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  1. ben franklin

    camp chef xxl vertical pellet smoker

    Thanks so much for the reply gsp1. (a quick guess -- "GSP" is "Greenville/Spartanburg airport." You wouldn't be near me in Asheville would you? I have posted a direct inquiry to Jeff on the XXL -- but I'm going with it unless I hear something bad. Your response is much appreciated!
  2. ben franklin

    camp chef xxl vertical pellet smoker

    So sorry gsp1 -- but I was searching the site for answer to the exact same question. I purchased the Woodwind with Sear Box after giving my Traeger Li'l Tex to a relative. I've enjoyed it -- though the build quality isn't what you'd call "heavy duty". Am looking for something with larger...
  3. ben franklin

    Wet Wood Pellets

    Thanks guys! Just got them in ahead of the NEXT storm -- nasty around North Chicago this afternoon. After looking them over I will definitely use them as "dust". No way they would feed in the augur on the pellet pooper. Live (and read...) and learn!
  4. ben franklin

    Wet Wood Pellets

    I got careless and let most of a bag of pellets absorb moisture during the stormy week here in the Midwest. Just discovered it last night when I went to do a tri-tip. I have them spread on the patio to dry right now -- but they look more like sawdust for the Amaz'n than pellets for the Traeger...
  5. ben franklin

    Family Reunion Pulled Pork w/Q-View

    Wow! This will teach me not to neglect checking the forum for a few weeks. I just did pulled pork, ribs and chicken for 45 + kids at our own family reunion last weekend. But I wasn't smart enough to cook ahead -- so a lot of work and not much sleep until after we sent all the relatives home...
  6. ben franklin

    NEW CINDER BLOCK SMOKER/GRILL

    We have been using much less sophisticated versions of the pit smoker at our hunting camps for years. The one at Deer Creek has been cooking for over 20 years that I know of. They consist of unmortared concrete blocks stacked on a sand bed for leveling. The pits are 4 blocks wide by 12blocks...
  7. ben franklin

    1st Kings of the season

    Beautiful fish AB! My wife and I did the Kenai two summers ago. Me on the fly rod and her on my back with a 50mm Nikon and a Mossberg 12 ga "sweeper". She's mighty handy to have around. Our freezer has been empty (of sockeye anyway) for a long time now though. And you are making me look at the...
  8. ben franklin

    Greetings from Chicago!

    You got great advice from Venture. I had been trying to cook decent ribs (in my estimation) by other methods for years. Par-boiling and grilling. Straight up low heat grilling. Oven recipes. Slow cooker recipes. Nothing matched the stuff we pulled out of the pits in the ground back in North...
  9. ben franklin

    best in smoke

    Here's one GOOD thing that came out of the show. I was so frustrated with the judging that I sent Chris Lilly an email via the "Contact Us" at BBG's BBQ Restaurant. Today I got a personal reply from Chis himself and an invitation to stop by and talk BBQ. He is every bit the genuine nice guy he...
  10. ben franklin

    Greetings from Chicago!

    Sounds like a great set up Don. If you are going to be wandering around the campground while smoking, I can suggest the new Maverick 732 remote digital meat thermometer as a good addition to your smoking arsenal. I just got mine and it is great. Two units with two probes. One probe for your...
  11. ben franklin

    Greetings from Chicago!

    Hi Don, and welcome to the forum! You are going to love smoking meat if you love the Dutchy and cast iron in general. That's how I got started as well. I'm also in the northern burbs so send me a private if you like and we'll see if we are close enough to share a summer evening smoke sometime...
  12. ben franklin

    best in smoke

    Well, at least we actually got to see them smoke some meat last night. My wife and I are having a great debate over who the show has set up to win. I'm betting on Famous Dave since he did all the pre-show publicity on the web -- but she thinks it's Matt. Figures they just want the tattooed New...
  13. ben franklin

    Ham Sale...So I Smoked One

    That fry job on the wild turkey breast strips sounds good too!  And I'll second the motion on the quality of the Chef's Choice products.
  14. ben franklin

    Ham Sale...So I Smoked One

    Definitely go with the bean soup. I smoked a 16 pounder for my wife's family at Easter and I think the best thing of all was the bean soup made with stock straight from the ham bone. Just drove back and forth across WI on 94 this weekend. Counted over 100 turkeys enjoying those newly planted...
  15. ben franklin

    best in smoke

    Thought the judging on the last episode was really lame! Challenge the guys to smoke for kids and then the judges give the blue ribbon to the one the kids spit out??? Come on! I really liked that "double oven" trick the guy came up with for the mac & cheese browning though. You gotta hand it to...
  16. ben franklin

    best in smoke

    Just got around to viewing the DVR of this last night. Gotta agree that this is more "reality TV" than "BBQ documentary". I certainly learned a thing or two -- and watching the kid from Mississippi struggle with his '52 firebox was kinda fun. But the melodrama of sending the "I'm gonna lose my...
  17. ben franklin

    help me smoke some ribs

    Welcome to the forum!  One tip on the ribs I learned is to buy yourself a pair of catfish skinning pliers. They make stripping that membrane off the back of the ribs a breeze compared to the way I used to do it with a boning knife or a fillet knife!
  18. ben franklin

    Pellets in a gas smoker??

    Looks like you already have ton of great advice there, BigBountyBBQ. All I can add is that my first "convenience smokes" (i.e. no pit in the ground or 4X10 cooking pits out back) were in a MES 30 electric and I had some similar issues. Went from soaking chips to dry chips to get more smoke --...
  19. ben franklin

    BBQ Goes Hollywood -- Food Network's "Best in Smoke" competition airing in May

    Famous Dave Anderson, BBQ legend and founder of Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que, along with Charlie Torgerson, director of culinary, will be featured in Food Network's Best In Smoke competition, a new four episode program that premieres Sunday, May 8, 2011. The article I saw on this series was in QSR...
  20. ben franklin

    Stranded in Chicago...

    Hope we can accommodate you soon franklin3!  Noticed the "Bay Area" location. We had dinner with some folks from Marin County last night. From the pictures they showed us and the stories they told -- you can shoot a turkey off your roof, lawn or driveway on any given day. Of course, then you...
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