Hello Smokers!

Parrot Person · April 21, 2010, 10:13:56 AM

Hello, I'm from Southern California and have never smoked before (except maybe once or twice by accident when I wrapped up something real tight in foil and placed it on the old Weber away from the flame and let it sit for several hours (is that smoking???)

Been reading your advice, posts and recipes for the last few days. After reading reviews and vacillating between the Weber Smokey Mountain, MasterBuilt, Brinkman, and OBS, ordered the OBS from Amazon yesterday, along with cover and about 200 bisquettes, three BubbaPucks based on your recommendations. Anxiously awaiting delivery of the smoker, knowing that it will come before the bisquettes/pucks - maybe I can find some bisquettes/pucks locally. Read about seasoning the machine, troubleshooting, possibility of temperature fluctuations, the importance of prepping the goods to be smoked. Anxious to smoke spare ribs, pork butts, tri tips, pork hocks, brisket.

At the moment, not so inclined to make or smoke sausage or fish and was wondering if I need to spring the $200 for the Auber dual probe PID. Some threads say that this is important to have if sausage and fish are on the menu because of the inaccuracy and fluctuations of the existing controls. Should I wait until I've done some smoking and see if I'm happy with the results without the probe, or is it a good thing to have in all cases? Of course I WANT it, but don't know if I really NEED it!

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and input.

Parrot Person

FLBentRider · April 21, 2010, 10:17:40 AM

W E L C O M E to the Forum Parrot Person!

I would wait on the PID.

I made a lot of great food without one.

Now I have one... along with a lot of other "stuff"

Make sure you keep the vent at least 1/4 open when smoking - wide open for poultry.

KevinG · April 21, 2010, 10:18:18 AM

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you came prepared. I own the digital, so I'm probably not the best person to give advice on the subject, but from what other's have said about the OBS, is you can get by without the auber. Just a little trial and error. Get yourself a good remote temperature probe, that way you don't have to open the door, and it'll make life a lot easier.

TTNuge · April 21, 2010, 10:22:34 AM

Welcome!

I never used my OBS without a PID so I can't comment other than to say many people do it. Being a gadget guy myself I couldn't see any way not to have one but just having an OBS is a great start. No reason you can't add on later.

jiggerjams · April 21, 2010, 10:23:28 AM

Welcome to the forums Parrot. Like yourself I do not have a smoker yet, but I have decided to first play with the smoker without the PID when I do get one. I want to learn the smoker first before I venture down the path to actual add ons. Although I will be purchasing a Maverick dual probe.

All the best with your OBS.

Keep it stoked,

JJ

Parrot Person · April 21, 2010, 10:38:52 AM

Thank you so much! I forgot about the vent - CHECK! Oh yeah, definitely planning on chicken and hopefully confident enough to try a turkey or two before Thanksgiving. The advice on waiting on the probe is reassuring. The price of the Maverick is a little more attainable and I do have a little probe that has a wire that works in the oven; that should suffice for checking IT. This is all really helpful. I'm really excited about this and just impatient for it to arrive and pull off that first butt or rack of ribs!

FLBentRider · April 21, 2010, 10:41:17 AM

Quote from: Parrot Person on April 21, 2010, 10:38:52 AM
I'm really excited about this and just impatient for it to arrive and pull off that first butt or rack of ribs!

IMHO, start with the butt. It is as forgiving a cut of meat as you can find.

OU812 · April 21, 2010, 10:48:49 AM

Welcome to the fun Parrot Person

I would get your self a good remote thermometer like the Maverick ET-73 that way you can also keep track of the cabnet temp along with the meat temp and get some puck savers that will save you some bisquettes, then learn how your smoker works. You will be able to put out some mighty good stuff with out a PID.

Then if you feel you need a PID you make the call.

I have made all sorts of stuff, including sausage, before I got my PID with great success.

Also like what has been said before keep that vent open.

ArnieM · April 21, 2010, 11:06:39 AM

Hi PP and welcome to the forum!

I'm with FLBR on the butt. They're hard to ruin unless they're under cooked - tough.

Vent: I'm always 3/4 to full open for what I smoke.

Poultry: You might want to pull it when close to done and then put it in a 350-375 oven to finish it off and crisp up the skin some.

PID: Haven't used one yet - but soon. Things like butt, brisket and ribs don't really require one. I did bacon yesterday and trying to keep the cabinet temp to an average of 160-165 required a lot of running around for fine adjustments.

Mav ET-73: Handy to have. If you get one, chuck the batteries it comes with and get some good alkaline or rechargeable NiMH batteries. Range is much improved.

Butt: It can take a long time. Maybe 2-4 hours of smoke (for me) and then a long cook time. I've seen some reported here that can go from 16-24+ hours. Plan ahead and FTC it when done.

The important parts are to learn, have fun and get a great amount of pride from what you have accomplished.

Parrot Person · April 21, 2010, 11:22:29 AM

Thanks for the vote on the butt! I love butt (that's the thing that I accidentally pseudo-smoked!) Just got off Amazon ordering the Maverick ET-7 dual probe and some oak bisquettes; from reading your advice on flavors, the oak seems to be the most universal for all smoked items. Apple will be next!

ArnieM · April 21, 2010, 11:46:31 AM

You'll have to experiment to determine which smoke on what you like the best.

My personal favorites are:

- Pork butt and ribs: Hickory
- Boneless pork loin: Apple
- Cheese: Apple
- Brisket: Mesquite
- Bacon: Hickory or maple, depending on more savory or sweet and the cure
- Roast beef: Oak
- Poultry: Apple

DTAggie · April 21, 2010, 11:52:25 AM

I have an OBS and use a probe that tells IT and cabin temp but do not use a PID to control the temp. I have had no problems keeping the temp where I want it even over night. Let us know when it arrives and how the first smoke goes.

Ketch22 · April 21, 2010, 12:10:38 PM

Welcome to the forum you will have fun here.

Parrot Person · April 21, 2010, 12:53:32 PM

Thank you all (again). This forum has been invaluable in terms of tips, advice, recipes and wisdom. Definitely learning a lot, especially the FTC step - none of this can be rushed and it sounds like taking your time and learning the steps is worth the wait. Been saving all the hints and reminders and lists and know what to check if I see that "E" symbol on the indicator, what to do if the advancer gets stuck, how to file down the notch if it comes to that, re-setting the smoker, all that really helpful stuff.

It was a real eye-opener researching all the different types of smokers; I was initially just going to buy the 30" Masterbuilt until I read the reviews about the heating element failing and then google came up with all these brands and Bradley kept coming out on top - right next to Cookshack (which is waaaaaaaay too rich for my inexperience but they do look like unbeatable units.)

Just ready to jump out of my skin waiting for the OBS to arrive. My Amazon order status says it's too late to change the order so maybe they're packing it up and putting it on the truck.

P.S. just a thought, has anyone used a vertical chicken roaster thing while smoking a chicken? Is it irrelevant? Probably messier and drippier. Or beer can chicken?

OU812 · April 21, 2010, 01:45:06 PM

Parrot

I use the vertical chicken roaster/beer can chicken holder upper quite often just dont put a beer can in it. The bird has plenty of moisture in it.

I also like to put a pan, with a warm can of beer poured in it, on the rack just below the bird, after the smoke, to catch the drippins, the drippins with the fat removed makes some killer gravy.