Super Rookie Smoker wanna-be...

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pkirsche

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 24, 2013
2
12
New York
Hello all, my name is Paul and I'm from upstate New York in the Catskill Mountains. 

I've never smoked anything, except the duck I tried to cook on the spit in my barbecue... smoked that one really good... by accident...!

I love ribs... pork ribs, baby back ribs, beef ribs... all of them.  But I have not had much luck in the "fall off the bone" department using the oven or the barbecue grill (they usually turn out "tear off the bone...), so I decided it's time to try a smoker.  I had a bunch of reward points on my Sears card so I used them on a Masterbuilt Vertical LP Gas Smoker.  I assembled it, ran through the pre-conditioning burns, but have yet to put any meat in it.  One thing bothering me is the fact that I can not get it to run any cooler than 275 degrees.  Gas is set as low as it will go, and I have tried every conveivable combination of vent open/close combinations.  Can not get it to run at 225....  I am going to look around to see if I can find a more precise LP gas regulator that will let me set the flame lower.  If anyone know of one please let me know. 

I have already picked up a few good tips off this forum, like using a cast iron frying pan for the wood chips so they don't catch fire like with the tray that came with the unit, that worked good.  Reading more in this forum also makes me wonder just how accurate the thermometer is that came with the unit and installs in the upper part of the door.  Will be looking for a good accurate thermometer also. 

That's it for now... Happy Smoking to all...!!

Paul    
 
welcome1.gif
to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us! The Therms that come on the door of most any brand of smoker are not correct.  Spend some extra $ for a Maverick Therm.  You will have accurate inside the smoker readings and food readings too.

We love to see pictures of what you are cooking (or what we call q-views here at SMF).  To "upload the q-views" just follow the directions here and it will be easier. If you are using a cell phone, an IPad or a kindle, go to the main SMF page and click the Mobile button. Will make the uploads a bit faster too.

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 and some guidelines of how to interact within the forums. Off site links are not allowed here at SMF per Jeff. Not that you have done anything wrong....just a little bit of FYI for new members!

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

Kat
 
Hi Paul! :welcome1: to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 50,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 1,000,000 posts describing it! Yea that’s right over 1,000,000!

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!

We have an ”Articles” section that is full of great information about smoking to include a lot of recipes and instructionals. Check it out there is a lot to learn in there!

You might want to check out ”Jeff's Free 5 day E-Course”, it will teach you all the basics plus a whole lot more!
 
Hi Paul, and welcome aboard!  You'll like it here... its the best place I know for sharing ideas on smoking, grilling, curing, etc.  There are plenty of friendly, knowledgeable folks who really enjoy helping one another.  Looking forward to your input here, and just ask when you need anything, and someone here will surely have the answer.  I've read of many others solving the temp control issues in their gas rigs with a needle valve modification.  This should get you started:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=needle+valve

Red
 
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