First, my name is Dave. Been grilling all my life and currently have a charcoal and gas grill but I am just now, at the age of 48, looking at getting into smoking, jerky making and such. We raise our own beef and will be getting about a tone of beef here in a week or 2. Can't wait to experiment on that smoked beef kielbasa!
Of course there are questions but I won't get into that here. I'll do some searching first as I'm sure I'm not the only one that has asked these questions.
I've tried smoking 3 times so far this winter. I live in Southern Utah so really cold climate isn't really a factor.
1. First time was with a borrowed and VERY cheap horizontal charcoal smoker. Had NO clue what I was doing and the meat came out WAY too smoky flavored. Especially for my wife. That was a beef roast
2. Second time, I had a vertical charcoal smoker (R2D2 type) and still not keen on what to do, the pork tenderloin came out too smoky again but was very tasty. Didn't have the fire right and had to finish that one on the grill
3. Third time. I made a stupid mistake with this pork tenderloin....I forgot to rinse off the brine before going into the smoker. Talk about salty!!!! haha But I had fire issues with this one also. Just cant seem to keep the heat up in this vertical smoker and there are no air controls on it except the front door.
So, wanting to create good smoked meats, I've been doing research and knowing that my big, common core problem is the heat control, yesterday I bought a propane smoker with the double door design. Waiting on delivery so haven't tried it but it makes sense to me. I'll be able to keep a constant temp, play with the amount of wood for the perfect smoky flavor for us and have fun doing it instead of constantly fighting the coals and heat. Did I make the right decision on going propane?
Well, it's time to start searching the forum and find some answers to my questions. Mostly about smoking times, Cure #1 salt, and hopefully some discussions about your favorite recipes.
Everyone have a blessed day!
Of course there are questions but I won't get into that here. I'll do some searching first as I'm sure I'm not the only one that has asked these questions.
I've tried smoking 3 times so far this winter. I live in Southern Utah so really cold climate isn't really a factor.
1. First time was with a borrowed and VERY cheap horizontal charcoal smoker. Had NO clue what I was doing and the meat came out WAY too smoky flavored. Especially for my wife. That was a beef roast
2. Second time, I had a vertical charcoal smoker (R2D2 type) and still not keen on what to do, the pork tenderloin came out too smoky again but was very tasty. Didn't have the fire right and had to finish that one on the grill
3. Third time. I made a stupid mistake with this pork tenderloin....I forgot to rinse off the brine before going into the smoker. Talk about salty!!!! haha But I had fire issues with this one also. Just cant seem to keep the heat up in this vertical smoker and there are no air controls on it except the front door.
So, wanting to create good smoked meats, I've been doing research and knowing that my big, common core problem is the heat control, yesterday I bought a propane smoker with the double door design. Waiting on delivery so haven't tried it but it makes sense to me. I'll be able to keep a constant temp, play with the amount of wood for the perfect smoky flavor for us and have fun doing it instead of constantly fighting the coals and heat. Did I make the right decision on going propane?
Well, it's time to start searching the forum and find some answers to my questions. Mostly about smoking times, Cure #1 salt, and hopefully some discussions about your favorite recipes.
Everyone have a blessed day!
