new guy

[pigeek]

Hey guys,

I'm Davis.  I'm from the Northeast Oklahoma, outside of the Tulsa area.

I'm new to the world of smoking.  Something I've always been interested in but didn't know where to start.  Over the 4th and a few other times this summer, I was successful in doing ribs on my gas grill (Weber Genesis 310) with a smoker box and people seemed to like them so getting a smoker was the next step.

I recently purchased an Oklahoma Joe Longhorn Smoker, I felt it was the highest quality one I could find without breaking the bank, or spending hundreds on shipping.  Basically I felt it was the less flimsy out of all the ones I looked at.  Just got it built and I've already got a coupld of tru-tels installed at grate level on each side.  Also have a dryer vent elbow installed to lower the smoke stack.  Working on a baffle right now and I've got a new charcoal grate ordered and I'll probably try to raise it some as well once it gets here.  So hopefully I'll be able to burn it out this weekend and practice controling temperatures.  

I know this is an introduction, but I've got a question for yall...there is still some sticky residue on the outside and inside around the doors where the packing materials were.  Is a product like GooGone a good way to get rid of it without hurting the paint?

-davis  

 

[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]

 

[kc5tpy]

Hello pigeek and welcome to the fun.  Many good folk here with a load of experience that they are more than willing to share.  If you have specific questions just start a thread and someone with experience will be along soon to offer advice.  All info you can provide us with such as smoker type, location and so on will help us answer any questions you may have.  Spend some time doing some research on the forums, tons of advice and recipes already available there.  Don't know what that "gunk" is.  If you havequite a bit, do two pre-burns First build a BIG fire and burn off all that "gunk".  Let  'er cool down.  Then the season.  Spray/wipe cooking oil ALL over the inside of the entire smoker.  Build a good fire in your firebox and raised the heat as high as you can.  Hold for couple hours.  Then reduce heat  to 225-275 and practice holdin it there.  Most of your cooks will fall into that range.  You need to learn hold temps there.  Holing temps is the key to smoking.  We look forward to your contributions.  Have fun.  Good luck.  Keep Smokin!

Danny

 

[seenred]

Welcome aboard from another NE Oklahoman!  You'll find that this is a great place for sharing ideas on smoking, grilling, curing, etc.  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.

Good advice from Danny...you should be able to burn most of that residue off wit a good hot fire.

Red

 

[gary s]

Good morning,  First give the manufacturer a call to identify the gooey stuff. If it is like tape residue, sometimes you can take vegetable oil on a rag and get it off depending on what it is. But being a new smoker I would call. Also KC5TPY is exactly right about seasoning your new pit. Spray or coat the inside well with a good cooking oil.

Gary