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dutchovenchef

Newbie
Original poster
May 19, 2011
13
10
I have just purchased my first smoker but, as my name suggests, I have lots of experience cooking outdoors with Dutch Ovens!  I have cooked everything from cookies to pizza to multiple cobblers etc... in Dutch Ovens!

I am a "retired" Boy Scout Leader with 14 years experience and learned about Dutch Ovens there.  I stepped down as Committee Chairman after my son made Eagle Scout.

I also cook on a grill as much as I can. I use both gas grills and charcoal!

I am going to cook something in my new smoker this weekend, just not sure what will be the best thing to try first!  I have a Landmann gas smoker.  Any suggestions??

I plan on reading as much as I can from this site in the near future to learn about smoking meats and stuff!
 
Welcome to SMF. There are a lot of very friendly & knowledgeable folks here to help you. I urge you to sign up for the free E-course. It will give you the basics, & even if you are an experienced smoker you may learn something new. Then start asking questions. Good luck & glad to have you aboard. Don't forget we all love Qview!   
 
I forgot to mention my name is Don.

I signed up for the 5 day course and have read the first two days so far.

Lastly, what is Qview??  I am guessing it is similar to a photographic "play by play" of a smoking experience.

Thanks!
 
Howdy,

Den leader here also... going on 4 th year

Eagle Scout, quite impressive, its a lot of hard work and is earned.
 
Yes, Eagles are not very common.  The fact he made it when he was 14 was pretty good!

Do you guys do any Dutch Oven cooking in your pack at campouts??
 
Scouting dad here also..wood badge 92-45 Atlanta Area council!!

Welcome..

This site has tons of info.

I would suggest you spend some time reading all the different forums and the WIKIs.

Then use the handy dandy search tool for specific interests!!

The free E-Course is great!!
 
http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse.html

Have a great day!!!

Craig

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/57139/basic-pulled-pork-smoke

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/wiki/finishing-sauce-for-pulled-pork-by-soflaquer
 
Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks, great recipes and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview. Pork Butts are what most of us suggest for a first smoke job, very forgiving and just down right good. 
 
 

Welcome to SMF, Glad to have you with us.


This is the place to learn, lots of good info and helpful friendly Members.
 

Many of our members have years of experience in smoking meat.  They are more than happy helping Newbies learn the art.
 

We have members who cure there own Bacon, Hams, Jerky, Snack Sticks, Make Their own Sausage, etc. if you want to learn,
this is the place. 
 

Don't be afraid to ask questions of them and follow their advice. You won't be sorry, you will be making great Q in no time at all...

Just remember, when curing your own meats follow the instructions included with the cure to the letter, this is not something to experiment with.  


Never use more cure no mater if it is Tender Quick or Cure #1 or Cure #2 than the manufacturer says to use, this can be very dangerous.
 


Tender Quick and Cure#1 or Cure #2 are not interchangeable, neither Cure #1 interchangeable with Cure #2 or vise versa
 


Tips For New Members.
  1. Go into your profile and Under Location put where you are.
  2. City & State or Area & State will do. This will help members when answering your questions.
  3. Go to ROLL CALL thread and tell us a little about Yourself (A Name We Can Call You) and Experience & Equipment.
  4. Do Not Post  your other questions and smokes in the Roll Call Forum.
  5. Post your questions and smokes in the Proper Forum, Beef, Pork, Sausage, Electric Smoker, Charcoal Smoker etc.
  6. Use the Wiki Section, many of our members have posted great tutorials and instructional threads so take advantage of them.
  7. When you can't find an answer ask plenty of questions, we have some highly experienced members willing to help you.
  8. When posting about your smokes be sure to post plenty of Qview (Pictures) Our Moto, "No Pics, Didn't Happen".
  9. Get a good Probe Thermometer, Don't Depend on the Built in Thermometer in your Smoker (They are notorious for being off).
  10. A good choice for a remote dual probe thermometer is the Maverick ET-732
  11. Remember, We Always Cook by Temperature and NOT BY TIME...
  12. Sign up for Jeff's 5-Day eCourse.  Click Here
  13. Don't Take Chances, Always Follow USDA Safety Guidelines When Handling Meat.

