# New propnae vertical smoker



## virgo53 (Apr 18, 2007)

Bought this about two weeks ago
It isd a Grillware Propane Vertical smoker from Lowes
Very easy to use and clean, any one else have one and can discuss using it??
first attempt to upload Pix. hope it worked.

Sorry about the misspell, Propane works better
How do you edit Subject line on forum???

Mike


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## tys (Apr 18, 2007)

Hi Virgo,

Nice looking smoker... I have the GOSM, but I figured I'd say "Hi" anyways.

Hi! :)


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## deejaydebi (Apr 18, 2007)

Congrats Virgo-

I don't have one either but they should be similar. Do you have a queston?


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## tonto1117 (Apr 19, 2007)

Congrat's on your new smoker Mike. Not familar with that particular smoker, but it is very similar to most of the vertical gassers. Let us know how you like it!!


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## devolutionist (Jun 3, 2007)

I got one of those about three weeks ago and have smoked a pork butt, some sausage, some corn, a couple of pork tenderloins, and a few chickens on it so far, and it's been GREAT!

The *only* thing that I've noticed about it is that the propane control is very touchy - there's a very fine line between getting it set at 200 and having it run up to 300. I just make *VERY* small bumps on the knob and gradually bring it up to where it needs to be. There's a point about 3/4 of the way up where it "whistles" a little, and that's my break point. Where it stops whistling for me is about 190-ish, and I start my small knob bumps from there, letting it settle about 3-4 minutes between increments to see where it's landing. Between that and the vent at the top, I can control it pretty well. Just wish the knob working range had a little more play in it. Very easy to clean up and work with though.

Let me know if you find a cover for it that works well - the grillware smoker cover they sell at lowe's is about a foot shorter that I'd like it to be.


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## virgo53 (Jun 4, 2007)

Devolutionist,

Thanks for the "How To' on using the smoker. Mine works exactly the same way. Bumping the "throttles" is required. I had a spike yesterday, went from 200 to almost 320 in minutes due to an over adjust by a mere 1/2 inch turn. I will remember your advice and use mine as you do yours.

Works great.

Thanks for the info, you saved me some burnt meat.

Mike


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 10, 2007)

I just bought one of these about a week ago. It's a real nice unit for the money. I haven't done any meat smoking in years, but the price was right, so I grabbed one of these and have run a few chickens through it this past week.

I've noted the very same issues with my Grillware smoker. The temp control is veeeery touchy, but not unusable. That, and the super weight, cast iron wood box is just too heavy, takes forever to get hot enough to get the wood smoking. I switched to a metal baking pan, (for now), until I can find/build a thinner stainless pan. Oh! Watch that thermometer on the door too, mine reads about 20 degrees high!

Other than those little things, this is a great smoker for the bux, MUCH better than chasing my old "garbage can", charcoal smoker around the deck. It gets right up to and holds it's cooking temp great, (when you finally get it set), great recovery, big enough for a bunch of smoky goodies, can get/hold really high temps, (if ya need), easy to clean/maintain, seems to be pretty well built. I paid $169.00 at Lowes. Great Christmas gifts for my sons! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





In any event, I rate this smoker as being a value similar to those little, 20 buck, portable "tail-gater" grilles, best money I ever spent! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Sonny


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## domn8_ion (Jun 10, 2007)

Racing Studebaker, welcome to SMF. When you get a chance, jump over to Roll Call so you can get a proper welcome from everyone.


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## squeezy (Jun 10, 2007)

Just click *edit* and then click *'advanced*' and the title bar will come up.


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## watery eyes (Jun 10, 2007)

Sounds like a great vertical smoker!

What are the exact dimensions? If it is 16x16x36...you can use some of the covers built for the GOSM and Smoky Mountain models. If it is wider than that do what I did....get a generic grill cover and cover your smoker and propane tank in one shot. It isn't pretty, but it covers the smoker and tank with a little room to spare.

Good luck on your first smokes....and be sure to take and post pics.


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 10, 2007)

Thanks a million for the welcome domn8! I really appreciate it.


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## smokeeater (Jun 10, 2007)

You are NOT allowed to change the subject line once a thread is started. I asked the same question and it was answered by TulsaJeff. Follow this link for Jeff's answer.


