- Aug 31, 2008
- 7
- 10
Hi all,
Just moved to the Portland area two years ago from Hawaii. Before you say anything about me being crazy, Hawaii is a nice place to visit, but after 45+ years, I was tired of the traffic, crowds, and high prices. I do miss surfing every morning at sunrise before work, and after work when I could. :( But I love Portland way more than Hawaii, even without the surf.
Anyway, back on the Hawaii Homestead I had a large horizontal smoker with the charcoal bin on the side. Here, I have downsized to a townhouse so I've been looking for a small smoker that wouldn't offend the neighbors, (too much). I was about to pull the trigger on a 2 door vertical smoker at Home Depot when I saw a mini horizontal smoker at Wal-mart. Perfect!
I've done some mods to it, but the d*mn lid doesn't fit right. Spent some time with it today trying to straighten it out, but I think I just might have to apply hi-temp silicone around the edge to get a good seal and be happy with that. (sigh). I wonder if I can return it to Wal-mart after having used it a few times? Its not a big deal, but it bugs me a little. It probably just means I get what I pay for - its an el cheapo after all.
Other than that I've lengthened the chimney inside, added baffels and other metal shields to try and minimize hot spots, and messed with the hinges to try to get the lid to sit on straight. Like I said, everything's great 'cept the lid. Argh.
So, in the week I've had it I have smoked a side of ribs as a test run, then a chicken and a duck with some salmon to fill the blank spaces on the grill, and tomorrow I plan to do a pork shoulder I've had brining since Friday along with an unidentified piece of beef from the freezer. I'm also trying out smoking some eggplant to make Baba Ghanoush. Seems like a smoked eggplant would make amazing Baba Ghanoush, doesn't it? Will report on that later.
Up till now, so far so good, everything is finger licking good and no complaints from the neighbors. Of course, I'm always dropping off 'q to them too. Seems to me like temp is easier to maintain than on my previous larger smoker. I've yet to get a new temp guage, but I've remounted the one out of the box a bit lower and it reads just below 200', which could mean 450', who knows with this cheap rig.
When I'm not messing around with the smoker at home I'm a cook by trade. We use a huge Traeger on a trailer for brisket and turkey at work. Its not much fun - set it and forget it - but the result is good. I like my lump charcoal smoker at home for a more interesting time.
So its great to find this site. Everyone seems so helpful and friendly. I think I'll be on here a lot. I have a lot to learn and look forward to gathering lots of info from your experiences.
Nice to meet you all.
Walt
Just moved to the Portland area two years ago from Hawaii. Before you say anything about me being crazy, Hawaii is a nice place to visit, but after 45+ years, I was tired of the traffic, crowds, and high prices. I do miss surfing every morning at sunrise before work, and after work when I could. :( But I love Portland way more than Hawaii, even without the surf.
Anyway, back on the Hawaii Homestead I had a large horizontal smoker with the charcoal bin on the side. Here, I have downsized to a townhouse so I've been looking for a small smoker that wouldn't offend the neighbors, (too much). I was about to pull the trigger on a 2 door vertical smoker at Home Depot when I saw a mini horizontal smoker at Wal-mart. Perfect!
I've done some mods to it, but the d*mn lid doesn't fit right. Spent some time with it today trying to straighten it out, but I think I just might have to apply hi-temp silicone around the edge to get a good seal and be happy with that. (sigh). I wonder if I can return it to Wal-mart after having used it a few times? Its not a big deal, but it bugs me a little. It probably just means I get what I pay for - its an el cheapo after all.
Other than that I've lengthened the chimney inside, added baffels and other metal shields to try and minimize hot spots, and messed with the hinges to try to get the lid to sit on straight. Like I said, everything's great 'cept the lid. Argh.
So, in the week I've had it I have smoked a side of ribs as a test run, then a chicken and a duck with some salmon to fill the blank spaces on the grill, and tomorrow I plan to do a pork shoulder I've had brining since Friday along with an unidentified piece of beef from the freezer. I'm also trying out smoking some eggplant to make Baba Ghanoush. Seems like a smoked eggplant would make amazing Baba Ghanoush, doesn't it? Will report on that later.
Up till now, so far so good, everything is finger licking good and no complaints from the neighbors. Of course, I'm always dropping off 'q to them too. Seems to me like temp is easier to maintain than on my previous larger smoker. I've yet to get a new temp guage, but I've remounted the one out of the box a bit lower and it reads just below 200', which could mean 450', who knows with this cheap rig.
When I'm not messing around with the smoker at home I'm a cook by trade. We use a huge Traeger on a trailer for brisket and turkey at work. Its not much fun - set it and forget it - but the result is good. I like my lump charcoal smoker at home for a more interesting time.
So its great to find this site. Everyone seems so helpful and friendly. I think I'll be on here a lot. I have a lot to learn and look forward to gathering lots of info from your experiences.
Nice to meet you all.
Walt
