Hello From Iowa!

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sparkee

Newbie
Original poster
May 4, 2015
21
10
Central Iowa
Hello all! I just started smoking in March of 15 and so far I have had mixed results but more than anything I have enjoyed the learning process.
I live in central Iowa and I have been using the brinkman El Cheapo so far. I made The basic mods to it to get it up and going but it's a constant battle to keep the temp steady. I added a vent on the lid, 4 adjustable vents to the charcoal pan, added grates to the charcoal pan, added an oven door seal around the lid, and moved the legs to the outside. I Have been experimenting with different charcoal and so far I've had the best luck with the Royal Oak Lump Hardwood. It seems to get my temp up to about a steady 200 which is the best I can maintain on the Brinkman.
My dad has an Original Oklahoma Joe (not to be confused with the new Oklahoma Joe's) and my brother in law has a horizon. In my research for a new smoker I really like the quality and value in the original Oklahoma Joe's so I now plan to pick up my new toy this Friday. I will be posting more about it when it is here.
Thank you already to Tulsa Jeff and Pops. I have read many of articles and posts from both of you and really appreciate the wealth of knowledge that the 2 of you share with everyone.
Well for now thats all.
Happy smoking!
 
Sparkee, welcome from a fellow Iowan. I live in Johnston and started smoking food about 3 years ago. Has been a fun journey, enjoy!  Let me know if you have questions, but the guys and gals here have been a great help to me.

Chris
 
Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David
 
texas.gif
  Good afternoon and welcome to the forum, from a nice warm windy day here in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

Gary
 
Welcome from SC, Sparkee. I'm sure you have already determined that this is the right place to be. There are lots of folks here that have tons of knowledge and they are always eager to share ideas, tips, recipes and anything else that you may need. You didn't exactly say, but I assume that you are getting an OKJ. As you alluded to, there is a huge difference from old to new, but you just may have better results no matter which one it is. At least you are using the right charcoal product, IMHO. Good luck and good smoking. Let us know how it turns out, Joe

And send some pics of that new toy.
 
Thanks for the support everyone! Always great to meet other local smokers Chris! I live in Mitchellville.
I just posted my first finished bacon. It is lacking many pictures since I started it before joining the forum but I got it up here anyway.
And hello Joe! The I agree there is a huge difference in the original and the post buyout OKJs. The originals are still plentiful on craigslist and I am quite happy with the one I found but can't pick it up till Friday. Can't wait to get it!
 
Glad you scored on CL, Sparkee. I think that a lot of folks, me included, get all worked up about a new smoker and overlook the good stuff still out there. My biggest problem is not being very astute at shopping on CL. Also, in the south, nobody sells cookers. Look around, you'll find guys listing 8, 12,....87 cookers of various types sitting in his backyard. Funny thing is he likes a special cooker for a special recipe and over the course of a year, he will use all 87 cookers at least once. Good luck, Joe
 
Here it is... The new toy! Found it on craigslist 3 hours away from me and just stopped at a rest area on the way home for pictures. Its an original Oklahoma Joe's that has been highly modified and has been used for competition. All the work was done by a fabrication shop in Omaha... Don't have their name but wish I did. The reverse flow mod was made using specs that were provided by the original Oklahoma Joe's company.
Quite the upgrade from my ECB but now I have questions on how to use wood for heat. In the ECB I used royal oak lump but now I want to use wood logs for my heat. What kind of wood is good to use? I have Apple wood for my smoking wood.
 
Greats looking score. As far as RO vs. wood, what I did is start with a fair sized load of RO and get a good bed of coals with a couple of small applies and then just keep the wood going.
 
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