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## deejaydebi (Jun 10, 2007)

Welcome Studebacker and Devolutionist -

It would be nice to have you both head over to the Roll Call section and introduce yourselves so we can get to know you a bit.

BTW I learned to drive on a Studebacker! Great cars!


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 11, 2007)

BTW Mike,

I notice that your picture shows only 3 racks, mine came with 4. Did ya just have the top rack out?


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 11, 2007)

The Grillworks smoker is actually rounded in the front and rear and flat on the sides. Measurements are 16 inches (front to rear), 15 inches (side to side), 36 inch tall smoke box, and it's a total of 4 feet tall on the legs.

It has four shelves and permanent hooks mounted, right under the top vent hole. It only has one vent hole, but it's all that's really needed. I like the stainless temp. control knob and the solid brass burner. It was in pieces when I got it, but was very easy to assemble, and not a spec of damage anywhere. Fit and finish are excellent. In use, the only place where I see any smoke escaping is around the door, (when I have the smoke really rolling), and that's minimal.

I like the rounded/flat configuration. You can stuff the shelves and still get nice even temps throughout. I can put two, 4-5 pounder chickens, standing up, side-by-side on each shelf, with a little room left over. 

I'd love to find a nice, full cover for my smoker. It sounds like the GOSM and Smoky Mountain covers will work. Where can a fella find/buy one-o-them covers?


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## smokeeater (Jun 11, 2007)

Try epod2000.com or follow this link.


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## watery eyes (Jun 11, 2007)

Your best bet is looking where they sell the GOSM or Smoky Mountain smokers....._sorry for bringing logic into the thread...
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	



_

Otherwise try SmokeEater's link or order from the Home Depot site too.


The ones from Great Outdoors sell for about $10...


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 11, 2007)

<LMAO> Yep, logic is a good thing, IF a fella is armed with it. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Logic would dictate that I dunno where the hell the GOSM or Smoky Mountain stores are beau! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  The good news is, looks like SmokeEater's link is a winner OR I can wander on down to the local Home Dee-poot and grab one right there.

Thanks a million for the git-back and the HD tip!


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 11, 2007)

Great link, sounds just like what I need. I'm probably gonna see what the local Home-dee-poot has to offer too, (save a little shipping 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 )!

Thanks a million SmokeEater!


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## desert smokin (Jun 11, 2007)

Nice unit you got for yourself and welcome. Look forward to hearing about your smoking adventures.


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## virgo53 (Jun 11, 2007)

Racin,

Mine has 4, just didn't have it in like you stated. That gas control needs some finesse to keep it from overheating.. Mine doesn't seam to be 20 degrees out but I will check it again, Two like units usually have similar idiosynchrasies..  Suggest keeping that tank of a smoke box in therer, ine stabilizes the temps real good. I get the smoker going WITHOUT chips in the box or food. I get it up to temp with the water bowl filled with hot water and/or mixture of apple juice andor/etc.. Then add the meat followed by filling the box. Hot YES, I use two tongs to get the box out of the smoker and fill it with completely soaked wood chips, ( I use my Vacuum sealer attachments to pull the appla juice into the chips for about two hours, Then dump the juice into the bowl and place the chips in the box)  After this, The smoker gains in heat back to where I had it with a slight reduction due to the load. I keep mine at 220, that way the chips start smoking in a little while and continue for 1-2 hours.  Don't underestimate that smoker box due to its size and weight, Whoever thought that one up seems to have gotten it right. My experience with this anyway.

Great to have ya aboard!!!~!

Keep in touch, I woulf like to know how yours works.

PS. I place two full racks of ribs hanging from the hooks with one rack under them on top of the water pan. Apeple juice with water in pand and apple chips only in smoker. 7 Hours later they were done, tips were a little overdone since I didn't wrap in foil. (operator education) Near the end I pushed the temp due to time constraint.

Mine doesn't seem to care about wind, The flame makes noise and you think it was going out. It didn't, Temps did not change 10 degrees after arriving back to the preset temp setting before addition of the food and chips.  I spray PAM for grilling all the way around all of the rack and above and below the pan. Dishwasher turns them out spotless evertime

L8TR, Mike


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 14, 2007)

Hey Mike!

