Good afternoon from Rowlett, Texas - a suburb of Dallas. Purchased my MES 40 about a month ago and have smoked a couple of times. Tried baby-back ribs & smoked mac-n-cheese for my first go-round. Used recipes from John McLemore's books. Also tried a couple of different BBQ sauces, as well -- kinda liked the sweeter version with honey & brown sugar. Smoked 2 racks and wrapped one of the racks during the last 45 minutes to see the difference. Apple wood chips.
My 2nd attempt was a whole chicken with hickory wood chips. Also put in a few corns on the cob. DURN-BURN THAT's GOOD!! Was the best-tasting chicken I have had. Loved it.
Now......I am taking on Thanksgiving by smoking BOTH a 17lb TURKEY & a 6lb HAM -- same time. Guess that is the OINK 'N GOBBLE version.
Need some assistance from you experts on:
* Preparation of the turkey (it is fresh, not frozen) -- does it really require lots of rubs & advance preparation?
* How long for turkey -- and -- how long before I put in the ham. So, if I smoked the turkey for 8-9 hours would I add the ham with 4 hours remaining?
* Placement on the racks -- I assume that the ham would go on the top shelf and the turkey underneath --- right?
* Any other nifty tips & tricks since I wanna make sure to impress my wife and kids & grandkids (even tho they would probably not tell me if it tasted bad)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone. Looking forward to learning more, improving my smoking skills and trying new & tasty stuff.
Oh yeah.....call me MIKE.
My 2nd attempt was a whole chicken with hickory wood chips. Also put in a few corns on the cob. DURN-BURN THAT's GOOD!! Was the best-tasting chicken I have had. Loved it.
Now......I am taking on Thanksgiving by smoking BOTH a 17lb TURKEY & a 6lb HAM -- same time. Guess that is the OINK 'N GOBBLE version.
Need some assistance from you experts on:
* Preparation of the turkey (it is fresh, not frozen) -- does it really require lots of rubs & advance preparation?
* How long for turkey -- and -- how long before I put in the ham. So, if I smoked the turkey for 8-9 hours would I add the ham with 4 hours remaining?
* Placement on the racks -- I assume that the ham would go on the top shelf and the turkey underneath --- right?
* Any other nifty tips & tricks since I wanna make sure to impress my wife and kids & grandkids (even tho they would probably not tell me if it tasted bad)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone. Looking forward to learning more, improving my smoking skills and trying new & tasty stuff.
Oh yeah.....call me MIKE.