Ready, Fire, Aim

[fishrman]

Hey everyone!  I've been smoking salmon and jerky for years on my Little Chief and have wanted to go bigger but never pulled the trigger.  Luckily, I've got a wife who doesn't mind and is wise and generous - she got me a 4-rack digital for Christmas.  Now, she's not totally selfless.  After I'd opened it she said, "You may think this is for you, but it is for the whole family!" ;D

And she has been proven right (don't ya just hate it when that happens?)  Since Christmas I've done:
Beef Jerky
Salmon (two different ways)
Turkey thighs
Pulled pork
Tuna
Gravelax
Cheese (Mozzarella, Cheddar, Gouda)
Boneless Turkey breast (10 breasts total - a big hit)

Next up this weekend I'm getting adventurous and doing both a brisket and ribs for a family dinner.  Lovin' it.   I have, however, discovered some of the warts associated with the smoker and have coming to me on UPS as I type a BBQ Guru controller to give me better temp control.  I'm also considering a recirculating fan as the hotspot at the rear of the smoker is really quite significant.  But heck, these are simply speedbumps to go over on the road to all that smokey goodness!  I attribute the success of the smokes so far in a large part to all of the members of this boards.  I shamelessly lurked, read and stole many great ideas and recipes, and found the guidance invaluable as I broadened my smoking horizon.  Thanks to all of you, and please be gentle when the dumb questions which are sure to follow show up with my name in the author's column.  I think you'll find my enthusiasm sometimes outpaces my intelligence. ;)

[Tater]

Looks like you're off and running.  Welcome to the forum!

[NePaSmoKer]

Hey everyone!  I've been smoking salmon and jerky for years on my Little Chief and have wanted to go bigger but never pulled the trigger.  Luckily, I've got a wife who doesn't mind and is wise and generous - she got me a 4-rack digital for Christmas.  Now, she's not totally selfless.  After I'd opened it she said, "You may think this is for you, but it is for the whole family!" ;D

And she has been proven right (don't ya just hate it when that happens?)  Since Christmas I've done:
Beef Jerky
Salmon (two different ways)
Turkey thighs
Pulled pork
Tuna
Gravelax
Cheese (Mozzarella, Cheddar, Gouda)
Boneless Turkey breast (10 breasts total - a big hit)

Next up this weekend I'm getting adventurous and doing both a brisket and ribs for a family dinner.  Lovin' it.   I have, however, discovered some of the warts associated with the smoker and have coming to me on UPS as I type a BBQ Guru controller to give me better temp control.  I'm also considering a recirculating fan as the hotspot at the rear of the smoker is really quite significant.  But heck, these are simply speedbumps to go over on the road to all that smokey goodness!  I attribute the success of the smokes so far in a large part to all of the members of this boards.  I shamelessly lurked, read and stole many great ideas and recipes, and found the guidance invaluable as I broadened my smoking horizon.  Thanks to all of you, and please be gentle when the dumb questions which are sure to follow show up with my name in the author's column.  I think you'll find my enthusiasm sometimes outpaces my intelligence. ;)

You did get the Raptor in conjunction with your Guru?
http://www.thebbqguru.com/products/Power-Raptor-Unit-w%7B47%7Do-Control.html

[mikecorn.1]

Hey everyone!  I've been smoking salmon and jerky for years on my Little Chief and have wanted to go bigger but never pulled the trigger.  Luckily, I've got a wife who doesn't mind and is wise and generous - she got me a 4-rack digital for Christmas.  Now, she's not totally selfless.  After I'd opened it she said, "You may think this is for you, but it is for the whole family!" ;D

And she has been proven right (don't ya just hate it when that happens?)  Since Christmas I've done:
Beef Jerky
Salmon (two different ways)
Turkey thighs
Pulled pork
Tuna
Gravelax
Cheese (Mozzarella, Cheddar, Gouda)
Boneless Turkey breast (10 breasts total - a big hit)

