First impressions with the 1100

[DFW]

I bought a model 1100 a few days ago and I thought I'd list my first impressions with it. In retrospect I almost wish I had gotten the 1400. I say almost because this model is pretty small, which is good on one hand because I really don't have a need to smoke large quantities of meat and I like the smaller size because it doesn't take up much room. However, this model does not appear big enough to smoke a 12-14 lb turkey which would be nice. I might be able to fit a smaller bird. The dimensions of the racks are pretty close to 12x13 inches and the maximum height clearance with the rack in the lowest position is just a bit more than 10 inches. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably still order the 1100. Although I'm size limited on what I can smoke, the smaller size fits my needs better because it takes up less room on my patio. The problem is the smoker really needs to be on a rack of some kind unless you want to work next to the ground every time you use it. It does come with wheels, although I haven't installed them yet and not sure if I will.

I ordered my smoker from a reseller, but it shipped from Dallas, Texas which I think is where SmokinTex is based. So I'm relatively sure it shipped directly from SmokinTex. The box had a big gash in it, but the smoker was well packed and didn't have a scratch on it. Unpacking the smoker was pretty simple. One gotcha is they have a piece of cardboard surrounding the temperature sensor. Fortunately the directions pointed it out or I probably would have done my first smoke with it still in there and I can't imagine that turning out well. I lined the bottom with aluminum foil along with the top of the smoke box. This makes cleanup pretty easy. Following the directions, I seasoned the smoker with the 3 blocks of wood provided with the smoker. They only send you enough wood to season the smoker, so you'll have to buy your own wood for smoking to get started. My local grocery store had several selections of wood chips so I was able to get off and running pretty quickly and it takes several hours to season the smoker anyway so you have plenty of time to go out and buy food and wood. In order to use wood chips, you'll either need the insert that goes in the smoke box, or you can line it with aluminum foil which is what I did.

After seasoning I decided to do a cold smoke first. I smoked two plugs of cheese, 8oz of almonds, 8oz of pistachios, a half dozen peppers, and a pan full of finger potatoes with 1/4 cup of apple wood chips. I smoked for 15 minutes with the oven on 225, and 45 minutes of rest time inside the smoker. The cold smoke plate was installed and the drip pan was placed on top of it full of ice. Everything turned out perfectly. This is why I bought the SmokinTex. No fuss and you get a perfect smoke.

[DReeves]

Welcome to the family, DFW!

We all feel the same way you do.... we are all in love with our SmokinTex smokers! Have a look around, and ask questions when they arrise. Be sure to check out the voluminous amount of recipes available in the forum.

Enjoy!

[tomh]

I thought I would join this thread since it is about the 1100, which I also have. So I got it late last summer and had a few hits but several misses. I was determined to start out the season and make it work.

I did a pork butt , only 3.5 lbs. Gave it a nice rub and put it in a pan in the smoker. It probably was at room temp, I had left it out for a bit. It went in at 9AM, and I figured it would be done before 3PM (6 hours). I had a meat probe in it to watch the internal temp. I never opened the door, had a good amount of chips in there and cranked it up to max. At 6PM it got to 190 internal temp. - 9 hours !!. I took it out and let it rest in foil. It had great flavor but did not really pull, I had to chop it a little and the texture was not as loose as I would have hoped. I suspect I should have waited for 200 temp. but did not want to wait till 8PM to finally eat.

So, if the math is 3 hours per pound, and I want to make something larger for more people, like 8 pounds, do I need 24 hours or more? It might be hard to plan but wow, this will take some real planning as far as getting it in on a Friday night and watching it on Saturday morning.

As a side note while it was resting I left the probe hanging in and closed it up and left it at 250 (max temp). When the probe said about 241, the red light went off and it stabilized around 250, opened the door to let out some heat, the probe dropped a bit and the red light went back on till it got back to temp. So it would seem the heat element is working.

Is this a normal scenario? Just wondering.

[DReeves]

Tomh,

It sure sounds like everything is operating as it should. Most of the forum members cook by temp, which is exactly what you did. I have also had the experience where the meat takes a little longer than you plan.

Keep a couple of things in mind:

Start earlier than you feel you need to. I prefer to start my shoulder roasts the night before, say 9 or 10 pm. If you wake up and the temp is at a place where you want, but too early, you can always lower the temp and turn your smoker into a holding oven.

Use your inside oven. If you are getting closer, say with an hour, of serving time, maybe two hours, crank up the oven and finish inside. Just keep your meat probe in so you know when you hit the correct temp. I like to aim for 205 when pulling. Seems to be a magic number for me.

You are doing it right. It's just that some meat takes a little longer. I've had a 9 lb shoulder roast take 18 hrs to hit temp.

Like I stated before: start earlier than you think you need to. Then hold.