I dunno about that heavy, ol' cast iron wood box. I used it the first two times I did chickens, (2 chickens the first time, 4 the second cook), but both times it took waaay too long to start smoking. Now having said that, I will say that I started both sessions "cold", no preheat. That might be the secret! I did preheat the concoction I put into the water pan. BUT, when I used the heavy box I noticed that just the center portion of the wood chips, (roughly in a circular pattern, conforming to the shape of the burner), were burnt down to ashes, while the outer chips were hardly burnt, with some that were hardly discolored!

Here's my take, it seems that the smoker, (specifically that big, brass burner), is so efficient at getting/keeping the heat up that I have to keep the _flame_ too danged low, which reduces the effectiveness of the big cast iron smoker box. Also, the distance from the low flame is a factor. Due to that low flame and distance from it, the large, thick, cast iron box can't effectively utilize all of the chips. That means less smoke, all around. I think that cooking chicken would provide the optimum conditions for getting optimum performance from the big cast box, because you can cook chicken at higher temps. However, mebbe it would work fine with something that had a much longer cook time? Hell I dunno, guess it's gonna require more time to experiment. I haven't cooked anything that requires a long cook time yet....

The third time I cooked a couple of chickens, I switched between a thin baking pan, and a much, much smaller, cast iron chip box, (that I use for my regular cooking grille). The bake pan was ok, but even using the much thinner pan, (in the same position normally occupied but the big cast iron box), I basically had the same results. The chips outside the center of the pile were mostly unburnt. To use the smaller cast iron chip box, I placed one of the smoker shelves right on the bottom of the smoker, with the small cast iron box sitting on the shelf, directly over the burner. The results using the small box were great! I did have to add chips about every other hour when I spritzed the chickens, but I had great smoke all during. The small cast iron box heated up pretty quickly and all of the wood chips were pretty much used up.

I dunno, but you're probably correct, preheating everything with the big chip box in place could be the ticket. I just really would rather not load the smoker hot, it's already hard enough to get everything strategically placed! (never knew how unwieldy a greased chicken could be! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






 ) In fact, how about the rest of you folks? Does everybody preheat and load their smoker hot? Heck, mebbe I've been missing something all along! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





My-way-o-thinking, I like to get the smoke rolling right away, before the meat is too heated up, reducing it's ability to absorb that great flavoring. If it doesn't get as much smoke when it's getting closer to being cooked, I don't think that's a real problem. I think if it gets that smoke flavor right away, it gets mixed in and absorbed with the applied flavorings, resulting in better taste without needing an overabundance of smoke later. BUT, I HAVE been wrong previously! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





You're right, the smoker seems pretty much unaffected by wind, and gets right back on temp very quickly. I honestly think that we made a great choice in smokers. It's not real big or real fancy, but it sure gets the job done, efficiently. 

GREAT idea using the vacuum deal to get more apple flavor into the chips! I'm definitely gonna try THAT one! Thanks a million Mike!


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 17, 2007)

Hello- I just received the Grillware smoker today for Fathers Day. This is my first smoker, cant wait to get going!!!!! I have read everyone's posts about all the little things to look out for on the Grillware smoker so that will help out. It looks like on mine that the seal on the door isn't perfect, there is a slight gap on the top left side (handle side), does anyone else have this and does it really matter? Also, my vent on the top will not close all the way, shouldn't it be able to?.....it isn't to obvious I'm new to to the whole smokin' thing is it??? what would be a fairly straight forward meat/recipe to try first? Thanks everyone!!!.


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## gypsyseagod (Jun 17, 2007)

i can't advise on your smoker but pork shoulder or butt in the 5-8lb range is pretty cheap & easy. plus,everyone loves pulled pork.


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 17, 2007)

Cool Father's Day gift! I'm sure that you're gonna love that ol' smoker. As for the slight gap at the top of the door, it might/possibly/mebbe effect it's ability to get up to higher temps, but I really doubt that it would be by much. In any event, the problem with the door is what a car body man would describe as being "cranked" or twisted a tad. The problem is probably not at the top corner of the door, more likely the bottom corner of the door is bent in slightly. Look the outer edge of the door over carefully and see if you can determine exactly where the problem is.

