2013 SOUTH FLORIDA GATHERING (THIRD ANNUAL GATHERING) NOV. 8-10TH COME JOIN IN..............

[boykjo]

"well" hard woods take 1 to 2 yrs to get to 20% moisture content so would we want to take a chance of ruining a smoke.... can we look around and find a local who sells firewood and pick up a truck load.. I have a bunch of pecan but I dont want to haul it all the way to florida and it will eat up a lot of my space... How much do you think we'll need

 

[rubbin butts]

The problem with most local firewood people is they will tell you it is seasoned when it is not. I've got plenty of oak that has been seasoned well over 2 years that I can bring, also will be bringing some pecan for Keith.

 

[jarjarchef]

No problem. I wanted to throw out there what I had available to me. Some like to use green woods. What we have normally is the branches we trim off the trees and stack in a pile to pull from as needed. Well the pile has gotten real small due to not much trimming and several bon fires and people grabbing the wrong wood. Ill look around to see what neighbors have and the age. Just doubt any of it will be stored or aged out of the elements....

 

[dougmays]

 
The problem with most local firewood people is they will tell you it is seasoned when it is not. I've got plenty of oak that has been seasoned well over 2 years that I can bring, also will be bringing some pecan for Keith.

Yea i think we'll be OK on wood, we have the stuff that Ron is bringing and i'm going to hit up a place near Gainesville that Ron told me about for some more. I had originally asked for wood because i'min Fort Lauderdale and its harder to come by but i'm actually moving up to Gainesville next week so i'll be back in the woods!

 

[rubbin butts]

 
Yea i think we'll be OK on wood, we have the stuff that Ron is bringing and i'm going to hit up a place near Gainesville that Ron told me about for some more. I had originally asked for wood because i'min Fort Lauderdale and its harder to come by but i'm actually moving up to Gainesville next week so i'll be back in the woods!

Life is great in the woods.

Doug, you going to be in Gainesville or out where your family is(did you say Archer)?

 

[JckDanls 07]

ok y'all... Wanting to get everybody's opinion on the "redneck portable smokehouse" (starting to lose sleep thinking about it).. what does everybody think about using the insulation board, foiled both sides ? 1/2 or 3/4 ?... all silver metal taped together ?....

OR

Should I just go ahead and build one out of plywood ? I have a stack of 3/8" plywood all precut for hurricane shutters for the house.... I could sacrifice a few pieces and build if before hand and do a test run in it... a few screws to put it together and take it apart... I can carry the plywood from the house in the bottom of the bed on the truck and still be able to stack other stuff on top of it... with the insulation board I wouldn't be able to stack much on it for crushing purposes...

with plywood I was going with 4x3x6 ?
Insulation board will be 3x3x6

I have been playing around with my pipe burner (haven't went BOOM yet).. LOL .. starting to get it dialed in... re purposed the controls and a lower pressure regulator from an old gas grill (would rather find a single burner unit tho)... worked better than the high pressure rig from a turkey fryer... just need to hunt up the proper fittings to connect it to the end cap on the pipe better.... Did y'all know that orifices in gas grills are changeable just like jets in a carburetor .... think there is a need for a heat sync/defuser over top of the burner... I can make that real quick at work... need to make a holder for the pipe still so I will also make the sync/defuser as well... think 3-4 inches above flame would be ok ?.... 1/4" plate, what 8"x24" ?

Joe... didn't you say you had a portable burner ? (just in case)... I'll have 3 bottles of propane so we should be good on that...

OK... thoughts and comments....

time is getting short ... so lets "get-er-done"

 

[s2k9k]

Keith, my only concern with the insulation board was will it be sturdy enough. You talked about just poking holes in it to thread the dowels through which concerned me that the weight could crack the board.
I think the plywood would be a lot better but that is up to you if you want to sacrifice it and do all that work (or are you just using this as an excuse to take it back home and set it up there:sausage:)
If you do go that route and still want to use my dowels remember they are exactly 36" so make sure there is a way to hang them.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Keith, my only concern with the insulation board was will it be sturdy enough. You talked about just poking holes in it to thread the dowels through which concerned me that the weight could crack the board.
I think the plywood would be a lot better but that is up to you if you want to sacrifice it and do all that work (or are you just using this as an excuse to take it back home and set it up there:sausage:)
If you do go that route and still want to use my dowels remember they are exactly 36" so make sure there is a way to hang them.

ether way Dave.. I am counting on your dowels... 36" exactly... I have 1x3's that I was going to drill (hole saw) 1" and then rip down the center for the dowel holders.... dowels are 1" correct.... or should I drill a 1 1/4" hole to give a little loser fit for the dowels ?

bringing it home and setting up was also dancing around in the back of my little mind... :biggrin:

 

[dmclalin]

I can help with the expenses with new wood and materials so you do not need to use your storm shutters. Let me know, I am not far from you. Let me know.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Thanks for the offer dm (Dan ?)... I'll keep that in mind...

