Greetings from Southern OK

[southoksmoker]

Hey All!

Awesome site you have here! I've smoked meats off and on for the last 15 years, from Hawaii to North Carolina(Yup, I was in the military). Seems everywhere I have gone, folks do things in different ways with different ingredients.

I have picked up a bit here and there, but never really refined my own style. I always had one person or another giving regional tips and advice so my meats would be close to what the locals liked. Now I have settled down in OK and I'm working on a rub that is uniquely mine and a way of smoking that brings out a bit of Americana. I love to experiment with wood blends(pecan and apple make a great blend, btw) and spice combinations, so I will post my findings as they turn out.

One thing I have ALWAYS wanted was a big, brick and stucco smoker, and that is gonna be my project for this summer. I found a great set of plans, which I fully intend to modify, lol! I will post pics and such as we get the work done.

Anyways, Hello one and all and Happy Smoking!

 

[bbq engineer]

Welcome OKlahoma,

Lots of good stuff and good people here. Post some pics when you get a chance, we love to see some good 'Que!

Just curious, Since you've been at this a while and in a lot of different regions, what is the most unusual regional (but generally accepted) thing that you have run across as it applies to making top notch bbq?

BBQ Eng.

 

[m1tanker78]

Welcome aboard SOS, many thanks for your service by the way. I'm sure you've lurked here a bit and know that there are a lot of friendly & knowledgeable folks here at SMF. What type of smoker are you currently running right now?

I like the fact that you're working on a unique rub - maybe someday you'll slip up and accidentally reveal the recipe ;) It's also cool that you're going to build a smoker. Be sure and take plenty of pics to document the build and post them here. We all love seeing the work in progress.

Once again, welcome to SMF

Tom

 

[irishteabear]

Welcome to SMF. Glad you joined us.

 

[grothe]

Welcome aboard...lookin forward to some pics of your build!!

 

[fired up]

Welcome aboard!

 

[txbbqman]

Welcome to the family, glad to have you.

Can't wait to see the build.

 

[azrocker]

Welcome Sok Lots of great wood in Oklahoma. Welcome!

 

[southoksmoker]

Hey thanks for the rousing welcome!

Engineer, I would have to say the most unusual thing I've seen used would be the fruits and palm fronds used in making Khalua Pig when in Hawaii. Now I know that Khalua Pig is not a traditional way of smoking(it is buried in the ground), but the meat has a very smoky yet sweet flavor when it is done right. When we did it, we had to have a local medicine man/shaman/witchdoctor come and bless the site and the pig before we could even start the fires. Was pretty cool, actually!

M1, right now I'm using a WalMart special. Bought this house and have been in the process of remodeling since day one. Should have just had one built I guess, as my wife has changed just everything about the house except the location. BUT, the fun now begins as the outside of the house gets done, and that includes the patio and the smoker. I'm pricing different materials, but would like to add a wood burning oven alongside the smoker. I guess my budget will determine that, lol.

As for the rub, yeah I'll probably post the recipe when I finally get it down. I'm looking for the right combination of sweet and spicy(for pork that is), and am experimenting with different cumin/curry combinations with the brown sugar along with crushed chiles. I also like to put a very slight coat of honey on the pork to help the rub to stick. Anyways, more as this comes together. Thanks again for the welcome!

 

[seenred]

Welcome from N.E. Oklahoma! Glad you joined us. It sounds like you will have plenty of advice and expertise to bring to the forum.

 

[southoksmoker]

One thing I have learned is that one can never learn enough. Expertise? From what I have seen on this forum, my only expertise is in eating, lol! I have SO MUCH more to learn, but that comes with time and experimentation I guess

 

[richoso1]

Thanks for the nice introduction, and welcome to the SMF. Looks like you're in for a nice project this coming summer. It's all good.

 

[smokeguy]

Welcome to SMF. Part of the fun is trying different rubs and when you think you have the perfect one, trying others to compare against it. Look forward to seeing your build!

 

[desertlites]

welcome aboard,glad u found us-astray.com-search rubs-a few ideas in there

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Welcome to the family

Sounds to me like you're gonna be bruning sticks

(hope you don't mean to use that-YUK-char stuff)LMAO

Us stickbruners need more
recruits

Have fun and HAPPY SMOKES
Stan aka Old School BBQ
aka BBQFANS

 

[southoksmoker]

I have 2 pecan trees on my property that that are more of a nuisance than anything and they are coming down in the next couple of weeks. I also have 2 peach trees that died out in last summers floods. Was hoping they would come back this year, but no luck. Gonna be some good smoking wood there!

One good thing about living in this part of the country is I have access to lots of pecan and oak, as fields are cleared for farming and ranching. I was headed south a few weeks ago to Texas and passed a MONSTER field of mesquite growing on a ranchers property. Gonna stop in with a brisket or two and see if I can tempt him into letting me harvest some of it. The only thing I am having trouble with here is, finding fruit woods. Not many apple or pear orchards here

 

[azrocker]

http://www.oklahomafood.coop/shop/producers/peacr.php

 

[BandCollector]

Welcome from Pittsburgh, PA

 

[carpetride]

Welcome aboard!