Another new guy from California

[sethb]

Hi all,

My name is Seth (obviously) and I live in Northern California, AKA the normal part of the state.  It seems like every time I search for obscure smoking information, I always end up here finding good stuff.  So I figured I'd join.  Most likely I'll be asking for help.  On rare occasions, I might have a good contribution, but don't hold your breath.

As far as equipment, I had a Weber Smokey Mountain for the last five years, along with a Weber Performer and Genesis.  My loving wife bought me a large BGE for Christmas this year, so the WSM has been gathering dust.  I'm far from an expert.  Over the years, I've destroyed more meat than a slaughterhouse inferno. But I like to think that for every time I've screwed something up, I have learned a little more.

The last couple of weeks, I've been playing with smoking chili peppers in order to make my own smoky spice.  Sort of like chipotles, but with more heat.  I tried seranos last week with limited success, and as I type this, I've got seranos, fresnos, and habaneros on a triple deck grill ... holding steady(ish) at 155.  The idea is to use it for a big batch of chorizo that a buddy and I are making next month some time.

Glad to be here!

Seth

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello Seth and Welcome to our addiction.  A word of warning: There is no 12 step program for this one!  Many good folk here with a load of experience that they are more than willing to share.  If you have specific questions just start a thread and someone with experience will be along soon to offer advice.  All info you can provide us with will help us answer any questions you may have.  Spend some time doing some research on the forums, tons of advice and recipes already available there.  The best advice I can offer now, I learn on the site; write everything down.  That makes it soo much easier to replicate and or tweak.  We look forward to your contributions.  Have fun.  Good luck.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[doodad126]

Welcome Seth! If you need help smoking or grilling, then this is the place to be.

It's funny. I'm also from California as well and it's kind of sad we have to distinguish ourselves from the crazy people who run this state.

Sent from my XT603 using Tapatalk 2

 

[gary s]

Glad you joined up Seth, let us know how your peppers turn out, and the chorizo .

Gary S

 

[mtm29575]

Hi,and welcome Seth, from the 'other' coast. Lots of great guys here ready to help with whatever you need.

 

[tobycat]

Welcome aboard SMF Seth! You don't have your location listed in your profile yet but it's funny to hear you describe Northern California as the "normal part",  I live in Santa Cruz.

 

[sethb]

Ha, Tobycat!  Very good point.  Go Banana Slugs! 

 

[sethb]

For those interested, here is where I'm at with the peppers, but first a little back story ...

Last week I smoked a bunch of green serrano peppers.  I sliced them in half length wise and kept the smoker temperature somewhere between 140-170, smoking for 13 hours total.  At that point, they were not quite done, so I put them in the oven on low for two hours.  The next day, I purchased a cheap coffee grinder at Target and dedicated it as "pepper use only".  I found out the hard way that grinding them should be done outdoors, preferably with the wind blowing away from you.  The results were mixed.  The smoke to heat ratio (for me) was a bit off.  I either wanted less smoke or more heat or both.

My plan for a fix was to use some hotter peppers (habaneros), and blend them with the serranos.  I put the fresnos in there just to have some red color.  Also, I decided not to split them in half first, thinking that there would be less surface area for the smoke to attach itself.  What I underestimated was how much longer it was going to take to dry the whole pepper vs. the split pepper.  After a similar amount of time yesterday, they were not even close.  Rather then wake up every few hours to tend to my "cool" fire (which turned out to be a lot more work that I anticipated), I pulled them off, let them cool and put them in the fridge with the plan to find a dehydrator and finish them off today.  So as of noon today, they are outside in the dehydrator, and by the looks of it, they'll be ready to grind sometime tomorrow.

I'll update again with photos and taste test results when I get to that point if anyone is curious.

 

[dodger9]

Welcome Seth.  I know you will enjoy this tasty hobby!