Hello my name is Dave, I live in the valley of the sun and lurked on this site for awhile. Anytime I want info on smoking I usually find that my bookmarks/google searches are leading me back to this site. After my last (fifth time) of smoking meat this summer I figured I would join the community.
I have always had an interest in smoking meats and learning more about barbeque. It was not until earlier this year when I appraised a famous barbeque restaurant, that I finally broke down and bought a smoker. I mean, come on! Who doesn't like smoked meat? Not only is it impressive for guests but getting it right really seems like an accomplishment. This also seems like a hobby which takes time and practice. I want something that’s going to be worth an investment of my time and not something that’s bore too easily.
Currently, I have 4 grills: a Weber Smokey Joe; a Weber Go-Anywhere; a cheap 4 burner Brinkmann; and a beat-up Kenmore Grill. My smoker collection is just a MES30 which I purchased in June of 2014. The gentleman at lowes told me this a great smoker for learning to smoke and conviced me to spend the $200. So far I have smoked: 4lb pork loin; baby backs ribs; a half packer brisket; one turkey breast; and 9lbs of short ribs. For my experience I would say beginner at best but wanting to learn... So far the only true successes I have had smoking were my turkey and spare ribs. It seems my temperature control was my killer in the prior three times of smoking. After purchasing a Maverick ET-733 (and a few dry runs) that I realized my smoker ran a little hot. I am still learning as I go and I’ll venture to say I will probably be tweaking and learn for quite some time before I can call myself a true amateur of this hobby.
Lastly, I hope your patience for newbies is great (and I’ll do my best to find those answers buried deep within threads) but I am sure I’ll have a lot of questions.
~BigDnAZ
I have always had an interest in smoking meats and learning more about barbeque. It was not until earlier this year when I appraised a famous barbeque restaurant, that I finally broke down and bought a smoker. I mean, come on! Who doesn't like smoked meat? Not only is it impressive for guests but getting it right really seems like an accomplishment. This also seems like a hobby which takes time and practice. I want something that’s going to be worth an investment of my time and not something that’s bore too easily.
Currently, I have 4 grills: a Weber Smokey Joe; a Weber Go-Anywhere; a cheap 4 burner Brinkmann; and a beat-up Kenmore Grill. My smoker collection is just a MES30 which I purchased in June of 2014. The gentleman at lowes told me this a great smoker for learning to smoke and conviced me to spend the $200. So far I have smoked: 4lb pork loin; baby backs ribs; a half packer brisket; one turkey breast; and 9lbs of short ribs. For my experience I would say beginner at best but wanting to learn... So far the only true successes I have had smoking were my turkey and spare ribs. It seems my temperature control was my killer in the prior three times of smoking. After purchasing a Maverick ET-733 (and a few dry runs) that I realized my smoker ran a little hot. I am still learning as I go and I’ll venture to say I will probably be tweaking and learn for quite some time before I can call myself a true amateur of this hobby.
Lastly, I hope your patience for newbies is great (and I’ll do my best to find those answers buried deep within threads) but I am sure I’ll have a lot of questions.
~BigDnAZ
