Hello from Vancovuer, BC, Canada

[griffin6869]

~~ ~~Hey all, well I have been a lurker for some time now and a newbie level smoker. All I have done is Indian Candied Salmon but of course that is what we do with half the fish up here. Everything I have smoked has been on a portable propane Bradley smoker and a little chief that I have as a back up if I have to much salmon. In Canada we do not see a lot of the bigger smokers you all have in the states and of course the costs of most smokers up here are unreasonable. Doing a craigslist hunt one day I came across a original (not Charbroil) New Braunfels Bandera for $80 asking price local to me. Went and saw the guy and he said he bought it from the states but has no time now so he sold it to me for $50. It came with the 4 racks, 2 meat hanger racks and some light surface rust. The only problem with the smoker it is missing the New Braunfels emblem and the temp guage acts up - when i checked it in hot water the needle goes up but if i tap the guage the needle drops, guessing i am needing a new one. Over the next week it will get the Bandera 101 mods applied, a new coat of paint and full day burn in. I am looking forward to trying chicken, ribs, venison, bacon and anything else with the help of the forums. Maybe you can teach a Canadian new tricks :)

bandera1_zpsb439e971.jpg

• griffin6869
• Dec 4, 2013

 

[chuckles]

Hi, welcome. Something wrong with the wheels on that truck. Can only go left or right. Lol

 

[davgam]

Welcome from another newbie! Vancouver is one of my favorite cities, gorgeous place. It is a bit wet sometimes... 

That's interesting that smokers cost so much more up there. No one making them domestically in Canada?

 

[goliath]

also being a Canuck the 1st i ever saw of the RF smokers and such was on TV. as for smokers we basically have Bradley and the little chief style smokers available. i bought an MES 30" in summer and havre now built Goliath. all thanks to the people on this site that have documented their builds and supplied great info as to where and how to get material. there are a few people around with the converted fridge/hotplate smokers but its pretty rare to fine many that smoke anything other than fish where i am.

got into the different bacons and sausage and now there is no stopping me. use that dam smoker almost every weekend  for some sort of main meal !!!!

welcome to the site ....

 

[gary s]

[h1]

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]

 

[griffin6869]

Thank you all for the warm welcome, everything costs more in Canada, heck a 24 pack of Bud is $50 but I am blessed with being 30 min from the border so I can enjoy your  great country and reasonably priced booze. Its true not many people use smokers up here but more people are getting interested now that they are showing Pit Masters on TV up here.  We do it all wrong lol, when my buddy says he is going to bbq some ribs he buys a rack, strip off the membrane, boils the hell out of them, adds a dry rub throws them on the barbecue/grill while adding kraft bbq sauce and there done when the meat is falling off the bones. I know - its a horror story that small children shouldn't read. I thank all of you in advance for sharing your knowledge and helping people like myself to be better educated on how to produce food that one can be proud to serve up.

 

[davgam]

I may not be able to sleep tonight after reading that rib story. 

 

[gary s]

I would probably replace the gauge. Also check it several time a year for accuracy. Just stick the probe in boiling water to check it.

I have known people in the past who always boil their ribs, If you don't know any better, you don't know any better. What you will have to do is fire up your smoker and do some proper ribs and invite him over.

Gary

 

[GaryHibbert]

Hey Griffin

Welcome to the forum.  Looks like a great smoker.  Like Gary said just replace the gauge or buy a remote.

Gary

 

[GaryHibbert]

Hey Griffin

 I was just going to edit my post, but on occasion this site just ignores what I want to do.  Anyway, my little brother lives in Parksville and all he smokes is salmon on a regular basis--just uses a Little Chief smoker--I've eaten the end product and it is GREAT

gary

 

[griffin6869]

Smoked salmon doesn't last long with family and fiends, 20lbs might last 2 weeks if I'm lucky - Parksville is a great place to visit and some great fishing spots. I will get a new guage to install and I already have a couple remote temp gauges which I plan to use to see the what temps are on different levels. I will post a pic or 2 when I get it all cleaned up and its ready for a burn in.