Your best tip for a Newbie (gnubee)

[gnubee]

Lets hear your best advice that you'd give to our New members so they will have that perfect smoke.

My first advice given to any Newb on here would be to Check your new thermometer before your first smoke. The one that came with the smoker might be way off. There are many many posts throughout this forum telling of a failed smoke and ruined meat because that shiny brand new smoker came with a thermometer that was reading way off.

When Your In the process of seasoning your smoker for the first time check the thermometer readings of the stock thermometer with one or several other thermometers. Make sure you place at least one thermometer or probe at the rack level. You want to know the temp where the meat will be smoked. Some smokers even come with the thermometer placed where they can't possibly do any good. I place one of those El Cheapo oven thermometers that I know to be accurate on the rack that is nearest to the center-most position in the smoker. I also put a couple more el Cheapo oven thermometers on the other racks for comparison.

Oven thermometers are about $5 in Wally world and other fine stores.

Meat probes should also be checked on a regular basis. Electronics can fail and leave you with a ruined meal so check them often.

Most smokers have hot spots and cool spots. Often the folks on here have discovered a modification for your particular smoker that will help alleviate this situation. Check the forums for your brand and model.

Steady correct temperatures will almost always result in a successful smoke.

 

[DanMcG]

That would also be my best advise for a new smoker. check your thermometers. it takes most of the guess work out of the smoke.

 

[travcoman45]

Fire control (aka temp control) an practice. Don't start out with a big meal fer friends comin over fer dinner. Practice on a fattie, a pork butt er somthin like that, cause if it's just you an the Mrs an it flops, well ya can get her a steak dinner ta make up fer it.

Stay calm, try ta enjoy what yer doin, have a cold one an spend some quality time in the smoke. Take notes of what ya did, how it came out, what ya think ya need ta do different.

Ask questions, folks on here wan't ya to succeed as much as you do!

 

[scarbelly]

My best tip for a newbie would be to spend a day reading posts here and making notes on your PC for each item you want to smoke. Make a folder and store them so you have a quick reference. Rubs, Sauces, Beef, Pork, Chicken etc - This way when you get a new idea you can add it to the folder and have an immediate reference. Put the manual to your smoker in the same folder. You can usually go on line and get a PDF - this will come in handy if you need parts later on

Then as others have said, check your thermometers

 

[scpatterson]

Mine will be reading as much as they can on here, learn the search function...I know thats not exactly in action advice......

Make small adjustments and see what happens on yur smoker..Dont over steer it

 

[fire it up]

Don't give up, if you don't get it at first just relax, ask some of the more seasoned members and try it again.
When i first started smoking and things went wrong I almost said to hell with it, I'm so, so, soooo glad I stuck with it, read, asked and learned.

 

[ciolli]

Don't be afraid to ask questions here...

 

[shooterrick]

Read all the above and take the 5 day e course. It is where I started and will give you a foundation to grow on.

 

[bmudd14474]

When you hit your stall dont overreact and up the temp in the smoker.

 

[solaryellow]

My best tip would be to have fun with it. Life is full of ups and downs and while you surely will have some failures, you will have some big successes too. Don't lose sight of enjoyment while trying to achieve nirvana.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Keep a log of all your smokes. Review and tweak your methodology.
Practice, start on easy things and work up to the big stuff.
Re-reading your records helps locate the problems and guides you to a more consistent product.
Know your smoker-the leaks, how it draws air, the hotspots!
And keep it Thin, Blue and sweet smelling....
But above all;
Smoke Happy :)-

 

[meateater]

I would say less is more. Smokers don't have a reverse!

 

[treegje]

do not be discouraged after a setback
learn from your mistakes,so I did it
trial and error,I still learn every day
keep everything,write everything temp, rub, wood, charcoal etc.
and take pictures of your food,I regularly browse through the pictures
sometimes I get as an inspiration

 

[john3198]

Be flexible and expect the unexpected. Every smoke can be different. The ribs you thought were going to be done in 3 hours take 5 and the ones you figured on 5 hours are done in 3. You never know. Take notes. Get some good reference materials - like "Smoke and Spice" and "Sublime Smoke" by the Jamisons.

 

[bud lite]

It's already been mentioned, but, let me repeat.....
Macho guy that you probably are, read the instructions, especially the part about seasoning the smoker before you try it on that maiden smoke.

It burns off the oils and manufacturing crud that could spoil a good dinner and deflate your ego. Nuff said.

 

[beer-b-q]

My advice would be to read, watch, look, listen, learn, ask lots of questions if you don't understand something and most of all practice...

 

[kurtsara]

The meat is done when it's done, not any sooner

 

[pops6927]

Use common-sense food safety controls.
Don't thaw meat on the counter, use the refrigerator.
Wipe up bloody juices and sanitize surfaces.
Don't leave meat out of refrigeration too long (more than an hour) - chill it or cook it. Especially when grinding meat - opens up thousands of more surface areas to the meat to collect and grow bacteria.
Don't cross-contaminate product - laying spareribs on a surface with chicken juice on it, or cut up a pork butt to grind for sausage with brine from a turkey dripped on it a few hours ago, etc. Again, common sense stuff.
Sanitize your equipment before using and after using.
Cook at recommended temps, get your smoker up to temps first.
After your meal, put the food away, don't leave out for hours.

 

[eaglewing]

The BEST TIP I have is "SURF THIS SITE" like you looking for a cure!!!

I have PDF Creator but you need to find a way to take screen shots or copy&paste or print to file or something that will SAVE A THREAD!!!!

There are threads on here that I go back to too many times so I just SAVE them to a PDF and stick them in a folder on my Desktop for easy reference!!

 

[ugaboz]

this is all great advice