- Jul 27, 2015
- 1
- 10
Hi everyone, my name is Raf and I am very new to smoking meats and haven't been bbq-ing for long. I am from the Kansas City area, so if there is anyone around the area, please let me know! Being a newbie, please excuse any silly questions that I have. I recently purchased a craigslist offset horizontal smoker. It is a cheap one. I got it for $60 and I smoked my first pork butt in there this past weekend and I have a few questions.
Is it normal for me to have to go through an entire bag of charcoal (briquettes) plus apple wood chunks to keep the temperature around 250 for 6 hours? Is it normal to have to use that much charcoal? I had to use two chimney of charcoal to get the temp past 200.
Being it is a cheap smoker, it is very leaky. It leaks smoke everywhere and the side firebox door has a 2mm gap at the bottom. I tried using Red RTV Silicone to seal it but it is still not sealing it up. I hear some people use the gasket kit for the big green egg or fireplace rope. Are these god options? If so, can you guys point me in the right direction to install these?
Also, any resources on the proper way to smoke meat for beginners would be great. Any links, websites, youtube videos or books I should watch as a newb? Please let me know guys. I really appreciate any help in advance.
Raf
Is it normal for me to have to go through an entire bag of charcoal (briquettes) plus apple wood chunks to keep the temperature around 250 for 6 hours? Is it normal to have to use that much charcoal? I had to use two chimney of charcoal to get the temp past 200.
Being it is a cheap smoker, it is very leaky. It leaks smoke everywhere and the side firebox door has a 2mm gap at the bottom. I tried using Red RTV Silicone to seal it but it is still not sealing it up. I hear some people use the gasket kit for the big green egg or fireplace rope. Are these god options? If so, can you guys point me in the right direction to install these?
Also, any resources on the proper way to smoke meat for beginners would be great. Any links, websites, youtube videos or books I should watch as a newb? Please let me know guys. I really appreciate any help in advance.
Raf
