Meadow Creek TS120 Smoker Story

Three weeks ago on Memorial Day, I pulled a Meadow Creek TS120 Smoker into my back yard and loaded it down with lots of exciting proteins. We enjoyed barbecue throughout the day, and in the evening had my parents and family over for dinner.

I filled the smoker with the following: 6 slabs of St. Louis ribs, 4 whole chickens, 2 sausage logs, a brisket, 4 tenderloins, 4 pounds of meatloaf, potatoes, and onions. I fired the smoker around 10:20 in the morning and pulled the last of the food off at 5:30, around 7 hours later. Everything was knock-your-socks off delicious, except for my lean grass-fed brisket, which somehow got burned on the bottom side, but still turned out WAY to good to throw to the dog.

The Meadow Creek smoker I used has an insulated firebox and a BBQ42 Chicken Cooker mounted on the front.

I fired it with my propane torch to get the inside of the tank and the tank itself up to temp. In a short time, it was ready to roll. I used 100% hardwood charcoal briquettes and apple wood splits for fuel.

Since it was insulated, it took less fuel. I happened to use a little too much charcoal to fire it and for about an hour, it wanted to run away from me. I should have used 7 pounds instead of 10–12. It’s not smart to over-fire an insulated firebox because it can warp the door, and of course, make it stressful to control your heat.

After that burned down, firing it once an hour worked really well, about 6–8 pounds each time. I didn’t weigh the charcoal or pre-light it. I used about 35 pounds of charcoal and maybe 4 or 5 splits of wood, at least a foot long.

Here are some notes on the foods I cooked:

10:45 Loaded the sausage. Seasoned with Butt Rub.
11:00 Loaded the tenderloins. Seasoned with Meadow Creek Brisket Rub; not enough salt, so I salted them with Real salt after they were cooked.
11:00 Loaded the chickens. Seasoned with Meadow Creek Spicy and Butt Rub.
11:15 Loaded the brisket. Seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, and Meadow Creek Brisket Rub.
11:40 Loaded the ribs. Seasoned 3 slabs with Meadow Creek Black Pepper Brisket Rub, 2 slabs with David’s Overall Rib Rub, and 1 slab with Butt Rub.
12:05 Loaded potatoes and onions. Sprayed them with cooking oil and seasoned with Meadow Creek Traditional Rub.
12:10 Loaded the meatloaf. Mixed homemade recipe and seasoned it with Heaven Made Incredible and Amazin Cajun. Sauced the top with Bull’s Eye barbecue sauce from a local grocery store before serving.

At noon I started spraying everything with apple juice about once an hour.

1:20 Tenderloin done. Internal temperature up to 150 degrees F.
1:20 Sausage done. Up to 150-155.
2:30 Meatloaf done. Up to 160-170.
2:45 Chicken done. Up to 170-190.
3:00 Wrapped the brisket in foil. Left it on for about 2 more hours.
3:15 Ribs done. Slabs were limber and pulled off the bone clean.
5:30 Tators and onions done. Soft enough to poke with a fork.

Whole Chickens:

Tenderloins:

Sausage:

Meatloaf:

Meadow Creek TS120 Smoker Loaded:

Onions and Potatoes:

Chicken:

Ribs:

Ribs Wrapped After Pulling off the Smoker:

(Here is my recipe for smoking ribs.)

My Folding Work Table:

Smoked Chicken:

Sliced Sausage:

Smoked Sausage (on a Toasted Bagel With American Cheese):

Sliced Tenderloin:

Meatloaf:

The Feast Is Ready!

Ribs:

Good stuff!

Cooking on a Meadow Creek tank smoker is so much fun, and I look forward to pulling off more cooks like this one soon. A stick burner like Meadow Creek’s is more work to run than a pellet grill or gas smoker. Tending the fire takes time and attention. But an automated push button smoker cannot satisfy the fire poker instinct inside of me. A wood/charcoal smoker is for people who truly love cooking with fire and enjoy the cooking experience as much as the eating experience.

When you can do this on a Meadow Creek smoker… well, you’re really on to something. Especially those who appreciate style, quality, and a fun experience. Some offset smokers take almost constant tending to keep the temperature in check. This model is very good at holding temp. Once you’re cruising, it’s basically a matter of adding new fuel when it starts dropping in temp. I wouldn’t say there is no learning curve, but it’s very easy to learn how to control it. Once you learn the basics of fire management, this baby rocks!

Memorial Day was full and tiring, but very rewarding. When I cook many different foods and do much of the work myself, it keeps me hopping: prepping, loading, basting, temping, sampling, making notes, and processing the finished product. My favorite part is pulling the meat from the smoker and standing around the cutting board with my family enjoying the accomplishment.

It is also satisfying to fill freezer bags of pulled pork, chicken, and tenderloin for later. Leftovers are such a treat and make it possible to enjoy barbecue any day of the week, regardless how busy you are that day.

Like my story? Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Or share your suggestions.

Have fun,

Lavern Gingerich

Tags: Barbequed Food, meadow creek smokers, smoked brisket, smoked chicken, smoked meatloaf, smoked onions, smoked potatoes, smoked ribs, smoked sausage, smoked tenderloin, ts120 bbq smoker

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 at 12:50 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.