Hello All,
My brother, who lives seven hours from me, has been involved in serious BBQ for a number of years. He has competed in "the Jack" several times and I had the privilege of joining him on one trip. I've always been passive except the eating phase of BBQ. About 2 years ago he purchased a large propane smoker for use in catering BBQ and I was impressed on how good BBQ came out of that smoker. So this year I bought into the community with the purchase of the GOSM with the hopes of not having to drive seven hours to taste good 'Q, or to master smoke control with wood.
I've already made the needle valve modification and purchased the Maverick remote thermometer. My first smoke was a chicken (brined); my second was one rack of baby back ribs and a small pork loin (brined); and my third is a pork shoulder for pulled pork (bought too small). All scenarios were pulled from this board and I am very happy with the results. My family will be enjoying BBQ and sharing good food with neighbors and friends.
Current comments and questions I haven't found here yet:
1) I found the needle valve has about 5 1/2 turns of control, but all of the control I use is about 45 degrees of the last half turn before fully shut: is this typical? I had concerns with my first use of shutting down too far and extinguishing my flame, but once I found the sweet spot for control I was able to keep the temp right where I wanted it. By the way, my door thermometer is right on with the Maverick.
2) I've used packaged wood chips for smoke. After about an hour, I pull out the pan and see a lot of smoldering (black) wood that I replace. A little while later, all that smoldering wood has become white ash. Am I changing the wood too soon? I base my decision to refresh when I don't see any more smoke coming out of the top.
So thanks to all the good info posted here - this is a wonderful resource!
Little_Wolf (aka John)
Two Rivers, Wisconsin
My brother, who lives seven hours from me, has been involved in serious BBQ for a number of years. He has competed in "the Jack" several times and I had the privilege of joining him on one trip. I've always been passive except the eating phase of BBQ. About 2 years ago he purchased a large propane smoker for use in catering BBQ and I was impressed on how good BBQ came out of that smoker. So this year I bought into the community with the purchase of the GOSM with the hopes of not having to drive seven hours to taste good 'Q, or to master smoke control with wood.
I've already made the needle valve modification and purchased the Maverick remote thermometer. My first smoke was a chicken (brined); my second was one rack of baby back ribs and a small pork loin (brined); and my third is a pork shoulder for pulled pork (bought too small). All scenarios were pulled from this board and I am very happy with the results. My family will be enjoying BBQ and sharing good food with neighbors and friends.
Current comments and questions I haven't found here yet:
1) I found the needle valve has about 5 1/2 turns of control, but all of the control I use is about 45 degrees of the last half turn before fully shut: is this typical? I had concerns with my first use of shutting down too far and extinguishing my flame, but once I found the sweet spot for control I was able to keep the temp right where I wanted it. By the way, my door thermometer is right on with the Maverick.
2) I've used packaged wood chips for smoke. After about an hour, I pull out the pan and see a lot of smoldering (black) wood that I replace. A little while later, all that smoldering wood has become white ash. Am I changing the wood too soon? I base my decision to refresh when I don't see any more smoke coming out of the top.
So thanks to all the good info posted here - this is a wonderful resource!
Little_Wolf (aka John)
Two Rivers, Wisconsin
