Another novice joins the group

[jrat]

Hello to all the members out there.  

My name is John and I live in Helena, Montana.  I am a retired CPA - sold my interest last year in a practice I helped build from scratch.   I lived in Charlotte, NC for about 25 years, but after selling out, I retired and moved to Montana. My wife and I love hiking and exploring the outdoors - thus the 2400 mile relocation!  I am learning to fly fish - not very good yet but getting better.  Absolutely love it, though! 

I have grilled most of my life - but due to my professional career, never seemed to have the time to explore smoking.  I have a Weber 18.5 kettle and a Weber 22.5 kettle.  I have grilled on a gas grill, but in my opinion, the flavor is much better using charcoal.

Last year I purchased a Smokenator, and have used it to do baby back ribs and some beef jerky; but this coming year I want to try greatly expanding what I smoke.  I figured this forum site would be a great place to get some tips (I also bought Jeff's book

). 

My biggest concern right now is that my kettle does not seal well so I have a hard time keeping temps low using the Smokenator. I have seen some tips I am going to try, but I suspect the chance of keeping temps below 225 will be tough.  225 to 250 is probably sufficient for most things, but I may end up upgrading to a more dedicated smoker where I can keep the temp at closer to 175 for my beef jerky.  The beef jerky I did with the Smokenator was good, but I think it could be better. 

Looking forward to learning from all of you experienced smokers!

 

[gary s]

[h3]

Hello and welcome from East Texas. This is a great site, lots of information and great people that are willing to throw in their two cents worth on about anything.   [/h3][h1]  [/h1][h1]Gary[/h1]

 

[bigwheel]

Hey Jrat. Welcome. Let us strive not to be strangers,

 

[jrat]

Thanks, Gary.  And I'm counting on it!

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Welcome to the forum, not too far from ya here in S.E. Idaho. See ya around the forum !

 

[jrat]

Thanks, bigwheel!  BTW, love your location, Foat Wuth 

 

[jrat]

Thanks, WaterinHoleBrew.  Love your picture - one of my favorite movies!

 

[GaryHibbert]

Hey John

Welcome to the Smoking  forum.   You’ll find great , friendly people here, all more than willing to answer any question you may have.  Just ask and you’ll get about 10 different answers—all right.  LOL.   Don’t forget to post qviews.

Gary

 

[jrat]

Thanks, Gary.  Can't wait to get more active once the weather warms up a bit.

 

[themule69]

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David

 

[jrat]

Thanks, themule69.  I have been searching for various items of interest - and you are correct, the search bar has been great.  Looking forward to trying out some of the suggestions I have found!