Newbie member & smoker

[tumpy]

Hi, I am Tumpy or Chris from the deep south, of England that is! On the Wiltshire, Somerset and Dorset borders to be precise.  I have always loved BBQ but pretty traditional direct or indirect method, usually South African themed as I have been there a few times.  Now I am heavily into US BBQ and have tried smoking on my Weber.  I have tried Pork Butt and that has been OK but my Brisket has not been so good, usually dry and not as tender as I would like.  

Am looking to purchase a Smoker for my 60th Birthday which is soon, so looking for advice on smoker types and recipes etc to try. I have never considered Electric or Gas smokers but am open minded, but I do like a real fire!

Looking forward to reading the posts.

Tumpy

 

[smokin monkey]

Hi Tumpy, Welcome to our "Family" and "Addiction"

Plenty of good folk on here, ask any questions you can think of, and you will get your answers.

Please take time to look at the UK Smokers Group,

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/3161/uk-smokers

And introduce your self on the UK Roll Call
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/229926/roll-call

The UK Smokers Group Is where UK members can ask and share information that is unique to smoking and curing in the UK and does not obviously fit into any of the main forum categories.

We have had our 3rd UK Smokes weekend, where members attend and cooked over the weekend, planing has are already in place for 2017. Please use the link below to view the website.

http://www.uk-smf.co.uk

Smokin Monkey [emoji]133660013031[/emoji]

 

[mike5051]

Welcome to the forum Chris!  You're already familiar with the Weber, how bout a Weber Smokey Mountain?  Me and lots of others here love them.

Mike

 

[wade]

Hi Chris - 1957 was a great year

. Welcome to the forum. As you have discovered the Weber Kettle is a great all-round BBQ and smoker.

You should not have a problem with Brisket on it though - how did you have it set up and at what temperature were you cooking? Were you using the charcoal/briquettes as Minion/Snake or were you simply using the Weber coal baskets/retainers? With Brisket it is important not only to get it up to temperature but also to keep it at that temperature for several hours. To help keep it moist you can foil it after the initial 3 hours until it reaches temperature and once at temperature wrap it in several layers of foil and place it between blankets in an insulated box (a cool box is ideal) for a couple of hours before serving.

Regarding your new smoker 

... If you like real fire then I would suggest either a Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) or a ProQ Elite. Both are very similar and I cook with both. The build quality in the Weber is slightly better but the ProQ is the easiest to cook with. Both are bullet smokers with two cooking layers however the big difference is that the ProQ can be opened easily at each cooking level whereas with the WSM you have to remove the top cooking grate to get full access to the bottom one. I am a great Weber fan and have several Weber Smokers/BBQs but if I were to buy a new bullet smoker I would probably go for the ProQ.

Other types include pellet smokers. These use wood pellets to produce the heat and are digitally controlled. These tend to be more expensive though and in some ways a little less flexible. They still produce good BBQ with relatively little effort.

 

[smokin monkey]

Budget is. Big factor.

A 57 Weber would be a good servant. Pro Q = Good. A UDS would be a good investment, search Bristol Drum Company.

Then there is the electric Pellet Smokers, very easy to use, set a leave, might need additional smoke if you require a heavy smoke Flavour.

There is a huge selection of smokers out there, make a list, pros and cons for each.

Members will always give you a honest feedback on the smokers you are considering.

 

[SmokinAl]

Welcome to SMF!

Glad to have you with us!

Al