Next up this weekend I'm getting adventurous and doing both a brisket and ribs for a family dinner.  Lovin' it.   I have, however, discovered some of the warts associated with the smoker and have coming to me on UPS as I type a BBQ Guru controller to give me better temp control.  I'm also considering a recirculating fan as the hotspot at the rear of the smoker is really quite significant.  But heck, these are simply speedbumps to go over on the road to all that smokey goodness!  I attribute the success of the smokes so far in a large part to all of the members of this boards.  I shamelessly lurked, read and stole many great ideas and recipes, and found the guidance invaluable as I broadened my smoking horizon.  Thanks to all of you, and please be gentle when the dumb questions which are sure to follow show up with my name in the author's column.  I think you'll find my enthusiasm sometimes outpaces my intelligence. ;)

You did get the Raptor in conjunction with your Guru?
http://www.thebbqguru.com/products/Power-Raptor-Unit-w%7B47%7Do-Control.html

Question. What's the difference in the dual probe auber PID and
The raptor and guru.


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[TomW]

Question. What's the difference in the dual probe auber PID and
The raptor and guru.

My view on it:  Auber is programmable and you can set it to completely control your cook, however you want. It also "learns" your smoker for better prediction of heat requirements. 

The Guru/Raptor controls (pulses) the element on and off to control the oven temp.  It can "ramp" which is reducing the oven temp as your food temp approaches the set point.

I've got the guru/raptor and use the guru on my wood burning smoker, and my bradley, and use the raptor on my Bradley and my turkey roaster.  I enjoy the flexibility.

Tom

[beefmann]

welcome to the forum  way to go on the cooks ,,, and a fan  would be a big help

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi fishrman,

Welcome to the forum.

Just to add some to TomW description; the temperature control devices BBQ Guru sells are very similar to the PID in how they control the temperature, but they use a different algorithm to control the temperature. Shotgun Fred told me what Algorithms they use, but I will have to find my manual where I wrote down my notes. The PID also pulses on/off to control the temperature.

[fishrman]

Thanks for the great welcome and all the helpful responses. 

- NePaSmoKer, yes I did order the Raptor with the controller and I'm hoping that it performs as well for me as it seems to have for others.

- Beefman, I'm considering the fan kit from smokeandstuff fan kit as it seems to be a complete packaged solution that I should be able to install without undue fuss (I know, famous last words).  I know I saw some postings on it including one about 'how to install' somewhere here on the boards; rest assured I'll look them up again when I move forward on this.

- Habanero, the learning Algorithm is interesting, and I like the feature of it being able to ramp down the chamber temp as the finished meat temp approaches.

When I do the brisket it'll be an overnight smoke and the temps will drop into the low 40's, so I'm planning on wrapping the outside (not the top) of the smoker with a water heater insulating blanket to allow the internal temps to get high enough.  Last time I tried to smoke early in the morning at these temps without the blanket the unit struggled mightily to get up to 220F, so the hope is that the blanket will do the trick.  Then the plan is to put the ribs in as the brisket temp nears the final temp - the warmer part of the day so that recovery time is minimal.  I figure I've got up to 4-5 hours of FTC time with the brisket, so a little fat in the formula.  Thoughts?

[Flyboyandre]

Welcome! This stuff is addictive indeed!

[TomW]

rest assured I'll look them up again when I move forward on this.

I put a smokeandstuff fan kit in this weekend.  The included instructions are all you need!

Tom

[SouthernSmoked]

Welcome to the forum...Enjoy!

http://www.susanminor.org

Remember we like pic's!!

[fishrman]

Since pics seem to be valued here, I better figure out how to insert them, no?  Purpose of this post is to see if I've got it right.  If history is any predictor of the future, it'll take a few tries.  Anyway, the output of my first Maple Smoked Tuna and Jan's Rub Turkey Breasts:





Edit: Hot damn, I got it first time 'round! 

[mikecorn.1]

Dam, you got a double toaster. Sweet. :D.


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[slowpoke]

The only dumb question is the one not asked. :o Or somthing like that.Welcome a board.