Enjoy!

[DFW]

I've had the 1100 a few months now and use it regularly. I'm still quite happy with it. As far as capacity goes, here's a few things I have done with the 1100.

The 1100 isn't big enough to do an entire brisket or rack of St Louis ribs without cutting. However with most briskets you can cut them in half and still get the whole thing in. With St Louis ribs I have found I can do 2 racks by trimming them down to 12" and putting the end pieces on a 3rd rack. Another trick I do is to trim 3 racks down to 12" and freeze the end pieces after rubbing. That way I can smoke the end pieces (about 2-3 bones each) in another batch when I'm cooking for less people. If you have 3 racks you can get about 12 bones on each rack. If you figure about 4-6 bones per person(most people I feed usually only eat 2-3), that gives you enough to feed at least 6 people. Even with 6 people I always have plenty of leftovers.

Remember that the 1100 only comes with 2 racks, so you'll have to order an extra rack if you want max capacity. With all three racks you get 3 sq feet of useable space total with 3" of clearance for each rack(the rack rails are about 3.5" apart). With a single rack you get 11" of useable vertical clearance with the rails in the lower position. If you want to use wood chips instead of chunks, you'll have to either line the bottom of the smoke box with aluminum foil or get the wood chip insert. I have the insert and it works great. I recommend it if you are going to use chips often although you don't have to replace the aluminum foil each time if you go that route so it's not a big deal.

I bought this shelf for the 1100, which is perfect for it.
It takes up very little space and includes plenty of storage underneath. The height is perfect for the 1100.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000GWED7I

I also bought the cold smoke plate for the 1100 and the Jerky dryer. Both work excellent. I cut my jerky a bit on the thick side and I can get about 1 pound of uncooked meat on each rack for about 3 pounds total on 3 racks. I smoke for about 2 hours and dry for about 4 hours at 160F and get the best jerky I've ever made.

I line the bottom of the smoker and the top of the smoke box with aluminum foil before each cook. After cooking I spray the inside with all-purpose cleaner or warm soapy water, go over it with a scrubber sponge, and wipe it clean with paper towels. I soak the racks and rails in hot soapy water in the sink (the racks for the 1100 fit nicely in my sink), then either scrub them down or run the racks through the dishwasher. The rails I always wash by hand as I'm pretty sure they will rust otherwise. I empty out the bottom pan and spray it clean with the garden hose. It takes me about 15 minutes to clean and reline the smoker with aluminum foil and it's ready to go again.

All-in-all I'm still happy I went with the 1100. It takes up less space and it takes less time to clean. I've found I can still smoke enough food for up to 6 people and still have leftovers. If you regularly feed 6 people or more, you'll probably want to go with something bigger.

[bigwalleye]

tomh,
There really is no plan. I've found that a single or a couple 3-4 pounders can take almost as long as a big one, so just do the big one and freeze it in a vacuum sealer bag and reheat by placing the bag in boiling water.
I regularly plan for a 5pm dinner and start an 8-9 pounder at 180 degrees at 11pm the night before (light timers are great) and then turn it up to 225 to 250 in the morning when I leave for work at 6 am. Somewhere near 18 hours total run time, and I'm then sure to be home when it hits 200. If you want to eat at 6 and you hit 200 at 5, turn it down from 250 to 210, and she'll hold nicely. If it's longer than that, pull it, wrap it in a couple layers of tight tinfoil, wrap it in a beach towel and put it in a cooler. It'lll hold for several hours or more, and still pull nicely for you.

I thought I would join this thread since it is about the 1100, which I also have. So I got it late last summer and had a few hits but several misses. I was determined to start out the season and make it work.

I did a pork butt , only 3.5 lbs. Gave it a nice rub and put it in a pan in the smoker. It probably was at room temp, I had left it out for a bit. It went in at 9AM, and I figured it would be done before 3PM (6 hours). I had a meat probe in it to watch the internal temp. I never opened the door, had a good amount of chips in there and cranked it up to max. At 6PM it got to 190 internal temp. - 9 hours !!. I took it out and let it rest in foil. It had great flavor but did not really pull, I had to chop it a little and the texture was not as loose as I would have hoped. I suspect I should have waited for 200 temp. but did not want to wait till 8PM to finally eat.

So, if the math is 3 hours per pound, and I want to make something larger for more people, like 8 pounds, do I need 24 hours or more? It might be hard to plan but wow, this will take some real planning as far as getting it in on a Friday night and watching it on Saturday morning.

As a side note while it was resting I left the probe hanging in and closed it up and left it at 250 (max temp). When the probe said about 241, the red light went off and it stabilized around 250, opened the door to let out some heat, the probe dropped a bit and the red light went back on till it got back to temp. So it would seem the heat element is working.

Is this a normal scenario? Just wondering.