My WSM comes tomorrow - I can't flippin' wait

rockymtnsmoker · Mar 18, 2016

I'm so amped about having my 18.5 WSM being delivered tomorrow. I started smoking about seven years ago on a Weber kettle with the Smokenator attachment. I moved on to a first-gen MES, which I love (and will keep), but I always missed the whole charcoal process and the smoke ring. And because using an electric for years has robbed me of my ability or desire to monitor temperature on overnight smokes, I sprung for a Cyber-Q controller. Just like when I got the MES, it's always so fun to take that new smoker out of the box. So much hope; so much promise. I'll probably even think in my head about how shiny it looks and how I really will clean it all the time. (I never do.) No questions here - just pure, unbridled excitement.

SmokinAl · Mar 18, 2016

Congrats on the new smoker!

What you gonna smoke on the first run?

Al

dirtsailor2003 · Mar 18, 2016

I love my 18.5. I don't use it that often, but when I do it runs rock solid. We've even used the base as a fire pit when camping during fire restrictions. Works great!

phatbac · Mar 18, 2016

Great buy! Congrats on the new smoker. i remember when my WSM came in the Mail from amazon it was like christmas morning! it was awesome.

Let me get some pics on here since ya know we all love pics!

WSMbox.jpg

phatbac
Feb 26, 2015

WSMassmbled.jpg

phatbac
Feb 26, 2015

WSMfire.jpg

phatbac
Feb 26, 2015

WSMsmoker.jpg

phatbac
Feb 26, 2015

I got mine in Feb so i had to smoke in the snow...but dont let little things like freezing temps stop you

fire that bad boy up when you et it and smoke some food!

Happy Smoking,

phatbac (Aaron)

joe black · Mar 18, 2016

Congratulations on your new cooker. They are really nice. Don't worry too much about cleaning, the finish is great.

jp61 · Mar 18, 2016

Congrats on your new smoker! You'll love it! Enjoy!

b-one · Mar 18, 2016

Cograts! What's going on for the first smoke hope you have everything ready to go!!

rockymtnsmoker · Mar 21, 2016

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I think my first smoke will be a few pork shoulders. Really can't go wrong on the maiden voyage with some pulled pork. I can't wait to bury some chunks of wood in the charcoal and fire up a chimney starter. Just like old times. We're visiting family in Hawaii next month, so I'm going to try to get my hands on some kiawe wood chunks for future smokes.

Love the pics phatbac, but believe it or not, Amazon didn't come through on the delivery. We order from them a lot and every once in a while we'll have an order that says it's shipped, never shows, and they delivery date is expected in the past. Right now I'm seeing the "Sorry your package is late" notice. The tracking doesn't have any updates after the initial pickup, either. They'll usually do a refund or ship overnight to make up for it, but I'm pretty bummed because I had my hopes up to get it up and chuggin' this past weekend.

joe black · Mar 21, 2016

I know you're getting excited. I hope everything works out for you with the butts. Be sure there's enough for all of us.

Be careful about the wood chunks in Hawaii. They have some funky rules about taking agricultural products out of there. Maybe you could try to burn pineapple chunks. They will really load up a plane with them. The first time I was there, we left and were loaded so heavy with pineapples that we couldn't make our cruising altitude until we had burned off some fuel. Go figure. Just check it out. You don't want to have to throw a couple of bags of kiawe chunks in an airport trash can.

Good luck with your new WSM and enjoy your trip. Joe. :yahoo:

rockymtnsmoker · Mar 21, 2016

Thanks, Joe. That's good advice about bringing things back from Hawaii. You inspired me to do a little research on the USDA restrictions from Hawaii and luckily wood is one of the permitted items as long as it goes through normal airport USDA inspection. (And that includes driftwood and sticks! Sticks from Hawaii - great for last-minute gifts for friends back home!)

I think large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables are the most likely items to cause problems. Last year I was trying to figure out how if I could take ramboutan back to the mainland, and it requires some USDA treatment and boxing, so it was too much trouble. Then in June my mother-in-law came up from Hawaii to visit us she brought pounds of them in a grocery sack. Hit or miss, I guess.

If any USDA agents are reading this, fear not; I composted the seeds and there are no ramboutan trees growing in my back yard.

dirtsailor2003 · Mar 21, 2016

RockyMtnSmoker said:
Thanks, Joe. That's good advice about bringing things back from Hawaii. You inspired me to do a little research on the USDA restrictions from Hawaii and luckily wood is one of the permitted items as long as it goes through normal airport USDA inspection. (And that includes driftwood and sticks! Sticks from Hawaii - great for last-minute gifts for friends back home!)

I think large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables are the most likely items to cause problems. Last year I was trying to figure out how if I could take ramboutan back to the mainland, and it requires some USDA treatment and boxing, so it was too much trouble. Then in June my mother-in-law came up from Hawaii to visit us she brought pounds of them in a grocery sack. Hit or miss, I guess.

If any USDA agents are reading this, fear not; I composted the seeds and there are no ramboutan trees growing in my back yard.

The best way and cheapest way to get stuff from Hawaii back to the mainland is to ship it using the USPS flat rate boxes. Way cheaper than paying for extra baggage fees through the airlines. That is how I shipped things when I lived there to the mainland. Also how I get my kiawe now. Pick up some mango wood while you're there too.

rockymtnsmoker · Mar 21, 2016

dirtsailor2003 said:
Also how I get my kiawe now.

Do you buy it when you're in Hawaii and ship or just order from one of the places that sells it online? I only ask because I'm not exactly sure where to buy it down there. My brother-in-law works at Halekulani and a few years back one of the chefs gave him a few Santa Claus sacks full of kiawe logs to give to me. It would've cost a fortune to ship it all back, so I stuffed a few in the flat-rate boxes and gave like 95% of it back. Not sure if I can do that again so I'd like to have a backup plan of a place where I can buy it.

dirtsailor2003 · Mar 21, 2016

RockyMtnSmoker said:
Do you buy it when you're in Hawaii and ship or just order from one of the places that sells it online? I only ask because I'm not exactly sure where to buy it down there. My brother-in-law works at Halekulani and a few years back one of the chefs gave him a few Santa Claus sacks full of kiawe logs to give to me. It would've cost a fortune to ship it all back, so I stuffed a few in the flat-rate boxes and gave like 95% of it back. Not sure if I can do that again so I'd like to have a backup plan of a place where I can buy it.

I have a friend on the Big island that sends me Kiawe. He gets it on job sites that he clears. I pay for the large flat rate box and a six pack of beer to cover the time it takes him to drive to the post office. Usually a large flat rate box with 4" round chunks will last me about 6 months.

joe black · Mar 21, 2016

RMS, Next time you're there, try to bring a bird back and see how excited those guys get. That's a real scene to watch. You could sell tickets.

Have a good trip. Bring back some Kona coffee. Joe

rockymtnsmoker · Jun 9, 2016

Way late on the pics. I love this smoker.

My WSM comes tomorrow - I can't flippin' wait

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