Another clown from WI trying to figure this out

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Watson

Fire Starter
Original poster
Jan 3, 2018
41
40
The Frozen Tundra - WI
I was directed here from another forum (car related) and glad I was. Having spent the last week reading all the helpful posts I feel as though I know some of you already.

First off, please do not be too put-off by my avatar. That pic started as a joke on one of my car forums (I am a car guy) and has since stuck. It is now a rash on the internet so I am stuck with it forever. I am not nearly that pretty in person. :)

Here in Green Bay, WI it is -2* and yet I am planning a smoke project for tomorrow morning.

My experience level in cooking can be best described as "advanced home chef". My wife and I enjoy cooking and the results it creates. Like many of you, when family and friends get together we are the ones that get called into action.

The smoking adventure started 20 years ago with just a Weber kettle. I failed and quit. My attempts in my gas grills were equally productive. Finally 10 years ago I bought a Masterbuilt electric smoker on a whim. I THINK it is an MES40 with a digital display on top and back and what I use today. It is tired and tarnished but works and I know it. The results are in my estimation, "adequate"

With your help I made some changes this week. I bought an amazn 5 x 8 tray and some apple pellets. In fact a test burn is going on now. The stories of lighting and maintaining smoke was concerning, but I seem to have gotten lucky on my first try. Some patience and getting a cherry "cigar" burn with my propane torch has worked. The MES is puffing away out there. I thank all of you for the guidance. I find it interesting that the smell is completely different than the apple chips I have used in the MES in the past

The plan is to do my go-to short ribs tomorrow to see if this change improves the taste and gets rid of that tinge of what Bear describes as "acid rain". I am hopeful.

All of your suggestions on keeping a journal have inspired me to take the post-it notes, scraps of paper and cardboard with my scribbled notes and get them organized. That's the project as the ribs cook tomorrow. Time to get serious about this now I guess.

I'll gladly post pictures, recipes and results as I manage my way over this difficult learning curve.

Thanks in advance for putting up with my silly questions and bad ideas as I try and improve.
 
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Good afternoon and welcome to the forum from windy and cold day here in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about everything.


Gary
 
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