# Greetings from Chicago!



## dutchovenchef (Jun 1, 2011)

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!


----------



## SmokinAl (Jun 1, 2011)

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!


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 1, 2011)

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!


----------



## sqwib (Jun 1, 2011)

Howdy,

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

Eagle Scout, quite impressive, its a lot of hard work and is earned.


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 1, 2011)

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??


----------



## realtorterry (Jun 1, 2011)

Welcome to SMF, glad to have you!


----------



## africanmeat (Jun 1, 2011)

Welcome to SMF  I am glad you joint us

You are in the right place the folks here are help full and knowledgeable

Don’t forget the Qview


----------



## fpnmf (Jun 1, 2011)

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


----------



## meateater (Jun 1, 2011)

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.


----------



## beer-b-q (Jun 1, 2011)

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.*

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

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

If you are unsure of a procedure ASK, don't ASSUME, It will make your Smoking experience much more pleasant...


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 3, 2011)

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!!


----------



## SmokinAl (Jun 3, 2011)

Good luck!


----------



## ben franklin (Jun 3, 2011)

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!!!


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 6, 2011)

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!


----------



## ben franklin (Jun 6, 2011)

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!


----------



## ohm (Jun 6, 2011)

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 :-)


----------



## venture (Jun 6, 2011)

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.


----------



## raptor700 (Jun 6, 2011)

Welcome Don,

Look forward to seeing some Qview from ya

If your not sure how, this will help

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/82034/how-to-post-qview-to-smf


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 8, 2011)

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!


----------



## alelover (Jun 8, 2011)

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.


----------



## eman (Jun 8, 2011)

Dutchovenchef said:


> 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!


No need to boil any meat if you are going to do the low and slow. Time and temp makes it tender.( we consider boiling to be the 8th deadly sin).

Former scoutmaster here also,  Did some DO cooking but mostly open pit here. BTW, welcome to the family!!!


----------



## venture (Jun 8, 2011)

You can boil the ribs all you want.  Just don't call it Q if you do that! I can't imagine why anyway?  LOL

Good luck and good smoking.


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 10, 2011)

OK, so boiling them is out! (I don't want to commit a deadly sin and get booted out of SMF already!!)

So, here's the plan then: I am planning on using apple wood for the smoke and I'll use my own concoction for BBQ sauce (kicked up Sweet Baby Ray's).  I'll let the ribs get about 3/4 done before adding the sauce and we'll see what happens!

I'm guessing they'll take 2 1/2 to 3 hours or so (but I have to read up on temperature and timing still....)

Thanks again for the good advice!


----------



## venture (Jun 10, 2011)

If you are smoking those ribs at 220 to 250, 5 to 6 hours would be closer.  For a guy who used to boil his ribs, you might like the 3-2-1 method.  Three hours directly on the grate.  Two hours tightly foiled with possibly a LITTLE liquid in the foil.  One hour back on the grate without foil to firm them back up.  During the final hour you can sauce if desired. After trying the 3-2-1, many modify it a bit to suit their taste.

Good luck and good smoking.


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 10, 2011)

Thanks for the ideas Merv.  I just read the 3-2-1 link from a posting in the ribs forum.  I really underestimated the time frame needed to do them right!

I'll watch the video tonight when I'm at home as it won't open here at work......


----------



## ben franklin (Jun 10, 2011)

You got great advice from Venture. I had been trying to cook decent ribs (in my estimation) by other methods for years. Par-boiling and grilling. Straight up low heat grilling. Oven recipes. Slow cooker recipes. Nothing matched the stuff we pulled out of the pits in the ground back in North Carolina.

Then I bought my first MES and tried Jeff's 3-2-1 method. MAGIC!!!  For my own taste, I find most of the folks I serve prefer them a little closer to "fall off the bone" -- which is what they are when you pull them out of the foil -- so I only "firm them up" for about 20 - 30 minutes. You will of course need to experiment to find your own preferences. But the only thing I can tell you for sure is that you are going to gain a lot of weight and make a lot of new friends in the campground on your way to Nirvana!


----------



## alelover (Jun 10, 2011)

I found that 2.5 - 1.5 - 1 works for me.


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 15, 2011)

OK, I am doing the ribs and a beer can chicken Saturday,  I am still picking a rub that I want to try on each of them.  I'll (hopefully) post how it went Sunday when I get home!


----------



## dutchovenchef (Jun 23, 2011)

Well, everything went great!  Except one tiny little detail......we forgot to pack the camera and I only took pictures with my new smartphone that I am having some issues getting the pictures off of.

Here's a Cliff Notes version of the process:

Friday night I applied a smokehouse rub and wrapped the ribs in plastic to sit in the refrigerator overnight.  Saturday morning I unwrapped them and got them into the smoker around 10:30.  The smoker was preheated to 220 and I put the ribs in on two rib racks and one flat grate. (12 half slabs in total).  I used apple wood for the smoke.  After about a half hour the temp only got back up to 180 so I bumped the dial up a little and checked again in about 45 minutes and it was 280 in the smoker. that became the "battle" of the day regulating the temperature!  I sprayed them with an apple juice/water combo after about 90 minutes.  After about 2 1/2 hours, I wrapped the ribs in foil and cooked them for about 2 hours. After that I took them out of the foil and they were about 140 degrees.  So, I applied my favorite sauce to them and put them back in for another hour until they hit 160 degrees and were ready to go!

http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll12/MustardMan55/?action=view&current=ribs1.jpg     http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll12/MustardMan55/?action=view&current=ribs2-1.jpg     http://s284.photobucket.com/albums/ll12/MustardMan55/?action=view&current=ribbones.jpg

Those are the pics from the finished product in the smoker, in the pan on the table and also how clean the bones were when they were finished being devoured!

Now, I have a question.  When the smoke was flowing very nicely out of the smoker, it was also escaping through the edges of the door (lots of it!!) so I trust that the heat was also escaping during the cooking process!  Is there a way to gasket the door or something like that to keep the smoke (and heat) in the smoker where it belongs??  Also, we like more sauce on the ribs than the amount I was able to put on in one application (I usually put 3 or 4 layers on them when grilling them but the smoker would never get hot enough to cook them if I keep opening the door to add sauce.)

Thanks,

Don


----------

