New member from New York

[LanceR]

Hello all!

I was puttering around the internet and found this site.  It looks like I'll be spending some time here and based on the threads/posts I read and the site rules I think it's going to be a good ride.

Our farm is in Sennett, NY, about 20 miles SW of Syracuse.  I've been BBQing, curing, cold smoking and making sausage occasionally for years but am getting restless and contemplating a reverse flow build which was how I found the site.

I've got a couple each Brinkmann bullet smokers and Luhr-Jensen Little Chiefs (for cold smoking) and a Bradly smoker for when I feel lazy.  A neighbor and I process and butcher a lot of our own critters and game and have shared equipment and a smokehouse for years but a lot of it is commercial sized stuff and I want to build something somewhere in between for when I want more than a few butts or briskets but don't need to feed a horde.

I'm looking forward to meeting the folks here, either in person or over the internet.

Thanks

Lance

 

[LanceR]

I should have added that the avatar is a pair of boned pork butts in a big roasting pan waiting to cool enough to pull and vacuum pack for future meals.  It is raining today so we decided to get some pulled pork into the freezer.

Lance

 

[scarbelly]

Hello Lance and  

 to SMF - love to see some pics of your farm and smokehouse. Just keep in mind that until you get to about 20 posts you pics get held for moderator approval by our software. 

 

[LanceR]

I appreciate the screening of pics. 

The smokehouse is a commercial steel unit that can run from no heat cold smoking up to about 325 degrees.  It stands about 6' tall and maybe 3-1/2' wide.  I suspect that if you filled it with butts you'd have about 400-450 pounds after after cooking.

I'll get pics in a few days. 

We debated building a traditional farm smokehouse of some kind but the only local processor of pork shut down.  As a result buying pork bellies or other cuts for smoking is as expensive as buying good finished product so unless I buy a few pasture raised critters from a neighbor I don't make bacon or hams any more.  It also doesn't help that only the two youngest are around for the summer since they are both in college.  It can be tough to justify buying a 70 pound case of pork bellies at the same price I can buy good bacon at when it makes a couple year supply.

Lance