If the door is twisted, you can fix it yourself. Lay the unit down on it's left side, (the flat, handle side), on something like your wooden deck, (so it doesn't get scratched up). Get some help to hold the unit down carefully, pick the door up, (open it), then with one hand on the corner with the gap and the other hand on the opposite outside edge, twist the outer edge of the door, (CAREFULLY) so that you're applying pressure to close the gap at the top while pulling out the bottom of the door to open the gap, (basically a twisting motion of the outer edge), veeery carefully, a little at a time, checking fit as you go, until you've taken the twist out of the outer edge and the gap at the top is gone. 

Seams/doors on smokers aren't really air tight anyway. Since I dunno how much of a gap you have, if it's a very slight gap, (although mine has none), I just wouldn't worry too much about it.

Concerning the top vent, look closely and you'll see a tab made especially to prevent you from closing the vent completely. You must never close that top vent completely. Foremost, closing that vent completely could allow a buildup of unburnt gasses and the unit just can't work correctly without that hole or draft anyway. The idea is that you want the hot air to rise, dragging that sweet smoke with it. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Congratulations on your gift, it really is a hell of a nice smoker! Smart of the gift-giver too! I'm sure that they realize they're gonna enjoy it as much as Dad! It's kind of like giving Mom a new stove for Mom's Day! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	









Let us know how the first smoke goes!


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 17, 2007)

Thanks for the advice, the gap looks fairly small so I think I'll give it a shot and see what happens. I have heard a couple times now about using the 3-2-1 meathod for ribs. I've looked around the site but cant find any info on it. Does anyone where it is? thanks again.


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## racingstudebakers (Jun 17, 2007)

You're very welcome, always happy to help/make something easier if I can. The deal is, when you accumulate experience, you have to pass it along too! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  Oh, did I mention that everyone here seems to enjoy pictures VERY thoroughly? 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Hmm.... I KNOW that I saw the 3-2-1 method SOMEwhere on here! I'd have to look too. LOTS of great information, huh?


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## virgo53 (Jun 18, 2007)

Lance a Lot

# of us who have this smoker have found out, and discussedhere, that the adjustment of the gas control for temperature is REEAALL touchy..

Watch out for that one right away,

My door is a little ajar also, doesn't seem to affect it any.

My control for the gas is loose, It wouldn't tighten up with the little screw provided. I will have to fix this with something else, It was bad from the start, Since I thought it a minor issue that is repairable with what should be a small effort, I didn't bring it back. Plus the time it took to "build" it.

Don't forget to look along the top inside. There are hooks for whatever you might like to hang up for smoking.

Have fun with it, Just watch that throttle.

Mike


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## devolutionist (Jun 18, 2007)

Hey guys - sorry, been away for a bit.  

RacingStudebakers is on the money - the vent at the top has a little catch on it to keep you from closing it completely - that's the intended design and keeps you from messing up by accidentally closing it.

Now all this talk about the smoke box is very interesting and had me thinking.  The first time I used the smoker I had no trouble rolling out tons of smoke - but then again I was doing chicken and wanted the temp a little higher.  When I did my first pork butt in it two weeks ago, I noticed not nearly as much smoke was being produced, but then again I was trying to keep a steady 220-225 temp.  So I'm wondering if the door thermometer is indeed off a tad?  I'm going to fire it up this week with another probe inside and see how much the variance is.  

Regardless, from now on I'm going to start hot like Virgo53 mentions - that's what I've got all those oven mitts and tongs for anyway, right?

I'd also like to know what the temps are at the lower shelves when the door thermometer is at a given temperature, so I'll check that out as well and report back.

I get a little smoke out of my door, but not much at all - I don't think that's  an issue on mine... but then again the gap isn't visible on mine either.  If you can see inside the smoker through the gap, then you may want to adjust it.  If you'd like a nice tight fit, maybe we can look into getting some kind of gasket material around the door to seal it up a bit better.  That sounds like another thread topic!

Oh also - I got the BBQ Grillware smoker cover that is sold at Lowe's and it's about a foot too short.  Covers the body of the smoker but my knobs at the bottom are exposed.  Also, I'm pretty sure that in the next 6 months of searing Florida heat that the vent tab is going to poke a hole straight through that cover.  It's already poking up pretty good...

