Hello Newbie from VA Here

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hof44

Newbie
Original poster
Mar 26, 2008
3
10
I have never used a smoker before, but am about to dive in. First thing is to pick out a smoker. I have a budget of about 250.00. I am leaning toward the The Great Outdoors 3605GD propane smoker. Other people say charcoal is the only way to go.

Is there much difference between the propane unit and an offset charcoal unit??
 
You will find the propane easier to operate due to it's fairly controllable heat source. I always recommend a charcoal unit as a "trial by fire" thing. NOT to discourage newbies, but to teach the basics of fire building and maintaniance. Once you have these mastered, you are set with a SHORT learning curve for any smoker.
All that aside...the GOSM is a solid smoker. Many here have them. But like I mentioned, there are other angles to smoking these units sidestep.

And yes... if you plan to compete, or are a purist... only charcoal and wood is allowed.

Oh! And Welcome to SMF!
 
I'm not interested in competitions or anything like that. I just want great tasting BBQ done as easily as possible. So the flavor issue is my main concern. If charcoal/wood gives a better taste than propane/wood, I would go that direction. If not I'll probably go propane.
 
Sounds like propane is the way to go for you. They really do take a lot of guess work out of the equation. Not quite "set it and forget it" but once you get it going and stablize the temp you can do other things and the taste is pretty much the same. I've been using a GOSM for a few years with great results. But now I'm looking at wood/charcoal burners just because I think I'm missing something.
 
Welcome to the SMF, you've found the ideal place for sharing and learning about smokin', grillin', and most other things too. We have many satisfied members who own a GOSM, myself included.
 
Welcome to the SMF!! Check out the 5 day ecourse... its full of great info, takes only a couple minutes a day, and its free!! When you decide on a smoker... make sure ya season her, and post some pics of her and we love qview around here!!
 
welcome from another va resident. I really like my gas smoker, it is great. I live in Fincastle right outside of Roanoke. Where about are you.
 
I'm in Woodbridge, VA. About 30 miles south of DC.
 
Glad to see you on the forums! I agree with most of the posts here in that the propane smoker (GOSM) is the way to go for people like you and me. I am fairly new at this as well, however I have produced excellent results with my GOSM smoker! I truly believe that it is becaise I have eleminated a variable - the wood/charcoal along with the associated temp. control problems. I have done baby back ribs, beef briskets and pulled pork (boston butt) and I swear by the advice given here. Also, Jeff has great recipes and I would highly recommend purchasing his rub and sauce. It worked for me, and I continue to experiment. Although I am like you in that I just want to produce great bar-b-q, who knows - I may want to elevate the art to a level similar to what I see on these forums!!!

Best regards and I would recommend that you keep experimenting!
Bill (AKA Billy Bob's Bodacious Bubba Style Bar-B-Q)
 
welcome ,youll love a gas smoker ,at least i doi dont think you can go wrong.if need be you can allways through a couple chunks of charcoal in with the wood
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Welcome to the SMF. You will love the gas, just make sure you have an extra bottle. Nothing worse than running out of GAS. You can always get the ole wood wagon when you get tired of easy.

geob
 
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