Frequently Asked Questions

Anything you want to add that great smoky flavor. Virtually any meat, poultry or fish can be smoked. You can also add that great smoky flavor to baked potatoes, baked beans and other vegetables. Smoked nuts and cheese are a big hit! Suggestions are added to our web site as we find them, either from our own experience or from our customers discovering new uses. Please remember to let us know by email about any new use you've discovered that is not in our recipe book or on our online site so we can add it so other users can try your ideas and recipes.

Alder: The hickory of the West Coast. Alder's delicate sweet flavor enriches all fish, seafood, and meats.

Apple: Slightly sweet, fruity smoke that's mild enough for chicken or turkey. Great with all pork.

Cherry: Cherry produces a similar taste to apple - it produces a very mild and fruity flavor. Great with chicken, turkey, and fish or flavoring ham.

Hickory: In the southern barbecue belt, a lot of folks think this is the only wood to use. For everything. Most BBQ places use nothing else. The strong, hearty taste is perfect for brisket, ribs, and pork shoulder. Also great with any red meat or poultry.

Maple: Mildly smoky and sweet, maple goes well with poultry, ham, and vegetables. Try with brisket.

Mesquite: The wood of Texas, it's great for grilling but not great for smoking. It burns very hot and can make your food taste bitter. Get your smoker smoking really well, turn it off, and put in a few steaks. Smoke for 10 minutes, then finish on a hot grill. Great flavor!

Oak: It's the most versatile of the hardwoods, blending well with a wide range of foods. Gives a great flavor to brisket.

Pecan: Preferred wood by a lot of non-BBQ restaurants. Pecan burns cooler and offers a subtle richness of character. Often referred to as a mellow version of hickory.

Shop our selection of wood chips.

Ribs: 4-5 hours

Whole Chicken: 3+ hours

Brisket: 12 hours for a 11 lbs.

Pork shoulder/butt: 8-10 hours

Turkey: 50 mins per pound

These smoking/cooking times are whether you're smoking for example 1 chicken or fill the smoker up with chickens.

There is a drain hole on the bottom of the smoker and the grease runs out there into the stainless steel drip pan for easy removal, cleaning and replacement. Be sure to poke a hole in the foil you place on the floor of your smoker.

Yes, line the bottom of the wood box with foil to prevent the wood chips falling through the holes. Or purchase our Wood Chip Insert for use with wood chips. Shop our available wood chips here.

Smoke at 225ºF for 2 to 3 hours until the internal temperature reaches 165º F to 170º F.

All you have to do is wrap it up in some foil and put your favorite bbq sauce or apple juice on it and put it in the oven @ 250º F degrees.

You can either put it on the grill until crispy, put it in your oven at a high temperature, or even use the broiler after smoking. Leave it in just long enough to get the skin crispy. Dusting the skin with cornstarch can also help the skin crisp.

If you don't have a lot of fat on it wrap it up in some foil and add some water to it and put it back into the smoker @ 200º- 210º F degrees until the internal temperature reaches 150º F degrees.

With other smokers you have fire to heat up your wood and then you have to add water to create more smoke.

SmokinTex uses a heating element to heat up the wood which burns it slow and creates more smoke but without the fire. We feel it's a more even application of the smoke flavor to your meat or fish.

If it is a cured ham its already cooked and all you have to do is warm it up and add smoke flavor, then you would smoke/cook for about 2 hrs at about 190°F degrees or until you get the internal temperature at 110°F degrees.

If it is a fresh ham smoke/cook for 5 hrs at 130°F degrees then 5 hrs at 200°F degrees or until the internal temperature reaches 150°F degrees.

Start by smoking them for 2 hours, pull them and wrap them in foil and put some water in the bottom of the foil, put back in the smoker for 4 hours at 225º F degrees.

Sometimes there is extra gas trapped in the wood itself and it gets heated up and releases causing the “popping”. This is similar to what can happen in a wood burning fireplace from time to time. It is nothing to worry about and should stop shortly.