Cabela's Stainless Steel Vertical

[husker bbq]

Just wondering if any of you Cabela's Stainless Steel Vertical smoker owners, have made any mods, or have any general tips. I have the 36" model, I have only used it once, and so far I am very happy with it. I was able to hold 220-250 temps, with it being 13 deg. and snow/windy out.

Also, how much wood are you guys putting in your chip box? and Do you keep the lid on the box or do you smoke with it off?

Husker BBQ

 

[lovetosmoke]

Happy to see another Husker on the forum. My father has the same style of smoker that you have. He has had good luck keeping the lid partialy open. When he does this he seems to go through a substantial amount of wood though. He is still just a beginner. He has not had good luck with it if there is a strong wind outside. He has only had it for about 4 months now, but has turned out some really good meat since he first started. Hope you have good luck.

 

[husker bbq]

lovetosmoke, it is good to be among others in the "husker family" Actually, I believe that we are talking about two different models. The model that I have is a vertical smoker with a door, not the 7in1 with a lid. Like I said before I was impressed with mine on my first smoke, can't wait to use it again. Wish the forecast would be a little warmer for the weekend, a high of 7deg over the next couple of days is not exactly great smoking weather.

 

[lovetosmoke]

He does have the vertical propane smoker. I should refrase my words, because I ment the side vents. He also is not useing damped wood to smoke with. I believe that is the main resean he is going through wood so fast. When you used yours in the cold weather did you have problems with the meat not cooking evenly throughout the smoker? He had one side that cooked more than the other. We both thought it was the cold and wind combination, but are not sure. Let me know what you did so I can compare. Thanks

 

[husker bbq]

I did not cook enough on my first run to notice any uneven cooking areas, but if I do I will let you know. I have actually thought of building a 3-sided wind break for my smoker, just a simple plywood break with hinges in the corners that I can put around the smoker on the cold windy days. I also am thinking that this would help during the spring and summer with some of the wind thats kicks up then, if it isn't windy that day, I wouldn't use it. Just thought it would be a very inexpensive mod to help with the windy Nebraska climate.

I did seem to go through quite a bit of wood though, I think on my next smoke I am going to use a mixture of soaked and dry chucks to see if that helps carry out the smoking time a bit longer.

HUSKER BBQ

 

[meat~smoker in n.j.]

Hi guy`s
i got the 36" ss vertical smoker ,(for x-mas) i was only able to use 2x so far ...the 1st time i did pork spare ribs the were prety good ....it`was a warm day held heat and every thing went well .... the 2nd time i use it the temps here had droped down into the low 20`s ......had a difficult time getting temps up and the wind was not helping ....after a cpl of hr`s my temp finally got to 230*....i did pork spare ribs again ..i got jeff`s naked rub recipie...so yummy !!! this time i did the 3-2-1- method guy`s i am no expert ,,,just a beginer ...but these were the best ribs ever eaten....now that it is so cold and the wind hasn`t stoped for 2-weeks looks like i`m waiting for the warmer weather to come back ....I also thought about building a wind shelter so i could smoke but then agian i`ll have to make some kind of small shead for it that i could take apart and put away every time ....just to much work ??? ok take care , charlie

 

[husker bbq]

Well its 34deg and snowy here today, I am trying my hand at 2 racks of Baby Backs, having no trouble at all holding 225 temp. It probably helps that my smoker is shielded by the cold north wind by the house. I will let you guys know how everything turns out. By the way I am using the modified 3-2-1 for BB ribs, 2-2-1 or so, hope they turn out as good as yours Charlie.

 

[Dutch]

Wind will affect how your smoker performs. It's more of of an issue in colder weather than when it's warmer. It is advisable to use some kind of a wind break. Someone has posted pics of a windbreak using rigid insulation board. You can check the Charcoal Forum or General Discussion or do a search on windbreaks.

 

[pirate40]

Hey, Husker BBQ! Go Big Red!!!!!