What's your worst smoking nightmare?

[mlrtym44]

A few months back I had 6 pork bellies going in my Landmann 38 wide. I was out doing yard work while it was going. After sometime I came buy just to check the temps. When I walked up I noticed ash by my right vent. Odd. Kicked and sure enough ash came out. looked at the left vent, ash also. Weird. Pulled the bottom drawer and there was still wood chucks in it, but the extra heat seal I added just fell off. Now this is really weird. Propane was still going and internal temp was 220. WTH. I open the door to see what was up and the whole thing was black and smelled like soot. I guess some fat dripped down and ignited. All the belly lit up and most of burned super hot! Luckily it starved itself of oxygen. It also helps that I had done a mod and wrapped the whole think in a welders blanket. No other issues, but I ruined a ton of bacon....

 

[gmc2003]

One time I was bacheloring it and decided to smoke some burgers and taters. Well after one to many beers I took a nap in my outdoor chair and didn't wake up for a few hours. I had totally forgot about the burgers and taters. Well the next day I had vulcanized burgers and what appeared to be potato flakes in some type of black skin substance.

Chris

 

[weedeater]

I was working on a two day smoke of about 20 butts for pulled pork on my stick burner. I finished up the first day with about 12 of the butts packed into my smoker with no problems.

The second morning I started up my fire as I customarily do letting the smoker start out a little hot to get a good bed of coals and then cooling down to 225 or so before putting the meat on.

I opened up the smoker to hasten the cool down and when the fresh air supply hit the hot smoker the cook chamber exploded in flames. Apparently had a substantial amount of grease on the reverse flow plate from the previous day which ignited with the fresh air supply.

Thought I was going to loose the whole rig! Temp went above 600 degrees before I could even turn around. Flames were literally coming out the top of the stack. Learned my lesson on that one and always clean up between fires.

Weedeater

 

[ravenclan]

my first try at smoking a meatloaf was not as planned. It all started well but in the end it was not even close to something you could eat but it sure did look good. golden brown and even had a smoke ring. but one bite and you could not spit it out fast enough! the meatloaf soaked in so much smoke that when it touched your tongue, first it went numb then it burned a lot then the taste was so bad it made you dry heave!

now when i smoke a meatloaf i hold back on the smoke!

 

[mlrtym44]

I was working on a two day smoke of about 20 butts for pulled pork on my stick burner. I finished up the first day with about 12 of the butts packed into my smoker with no problems.

The second morning I started up my fire as I customarily do letting the smoker start out a little hot to get a good bed of coals and then cooling down to 225 or so before putting the meat on.

I opened up the smoker to hasten the cool down and when the fresh air supply hit the hot smoker the cook chamber exploded in flames. Apparently had a substantial amount of grease on the reverse flow plate from the previous day which ignited with the fresh air supply.

Thought I was going to loose the whole rig! Temp went above 600 degrees before I could even turn around. Flames were literally coming out the top of the stack. Learned my lesson on that one and always clean up between fires.

Weedeater

Oh man! That is a good one!

 

[mlrtym44]

my first try at smoking a meatloaf was not as planned. It all started well but in the end it was not even close to something you could eat but it sure did look good. golden brown and even had a smoke ring. but one bite and you could not spit it out fast enough! the meatloaf soaked in so much smoke that when it touched your tongue, first it went numb then it burned a lot then the taste was so bad it made you dry heave!

now when i smoke a meatloaf i hold back on the smoke!

Good to know! I bet is similar to smoking burgers then. I haven't tried meatloaf yet.

 

[ravenclan]

Good to know! I bet is similar to smoking burgers then. I haven't tried meatloaf yet.

smoked meatloaf is AWESOME!! i have also done the stuffed hamburgers and they are really good also.

 

[johnmeyer]

Just after I got my MES (electric) I was doing a long smoke and the power to the house went out. I still had hours to go. We get a lot of power outages here in the boonies, and I knew the power was likely to be out for several hours. Fortunately, I was at home when this happened and I was able to fire up the generator and finish the smoke.

The power came on as I brought the meat inside.

 

[mlrtym44]

Just after I got my MES (electric) I was doing a long smoke and the power to the house went out. I still had hours to go. We get a lot of power outages here in the boonies, and I knew the power was likely to be out for several hours. Fortunately, I was at home when this happened and I was able to fire up the generator and finish the smoke.

The power came on as I brought the meat inside.

This sounds more like a great save instead of an epic fail!

 

[johnmeyer]

This sounds more like a great save instead of an epic fail!

I guess you're right, although the difference between a save and a failure is often nothing more than dumb luck. If I'd gone out for an hour or two to shop, I'd be in the same position as the OP, only with raw, unhealthy meat instead of ash.

 

[smoken north]

First time I smoked ABT. The bacon started dripping and crept around the heat plate. Needless to say the ABT turned out to be turds

 

[chilerelleno]

Two word story...
Thieving dogs

 

[ghostguy6]

Sitting round all day watching that perfect piece of meat on the smoker for hours, the anticipation while it rests just before cutting into it, then sitting at the table drooling only to wake up from the dream just before the first bite to find myself in bed at 2 am with a growling stomach. :(

 

[ravenclan]

Two word story...
Thieving dogs

I had that problem and it was my neighbors dogs! he heard me yelling and came over to see what was going on. he felt bad and went to the local BBQ joint and bought me a bunch of BBQ to replace what i was cooking. not bad but not what I smoked and spent all night waiting for.

 

[browneyesvictim]

Pulled Porch Barbeque

I have tried smoking just about everything in a Big Chief Smoker. Since their temperature is limited to about 165* set temperature, there is a work-around ("hack" if you will... but I loathe that term) where you can add a couple briquetts to the chip pan to get temps up to do bigger and hotter cooks such as for a Butt. One such cook, I had to move the smoker to the front porch to keep the dogs that were in the back yard out of it. I set it up on bricks, and set it to cook before I went to work that morning. I came home at lunch to check on it and the dogs, and add a few briquettes. As I approached I see there was a lingering blue smoke hanging out in the front porch. "Ahh... doing good I see!" I think to myself.
As I get closer, its not just the smoker puffing away, but large section of the 2x4 deck boards underneath as well, and flames to boot! Good thing I came home for lunch when I did! I wont ever cook over a wooden deck structure again- bricks or not, and I don't leave any smoker unattended anymore.

I did finish the pulled pork and brought it to work the next day to share after stupidly admitting to my co-workers what I had done. It was delicious and well received, but my BBQ got a new label slapped on it that they haven't ever let me forget. That was years ago, but I still get requests for my pulled porch barbeque.