I'm a newb and I'm three smokes in and can't get enough. So far, chicken, butt, ABT's, butt, more ABT's. Brisket next. I read a lot on the site and learned alot. Thanks for all the previous experience and lessons. A couple things as a newb that I wanted to pass along to other newbs:
1) Relax. You're not cooking meat in a 700 degree pizza oven or under a broiler. It's a long slow process and very forgiving within a pretty wide range of cook temps.
2) Get to know your smoker. At the outset, I say don't mess with external thermometers or other temp controlling gadgets. Just smoke. Rub a butt (preferably a pig's), refrigerate, and let it fly. Follow the lid gauge and some basic instructions provided on this site and see what happens. Keep it simple at first and get a feel for your smoker. Add the complexity later.
3) Don't obsess over cook temps. There's a reason that the lid temp gauge has a 75 degree range for smoking. It's not an exact science. It's a forgiving cooking method. It's hard to completely screw it up. Keep it somewhere in the ballpark and you'll be fine.
4) Start with one or two meats at a time. Early on, I say one piece per smoke myself. Again, keep it simple. Don't try to cook four butts for a party of 50 on your first smoke. Do one split/cut chicken first. Fire it up, open all vents and let er rip for an hour. Then, move to a single butt and get a feel for temp regulation with the water pan and the vents.
5) Allow some time for temp regulation. Don't panic if your temp regulation moves don't take effect immediately. Again, this a slow moving process, like steering an oceanliner versus a Cobalt skiboat. It takes a little time for temps to regulate. Take a breath.
6) Internal temp and feel are the most important things. Nothing matters more than whether the meat is done or not. Get a thermapen from thermoworks and make sure the meat is done. Whether you smoked your butt at 280 or 220, make sure it's tender and done before you pull it.
I'll stop there. Just wanted to share some of my experiences. This thing produces wonderful finished products. You just gotta let it do its thing.
1) Relax. You're not cooking meat in a 700 degree pizza oven or under a broiler. It's a long slow process and very forgiving within a pretty wide range of cook temps.
2) Get to know your smoker. At the outset, I say don't mess with external thermometers or other temp controlling gadgets. Just smoke. Rub a butt (preferably a pig's), refrigerate, and let it fly. Follow the lid gauge and some basic instructions provided on this site and see what happens. Keep it simple at first and get a feel for your smoker. Add the complexity later.
3) Don't obsess over cook temps. There's a reason that the lid temp gauge has a 75 degree range for smoking. It's not an exact science. It's a forgiving cooking method. It's hard to completely screw it up. Keep it somewhere in the ballpark and you'll be fine.
4) Start with one or two meats at a time. Early on, I say one piece per smoke myself. Again, keep it simple. Don't try to cook four butts for a party of 50 on your first smoke. Do one split/cut chicken first. Fire it up, open all vents and let er rip for an hour. Then, move to a single butt and get a feel for temp regulation with the water pan and the vents.
5) Allow some time for temp regulation. Don't panic if your temp regulation moves don't take effect immediately. Again, this a slow moving process, like steering an oceanliner versus a Cobalt skiboat. It takes a little time for temps to regulate. Take a breath.
6) Internal temp and feel are the most important things. Nothing matters more than whether the meat is done or not. Get a thermapen from thermoworks and make sure the meat is done. Whether you smoked your butt at 280 or 220, make sure it's tender and done before you pull it.
I'll stop there. Just wanted to share some of my experiences. This thing produces wonderful finished products. You just gotta let it do its thing.
