over the smoker. Box is upside down, slid down from the top of the smoker, to the bottom.

As far as chips go. I discovered wood pellets. Not the ones used in a "pellet stove" for heating the house. The flavored ones used for smoking food! Pellets are much cheaper per quantity than chips, and the big chief has a hot enough burner to burn the pellets. Little chief does not.

Sorry, for all the stand up comedians.

Another tip. Is to pick a spot under and overhang, out of the weather. And if possible, pick a side of the building to shield the smoker from the wind. For insulating the smoker in cold temp's, I use a flannel shirt in size XXL. I button the shirt up the front of the smoker, just like if wearing it. The handle on the lid ends up in the neck hole of the shirt. I made slits in the shirt to line up with all vent holes. When all buttoned up, I call the big Chief "smoking man!"....lol!

In the cold weather it takes forever! I used the box to start out, but then I went ahead and got the insulation accessory that they sell. Smoking winter steelhead takes forever without it.

[MotoBoat]

The smoking times I gave was before dressing/converting from Chief to smoking man. Makes a big difference. But I have been toying with the heat, in an attempt to eliminate 'curd" formation. I took Bodo's advice and left much more space inside. No shirt for insulation. Curd gone, smoking time was still longer, at 6-8 hours. With the improvement, I will experiment with the added head the shirt provides.

What a purdy piece of fish, when no curd, and the pellicle is like a crust!

[Bodofish]

For winter smoking I made an insulated cover out of the aluminized bubble wrap stuff. Roll of good tape and a roll of the insulation and a little time, "Pro" status!! I'll take a pic a little later. Cheapness!!!!!!!!!

[jd39]

I have the little chief and it burns Peterson's Pucks fine, are they the same or pretty similar to the pellets you refer too MotoBoat?
In the little Chief the pan fits ~6 pucks and that smokes for about ~2hrs. For trout/kokanee it's a perfect amount of time, for salmon/steelhead I'll sometimes finish in the oven if it was really cold outside, in the summer it smokes them fine and no oven finish is needed. I keep my smoker wrapped in that insulation year round.
What's the benefit to smoking for over 2-3 hrs? The fish should be done by then, does it help the smoke flavor get deeper into thick pieces? Just curious. Thx!

[Bodofish]

Low and slow gives a deeper more rounded smoke flavor with going bitter. Some of the stronger woods will get a real bitter taste if the temp goes up too much, aka the pan burning hotter.

[HULI_ISDA]

Thanks for the serious reply I learned a lot..now I just have to start unpacking and looking for ideal place to set it up..once again thank you.

[MotoBoat]

I have the little chief and it burns Peterson's Pucks fine, are they the same or pretty similar to the pellets you refer too MotoBoat?
In the little Chief the pan fits ~6 pucks and that smokes for about ~2hrs. For trout/kokanee it's a perfect amount of time, for salmon/steelhead I'll sometimes finish in the oven if it was really cold outside, in the summer it smokes them fine and no oven finish is needed. I keep my smoker wrapped in that insulation year round.
What's the benefit to smoking for over 2-3 hrs? The fish should be done by then, does it help the smoke flavor get deeper into thick pieces? Just curious. Thx!

I have not used, or handled the "puck". But from pictures, that puck does not look to be as dense as a wood pellet would be. I surmise an equal quantity of each, placed on a balance beam scale. Would tip the scale heavy to the pellet side. I think from pictures, that the puck is pressed chips?

The Smokehouse brand distributes both chips and pellets in the same size plastic bag. The chips come in a 1.75cu ft size. No weight on the bag, but would guesstimate at under 2lbs. Sames bag with pellets weighs 5lbs. Cost for each is comparable @ $3 ++ a bag.

But the pellets can be had in quantities of 20lb for under $10, and a 33lb bag for under $15. A pan full of pellets last 2-3 hours. Pan of chips last 45 min. Sound like the 6 pucks last a good long time, they cost considerably more than pellets. Comparable to chips, I would think.

[hewesfisher]

Low and slow gives a deeper more rounded smoke flavor with going bitter. Some of the stronger woods will get a real bitter taste if the temp goes up too much, aka the pan burning hotter.

+1. I ran 8 full racks of trout through my smoker (not a Big/Little Chief) earlier this week. Smoked for 3hrs 20 mins with a total cook time of 7hrs at 130°. Yum!