Yes you must inject. Using only the canister and vacuum (Food Saver one??) will not allow the brine to penetrate properly. They also so this with all hames. My pump is 4 ounce capacity and has a long needle with several side holes punched into it. I push the needle all the way in, and start to pump in the brine while slowly taking out the needle. The pumping makes the meat swell up. I weigh before and after to ensure the proper amount of brine. These people have a brass one at $12.50 - http://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/1003 The site below has a stainless one from Morton, for $30. Both are decnet quailty. I also added a regular needle that looks like a giant needle on a syringe, with the end tapered at an angle. This is used in thinner meat poultry brining as its got no side holes. At best the vacuum pump on a FS machine will only give you about 15-20 in. Whereas a regular vacuum pump would bring down the vacuum to 30 in. BE CAREFUL!! don't get ANY liqiid ito the vacuum hose or pump!! My more powerful vacuum pump also has a moisture trap to collect any liquids that might enter the hose. Here is a link that might be useful: Brine Pump

darn tootin it'll work, and like smokemaster says, slow and low. i have usually smoked mine for a day, then finish off in a dehydrator. in case you didn't know, thats what chipotle is---smoked jalapenos--i put a heat shield of metal above the coals so the peppers don't get direct heat---good luck and enjoy

In the world of electric smokers, not pellet smokers, there are three companies making/selling all stainless steel smokers: Cookshack (CS), SmokinTex (ST), and Smokin-it (SI), listed from higher to lower in cost. I own a CS. American made, it is superb and expensive. I typically use a single 2 or 3 ounce chunk of hickory for my smokes. Next is the ST line, for which I have no first hand knowledge of. It is an import. Lastly is SI, also an import. My brother has the SI 3. It is a very solidly constructed smoker, and like the CS, uses very little wood. It is also priced the lowest of the 3. It has some nice features missing from the other two smoker lines. Performance wise, it is the equal to my CS in terms of produced food quality. All three sites have a dedicated forum with SI seeming to be the busiest. Not from complaints either. But sharing hints, tips, enthusiasm, and recipes. electric is so much easier than tending a stick burner, which I also own and have used for years. Unlike a lot of electric smokers with chip trays that must be reloaded periodically, these smokers use 1 or 2 chunks of wood at the beginning and you do not need to add any more. In fact, you do not need to open the door till the food is complete.

Well I'm pretty opinionated on this, but here goes: Charcoal and a covered grill - this is the only way to go. You probably already have a gas range, another isn't really needed. However, charcoal is completely different, whether you use it very hot or very cool. When doing something like a roast chicken, set it to about 500-550 and only cook 45 min. On a gas grill this would incinerate the food, however, because the charcoal burns off most of the oxygen, the chicken won't burn up. Incidentally, that's what causes the "smoke ring", lack of oxygen. Be a little careful opening the top to check, sometimes the air coming in will flash the tips of the wings into flame. For a whole turkey do it about 450 with some foil over the leg ends, it takes about 12 min/pound and IMNSHO it's better than deep fried. Thin crust pizza takes 6 minutes at 600F and is unmatched. (Watch this like a hawk). For slow cooking, there's nothing like a mild smoky very low fire, about 225. I do whole pork shoulders and briskets (only use packer cuts) and cook them overnight, about 14 hours. As for brands, the ceramic ones like Big Green Egg are great. But the larger Webers for grilling and the Weber Smoky Mountain for BBQ are also excellent. Don't get too small a grill though, it's nice to have lots of space for a two level fire, very hot for searing, cool for cooking. Be sure to get a BBQ Guru (thebbqguru.com) for temperature control, and a good instant read thermometer like Thermopen because things happen fast. Look around for a source of good lump charcoal. I like People's Woods and Wicked Good Charcoal, but depending on where you are there are a lot of others. Lump is much better than briquettes because it leaves less ash, burns hotter and doesn't put off tastes into the food. The two I mentioned also light very quickly if you use a plumber's torch and actually the grill gets up to cooking temp faster than our oven. With lump you don't have to wait for the entire surface of the charcoal to be burning, just light it and once the temp in the grill gets up, start cooking. Don't try that with briquettes, they give off bad flavored smoke until fully lit.