Hello from another Canuck

exmilitary · Sep 24, 2015

Not really new to the grilling life, but new here, obviously ;)

Hailing from Edmonton Alberta, I recently rediscovered charcoal after 20+ years of gassers. I was bitten by the charcoal bug in 2010 when I got a Cobb as a gift from my wife and we smoked our first pieces of pork. We even managed a 9lb prime rib roast on it a few Christmases ago. It was then we discovered we need more room.

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exmilitary
Sep 24, 2015

Moved on to a Master Forge dual grill (two lids and everything).

2013 - 1

exmilitary
Sep 24, 2015

Essentially eliminating the need for our WeberQ that I now regret giving away - for no other reason than we miss the convenience of it for a week night burger fry.

Didn't really like (or investigate) the poor performance on the charcoal side of the Master Forge. I didn't find this site until after we recently (this summer) picked up our Weber Kettle 22.5. Haven't touched the propane grill more than three times since. (not counting the portable cheap Canadian Tire camping bbq)

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exmilitary
Sep 24, 2015

(this was taken when we were camping in the mountains on Labour day weekend)

Tonight I'm picking up a vertical propane smoker (either a Master Forge or Masterbuilt Pro, both of which are the dual door models). So we currently own 4 units... The Mrs is getting a little concerned with me.

As for the "username", I served 10 years in the Canadian Forces, most of which was in the infantry. (The 3rd Bn, Royal Canadian Regiment for those in the know)

I think that's about it for now. Now it's time to jump back to the forums and finish deciding on which smoker will fit our needs/wants/budget the best.

Cheers,
John
Pro Patria

tropics · Sep 24, 2015

John Welcome to SMF and Thank You for serving your country.

Now that you are here have fun read lots of post,it will help get ya in trouble cooking all the time.LOL

Use the search bar ask questions post your ques we love pics

Richie

exmilitary · Sep 24, 2015

Thanks Richie, thanks to you as well. As for reading, was cruising around as a guest for months, essentially getting a feel for the joint, so to speak.

Trouble? As an old grunt, I definitely don't need help in that department. I'm dysfunctional as it is lol. Have loads of pics of various cooks/smokes but the tablet is having "memory shortage" issues, so I may have to laptop it. Might have to double check what I have the forum settings at...

Thanks for the welcome

John

exmilitary · Sep 24, 2015

Got the image thing sorted out. Just used my phone to edit my first post. Tablet wasn't opening the pop-up windows to be able to upload them. Good to go now.

tropics · Sep 24, 2015

Exmilitary said:
Got the image thing sorted out. Just used my phone to edit my first post. Tablet wasn't opening the pop-up windows to be able to upload them. Good to go now.

LOL I just figured out how to email a pic to myself from the ****Phone.

Have fun Brother

Richie

exmilitary · Sep 24, 2015

I think it took longer to unpackage the parts than it did to assemble.

A little locktite on some of the bolts and then I'll hit it with fire rated red rtv sealant on the doors and other joints I can see light through. Tomorrow, the initial burn to cook out any residue.

So stoked...

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exmilitary
Sep 24, 2015

mike5051 · Sep 24, 2015

Nice John!

Welcome to the group.

Mike

exmilitary · Sep 25, 2015

mike5051 said:
Nice John!

Welcome to the group.

Mike

Thanks Mike. Looking forward to getting her fired up. The reviews here were pretty much tied between that and the Masterbuilt. The deciding factor was who had it in stock.

Canadian Tire (Canada's answer to Pep Boys with housewares and sporting goods thrown in for good measure) has a re-branded version of the Masterbuilt on sale for the same price, but I have a feeling there may have been some differences (lack of the ability to use charcoal etc). I do like the fact that the propane bottle mounts directly on the Master Forge.

Time will tell, but I'm confident I'll get it running to my preferences ;) The little lady likes it so far, and that's the main thing.

John

exmilitary · Sep 26, 2015

Well, break in was done. Now it's time to see how she performs. Pork back ribs and 2 pork picnic roasts (to pull later on tonight). Loving the amount of meat that can be stuffed in here and still have room to spare. Once the roasts reduced in size, I added 4 brats in there too.

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exmilitary
Sep 26, 2015

mike5051 · Sep 26, 2015

Looking good John! That is a lotta meat in that smoker! I'll be watching

Mike

exmilitary · Sep 26, 2015

mike5051 said:
Looking good John! That is a lotta meat in that smoker! I'll be watching :popcorn

Mike

Well, the ribs were a hit. Sausages, well, smoky goodness. We couldn't finish so that means leftovers. Sadly we didn't get pics of those.

However, the picnics are still cruising along in the Forge. Haven't reached stall yet and they've been in for about 6 hours.

I think because I've never done this much meat so late in the day, it's going to be a late night. I was on a delivery to the oil sands up north and didn't get home until 1 this afternoon :(

Not sure if I could speed things up without ruining the end result... Or turn down the heat to 225 (it's at 260 at the moment, following a recipe from Steve Raichlen) and let them ride through the night?

On edit: after quick searching through here and other forums, I'm way low smoker temp. Sitting just shy of 300 now and we've almost, finally, reached stall temp.... Live and learn

mike5051 said:
I smoke my butts at 225 and just wait them out. It can take up to 2 hrs per pound. If ya need to get some rest, lower the temp and let them ride.

Mike

Edited instead of posting again. Decided to soldier on. Worth it. Besides, the extra reading here in the forum and extra articles helped a ton. 11 hrs later we reach 200*. They're sitting wrapped in the cooler. This is all so new to me.

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exmilitary
Sep 27, 2015

This was about an hour ago, when I was tugging on the bone checking. No dice, let her roll on to the 200 mark...

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exmilitary
Sep 27, 2015

5 minutes ago, before they went for a nap in the cooler. It's only 1:20 AM and World Poker will pass the time until I start to pull them. God they smell so good!

Next time I post, it'll be in the appropriate area instead of derailing my own "roll call" ;)

mike5051 · Sep 26, 2015

I smoke my butts at 225 and just wait them out. It can take up to 2 hrs per pound. If ya need to get some rest, lower the temp and let them ride.

Mike

gary s · Sep 28, 2015

Wow really looks good

gary

exmilitary · Sep 28, 2015

gary s said:
Wow really looks good

gary

Thanks Gary, suffice it to say, the leftover pulled pork sliders were a hit. :) Next session will be posted in the appropriate arena

bobbyt · Dec 26, 2015

Already learned a lot from this post. Just wondering how a dry rub would effect the cooking time. Don't want to burn it first time out.

Hello from another Canuck

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