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**The Sauce Blog**
June 9th, 2015, 4:28 pm
#1
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Come on folks, I know that you are all cooking. Post up the pictures, brag a bit, make us jealous, make us wish we were your neighbors and friends...

Salmon was cheap by the case at Sam's club last week, so we bought a 36 pound case.

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We cut the fillets in half, rinsed it off and dry brined it.
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After about 3 hours in the brine, we rinsed it off.
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Then let it sit to air dry and form a pellicle.
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Then lightly sprinkled some spices on it all.
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Put it all on the YS1500 to smoke at 200 degrees.
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Here is the end result. There were the first two pieces to hit 145 and be taken off the cooker. The rest are all very close as well. Thanks for looking, and can't wait to see what you post up.
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Ready for the freezer.
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Yoder_Herb
June 9th, 2015, 5:16 pm
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As a side note, I thought I would illustrate why the YS1500 is the optimum smoker.

I have the smoker set to 200 degrees as my cooking temp. It is varying by a few degrees up and down, but this is normal and expected. It a wood fire after all.

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Here is the upper left analog dial gauge on the YS1500 while cooking salmon. Why isn't it showing the same temperature as the digital display, because it is NOT reading grate temperatures. It is showing the temperature within a few inches of the body of the cooker. The analog temp gauges only protrude into the cooker a few inches, so you can't expect them to read the grate temperatures.
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Here is the lower right analog dial gauge on the YS1500. Again, same statements apply as above.
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Now, given my conditions, the amount of food in the cooker, the ambient temperature, humidity and wind, were the gauges reading like this without my intervention? No they weren't. I needed to make some adjustments to the YS1500 to get the gauges this close to each other, given all of the "things" that affect the cooker as I stated.

Here is where I ended up setting the HMS damper plate.
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Here is where I ended up setting the chimney damper. (NEVER close the chimney damper more than 50%)
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I wanted to share the versatility of the YS1500, and give some examples of how it allows for the variables that affect the cooking process.

Yoder_Herb
June 9th, 2015, 5:30 pm
#3
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You're making me hungy, Herb. :x :evil:

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June 9th, 2015, 5:33 pm
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I will take finished pictures after I take it all off the cooker...and NO I am not challenging you to a picture taking contest! But cooking, you betcha!

Yoder_Herb
June 9th, 2015, 7:31 pm
#5
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That would be fun. It would be even more fun to compare the food, but I'm sure you have the edge.

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June 9th, 2015, 11:10 pm
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Yoder_Kirby wrote:That would be fun. It would be even more fun to compare the food, but I'm sure you have the edge.


I wouldn't go that far...

Yoder_Herb
June 10th, 2015, 12:27 am
#7
* Wichita ** Wichita *
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Ok, this is something I have to do.

Durango 24
June 10th, 2015, 7:23 am
#8
* Abilene ** Abilene *
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Hey Herb,

Thanks so much for giving us a play by play. I love the details and step by step. You're gonna be eating salmon for a while my friend. Looks damn tasty. I'm thinking a nice rice pialf, maybe dirty rice, steamed broccoli and white wine. Dammit, now I'm hungry. A job well done.

June 10th, 2015, 10:21 am
#9
* Abilene ** Abilene *
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This is making me very, very hungry.

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June 10th, 2015, 8:13 pm
* Abilene ** Abilene *
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Looks good.

July 23rd, 2015, 6:59 pm
* Abilene ** Abilene *
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Herb,

For us old guys that either forgot or can't find the info, please explain what happens when you close the smoke stack. I'm guessing that with the firebox open a bit the left side would be hotter.

I ask because with the recent hot weather we've been having my grate temp is 20 degrees hotter on the left side than the left.

Thanks in advance,

Bob

(YS 1500)

July 23rd, 2015, 8:09 pm
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To begin with, I would leave the chimney damper wide open, and open the HMS damper about an inch and a half. This will bleed off some of the heat from under the plate and send it up and to the chimney.

If you do not have the reinforced burn grate, it is imperative that you make sure that the burn grate fits as tightly as possible in the firebox before each cook. Not doing this can also cause heat to build up on the left side, as the angle and force of the airflow is changed, which can cause a buildup of heat on the left side.

Yoder_Herb
July 24th, 2015, 9:43 pm
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Herb,

Thank you for your quick reply. You're a real asset here. I'll give it a shot and that makes perfect sense. (and I've got the reinforced grate)

regards,

bob

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