Names Erik, and I'm a smoker...Ok, not cigarettes. I gave those up a few years ago but I have been known to burn wood in a box with meat in it a time or two. I live outside of Eugene Oregon and am a 4th generation local native of homestead pioneers many years ago in the headwaters of the Willamette River Valley. I was taught how to smoke meats from my family (mostly all deceased now) that grew up on the homestead farm. Fresh caught salmon & steelhead, venison, farm raised poultry, beef and hog products and the like. I never had the opportunity to grow up with the family farm though. In 1950 the Corp of Engineers built the dams in the rivers to control the flooding that happened in the lower lands and river bottoms of Eugene valley floodplain areas. You see our farmland is now underwater where there is now a reservoir above Lookout Point. Such was progress...
Most of my personal smoking experience has been with small electric smokers (Big and Little Chief smokers) and a bit on the BBQ (Charbroils and Webbers) both gas and briquette. I have fond memories from long ago when my grandfather taught me how to make primitive smokers out of metal 5 gallon buckets and bailing wire racks while we were camping. He taught me how to recognize and collect alder wood to smoke our fresh caught trout from the river... ahhh memories... I recently acquired a 30" digital MES and ANMPS and a digital remote thermometer. With that, I have been successful with a couple of briskets, ribs, pork shoulder, pastrami, chicken halves, beef jerkey. and salmon. I am now able to step up my game with hotter smokes that I couldn't get with the Chiefs, but also cold smoking.
Thawing in my freezer right now is a case of pork bellies for my first attempt at bacon. I've got a couple of butts also to do some buckboard bacon as well. I will be attempting Pops6927recipe on this round. There is a chance my very old Aunt in declining health has original smoking/cure recipes from the farmhouse... Stay tuned.
Erik
Most of my personal smoking experience has been with small electric smokers (Big and Little Chief smokers) and a bit on the BBQ (Charbroils and Webbers) both gas and briquette. I have fond memories from long ago when my grandfather taught me how to make primitive smokers out of metal 5 gallon buckets and bailing wire racks while we were camping. He taught me how to recognize and collect alder wood to smoke our fresh caught trout from the river... ahhh memories... I recently acquired a 30" digital MES and ANMPS and a digital remote thermometer. With that, I have been successful with a couple of briskets, ribs, pork shoulder, pastrami, chicken halves, beef jerkey. and salmon. I am now able to step up my game with hotter smokes that I couldn't get with the Chiefs, but also cold smoking.
Thawing in my freezer right now is a case of pork bellies for my first attempt at bacon. I've got a couple of butts also to do some buckboard bacon as well. I will be attempting Pops6927recipe on this round. There is a chance my very old Aunt in declining health has original smoking/cure recipes from the farmhouse... Stay tuned.
Erik
