Big Chief Smokers

I have a Big Chief that is two years old. When I first got the thing it worked wonderful but after awhile it didn't seem to get as hot. I then went and bought a new element for it and tried again...same story. I use a large blanket over the top of the entire contraption but it still isn't getting hot enough. Yesterday I had to take the fish out and put them in a the oven, huge hassle. Wondering if others are having the same problem with this smoker...it's just not hot enough.

RM

I have had this problem and solved it by lighting 3-4 charcoal briquets in the pan.

I had these same problems with the little chief and the big chief.I solved the problem by building an out house style smoker that is fueled by a wood stove and fresh alder.I can control the temp in any weather instead of having the smoker control me and my time.I realize lots of people can't run one of these @ some of there homes but boy it's made a huge difference in the smoking.If you have the resources to set up,I'd go for it.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I've got a little chief and I thought that they're not supposed to get too hot. It does take some extra time to dry the fish out.

You aren't using an extension cord for it, right? They don't recommend it because the cord decreases the amount of energy reaching the chief.

Try leaving the box on it.( If you have a top loader.) Cut out a hole for the cord and a slot for the pan. Helps bring it up to temp alot better. BTW you may want to put tin foil in the bottom of the box to keep from burning a hole in it.
Has worked great for me.
NUT

I concure with leaving the box on. They don't get real hot to start with so you just have to take more time. Also noticed that when you put it back in your garage your garage will smell like smoked fish 24/7 forever because of the box. There are less pleasant scents for sure.

Well its not really an answer to your question but it might help... I broke out the Little Chief this year and (surprise...) the element needed replacement again. So I saw at Lowes that they had Brinkmann Charcoal smokers on sale. That is what we used up at the lodge to smoke fish and I always liked that charcoal system. Anyways the new fish smokes fish (silvers) to a perfect consistency in 2-3 hours. I love it and am glad I bought it this year. I have been smoking fish like crazy now.

My point is that instead of buying another element or messing with the Little/Big Chiefs maybe you might want to look into the Brinkmann Gourmet Charcoal smokers. I paid $44 here at the Lowes in Tacoma.

CF

Hmmm... I just bought a brand new Big Chief smoker a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully mine doesn't stop working correctly as many of you have indicated often happens.

Aaron

Well you guys gave me some things to think about. Aaron I hope yours holds out better than mine has. I don't know why they don't put a better element in the things, doesn't make sense. I will try insulating with the box and see if that helps, otherwise I am in the market for a new smoker.

Thanks again.

RM

Had a small little chief smoker for quite a while with the box on and it done a pretty good job till the element failed. Bought a bigger one to use out side and it never got hot enough so I nestled it in fiberglass insulation and it works o.k. I then built a smoker from a frig, and it works great. Be advised that there is a certain minimum temp your smoker should obtain. Smokers are built like car batteries, to last a certain length of time! Raft-Cat

Someone please correct me if I am wrong but I understand the temperature must reach 160 degrees (F) to be certain of curing the meat properly. I don't know if this is "meat" temp or an "air" temp. That's what concerns me about the "Chief" smokers. I am willing to be that they often don't get anywhere near this temp.

RM

Cookshack.com

I used a little Chief for 12 years and now have used a Big Chief about 10 years. Had the same problem with lack of heat and have used the cardboard box they come in or constructed another one myself. If it's really cold out I pull the box all the way down over the smoker and if it's not so cold out will pull it down part way. If you don't get your smoker quite hot enough it will cause cracking on the surface and the insides will be underdone. I'm on my third element on my Big Chief and get about 3-4 years per element. Needless to say you can't see any silver on the inside!!

Ridgeway,

That is what I am trying this eve, with the box on I mean. How long do you find it takes to smoke a salmon in the BC? I cut my filets into sections that are about 4" wide or so. Thx.

RM

Depends on outside temps. It has been 50 to 55 degrees lately.
I would say 4 to 6 hours if they are not too thick.
Leave them alone for the first 4 hours, only adding wood. 2 to 3 pans should do the trick. Check the fish after 4 1\2 or so. Remember the fridge can be used to dry them out a little, just leave the fish open for a few days if it is a little soft. But over done will allways be boot leather. good luck.
Nut

Riverman, With the box mostly over the entire smoking unit it takes about 4-6 hours depending on outside temp and thickness of chunks. I just smoked-up a couple batches of Kodiak Cohos in the 10-12 lb range with each fillet cut into 3 pieces. I put the fish in (larger pieces on lower racks) with the first pan of chips and let it go 1.5 hours then load a second pan of chips and let go for another 1.5 hours. I then bring the rack out of my toploading Big Chief and inspect for doneness. If the bottom racks are cooking much faster than the upper racks I will switch rack positions at this point. I press lightly on the fish to check doneness along with appearance. The meat will firm up as it gets closer to done. I then put the adjusted racks back in the smoker for a 3rd pan of chips. If some pieces were near done at the 3 hour inspection I will come back and check when the 3rd load of chips quit smoking (about 1 hour). I will take pieces out that are done and let the remaining pieces keep going. I pretty much do the Big Chief deluxe wet brine recipe except using brown sugar instead of white. I like my smoked fish on the moist side so I'm a bit finiky about not over-cooking.

Hey thanks for the info Ridgeway and others!
I used the box trick last night on some coho filets and it worked perfectly! I also layed an old blanket over the box for additional insulation and it took about 6 hours to complete. For those interested I use a dry brine. I cover each filet with sugar, salt, black pepper and some dried onion. After that I put the filets in the smoker for one pan of chips and let dry. It's absolutely delicious everytime and best of all you don't have to wait for the meat to marinate.

