First timer, first posting

[SGMan]

Hey everyone!

I accidentally stumbled across this site and have been reading nonstop for the past few hours! What an amazing resource for all things smokey!

Im currently in the process of determining what would work best for me.
My parents swear by their pellet grill/smoker. My boss has an electric smoker. Friends of mine used the upright manual flamer with wood chips.
SO many choices and ways to go, and honestly this is usually one of my favorite times (putting in the research) next to experimentation and exploration!

I feel that Im in pretty good company and knowledge here in this community, and I hope to one day be able to share some of my lessons learned.

Looking forward to learning more and more!

 

[pit of despair]

SGMan,
Welcome from Chesapeake! Do some more research and examine budget/time/type of foods and lots more variables.
My first smoker was homemade but it worked and I was hooked.
What ever you decide remember to document your smokes with pictures to share with us...no pictures it didn't happen.
Teddy

 

[coolkayaker]

It all depends what you want to do and the size you need. For instance if you mainly want to do snack sticks, like myself, you would want to get an electric smoker that can go down to low temps., etc. There is a wealth of info on this site and, yes, sooo many choices. I suggest you take notes and then decide what is best for you!

 

[kruizer]

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota.

 

[gmc2003]

Welcome to the site, happy to have ya join up. As said above there are as many different smokers as there are ways to smoke meat. It basically all boils down to what you want to smoke, your wallet, location and how much time you want to spend around the smoker.

Chris

 

[fivetricks]

Ask yourself what is more important.

Being able to sleep on long overnight cooks? Or the purity of starting a wood fire and cooking that way.

Both have their advantages, but once you answer that question, you will narrow your search considerably.

 

[SGMan]

Ask yourself what is more important.

Being able to sleep on long overnight cooks? Or the purity of starting a wood fire and cooking that way.

Both have their advantages, but once you answer that question, you will narrow your search considerably.

I will admit, I am leaning towards the 'being able to sleep' and/or Ron Popeil (set it and forget it) methodology.
There are definitely pros and cons to all of the methods available for me to tinker with, and well - thats a part of the fun too :D
My boss and a couple of coworkers have smokers too so Im bouncing some ideas off of them as well.
That and of course I need to convince the lady that this would be a worthwhile investment (of time as well as resources)

 

[weedeater]

Welcome to SMF from NW Georgia. You have come to a happy place!

Weedeater

 

[gary s]

Welcome from a cloudy but nice East Texas. This Forum is addictive

Gary

 

[chopsaw]

Hang around to much , and you will own all the smokers you talked about .
Enjoy .

 

[fivetricks]

If I had a gun to my head, I'd say buy and electric and an Amazen tray. Good starter unit, genrally not much cost relative to other units.

This will give you the chance to learn and explore the hobby with the most possible convieniece (read: least frustration) and versatility. Then if you decide you want to go further down the rabbit hole from there, you can invest in a more serious model. I, like many others here, have multiple models and they all serve their purpose.

 

[SGMan]

Thank you to everyone who has helped me thus far, and welcomed me so warmly :)

I went ahead and pulled the trigger last night for most everything I think I am going to need to hit the ground running (save the foods I will be smoking)

I went the MES30 route and an Amazen tray. I found an old popcorn tin here at work that I will use as my mailbox mod.
Cant wait for everything to start trickling in so I can get to experimenting (and of course documenting) my progress!

Thank you again to everyone here for your insights!

 

[SGMan]

DANG YOU SMOKING MEAT FORUMS!!

My interest is now piqued for Sous Vide (and I haven't even done my first smoke yet!)
<3 <3 <3

 

[fivetricks]

One project at a time friend....

I know it's so tempting to just go balls to the wall isn't it? Better to he very good at a few things rather than to be mediocre at a bunch of things haha

 

[SGMan]

Okay - today was D-Day for my journey!!

I was expecting everything to show up over the next few days (and the smoker being here on Tuesday) but the power of Amazon (and Amazen) are pretty impressive!!

So here it is in all of its glory - My MES30, Amazen tray, Mailbox Mod (gloves temp probe etc...) Currently, its in the initial seasoning stage.

Dont think Im going to be able to successfully get a real smoke in tonight, but Ill definitely prepare for one tomorrow!

 

[SGMan]

Oh, and MAD props to the people at Amazen!

Not only did my Amazen tray (and pellets) show up TODAY (Saturday) instead of the scheduled Monday - My Amazen tray was FILLED with Apple pellets!!!

That is a bit above and beyond. :)
Thank you again!

 

[chopsaw]

Burn that thing off first ,,, I know you know that ,,,
Enjoy .

 

[SGMan]

Burn that thing off first ,,, I know you know that ,,,
Enjoy .

Yuppers. It was a good test to run the burnoff/break in (275 for 3 hours) and I got to put the smoker mod to the test as well - It ran quite well! Im excited to put my first roast on it tomorrow :D

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks like you're jumping right on this!!
Great start!!

Bear