First time Smoker in Alberta, Canada

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smokednalberta

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 5, 2010
14
11
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Hello Everyone,

Not sure if you get many members from up here in Canada. Smoking up here isnt really that big of a thing as it is down south. That is too bad because I wish we knew about this years ago.

Well I am just writing up our first smoking experience and will post soon, but not sure this is the place.

your new smoker friends from up north.

Mike & Tiffany
 
Welcome to SMF  There are lots of Canadians on this forum.  You will like it here

Be sure to post your qview so we can all enjoy it  
 
Hello Everyone,

A little about us; Mike & Tiffany

We are new to the smoking meat craze and wish we knew about this years ago Yummy! We live in the Edmonton, Alberta area. I have always been praised on my grilling abilities but let the next few paragraphs tell you about my smoking abilities……

I was recently introduced into the smoking world by a friend here at work that was trying to brag about his ribs that he did in his smoker over the weekend. I said to myself, self that can’t be that hard so I went down to my local BBQ shop and bought the Vertical Propane GrillPro Smoker. The guy in the store suggested I get a few things (tongs, rack, wood chips etc….)

I then rushed over to the supermarket and picked up some ribs. Got home brewed up some stuff that kind of looked like a sauce and off I went on a smoking rampage that day. I started @ 4pm; many of you now know I really didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I kept telling the kids hang on they will be ready soon…. Famous last words

I didn’t have any trouble getting the heat right according to the gauge on the outside of the smoker......I had smoke rolling out of that smoker like it was no ones business. I sprayed the meat. Time elapsed 8hrs later (kids fell asleep starving to death...) 

I finally got the look from the boss that clearly stated she had enough of this smoker thing already! Now some of you may be saying holy hell 8hrs yep that’s right 8hrs later these ribs were awful. Tiffany grabbed the whole lot of the ribs and into the garbage they went. The kids woke up in the morning and asked where the ribs were I told them a raccoon came and got them lol

Well my smoking career almost went up in smoke that night.... 

Let’s recap where I went wrong;

1. I used smoke in the smoker for all 8 hrs

2. I started way too late to eat that night at a normal time

3. I didn’t have a meat thermometer.

4. Maybe should have read a little more about how to smoke meat.

So back to work I went on my next shift. I started to read anything and everything. My friend Brett that introduced this to me said I was like a crazed mad person that couldn’t get enough to read or enough YouTube videos. I came across Jeff and his website. I quickly read everything I could get my eyes and mouse on. Let’s just say work was not on my mind lol. I had to redeem myself and become the “MAN” again.

Since I just blew a bunch of money on this smoker hobby of mine and it bombed bad I figured I better make it up to Tiffany, so I sent her to Vegas for the weekend. Back to the store I went and bought a digital thermometer and some other accessories. Grabbed some more ribs and I was determined to get this right….

I bought Jeff’s rib rub & sauce recipe online. I started the process all over again….but wait, what is this I am seeing! the digital thermometer is playing games with my mind. The gauge on the smoker says that I am at approx 500F and the new digital says 235F WTF I say. Not sure what to do now I go to the store and buy another gauge yep the smokers gauge is not correct. Duh!!!  Everyone is saying right now. Well I am going to finish this story anyways.

After those first ribs let me tell you I wasn’t inviting anyone over to taste them until I knew for sure that this was going to work. I invited the neighbors over and they tried them and said that they were delicious. Yahoo I did it, I am man again!!!! They asked if I would make enough to feed 20 people at their BBQ the next weekend. Little did they know that those ribs they just tasted were my first ribs that were suitable to eat by humans. I agreed of course and said I would be ready.

I went to Costco and purchased 2 packages of ribs this past weekend and the butcher said that not even I could screw these ribs up that they were perfect ribs for smoking. I prepped them the night before with the naked rib rub and a few of my own additives. Started smoking them the next morning at 8am…. 6hrs later and the 3-2-1 method these ribs looked amazing. My best work so far. I made a double batch of the sauce and added a few other ingredients in it and heated and served on the side.

Yep all 20 plus people showed up, and they were already asking about these ribs that they heard about, well if you thought I was nervous before, now I was really nervous. Tiffany stood beside me as I helped serve everyone the ribs and sauce. We sat over to the side so that we could listen. It was an amazing feeling that came over me when I heard them say things like “These are the best ribs I have ever tasted”, “I’ve tasted allot of ribs and by far these are the best”, “The meat, it just melts in your mouth and I don’t even like ribs”. I was like a little kid I had a grin from ear to ear. I was slapping Tiffany’s leg asking her if she could hear this. She knew that my ego was swelling as the nano-seconds went by. Even the kids were using the sauce to dip their hotdogs in it was amazing. People were already trying to convince me to come over and do ribs up for their next BBQ. And that was only my 3[sup]rd[/sup] time doing ribs.

