Hello from the West Coast

[mojavejoe]

Hi all - fellow Smoker from Bakersfield, CA here. Have been viewing the forums for a better part of a year as a guest, as I have starting to refine my basic skills, so a belated thank you for the help!

A little background - I started off watching my dad smoke using his New Braunfels offset as a kid. I got into smoking on my own about two years ago with a Brinkmann bullet electric smoker, then a Brinkmann vertical charcoal, then a Royal Oak electric (quite a solid smoker for an electric) and most recently I took the plunge and got a great deal on an offset that was custom made for the guy I bought it off of - a picture is below. 

I am really looking forward to expanding my knowledge and sharing my smoking experiences as well. And if anyone knows where I can get some seasoned hickory splits out my way, let me know! 

IMG_0316[1].JPG

• mojavejoe
• Aug 14, 2014

 

[noboundaries]

Hey MojaveJoe, welcome out of the lurking shadows.  Glad you're here.

Good luck finding hickory splits out here on the West Coast.  Mail order is probably your best bet.  Hickory is more of a mid-west and east coast tree.

A better idea would be to switch to one of the oaks.  I have and really enjoy the flavor.  I have a 300-500 year old Valley Oak (white oak) in my backyard and have started using it for smoking.  I feel like I'm turning into a giant bonsai guy the way I've trimmed that oak tree for wood to smoke.  Google firewood places in your area.  Most carry cooking wood too, which out here is generally a fruit, oak, and nut wood. 

You can also head over to the coast to get some red oak which is GREAT for smoking too.  I've just been itching for a reason to head down that way and pick up some.   

 

[gary s]

Hello and welcome to the forum, Great place to learn and share and a bunch of good people. Try Craig's List or your local paper, ask a couple BBQ joints where they get their wood

Gary S

 

[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

 

[GaryHibbert]

Hey

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