Happy Hooker Smoker Cooker

[Adam_G]

Hi All,

I have been given a small smoker aptly called the Happy Hooker Smoker Cooker .

I'm looking for some advise on how to use it correctly e.g.
1. What you can smoke in it
2. What to do to the meat/fish before it goes in
3. How long do you need to smoke the food for
4. Does the food need any aditional cooking before or after smoking
5. What fuel to use and how the burner works

It came with a bag of what looks like saw dust, is this special saw dust?

Any hints tips recipies or advise will be appreciated as I am quite keen to give it a go.

Thanks
Adam

[NEWBY]

Hi All,

I have been given a small smoker aptly called the Happy Hooker Smoker Cooker .

I'm looking for some advise on how to use it correctly e.g.
1. What you can smoke in it
2. What to do to the meat/fish before it goes in
3. How long do you need to smoke the food for
4. Does the food need any aditional cooking before or after smoking
5. What fuel to use and how the burner works

It came with a bag of what looks like saw dust, is this special saw dust?

Any hints tips recipies or advise will be appreciated as I am quite keen to give it a go.

Thanks
Adam

Mate from what I have seen, sawdust is sawdust but preferably hardwood.
You can smoke just about anything. You dont need to do anything to your meat/fish...Cant help you on the time thing. Experiment with it. No extra cooking required. Dont know about the other stuff re fuel etc. google it mate. Good luck

[sleepygreg]

Do a search on the threads here. There has been a number of them on using smokers...with some brilliant info in them.

Greg

[Noelm]

looking at the picture, it looks like it has a small metho burner, correct? if so then it is very similar to all the other "box" types of smokers, first off, you need to get some fish (of course) fillet and remove any blood meat, there is quite a few brine recipes around, do a search and find one you think you will like, about half fill the metho burner with metho, place some of the saw dust in the bottom of the box, spread it out a bit, place fish on the rack, close the lid, light the burner and place the box on top of it, when it has burnt out , about 25mins? open the lid, (burning your fingers in the process) and get ready to enjoy your smoked fish, it does not need further cooking, when storing in the fridge, make sure it is in an air tight container, or everything in the fridge will be smoke flavoured!

[sleepygreg]

sounds like you have used the same method as me lol. I now have an oven mitt close by when lifting the lid.

Bloody yummy though.....never seems to make it to the fridge...usually all eaten. Can never figure out how all the hangers on know that the fish is being smoked?

Greg

[Noelm]

yep, had plenty of sizzled fingers when removing the lid, it gets amazingly hot huh! by the way, you do not need to brine the fish first, but I reckon it comes out 10 times better if you do. If you want, I can post my secret recipe in a day or so, as I have it written down in the garage at home, and you are right, it rarely makes it to the fridge, nice just smoked, still hot fish, hhmm

[Adam_G]

Thanks for the comments. I'd like to try your secret recipie Noelm.

I had a go at smoking some chicken breasts today and successfully burnt my fingers on the lid (the heads up on the hot lid didn't sink in). The chicken on the other hand turned out great, I used a combination of brine recipies from other threads and left it sit over night.

25 mins in the 'Happy Hooker', how easy is that! It didn't make it to the air tight container (unless that's what you call my stomach).

I have given the wife a comprehensive list of ingredients to get during the week for next weekends smoking.

Adam

[sleepygreg]

Welcome to the world of the piscatorial chefs in training Adam.

Look out once you start experimenting with different types of wood chips/dust.....that can be addictive!!!!!!

Greg

[Noelm]

I reckon I have smoked just about everything over the years, done Oysters, Prawns, Chicken legs, Ribs (not chicken ribs) just about anything I could find, even did some fresh Pilchards once, they were sh!t, Mullet Roe, some are great, some crap, but it fun to fool about with it all, I will post the brine recipe tomorrow for you.

[Adam_G]

Ok I have had another crack at smoking this morning and took a few pictures as I went.

Put chicken thighs and mini drumsticks in brine over night, water, salt, brown sugar, raw sugar, soy and some Kecap Manis.

Once out of the brine I rinsed them, patted them dry and into the smoker. Result = sucess.

At the moment I have some kingie fillets in brine and will have a go smoking them this arvo. Will try and remember to take pics of this also.

I had better mention the kingies came from a fellow Ausfisher who did quite well fishing yesterday, I'll leave it there or I won't here the end of it as all were caught on bait not SP.

Adam

[Chezzy13]

I reckon I have smoked just about everything over the years, done Oysters, Prawns, .

Mmmmm what were they like ?? Iv done chicken pieces, wings, turkey wings and snapper cutlets, must try them

[Noelm]

Oysters were OK, Prawns were a bit dodgey.

[Swindells]

Just bought one for my brother, he started off with mackeral fillets, tasted sensational. i'm getting one for myself now.

[flybloke]

Just a heads up if your going to smoke poultry, It can get all nasty on you if you do not cook it to 87 Deg C or 190F internal temp.
Invest in a HLP Digitherm probe to give you a true reading of doneness.

Also, Ask your butcher if he uses BEECH saw dust for smoking his bacon.
Its perfect for fish as it is mild and does not overpower fish like others can.
Ask for some if he has it

The rule of brining is 1Tbp salt per litre of water.
You can add what ever else you like (Brown Sugar etc)
Brining is osmosis NOT marinating so the fish(Whatever) will need to be fully submerged.
I weigh my brined meat down with a plate or whatever will do the job.
One 20mm thick fillet of fish will only take a few hours to brine
One whole chook will take 12 hours.
peace