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nmaust

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Jul 4, 2013
151
25
Dallas-Ft. Worth
My name is Nathan, & I live in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. I started off cooking on a Pro Q vertical smoker, then went with the Chargriller Duo when I moved into a house and had enough space. I've never been the most handy, so I didn't do any of the mods and wanted to upgrade to a higher-quality build with the same functionality. After much research, it was hard to find a pit fabricator who would make what I wanted (smoker/grill with SFB along with a gas grill and side burner), but I finally connected with Pits by JJ out of Houston and have had my new pit for about a month. It's heavy duty 1/4" metal and does an amazing job of holding in heat. The only challenge I've had so far is figuring out the gas side which tends to be somewhat volatile. I've managed to burn the hair off my hands several times when lighting it, but I think I'm close to having it mastered after talking to JJ's team a few times. One thing that I didn't realize was how difficult it would be to find a cover for something this big. I ordered one from a custom supplier and have been using my old Duo cover to cover it as best I can, but it blew off during a storm last week, so I have a few small rust spots that I need to address.

I prefer to cook with sweet woods (pecan, apple, cherry) and will throw just about anything on the pit. I love smoking ribs, pork shoulder, tri-tip, beer can chicken & am always looking for new ideas which is how I came across this forum. I enjoy the process of selecting the cuts of meat, creating my own rubs (typically starts with finding a recipe and then catering it to what I think sounds better) versus using store-bought rubs and creating my own sauces which I use sparingly since I want the flavor of the meat to come through.

Thanks for letting me stop by.

Nathan
 
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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   .........
[/h1][h1]  [/h1][h1]Gary[/h1]
 
Howdy Nathan.. we are very close neighbors.. I live in Arlington. Welcome to SMF..
If you need any help navigating around the site just let us know and we'll send ya in the right direction.
Cant wait to see some action on the new smoker...

And we did get some much needed rain last week... thank God.
Mike
 
Very good, Mike. I'm up in Frisco, so I'm fortunate enough to be nearby Matador Meats (and not far from Hirsch's if I need something a little different), so great meat is not hard to find. I look forward to bending some ears in here. I won ribs in the first contest I entered a few years ago but haven't gotten a call in the other two I did this year, so it will be great to learn from some seasoned vets.
 
Welcome aboard Nathan!  Glad you've joined our group.  This is the best place I know for sharing ideas on smoking, grilling, curing, etc.  You'll find there are lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here who genuinely enjoy helping one another.  Looking forward to your input, and just ask when you need anything...someone here will surely have the answer.

Red
 
Very good, Mike. I'm up in Frisco, so I'm fortunate enough to be nearby Matador Meats (and not far from Hirsch's if I need something a little different), so great meat is not hard to find. I look forward to bending some ears in here. I won ribs in the first contest I entered a few years ago but haven't gotten a call in the other two I did this year, so it will be great to learn from some seasoned vets.
Ive been to Hirschs before.. but Matador I havent been. They just opened not long right? I live in little mexico in arlington. .. so any good mexican meat market around me... I can usually get any cuts I want... ANY! (Did some smoked lamb heads a few weeks ago..)

I will have to check out Matadors next time im in that area. Thanks for the reminder ;)
Mike
 
Matador is great. It was voted Best Meat Market in DFW by the Dallas Observer. Their owner, Matt, is a good dude and is really helpful. He actually brings his smoker up to the shop and cooks quite a bit, & I think he said he's working on getting an outdoor kitchen built outside of the store. Awesome prime steaks, chops, homemade sausages and more. It helps that they have a great craft beer selection.
 
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Don't know what kind of budget you have But you can go to a Canvas and Awning Co. and have one made to fit your smoker like a glove and pick the color, Back when I Bass fished a lot that is what I would do when I got a new boat. Also I remember somewhere online there is a site that will make you a grill cover, they will give you the measurements they need along with a picture of your smoker and will make and ship a cover to you. Not sure how they are priced never bought one from them.

gary
 
I ended up ordering a cover from a supplier I found online. They are making it to my measurements, but I elected to just get a drape cover instead of having it fitted to the smoke stacks. I'm more likely to cover it if I can pretty much just throw it on there instead of having to mess with pulling it over the stacks.
 
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