  14. If you are wanting to get into curing meat, there are many members here more than happy to help and give good advice.

  15. If you are unsure of a procedure ASK, don't ASSUME, It will make your Smoking experience much more pleasant...
 
Well, I am going to try some beef jerky this weekend.  I would have tried the pork butt, but we are bringing pulled pork we made previously as one of our meals this weekend.  I'll give the pork a shot next time!!

I'll try to get some pics and post them when I return!

The smoker is still in the box, so I have to build it first!  Let the fun begin!!
th_wsmsmile0ly.gif
 
Hi Don, and welcome to the forum! You are going to love smoking meat if you love the Dutchy and cast iron in general. That's how I got started as well. I'm also in the northern burbs so send me a private if you like and we'll see if we are close enough to share a summer evening smoke sometime. Enjoy the site and be sure to take advantage of the great knowledge the folks here have. Many of them have helped me quite a bit (Jeff, Todd and Smokin Al to name just a few) as I started to get the hang of this. Just be forewarned -- the neighbors and the family won't leave you be once they start eating your Q!!!
 
Hi Ben!

I actually live in the south suburbs but the smoker is going to stay at my camper at a campground near Amboy, IL. 

I did not get the jerky done this weekend as planned as there was too much other "stuff" going on there! (And I for got some of the stuff I needed....) I am going back in two weeks though and have already started a list of things I need to bring.  I bought some apple, maple and hickory wood chips to take out there yesterday, so I will be all set.

I did get the smoker built and seasoned so it is ready to go!

Lots of reading to do in the next two weeks!
 
Sounds like a great set up Don.

If you are going to be wandering around the campground while smoking, I can suggest the new Maverick 732 remote digital meat thermometer as a good addition to your smoking arsenal. I just got mine and it is great. Two units with two probes. One probe for your smoker temp and a second for your meat temp. One unit is a send and one a remote receiver. You set upper and lower limits for the smoker temp and then set your target internal meat temp. Now wander off anywhere up to 100 feet or so (maybe better if outdoors and you have line of sight) and you get an alert sound if the smoker gets out of whack or when the meat gets done. Nice!

You can click through to Amazon from this site and Jeff gets a little commission cut from them when you link from here to make the purchase. I'm sure he'd appreciate the help with the cost of the site.

Have a great summer smoking que -- and if you do any fishing around there, smoked fish is my wife's favorite thing. I smoke everything from catfish to cod. It's all good!
 
Welcome to SMF! You found the right place that is for sure. Q-View is exactly like you described it a pic before/after is most common but even during the smoke is fine, heck the more the merrier. It already sounds like you have your plans for your first smoke but if you need any other ideas chicken is pretty easy and also fatties are pretty easy.

Also make sure you season your smoker before hand :-)
 
Welcome Don.  Many thanks to you and all the other scouting dads here.  My first dutch oven experience came on a scout outing many years ago, thanks to a scouting dad donating his time like some of you do.  If you haven't caught it yet, we do have a dutch oven forum on this site and there are some other experienced DO cooks here for you to swap ideas with.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Thanks for all the great info so far!  I am pretty sure I am cooking a chicken and some ribs next weekend.  Do you guy "par boil" the ribs before or just cook them in the smoker?  I usually boil them before grilling as it make them easily more fall off the bone.

I did get the smoker seasoned last weekend (and actually baked some cookies in it for the kids since I forgot the chips to actually smoke anything.....) so it is ready to rock and roll!
 
Welcome to SMF Don. I was a Boy Scout in my youth. Made it up to Life and was Senior Patrol Leader. Good times. An Eagle Scout at 14. That's very, very impressive. Sounds like you've done all forms of outdoor cooking. Now you add smoking to your repertoire. Can't wait for your QViews.
 
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