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mr squatch

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 25, 2014
26
10
Hi, just wanted to introduce myself.  I am brand new to smoking and brand new to the forum.  Any tips or suggestions are welcome, I have been reading a lot over the last several days and have found this site to be full of information.

 I have a Brinkman Trailmaster LE that I just got last weekend as an early birthday present.  I have not done any mods to it yet but will over time.  I had planned to add 2 thermos to the grill, however, the store only had one when I went.  What side of the grill lid would you suggest mounting the thermo on to begin with?  I will eventually get a second one to put on the other side.  I will also get a few digital ones to use on the meat and in the cooking chamber until I get a second one.

I am from central Texas and plan on doing my first smoke this weekend.  I plan on doing a pork shoulder and a chicken.  Since I have a ton of mesquite on my property, I plan on starting with that to see how it does.  I will also use oak eventually since I have quite a bit of it but it isn't seasoned yet.

Thanks

TW
 
Great to have you join us TW, congrats on the Trailmaster and :welcome1: from North Dakota!
Hopefully someone with a Trailmaster will be along shortly with answers to your thermo locations.
 
Welcome TW from your neighbor here in East Texas. Both of what you are smoking are pretty forgiving. Chicken is pretty quick, pork shoulder will take a while. Be patient. As for the mesquite, be careful, mesquite is a very strong wood. Try to find some that has really been seasoned, I'm talking 8 to 10 months or a year. Green mesquite or barley seasoned will give you a harsh and bitter taste, especially on long smokes. I have a friend who uses mesquite but mixes it with red oak. You may get some lump charcoal and a little mesquite and see how it goes and you can determine from there about the smokiness for the next cook. Just a thought, do chicken first and you can experiment and get your smoke flavor like you want before doing the pork shoulder. I did  shoulders weekend before last two about 8-9 lbs each smoked them for 12 1/2 hours at 225º then wrapped them in a couple old towels put then in the cooler for another hour, bone slid right out.  Have fun and let us know how it turns out.

Gary S
 
Howdy TW,
From college station Tx
Your gonna like it here if you have any question were here to help with lots of different answers
 
Hey TW

Welcome to the Smoking  forum.   You’ll find great , friendly people here, all more than willing to answer any question you may have.  Just ask and you’ll get about 10 different answers—all right.  LOL.   Don’t forget to post qviews.

Gary
 
Thanks for the replies and the tips. 

Thanks Gary S. I will get some lump to go along with my mesquite.  I also plan on getting a big bag of the chunk wood from the store to go with it too just haven't decided on which wood to get yet.
 
I am thinking that smoker has a thermometer in the center pretty high up ? if so and you want to add additional I would go down to just a little above grate level and put one on both sides evenly spaced. Or plug the hole the original gauge is in and re -position it lower, Kinda up to you and how many you want. Main thing is make sure it is accurate. Take it off stick the stem in boiling water if it reads 212º you good if a little off you can compensate if a lot off get a new one, or take that on back. I check mine several time a year.

Gary S
 
Thanks again.  I plan on adding 2 at grate level but could only get one for now.  I will add the other one when I get it, just couldn't decide which side of the lid I should add this one to until I get my second one.  I figured I would probably add this one to the side closest to the firebox for now and use one of my digital ones inside the grill on the other side.
 
Academy here has a pretty good selection of wood, I do use different fruit wood when I can get them, Here in East Texas we have a lot of hickory, oak and pecan, about an hour north is Peach country I try to snag some when I can. Cherry is good, Just see what your store has get several different kinds and try them on your next few smokes. Since I don't smoke every day I do grill probably 5 days out of the week so I keep quite a few different types of small wood chunks for grilling too. You will have a lot of fun experimenting with rubs, sauces, wood and other stuff. and find what you and your family really likes. This may have already been covered but I would season your smoker before you start smoking your meat.

Gary S
 
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