New Guy in Jersey

[bass]

Hey all,

I've been living in central NJ for the past 20+ years, but havent quite settled in enough to call it home yet.   

I love BBQ but I've never been able to make the awesome smoked stuff myelf to any great degree like some can.  

Came close on my weber kettle with some ribs last summer while on vacation at our place in MD.  

I have a buddy who originally hails from Florida who grew up smoking and ran his own BBQ catering business and builds his own cookers on double axle trailers....serious stuff.   His 'Que is awesome.  Its the first BBQ I've ever had that had no sauce at all and needs none.   

anyway, I don't have 40 years to learn what he knows so I'm looking to somehow take a more practical solution.  A few weeks ago I saw a Traeger display at a shopping mall, but didnt bite as I wanted to learn more.   I like the idea of thermostatic control of the feed of pellets, but have other reservations about a pellet stove.   

Considering a Weber Smokey Mountain grill, I can do this for 1/4 of what I would probably spend on a pellet smoker; but I will probably have to tend to the weber more, which might be a concern.   

I've got way too many interests, music, motorcycles, pretty much anything with an engine and wheels if appealing.   

Look forward to learning something here.   

Jeff

 

[chef jimmyj]

Welcome to the SMF Family. Where you at in CJ? I am from Piscataway and will be back in NJ all Summer at a minimum, 85 year old Mom needs some help. There is plenty of info here and if close enough I would be happy to get together with you and work with you to get your Q where you are happy. I have a TON of Recipes and as these guys around here can tell you are quite good and I share...JJ

 

[bass]

JJ

I'm in E.Brunswick, So P-way is only a stone's throw.   

I grilled for years on a weber gasser, but it was always too hot for smoking.   A couple of years ago the old weber was in need of replacment and I bought a serious replacment, a 36" DCS grill I got on a closeout clearance when Hometown Hearth & Grill was going out of business in Robbinsville.   Have tried the smoker drawer on the DCS but its tough to regulate the temp.  I'm wanting to set up a couple of thermocouples on the cooking grids to get a better feel of where its at.  

When my buddy Tim gets around to firing up his cooker he smokes his meats for hours and hours.  like 12 to 14 hours for big roasts and such.   I'm not thinking that i can tend to things that long, so that's why the interest in the pellet smokers, especially if I can buy or add thermostatic control to the auger feed.   

Jeff

 

[seenred]

Welcome to the forums, Jeff!  Glad you joined us.  You've found a great place to learn and share ideas on our favorite pastime...Smokin' and Grillin' great food!  Lots of friendly and knowledge folks here who really enjoy helping one another.  Just ask when you need help and you'll get plenty.

Red

 

[kathrynn]

to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us!

Jeff offers a free 5-day E-Course and its packed full of great information no matter what your experience level might be! http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse

If you didn't read the "Terms of Service" notes.....please do.  There are a few things that everyone should know about those pesky little rules before plunging into the forums. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/terms-of-service

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat

 

[chef jimmyj]

You are close in EB. The Chip drawer on the DCS, Killer Grill BTW, is really just to put a hint of smoke on Burgers, Steaks and such and was not actually intended to be a Low and Slow Smoker. You should be able to do some Indirect cooking on that, especially on forgiving meat that can stand a higher temps like Birds and Butts. When I go low and slow on Butts, 225-250*F, it is common to go 2 hours per pound so with an average 8 pound Porker, 16 hours with a 2 hour rest is SOP. The WSM can be about as set and forget as Charcoal Smokers get and add a Thermostatic controlled Fan like a BBQ GURU or the one from Auber Instruments, real nice,and you can get some sleep on a long overnight smoke. Treagers are a good grill and ok for smoking but you can get what you want from the WSM/GURU or other combos a lot cheaper...Anything you need feel free to shoot me a PM. If I can't answer your question I will forward your question to one of the Crew that can...JJ

http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborderentry/catalog2.asp?catalog=BBQ Guru Controls Systems

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_27&products_id=170

 

[s2k9k]

Hi Jeff! :welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 45,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 900,000 posts describing it!
The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but you can still ask too if you want!

 

[raymo76]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

[bass]

New Avatar.   The engine shot of the '39 Stearman is cool, but its not my plane and I don't have my pilots license.....

I do play bass however (electric and double bass) and this one is purdy :)