I would like to give the praise where it is due to Jeff for his e-course and recipes. I might have just given up if I hadn’t got the info that this website has.

Hope you all read this and I enjoyed sharing my first smoking story with you all.

Mike & TIffany
 
Well Mike, you have now been bitten by the que bug and the sad news is-there is no known cure and it will only get worse!
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Many of us here have had your initial experience-great expectations that quickly spiraled down into a catastrophic failure and the feeling of disappointment having let down the family.

Here at SMF you'll find all kinds of tips tricks and ideas that you never thought were possible to do on a smoker and you'll start compiling a "To-Do" list of all the things that you want to try.

The folks here are willing to help you out now matter how silly you think your question is and as we often say, "The only dumb question is the one you don't ask."

Remember that smoking meats is an art form and the only way to get better is to practice, practice and practice!

Enjoy!
 
Great story Mike!

Stick around, like I did, and you'll learn a whole lot.

There are a lot of great people here just waiting to help you.

Bearcarver
 
Welcome to SMF congrats on the new smoker and sticking with it after the first attempt. The ribs look good in your Qview. You have just started the addiction before long you'll be smoking everything. Check out the ABT's and Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans for the next smoke to go along with those ribs
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First off Welcome Mike n Tiffany to SMF. Now those are a new smoker full of ribs there Mike. You'll like it here for there are alot of really good folks here that would just love to help you with just about anything to do with smoking. Now there are alot of proven recipes for some amazing things here too. So the next big thing for you to do is go out and get you something to smoke and if you happen to have any questions just post it here and we will be happy to answer them for you.

Welcome To Your New Addiction    
 
Thanks everyone for the replies, I wasnt sure if this was the right place to spill my beans but it seemed an appropriate way to introduce myself lol. I work out of town for 8 days then im home for 5 days so I try to get at least 2 smokes in a weekend. This next week I am packing the smoker up and travelling 1000km (600M) to visit my dad in Peachland BC for those that dont know the area it is absolutley paradise. I am going to surprise him with a few racks of ribs while im visiting. This should make the neighbours jelous lol

Ill keep you posted and with pics
 
Welcome to the SMF family mike and Tiffany!!!

 The thing about smoking and family is the wife and kids can do it too.

 My wife is learning the basics and wants to be able to smoke something at our gathering in October.

 Aint life grand when everyone says ,That's the best i've ever had.

 The real test is when you feed a bunch of folks that smoke.
 
I agree with you eman about getting others that smoke to try it. I am trying to locate some BBQ functions here in alberta but it turns out they are on the weekends I am working so I will keep trying to arrange something. I know one thing, the next time im down south I will be looking and planning ahead of time to get to one of those competions to see how the big boyz and galz do it.

Mike
 
I agree ,best one I've read too

 I bet it's not long before Mike starts building a smoker.
 
Hi Mike,

   I'm a long time lurker on these boards, but never get around to posting...I'll try to change that now! I enjoyed reading  about your first smoker experience. My favorite line in your account was...'I had to redeem myself and become the "MAN" again. I laughed when I read that. Although I am female, I can totally relate to that thought! I am a private chef, and for some reason, I get upset if I don't make something awesome the first time around. It always makes me try harder the next time.

   I don't have a smoker...yet. I have a few grills that I am slowly teaching myself on. I have a stovetop smoker that I reallly like. If things can taste soo good on a wimpy little indoor thing, I can just imagine what a real one will be like. Thanks for your story!

Chrissy
 
Ya I have signed up for a few forums in the past for various things but never really wanted to participate because usually everyone was just trying to belittle someone or just plain being an A$$ to them becuase they could. But I have noticed that this place is different. I'm glad you enjoyed my story as I wasnt sure that i was even going to post it after I wrote it.

I never even knew about smoking before the last couple months and im sure now that my BBQ is feeling like I have been cheating on her becuase I have fired it up since. I BBQ alot more in the winter than I do in the summer. I guess I like the smell of BBQ in winter when no one else has thiers going.

I hope that you get a smoker soon, even if it is one like mine the propane version it is very easy to use and only a few hundred dollars gets you all set up.
 
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