J-Q in the Midwest

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speedj

Newbie
Original poster
Jun 7, 2016
24
22
Hi all,



Just wanted to drop by and say hello, I'm J from the midwest I've been grilling for years. I got bit by the smoking bug last year after binge watching BBQ Pitmasters and decided to try my hand using our Webber Kettle Grill, first attempt turned out great so I had a 4th of July party and put up 8 slabs of Baby Backs on it, man that was a full day and mighty stressful. After that my significant other and I sat down and talked about plans to maybe get a purposebuilt smoker as opposed to working the magic on the Webber. Unfortunately we sideburnered it for a bit which leads me to this year. Picked up a 40" Masterbuilt Vertical Propane Smoker off of Amazon and got to work with a couple modifications (pictures to come shortly) I've been a long time lurker of this forum but figured it was high time to post up and introduce myself as I've gotten so many good bits of advice from here. Here's to the first smoke of the year and a rousing success.



J, looking forward to getting to know you all.



Reserved for pictures:
 
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Added a nice picture of the smoker so you guys can see a couple of the Modifications I did, added wheels to move this bad boy around, as well as changed out the regulator out of the box over to the Bayou Classic one people post about. Used a Webber remote remote thermometer to start then started having some issues with it so ordered an Ivation 738 system for it, after borrowing the kitchen unit. Also tried my hand at making my own seal with RTV but I think it turned out way shoddy so ordered up a gasket kit from BBQ Gaskets to put on later this week, hopefully in time to smoke a pork butt or two this weekend. Also ordered a different set of latches, I'd like to figure out what those brass press fit nuts are that currently hold the door latch on, does anyone know? I'd like to put three of them one on top, middle (replacing the current one) and bottom of the door, or would that be overkill?

J  
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Welcome to the forum!

Glad you finally decided to join us!

Those are some great mods & you Q looks delicious!

Al
 
Thanks for the welcome Al! I've really gotten bit by the smoking bug that's for sure. It's sad when you go out with the family and think to yourself you could cook up the same meal for less and taste better at home. Thinking this summer will be a lot of enjoyable hours sat outside just enjoying the sights sounds and smells. Any recoomendations for a working guy for things to smoke during the week when you are short on time? Been thinking maybe some chicken breasts would be good? Any good recipes?

Looking forward to expanding my repertoire for sure.

Keep calm and cue on :)

J
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Welcome to the Forum, DJ! I added wheels to my MB gasser and to this day it's the best mod ever..
Those bacon wrapped hot dog jalapeno things look great!
Looking forward to more from you.
Dan

:welcome1:
 
Thanks for the welcomes Joe & Dan. Dan those are "ABT's" you can find a lot of recipes for them online by searching for ABT Jalapenos
  • 10 jalapeno peppers (cut in half)
  • 10 sweet snack peppers (I substitute these for my kids as they find jalapeno to be too spicy)
  • 20 slices bacon (thin sliced makes this cook quicker) you can always half this if you want by cutting the bacon in half on an angle
  • 20 smokies (may be called cocktail weiners) I use ones with cheddar or all beef depending
  • 8 oz philadelphia cream cheese
  • 8 oz philadelphia cream cheese (chive & onion if you don't feel like prepping shallots) so you would remove the shallots below from the recipe
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 tbsp of your favorite rub (you can kick if up with ancho/chili/cayenne if you so desire)
  • 2 shallots, minced (remove if you substitute chive & onion cream cheese)
Substitutions marked in red

Prep:

These are very easy to prep, just cut the jalapenos in half and remove the seeds/membrane, set them aside. I set the cream cheese out to soften before I begin prepping these, in a bowl mix up the shallots, cream cheese, sharp cheddar cheese and BBQ rub. Take a spoonful of this spread per each pepper half or eyeball it really, fill the pepper with it and then press in a smokie. After that's done wrap each pepper in bacon and hold in place with a toothpick if need be (helps them hold their shape better) but last time I skipped that as we were out of toothpicks.

Cooking:

During one of your one hour spritzes slide these bad boys into the smoker, by the time an hour or two is up these should be done (looking for the bacon to be cooked through) and ready to disappear off your platter in record time.

Let me know how you like them, my family loves them 
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 I've been loving the wheel modification for sure, got some latches in the other day to see if I can replace and add a few more to the current door fastening system. Also got in my Ivation 738 the other day, just need some batteries. Thinking this weekend will be a couple pork butts...

grilling_smilie.gif
 
 
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Hi all,

Just wanted to drop by and say hello, I'm J from the midwest I've been grilling for years. I got bit by the smoking bug last year after binge watching BBQ Pitmasters and decided to try my hand using our Webber Kettle Grill, first attempt turned out great so I had a 4th of July party and put up 8 slabs of Baby Backs on it, man that was a full day and mighty stressful. After that my significant other and I sat down and talked about plans to maybe get a purposebuilt smoker as opposed to working the magic on the Webber. Unfortunately we sideburnered it for a bit which leads me to this year. Picked up a 40" Masterbuilt Vertical Propane Smoker off of Amazon and got to work with a couple modifications (pictures to come shortly) I've been a long time lurker of this forum but figured it was high time to post up and introduce myself as I've gotten so many good bits of advice from here. Here's to the first smoke of the year and a rousing success.

J, looking forward to getting to know you all.

Reserved for pictures:
That's some nice Q!  "Points"
The finished product, enjoy. Skin came out rubbery, not sure how to cure that.

J
More points for that turkey!  Nicely done.  The skin on poultry will be an issue with the MES.  You need crisp it up at high temps after smoking.  You can put it on a hot grill or in the oven at about 400 for a few minutes to get that skin crisp.

Mike
 
Looks like a mighty fine smoker from here. Hope you're enjoying it!
Thanks for the kind words Lance truly enjoying it so far, can't wait to get some runs this weekend with the new controller.

J
 
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