 

[s2k9k]

My dowels are 3/4". I don't know if notching them is really necessary, I did the holders for my house the same way but then when I first hung sausage on a dowel I thought, "what are the notches for, the dowels can't roll with sausage hanging on them?" Most of the time I don't even use the notches because I didn't offset them so they will hang in a straight line down which doesn't work when I want to hang a row below a row.

 

[JckDanls 07]

My dowels are 3/4". I don't know if notching them is really necessary, I did the holders for my house the same way but then when I first hung sausage on a dowel I thought, "what are the notches for, the dowels can't roll with sausage hanging on them?" Most of the time I don't even use the notches because I didn't offset them so they will hang in a straight line down which doesn't work when I want to hang a row below a row.

OK.. cool.. will save me time there then....

 

[jarjarchef]

I was going to bring my burner from my smokehouse to cook on. If needed you can use it. I will have to look, but I think I have an old turkey fryer burner you can have. I'll look tomorrow.

I would say plywood will last longer and less likely to come apart. Not sure how far of a trip it is to you, but I could come and help on a Friday or Saturday if you wanted.

 

[JckDanls 07]

Jar... appreciate the offer to help... I just took on a little 2nd job doing some remodeling (a friends rental house)... hoping to get that done in the next week or so... I'm thinking i'll be ok... should be able to get it done in a day or so.... just gonna screw some 1x3's on to the sides and then screw the fronts and backs to those... 1x3's around top and bottom to screw the top and bottom to... cut a door out of the front with 3 hinges and 2 latches... some thin (1/4") flat trim around inside of the door way and the same trim around the outside of the door... make some dowel holders and screw those on.. a couple of vents and I think it will be good to go for a "quickie" smokehouse....

just need to know how far apart to put the notches in each dowel holder ? and then how far apart to put each dowel holder on the walls (offset, as Dave suggested)

 

[boykjo]

the plywood would be the way to go. With the amount and weight of the sausage we will need something sturdy. The foam insulation wont be strong enough to hold the weight. I have a coleman stove that runs on coleman fuel. I think the pipe burner will be too hot to run in the smoker. I am leaning towards a turkey fryer burner for heat source. you can dial them down pretty low..... I'll be bringing the coleman stove and the turkey burner.

 

[s2k9k]

Should I bring some snacks?

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• s2k9k
• Sep 23, 2013

 

[boykjo]

Nice.............. I love smoked cheese..............

 

[JckDanls 07]

Should I bring some snacks?

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• s2k9k
• Sep 23, 2013

MMM mMMM MMMMMM ... me likes

 

[dougmays]

 
Life is great in the woods.

Doug, you going to be in Gainesville or out where your family is(did you say Archer)?

Oh i know, i've missed it and can't wait! Ill be temporarily living at my mom's house in Williston (just at the Archer/Williston Border) until i sell my house down here and start looking at houses in Gainesville. But my permanent home will be in gville. once i get settled i'll have to come up and see ya Ron, or invite y'all down

Should I bring some snacks?

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• s2k9k
• Sep 23, 2013

YES!! LOL. I can't wait to smoke some cheese. maybe we do this in the smoke house also? I'll bring cheese if y'all think  we can do it, depends on outside ambient temps though i suppose.

Sounds like you guys have the conversation flowing the right direction for the smokehouse. I dont think i have anywhere near the knowledge you guys have to chime in with helpful advice but i have no problem helping split the bill.

How we feeling about everything else? Any questions about past gatherings? meals? comps? the park?

i'm getting excited!

 

[s2k9k]

Doug, I know it's still a little early but do you have a head count for Friday? I am planning on smoking some butts for everybody for lunch/dinner Friday (whenever it gets done) and am trying to figure out how many to bring for that.
I'm assuming we pretty much eat comp food on Sat? I'm sure there will be plenty of sausage too. Still not sure about the comp myself, unsure of using a smoker I'm not familiar with but after these ribs I did this weekend I'm thinking the smoker won't matter, the rub will blow everyone out the water!!!! So I might just have to get in on that so a SFL newbie can walk away with a win!!! About how much does each smoke for the comp?