hi all, been lurking on here for a while so i figured i would finally check in. i am very new to smoking as my wife (after lots of hinting) bought me a smoker for my b-day at the beginning of july. i move a lot being in the air force, so i wanted an electric one due to convinience and portability; also want to take it with me on the long trips to the sand dunes. so, i ended up with an MES40.
so far, i love it. i have smoked something every weekend since i got it. i have a brisket on there right now that is driving me crazy enough i can't sleep.
my first attempt at ever smoking something was a bit overwhelming because my wife thought it would be a good idea to invite everyone over for a dinner/party not realizing i had no idea what i was doing. so, jumped in head first and attempted a pork butt, 8 lb brisket flat and 2 racks of baby back ribs. with much help from the mass of information on here, despite the 10pm finish on the brisket and butt, everything turned out amazing. it was a stressful first smoke, but i got tons of compliments all week from all the left overs i took to work so it was totally worth it.
since then, i have done many ribs, chicken wings and drums, chuck roast shredded for tacos, pork "country style" ribs, full pork loin and tried a regular roast "prime rib style" as a test run before i run the risk of ruining $8/lb rib roast.
ribs are always awesome, i keep trying new recipes i find on here and love each one more than the last. chicken was good, but need to find a better way to crisp-en the skin. the chuck roast was awesome for tacos. little tip: the kitchen-aid mixer works great for shredding meat. country style ribs, meh... full pork loint was really good, just cut it up like pork chops. fake "rib roast" was ok, but gave me the confidence to but an actual rib or two.
and, like i said before, i have a brisket on now for tomorrow and will be doing some salmon tomorrow for the first time. got the amnps in the mail this week and i can tell i already love it. that combined with my MES40 will let me get a regular nights sleep tonight. better and more constant smoke than the MES by itself and i dont have to tend to it. what more could i ask for, lol.
wow, long winded hello, but there it is.
tanner
so far, i love it. i have smoked something every weekend since i got it. i have a brisket on there right now that is driving me crazy enough i can't sleep.
my first attempt at ever smoking something was a bit overwhelming because my wife thought it would be a good idea to invite everyone over for a dinner/party not realizing i had no idea what i was doing. so, jumped in head first and attempted a pork butt, 8 lb brisket flat and 2 racks of baby back ribs. with much help from the mass of information on here, despite the 10pm finish on the brisket and butt, everything turned out amazing. it was a stressful first smoke, but i got tons of compliments all week from all the left overs i took to work so it was totally worth it.
since then, i have done many ribs, chicken wings and drums, chuck roast shredded for tacos, pork "country style" ribs, full pork loin and tried a regular roast "prime rib style" as a test run before i run the risk of ruining $8/lb rib roast.
ribs are always awesome, i keep trying new recipes i find on here and love each one more than the last. chicken was good, but need to find a better way to crisp-en the skin. the chuck roast was awesome for tacos. little tip: the kitchen-aid mixer works great for shredding meat. country style ribs, meh... full pork loint was really good, just cut it up like pork chops. fake "rib roast" was ok, but gave me the confidence to but an actual rib or two.
and, like i said before, i have a brisket on now for tomorrow and will be doing some salmon tomorrow for the first time. got the amnps in the mail this week and i can tell i already love it. that combined with my MES40 will let me get a regular nights sleep tonight. better and more constant smoke than the MES by itself and i dont have to tend to it. what more could i ask for, lol.
wow, long winded hello, but there it is.
tanner
