- Apr 28, 2008
- 2
- 10
Hi all. Just joined and saw this is the place to start. Just bought a GrillPro propane smoker over the weekend and broke it in with a pork shoulder, some veggies and a couple frozen pre-fab burgers thrown in for a the heck of it.
Unfortunately my first smoking experience was a bit of a let down actually. I guess I'm wondering if the $200+ investment was a bit of a bad/impulsive decision on my part. After trying it for real (instead of just daydreaming about it while watching the Food Network) I can imagine that with our long cold Canadian winters that I might only be using this smoker maybe a half dozen times a year.
Let me explain, and I apologize if I'm coming across too pessimistic or commiting some kinda of Barb-Q sacrilege:
It's a fairly big unit and smoking takes a long time with a bit of babysitting and uses a fair amount of propane. All to be expected right? Right. But I underestimated or miscalculated this- I can really only do it on days off work, in decent weather, and with no plans or desire to leave home.
And it also means that when I do a smoke that I'll tend to want to fill the thing up as much as possible. But everything that comes out of there tastes the same. So even though you can get creative and do beans, corn, potatoes, other veggies, etc in this thing, if you have any normal palate I think that one or two smoked items per meal/evening is about enough. Especially when the chef ends up smelling smoked too- you smell it all day long and all over yourself, and it creeps into the house every time you open the patio door. To be honest I was almost kinda sick of it before I even started to eat.
And we don't have a chest freezer in our house so I am thinking what am I going to do with 10 - 20 lbs of perishable assorted smoked meat? Just my wife and I, a baby and a poor-eating 4 year old. No other family in the area, we very rarely throw any parties.
To get around this all, I'll have to plan properly. I am thinking i'll end up doing one main meat, like ribs, plus jerky (which has a longer shelf life), plus veggies which I can smoke and then puree and freeze for future use in sauces or dips, plus some kind of seafood appetizer like salmon or scallops, and maybe a sausage of some sort as well for lunches and snacks over the next few days following. And that should allow me to make the most of each session without a bunch of food going in the garbage a couple days later. I'm also thinking of trying setting it on high and using it like an oven to make some pizzas with a bit of smokey flavour.
Obviously I didn't think it all through properly before buying it. And I'm sure I'll figure out a way to make the most of it. But if nothing else- maybe others thinking of buying a smoker of one type or another will at least get some different perspectives to consider. You have to have a lot of time on your hands, and reeeaaaalllly love the smoke taste to make the best of one of these units. Having a big family or a lot of friends in the neighborhood wouldn't hurt either.
Unfortunately my first smoking experience was a bit of a let down actually. I guess I'm wondering if the $200+ investment was a bit of a bad/impulsive decision on my part. After trying it for real (instead of just daydreaming about it while watching the Food Network) I can imagine that with our long cold Canadian winters that I might only be using this smoker maybe a half dozen times a year.
Let me explain, and I apologize if I'm coming across too pessimistic or commiting some kinda of Barb-Q sacrilege:
It's a fairly big unit and smoking takes a long time with a bit of babysitting and uses a fair amount of propane. All to be expected right? Right. But I underestimated or miscalculated this- I can really only do it on days off work, in decent weather, and with no plans or desire to leave home.
And it also means that when I do a smoke that I'll tend to want to fill the thing up as much as possible. But everything that comes out of there tastes the same. So even though you can get creative and do beans, corn, potatoes, other veggies, etc in this thing, if you have any normal palate I think that one or two smoked items per meal/evening is about enough. Especially when the chef ends up smelling smoked too- you smell it all day long and all over yourself, and it creeps into the house every time you open the patio door. To be honest I was almost kinda sick of it before I even started to eat.
And we don't have a chest freezer in our house so I am thinking what am I going to do with 10 - 20 lbs of perishable assorted smoked meat? Just my wife and I, a baby and a poor-eating 4 year old. No other family in the area, we very rarely throw any parties.
To get around this all, I'll have to plan properly. I am thinking i'll end up doing one main meat, like ribs, plus jerky (which has a longer shelf life), plus veggies which I can smoke and then puree and freeze for future use in sauces or dips, plus some kind of seafood appetizer like salmon or scallops, and maybe a sausage of some sort as well for lunches and snacks over the next few days following. And that should allow me to make the most of each session without a bunch of food going in the garbage a couple days later. I'm also thinking of trying setting it on high and using it like an oven to make some pizzas with a bit of smokey flavour.
Obviously I didn't think it all through properly before buying it. And I'm sure I'll figure out a way to make the most of it. But if nothing else- maybe others thinking of buying a smoker of one type or another will at least get some different perspectives to consider. You have to have a lot of time on your hands, and reeeaaaalllly love the smoke taste to make the best of one of these units. Having a big family or a lot of friends in the neighborhood wouldn't hurt either.
