hey grandpa...what's for supper...

[Plymouthy Adams]

well, my neighbor is a hunting guide and tonight he carried over 17 quail he dressed out, some shoot for sport and give him the birds.....I am going to smoke some of these and return a portion of the cooked birds back to him.....first time smoking a small bird....

[Frank Elder]

???

[Sniper]

I understand the hardest part of smoking a small bird is keeping lit

 

Ba da bump

 

Thanks you folks, I'll be here all week, tip you waiter.

[Merle Coggins]

What kind of smoker do you have? I recently got into smoking meat. It started off with a purchase of a pellet grill/smoker last spring. Then I build a drum smoker over the summer. I’m enjoying this new hobby. I smoked a whole chicken on the drum last weekend. Quail would be similar, but a little smaller.  

[Plymouthy Adams]

I bought a Master Forge long back...not a large smoker but suits my requirements.  It is also a gas model, I like smoke flavored meats but I do not like using charcoal.   Gas, light it, walk away.....check my water level if it will be a bit in the smoker.   My favorite wood is pecan and with some 40 pecan trees on the place, I have plenty on hand.  I not long back tried smoking my first salmon....now that is good eating.  Its about 24 hours prepping the meat for smoking but worth it....definitely a planned meal unless you just smoking it for snacks.   

[Dan Hiebert]

Only problem I've had with smoking quail is that you have to watch they don't dry out, because they'll do so pretty quick.  Tried it a couple times, but always went back to just grilling them.  But I also haven't had quail since we left New Mexico.  Up here the go to upland game bird is eastern ruffed grouse (partridge).  Haven't smoked those, yet.  As opposed to quail, one can fill you up ?.  I'd like to hear how your foray into smoking them small birds goes.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I am thinking of wrapping the legs in bacon, protection against drying out quickly/burning...will do on the reply back....we do normally grill the quail and cornish hens are a favorite go to for a slightly larger grilled bird.  

[Plymouthy Adams]

as the gentleman that gave me the quail had earlier plans for supper yesterday, I did not smoke the birds until this afternoon....I forgot to get the pics of both pans and only thought to snap the shot after I combined them all in one pan.  But here they are...hit the target temp right on the 2 hours mark......mums is preparing the side dishes to go with these birds now.....grandpa knows what's for supper tonight.....!

 

 

 

 

[Los_Control]

Looks awesome. While I am not really smoking meat at this point .... My charcoal grill I have learned to control the heat and create smoke .... it is a process that gets dinner cooked.

While small birds and large pigs would be a different story.  Enjoy

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

the birds were delicious...pecan smoked.......there was just enough drippings for mums to make a tad of gravy, enter some biscuits and man, I ate too much.    The birds were dressed without their wings, the legs did not dry out either and I chose not to wrap these in bacon on my first try.  For a first go with a small bird, I will say, I will do this again.  Neighbor enjoyed his meal, he said he would send over another large batch of birds for my freezer.  

[Los_Control]

I do not have a smoker. Butt I am a terrible BBQ'er    So I use my BBQ to smoke 

Today I just have chicken leg quarters (legs/thighs) on the grill. The picture looks foggy but just smoke rolling out of the grill.

I make my own sauce, gallon at a time. Store it in mason jars in the fridge.  Molasses,  honey, fruit, tapatio sauce kitchen sink etc ...

 

Today it is just chicken in a pan of apple juice, I keep the pan on the top rack, the charcoal fire down low & feed it through the day as needed. Temp between 250-300 Started at 12:30 & will cook til 5:00

About 4:00 I will add some store bought bbq sauce to finish it off with.

 

Pretty sure this is not called smoking meat .... A cocktail waitress in a Dolly Parton wig comes to mind. Just saying it works for me.

Dinner will be good today   

 

 

[Mike Petersen]

I do a lot of pulled pork, brisket, tri-tip all the go to items. Favorite wood for poultry is cherry. Use apple, hickory or pear for pork. Oak, mesquite, hickory for beef. Mulberry is good for pork & poultry too. I always use wood for the meat & gas grill for sides. Doing the jerky thing a lot at this time. Venison jerky is so good.