Gearing Up

[matt zad]

I've been pretty set on buying a smoker and getting into smoking meats and veggies since last year when I last visited San Antonio. I found this forum a couple weeks ago and have taken the eCourse and read through alot of the threads here to get me prepared to make delicious smoked food.

So I just ordered the Maverick-732 thermometer from Amazon (I can use this for my weber gas grill too) and I have been eyeing up the Masterbuilt Dual Pro smoker at my local Home Depot. From what I've read on here it seems like it works and is a good choice for a newbie like myself. I'll probably go pick it up tonight and try to have it ready by this weekend to smoke a nice pork butt I have thawing in the fridge.

Once I have the smoker all cleaned and seasoned I plan on trying Billbo's Dry Rub recipe from SMF for the first go at this new adventure. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/77564/billbos-world-famous-dry-rub-bbq-sauce-recipes. I really wanted to try Jeff's recipes since I went through his eCourse and read a lot of the info from his website but I didn't want to invest too much money right out of the gate before I committed to everything. I'll probably just use what ever wood chunks Home Depot has available.

Any recommendation's for my first smoke?

 

[kathrynn]

Do some chickens....wont cost a ton....and they are easy.  Also...Butts are very forgiving too.  Jump in and do something your family/friends would like.  We will help along the way too if you have questions!

Kat

 

[oldschoolbbq]

The best info. I could give is as Kat says. Also you will want to gather some patience. You will see a nice difference when you and let the Smoker work for YOU.

Have fun , learn your Smoker and as always . . .

 

[sqwib]

Do some chickens....wont cost a ton....and they are easy.  Also...Butts are very forgiving too.  Jump in and do something your family/friends would like.  We will help along the way too if you have questions!

Kat

The best info. I could give is as Kat says. Also you will want to gather some patience. You will see a nice difference when you and let the Smoker work for YOU.

Have fun , learn your Smoker and as always . . .

Ditto

Smoking/Grilling/Tending the pit, these are meant to be relaxing and enjoyable, and even becomes more relaxing and enjoyable once you start honing your craft.

Don't ever get discouraged over an unsatisfactory cook... put a positive spin on it such as it being a learning experience and you will never be discouraged.

And when you have a successful cook, make sure to pat yourself on the back because it was earned!

 

[matt zad]

Thanks for the info and words of encourgment everyone. I'm going to try and get the smoker bought tonight and then get her up and running for the weekend or Monday since I'm off. I'll post up some pictures to share.

 

[s2k9k]

When you season your smoker give yourself a few hours to do it, this will give you a chance to get to know it a bit before you put any meat on. Use this time to see what you need to do to maintain the temps you want and remember when you make adjustments make small ones and give the smoker 15 mins to compensate. Seasoning is always a good time to practice and learn your smoker.

Butts are real easy so don't sweat it, don't over complicate it and be patient with it, they can take a long time. There are a lot of good threads on here about smoking butts so read up on it beforehand and remember we are always here for you when you need help!
Good Luck this weekend and let us know how it goes, heck keep us posted as it goes!

 

[matt zad]

When using the smoker it looks like you only use wood chips/ chunks as long as smoking is needed. Like for ribs when you foil wrap them, but should I always keep smoke going if I have unwrapped food if I'm only cooking a butt? Or is there a set length of time to use smoke and then let it finish cooking with heat only? (I'll be using a propane smoker)

Next question: The water pan; Always keep it filled with water or is there times when it should be left empty or not used at all?

edit: I found my answers about how long to smoke by referencing back to the eCourse and doing more digging on the forum.

q: smoke

a: Use smoke about half of the cook time.

q: water pan

a: preference or first few hours of smoking but experiment and figure out what I like.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

When in doubt. . .

 

[matt zad]

When in doubt. . .

When in doubt... start drinking.

 

[matt zad]

Seasoned and ready for meat! I had some issues with flare up when using the stock wood tray. I think the wood chunks were on fire within the forst 10 minutes have it being in. After swapping out the pan and using a cast iron pan it seemed to work much better but still burned wood pretty fast.

20130527_134632.jpg

• matt zad
• May 29, 2013

With stock wood tray

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• matt zad
• May 29, 2013

With Cast iron Skillet

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• matt zad
• May 29, 2013

 

[demosthenes9]

Seasoned and ready for meat! I had some issues with flare up when using the stock wood tray. I think the wood chunks were on fire within the forst 10 minutes have it being in. After swapping out the pan and using a cast iron pan it seemed to work much better but still burned wood pretty fast.

20130527_134632.jpg

• matt zad
• May 29, 2013

With stock wood tray

20130527_131021.jpg

• matt zad
• May 29, 2013

With Cast iron Skillet

20130527_132025.jpg

• matt zad
• May 29, 2013

Heh.  Congrats!  You've done your first "mod" by changing smoke pans.    BTW, might want to back off on the amount of wood in the pan.  A couple/few pieces at a time is more than enough.  Once the smoke starts dying down, go ahead and add a few more chunks.  Rinse/repeat as necessary for your tastes.

 

[matt zad]

I was wondering that about the wood. Thanks for the tip! Doing my first smoke today or tomorrow, probably tomorrow. I'm working from home the next couple days so I picked up some spare ribs and just got finished mixing up some Memphis Dust for the rub.

 

[demosthenes9]

I was wondering that about the wood. Thanks for the tip! Doing my first smoke today or tomorrow, probably tomorrow. I'm working from home the next couple days so I picked up some spare ribs and just got finished mixing up some Memphis Dust for the rub.

YW.  When I first started years ago, I did the same thing in loading up the wood pan.  I went through bags of wood on each smoking session.  Cost was outrageous and the meat was oversmoked  :)  Not necessarily "creosote", but waaaaaay too heavy.   It's a trial and error process in the beginning figuring out the volume and duration of smoke to suit your tastes and it varies depending on what you are smoking.  Some cuts you might go heavier on, like a Butt.  Others you might go lighter on, like Ribs.   It also depends on which wood species you are using as woods like Hickory and Mesquite have a much stronger flavor than fruit woods like Apple. 

BTW, all of the above might make it seem like a daunting or complex problem, but it really isn't.   Simple advice is to pick a wood and throw a few pieces in, add more as necessary for as long as you want and then just see how it tastes.   If it's not enough smoke, then next time, either continue adding wood for longer duration or increase the number of chunks you use each time.  Takes about 2 or 3 smokes to dial it in for the species and the meat cut (unless you luck out and nail it right from the start).   

For example, I've never smoked with Alder but I've seen people comment on how much they like it so I bought some and will be giving it a shot.  I understand that it's not as strong as Hickory, but I'll still have to play around on a few smokes to get the amount "just right".

Anyways, good luck on the Spare Ribs.  Be sure to post a thread a thread on them  :)

 

[sqwib]

Ditto Demosthenes9

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• sqwib
• May 31, 2013

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• sqwib
• May 31, 2013