New to smoking

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vstephens01

Newbie
Original poster
May 14, 2014
4
11
Hello all. This is Virgil from Phoenix, AZ, and I was just recently gifted with a Bar-B-Chef Charcoal Smoker. I am new to this smoking thing, but am really excited to get started this weekend.
Before I get started, are there any suggestions, or better yet mods that I should do? I got this smoker because a family member wasn't able to keep the temperature up to a good level. I've looked online, and as best as I can tell, the smoker is pretty stock with no mods. It's been used before, but I was curious to know what I could do to help bring up the temp and keep it at a good level.
Also I'm looking for a good recommendation of a meat that I can start with that's not too difficult to get awesome results.
I appreciate any advice you can give, and look forward to getting started!
 
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Welcome vstephens01.  We're happy you joined SMF and discovered your excitement about smoking meat.  Once you get that Bar-B-Chef cruising along that excitement is only going to grow.

Here's an old link with good information about your smoker.  It appears the issue with them was no air space below the fire so the fire snuffs out quickly.  Air Heat Fuel are all necessary for a fire to burn properly.  Folks in the thread below have some great ideas for fixing the air issue.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/51093/bar-b-chef-offset-smoker

You can also use the search feature and see any other threads.

Happy smoking!
 
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Thanks so much Noboundaries! This really does help,and I will be attempting to build one of these baskets these weekend. 
 
Hello and welcome,  Chicken is a good starter, Cheep, easy. That way you can check out and get to know your smoker, and see if there are anymore adjustments you need to make. Be sure and check your temp gauge to make sure it is reading correctly.

Gary S
 
I had a similar problem with my little charbroil h2o smoker i just modded it to allow for more air. I love cooking chicken and pork on my smaller rigs. Just make sure you have amble amounts of refreshments because smoking can be a very taxing endeavor lol. If you decide to do chicken i would try beer can chicken, hard to dry it out. Welcome to the obsession my friend.
 
Chicken it is then. I'm going to get started tomorrow morning, and will definitely have refreshments by the pool!
 
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I did some chicken thighs on my propane smoker to try it out for the first time. They were delicious and cheap. I brined them for 2-3hrs first then smoked at 325. Only took around 50 minutes. Go easy on the smoke. The chicken seems to soak up smoke easily. I intended to cook them to 170 internal temp and some got a little over 180 and still stayed moist, even though I didn't use a water pan. I'm assuming the brine is what kept them so juicy.
 
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