Ahoy, all ye smoker fiends (I mean friends)

[pegleg bill]

Ok, I'm not really a peg-legged pirate or anything, but my name really is Bill.  I live in Southern CA (Anaheim to be more precise.  I've been making jerky and fresh sausage for some time, but really want to try smoking sausage so I can expand into the kinds I love to eat.  Of course, bacon and roasts are on my long list, too.

I haven't gotten a smoker yet, but have been reading all the suggestions and reviews I can find on this forum for the last week or two.  I'm overwhelmed by the knowledge and willingness to help, so I decided to join up today (besides, my ship is in for its 10,000 mile checkup).

Ok, so here's my dilemma.  I've been trying to decide what smoker to start with.  I really like the MES, but I'm still not sure if electric or propane would be the best way for me to go.  One of the reasons I'm having trouble deciding is because I really am a left-leg amputee, so I'll probably need to do most things from a wheelchair.  That's a concern with all the mods that should be done.  I think I can do many of them, but may have trouble with others.

Any suggestions as to a good way to start would be appreciated.  As I get further into smoking, I'll be happy to return the favor by responding to other posts.  Maybe I can even be of some help now when it comes to sausage and jerky making.

Also, I don't want to be a PITA by posting the same things in various forums, so if you have suggestions as to what forum to post in, I'll be happy to do that.

I am off to kind of a start.  I ordered an AMNPS and pellets from Amazon.  I thought, while I'm deciding on a smoker, I might give a shot at using my BBQ Grill.  Any suggestions for that would also be appreciated.  I ordered Jeff's "Smoking Meat" book, but I haven't found where he talks about smoking on a grill yet.

Cheers!

Bill

 

[gary s]

  Good evening and welcome to the forum, from a nice, cool day here in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything . Check through the forum and you will get a lot of information that may help you decide. I'm an RF stick burner, not a set and forget.  It you are leaning toward electric, check with a bunch of watt burners on here. Bearcarver can give you all the pro's and con's on the MES 

Gary

 

[so ms smoker]

  Welcome Bill! Glad to have you with us! I use an electric smoker and an SFB , but I can't compare with a gasser. The AMNPS works great in the electric and for cold smoking. As for using the grill to smoke, use a small fire on one side and put the meat on the other side. I would be interested in some of your sausage recipies too.

   Mike

 

[pegleg bill]

Thanks, Gary.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to try stick burning, but, hey, I'm always open for suggestions.  I'm not entirely bent on being a watt burner.  Who knows, I may try being a stick burner or gasser after I learn more about it.  As someone else wrote in a post, when I get into a new hobby, I go all out on reading, investigating, and the doing.  I've done that with sausage making, jerky making, beer making coffee roasting, and last but not least, learning to fly.  Why shouldn't smoking get the same attention.

If I don't do anything else, I love hearing the terminology on this site.  I haven't figured out what a bearcarver is though.

Cheers!

Bill

 

[pegleg bill]

Thanks, Mike.  Glad to be here (or anywhere on this side of the grass for that matter). 

I've been looking at the SFB, too.  I like it because it looks impressive and people will think I really know what I'm doing.  Ok, I guess that's not really a good reason to pick a smoker.

Thanks for the suggestion on how to use a grill. I'm all ready to give that a try this weekend.  I've got 2 tri tips I was planning to make jerky out of, but I think I'll try smoking one of them.

As far as sausage recipes, I'd be happy to share.  Just let me know what kinds of sausage are you interested in.  I've got just under a billion.  Ok, maybe not that many, but close.

Cheers!

Bill

 

[JckDanls 07]

Welcome to your new addiction Bill... thinking if your wanting to do smoked sausages and such... your gonna need something that will go really low (start at 120`) and will hold steady not above 175ish`.. thinking you'll struggle a bit with a stick burner for those temps... An electric or very well controlled gas smoker would be in your best interest... looking forward to seeing some of your recipes....

 

[bladebuilder]

Hi Bill! Welcome to the addiction! I to wandered in here a month or so ago. Not only did the rabbit hole catch me, but I think I'm still falling! Haha!

Bearcarver is a who, not a what. Find him here... http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/159333/bears-step-by-step-index#post_1149933

 

[pegleg bill]

Hey Keith,  Thanks for the welcome and for the suggestions.  Makes a lot of sense to me.  I really wouldn't mind going the gas route due to the fact that you can reach higher temps when doing a bird that you want to brown in the smoker instead of transferring to the oven.  That's not real high on my priority list, but if I could find a gas model that will hold the temp., I'll sure consider that. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Right now I'm still leaning toward the MES, but still investigating.

Let me know what kind of sausage you'd like to do and I'll be happy to post a recipe you can use as-is or tweak to your liking.

 

[pegleg bill]

Thanks, Blade,

I can see how this could get real addicting real fast.  Thanks for the clarification on Bearcarver being a who and not a what.  I probably just got off on the wrong foot with him.  Duhh.  LOL.  This is a little off the subject, but what kinds of knives do you make.  It seems I'm a knife collector, too.

 

[pegleg bill]

HEY SO MS SMOKER (and all),  I forgot to ask - my BBQ grill doesn't have any adjustable vents.  Will that be a problem for smoking?  Thanks again.

 

[JckDanls 07]

HEY SO MS SMOKER (and all),  I forgot to ask - my BBQ grill doesn't have any adjustable vents.  Will that be a problem for smoking?  Thanks again.

yup.. gonna be problems... no way to control heat...

 

[pegleg bill]

Thanks, JD.  Thought that might be the case.  I was kind of hoping cracking the lid would work, but didn't really think it would.  On the bright side, guess I'd better get a smoker sooner.  It's either that or drill holes in my wife's BBQ grill which would not be a pretty sight when she found out.

Geez, I hate the red underlines that appear every time I misspell sumpthin'.  (see what I mean?)

 

[themule69]

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David

 

[pegleg bill]

Thanks, David.  I love your list of toys - especially the baby blue one on the QView.  As soon I decide on my smoker and get it, I'll be sure to add it. I'm hoping Santa will help me out with that.  I've been reading review after review trying to decide which would be best.  Can I borrow 6 or 8 of yours to try out?  

When I finish with the reviews, which should be sometime in 2016, I'll be asking a lot of questions, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

Bill