Thanks again!

RM

Hi guys,
The box works well but remember that they can catch fire sometimes. Last year I remember hearing of one fire down in Portland that was caused by a smoker. Dont put them near the house if the box is on.
happy smokin, good H20.

Tried out the Big Chief last night and it worked well. I think the extension cord does make a difference. I plugged directly into an outlet last night and it seemed like things were getting hotter. I put the box over the top as well and at 4 hrs my coho was done. Plenty hot.

If you are cooking than hot you are not really smoking the fish but in fact cooking it and adding a little smoked flavor. Cuts down on storage life and quality. My fish is in my smoker for no less than 24 hours. I do not add smoke that whole time but the meat is dried more than cooked. It never gets above 110 degrees.

I agree with The King. You "cure" your fish with your brine/salt/sugar etc. The smoking process is used to impart flavor and to dry out the fish a bit, not cook it.

I usually run 2 or 3 pans of chips thru the my Big Chief right at the start and then let it continue on for an additional 6-10 hours, sampling along the way until I get the right consistency. I never let the temp get over 90-110 degrees; More than that and you are just cooking the fish.

A couple of tips that have worked well for me are:
1. I cut out a piece of grocery sac to the size of each filet piece and place it under each chunk as it is placed on the smoking rack. When done smoking the skin has adhered to the paper and it peels right off. It also keeps your smoker racks cleaner.

2. For the first 2-3 hours of the smoking process, I baste the salmon with pure maple syrup several times. It adds some sweetness to counter balance the saltiness of the cure, and adds a beautiful glaze.

Hope this helps.

Not getting the temperature over 110 degrees seems to conflict with much of what I've read about smoking, unless you are cold smoking. Of course my smoker has no thermometer so I have no idea what I'm really doing. I do think that my smoker got too hot last night using the box because 4 hours seemed too quick. On the other hand I'm not sure I'm comfortable with only getting up to 100 F.

I am speaking from the traditional viewpoint.

Cold smoking would be no heat at all just smoke. It is the drying process used for making Lox. What you are doing is really called Kippering when you use heat and smoke. The brine cures the meat and preserves it. The smoke adds flavor and a bit of cure and traditionally kept the bugs off. The heat speeds up the cure process by drying the meat out. Having a smoker at 160 degrees and completeing the process is 4 to 6 hours is really cooking the meat with a smoked flavor and defeats the purpose of the brine.

Hot smoking or kippering should be smoked to 150 degrees. Cold smoking or Lox style should be smoked at 80 degrees. Not sure what you're saying about brined fish smoked at 160 defeating the purpose of brining. Brine is not only used for curing but for flavor. My Hot smoked or kippered fish would not be the same at all without the brine. It will also have a longer shelf life with the brine. Most all commercial smoke houses smoke both ways and they brine the fish with both smoking methods. Check out Ed's Kasilof Seafoods site for more details....you might learn something. http://www.kasilofseafoods.com/Smoking.htm

I'm not sure I would feel safe about eating a piece of fish that took 24 hours to dry, good golly! I have seen carp lay on the bank on a 100 degree day in August and let me tell ya, it's nothing I'm gonna eat. I was always under the impression that in order to kill potentially harmful bacteria it's important for the meat to reach 160 degrees, is this not true? The fish I smoke generally takes around 6-8 hours to finish and I suppose if this is technically "cooked" it's fine by me because it's delicious!!

RM

I have been using a little chief smoker for a number of years (like 20). My element burned out. For less than the cost of a replacement element, I picked up a single burner hot plate. Set it up in there. My salmon takes right at 8 hours to smoke to perfection. Venison jerky about 6 hours. I have built a wooden box smoker, but have not caught enough fish this year to load it up, so have not finished it. I can put two of the little cheif racks inside, or lots of my own trays. Will use two hot plates in it. A buddy made it's twin at the same time cause his little chief was dyin' and he knew he wanted to get the hotplate anyway. He has been using his with great success.

Lots of ways to git er done.
Hope yours works.

Steve

RR, Correct if you want cooked fish. Commercial smokers are required to meet certain temps for the health dept and liability reasons. You can cook it up any temp you want if thats what you like. The brine acts as a diuretic and reduces excess water in the meat helping the drying process called curing. It also preserves the meat and adds flavor. I make salami and cure it and smoke it at 42 degrees. Its primarily pork. So don't get hung up on the bactria or parasite fears. Ever eat Sushi?

sushi is frozen first to kill any parasites and then served in restaurants. "fresh" sushi is not usually available.

I cut out an area of cardboard where the pan enters the smoker to avoid having paper within 12 inches of the element. Otherwise paper doesn't burn until 450+ degrees and the Big Chief is around 160 degrees. It's just as important to keep wood chips cleaned off the bottom of the smoker so the fire won't "trail out of the smoker". I also do my smoking inside a disconnected garage to minimize risk to my house.
....However the topic started related to the Big Chief smoker and as such I believe it was designed to hot smoke fish. I can't find my booklet but as I recall it describes how you must bring up temp to around 150 degrees to bind the proteins. This is hot smoking. It also describes how you can cold smoke with a Big Chief by putting wood blocks on the top of the smoker (with the lid off) and setting the rack on top of the blocks over the top of the smoker with the box over it. This is cold smoking.
After Big Chief smoker elements get older and/or due to cold weather the same temps cannot be reached without providing an insulating blanket to conserve available heat.
All I really know is that my Big & Little Chief smokers have been putting out out some kick-arse smoked fish for more than 20 years. Standard equipment for a fishing addict.