Is there a guide for the new comer?

[mrpogi71]

I am new to the concept of smoking meats and such. and i am wondering is there a guide for the newcomer? a book to help them with time and temp? showing cuts of meat and the uses for that cut of meat? maybe even helping with deciding on the smoker?

 

[richoso1]

Well, you have quite a few questions, but I'll try to help you. You can find temp information based on which forum your reading, folks usually include the temps they are working with. We don't actually have a chart with cuts of meat, but there again read the forums to see how folks use them. As for a smoker, Do spend some time researching propane, electric, charcoal, stick burners and the likes. They all have their pros and cons. I know other will be by soon with more information on your questions. It's all good my friend.

 

[solaryellow]

Welcome mrpogi71! As a new comer, I highly suggest you sign up for Jeff's 5 day smoking course. Jeff explains a lot of the basics and should get you up and running quickly. After that, I suggest you pick something to try and do a search here for threads that pertain to what you are trying to do. There is a lot of good info here and while it isn't always exact, it is more than enough to get you trying new things and expanding your horizons.

 

[ellymae]

Welcome!

Read, read, read, and jump in!

As far as which smoker to get, that is a huge question. It all depends on what you are looking for, how much you want to watch your cooker, how many folks you will be cooking for, if you want a stick burner, propane, or electric. Then there is the question of how much you have to spend on a cooker.

Good luck - and welcome to the obsession.

 

[pit 4 brains]

Yes, definately read through the posts and find something simple to start with.

For equipment, if you haven't smoked before, I would look into the used market for a Brinkman or Weber vertical charcoal smoker or even start with a Weber kettle. From there you can start learning the basics and move into a new rig of some sort.

Ribs and pork butts of any kind are a good launching point because they are hard to screw up. I wouldn't advise for you to run out and get a packer brisket or anything else that is large.

Get yourself at least one digital thermometer with a probe and wire. I suggest two. Knowing the temp of your smoker and meat is very important.

Practice makes perfect and don't be discouraged if you ruin a smoke or two. Keep some notes and learn from your mistakes. We all do things a bit different so don't think there's a right way and a wrong way for everything.

Welcome to the world of bbq and happy smokin'..

 

[cliffcarter]

There is some good info in the Wiki section, the link is on the bottom of this post. Lots of good info in the forums, there is a search function that will help direct you, if you want to use it. You will gain a lot of knowledge and ideas just browsing and asking questions.

Just FYI you can cook BBQ on almost anything-

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/alpha/all

 

[rdknb]

Welcome to SMF, it is a great place.  Look at old posts follow new ones and check out the wiki's and ask lots of questions, you will learn fast here

 

[ak1]

Find something in the posts that interests you, and then if you have any questions, just ask away

 We're more than happy to help.

 

[mballi3011]

 First off welcome Mr. Pogi to SMF. You'll like it here cause there are alot of really good folks that would just love to help you with anything to do with smoking. Now we like having new folks here to give a new prospective on some of the ways we do things around here. Now if you are really new then I would suggest that you sign up fir the 5-day E-course it free and it will give you the basics on smoking and a few recipes too. Here's a link to it:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/list/127

then you will have a method to your newly found madness and believe me it will be a madness. Then when you start smoking things you will have to learn how to post the pictures / Qview 

here. So here's a link to a tutorial on how to post your Qview so we can see what your doing.

 http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf

Now the next thing you have to do is run out and get something to smoke. Then just smoke it and if you have any questions just post  them here and we will answer all your questions that you might have. Oh yea there's no stupid questions we were all there in the beginning and we just really like to help others enjoy the fabulous smoked foods that we do. So again

 

Welcome to Your New Addiction

 

[mrpogi71]

thanks everyone for the warm welcome and the input. i will do whats recomenened and get a vertical smoker and cook some ribs