- Oct 26, 2015
- 12
- 11
Hello all,
Just wanted to introduce myself to the forum. My cooking started out with the traditional 22 inch Weber kettle for mostly grilling. Over the years I became interested in BBQ, after I got good at making BBQ /smoked chicken thighs indirectly on the Weber. My family loved the chicken thighs, so I had that nice built in reinforcement from loved ones. That led to me to moving on to a Chargriller offset smoker that I've used over the past 10 years or so. I dubbed it "The Radiator" because that seems to be its main function...to radiate as much heat as possible from the firebox before it reaches the food. My friends dubbed me the "fireman" because I looked like the guy on the steam train shoveling coal into the firebox (ok fine, I exaggerate
but it was frustrating how much fuel that thing went through). I did a lot of cooks on that Chargriller with butts and briskets, but it was stressful because of the kind of tending it needed, especially since a buddy of mine that I cook with has an older New Braunsfeld (one of the good ones) that is sweet and needs next to no fuel in comparison. Needless to say, the Chargriller is a rusted heap right now, but it served it's purpose and I got a few big cooks out if it for extended family and friends.
Last year, I was really thinking of getting a decent smoker, but in the end decided on getting a bigger 26 inch Weber Kettle, since I had at least mastered BBQ chicken thighs on kettles, and the budget couldn't reach any higher. Glad I bought it. I can easily smoke 18 thighs at a time on that thing, which is good because with three kids and my wife, we still end up with some leftovers for the week. My purchase of that 26 inch kettle effectively put me out of the market for anything else.
However, circumstances recently changed and that led me to start looking around for a “proper” smoker. After looking around at various threads on this site, I decided on that the Peoria Custom Cooker-Backyard model was the one for me. Yesterday, I ended up placing the order! I went with the insulated firebox, a fourth leg, and an extra thermometer. Excited is a mild term for how I’m feeling right now.
Now its time to wait patiently, and hoping for good weather to make the four hour drive to PCC in order to pick it up in a month or two. I’m planning on renting a uhaul pickup and trailer to go and get it. I don’t have any experience with towing, but I’m taking a friend with some experience to help me keep out of trouble. If anyone has advice on strapping down and towing a chunk of metal like the PCC, feel free to share.
Thanks for reading...
Just wanted to introduce myself to the forum. My cooking started out with the traditional 22 inch Weber kettle for mostly grilling. Over the years I became interested in BBQ, after I got good at making BBQ /smoked chicken thighs indirectly on the Weber. My family loved the chicken thighs, so I had that nice built in reinforcement from loved ones. That led to me to moving on to a Chargriller offset smoker that I've used over the past 10 years or so. I dubbed it "The Radiator" because that seems to be its main function...to radiate as much heat as possible from the firebox before it reaches the food. My friends dubbed me the "fireman" because I looked like the guy on the steam train shoveling coal into the firebox (ok fine, I exaggerate
Last year, I was really thinking of getting a decent smoker, but in the end decided on getting a bigger 26 inch Weber Kettle, since I had at least mastered BBQ chicken thighs on kettles, and the budget couldn't reach any higher. Glad I bought it. I can easily smoke 18 thighs at a time on that thing, which is good because with three kids and my wife, we still end up with some leftovers for the week. My purchase of that 26 inch kettle effectively put me out of the market for anything else.
However, circumstances recently changed and that led me to start looking around for a “proper” smoker. After looking around at various threads on this site, I decided on that the Peoria Custom Cooker-Backyard model was the one for me. Yesterday, I ended up placing the order! I went with the insulated firebox, a fourth leg, and an extra thermometer. Excited is a mild term for how I’m feeling right now.
Now its time to wait patiently, and hoping for good weather to make the four hour drive to PCC in order to pick it up in a month or two. I’m planning on renting a uhaul pickup and trailer to go and get it. I don’t have any experience with towing, but I’m taking a friend with some experience to help me keep out of trouble. If anyone has advice on strapping down and towing a chunk of metal like the PCC, feel free to share.
Thanks for reading...