My ol' Dad was down this weekend - and I think Lowe's owes me some commission money because I think I sold them another one of these bad boys!

Awesome father's day present - that's what mine was too, but I got mine about a month early... one of those "honey, let me just buy it now and that'll be my father's day present" deals


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## devolutionist (Jun 18, 2007)

BTW - me and ol' Dad had a big discussion on the hooks inside - what exactly would you put up there?  Beef Jerky and link sausage is all I could think of


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## deejaydebi (Jun 18, 2007)

bacon would work, small hams that sort of thing


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## squeezy (Jun 19, 2007)

*That is strange, because I just changed one of mine! No problem!*


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## squeezy (Jun 19, 2007)

Here is another view of it ....




 Click for the big view.


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## devolutionist (Jun 19, 2007)

Wonder why you still can't pull it up on Lowe's web site?  It's been available there for a while and it's hard for me to get my friends to buy them without a link


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## watery eyes (Jun 19, 2007)

Best I can figure is that if you have a local store identified - their web site will only show items sold by that store. So if your store doesn't carry the product it won't show when you do a search.

Might try removing their cookie from your browser and try that way.


Just my observation.....


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## devolutionist (Jun 20, 2007)

Good thinking - tried that and still doesn't pull up.  Also remembered that I bought it from my local Lowe's and they had 3 more in stock...  oh well, can't expect the web to be perfect I guess.


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## deejaydebi (Jun 20, 2007)

They propably only list the most popular items on their site. They can't list everything in a store.


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 20, 2007)

OK, I've had my smoker for 3 days and haven't done anything with it yet. I took a week vacation and am busy bringing the kids all over the place so not enought time to commit to smoking anything. 

Today at 4:30pm I decided enough is enough, I found 2 chicken leg quarters in the fridge (partially boneless, whatever that means), found an Emeril rub that looks like it's a couple years old, rubbed down the chicken with it and off I went.

I'm not expecting great results but I needed to do something. I set up the smoker to a steady 350F, inserted my new temperature probe into the chicken and in it went. In the meantime, I took 4 ears of corn, peeled them, got all the silk off and they are currently soaking in water. I dont have any butchers twine so I plan on just wraping them back up in the husk as best I can and am going to put them in the smoker for an hour or 2.

I preheated the smoker and the wood box before placing in my wood chips. When i put the chips in I used about 2 handfulls. I noticed the smoke got rolling fairly well but after about 1/2 hour there was no more. Is this normal? should I just keep adding more? I read in the 5 day eCourse by Jeff that he stopps adding wood for smoke once the meat temp reaches 140F, anyone else do that?..............well, I better get back to tending the chicken, hopefully it comes out ok for how unprepared I am.

Lance


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## watery eyes (Jun 21, 2007)

I cook my birds at 300 and use chunk wood or chunk wood mixed with chips.

Hard to say why your wood went up in smoke so fast not knowing how much you used initially. Your smoke should be minimal but consistent.

A lot of this is real trial and error stuff....but I know that you will get the hang of it quickly.


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 21, 2007)

WOW!!! It all came out great, my 8 year old said it was the best chicken I ever made for her. The corn that I left in the husk came out ok but I rubbed one ear down with a little evoo, sprinkled some seasoning on it, wrapped it loosely in alum foil and that one came out great after about 1 1/2 hours....I'm inspired to move on!!!!

The wood flavor seemed just about right, I thought that it might have burned out to quickly but the taste was right on the money


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## pigcicles (Jun 21, 2007)

And that's what it's all about! If the kids will eat it, it has to be good... Great Job!


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 21, 2007)

BTW, I did purchase one of those thermometers with the cable on it to monitor the meats internal temp like so many people suggested and it worked out perfectly, I dont think I will ever do any smoking without it. 

I'm going to do some ribs real soon, probably baby back's and will try using the 3-2-1 meathod.......my question is, where do put the thermometer probe? there seems like not enough room/thickness on the meat to use one, any advise? Thanks.

Lance


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## billyq (Jun 21, 2007)

If your gonna use the 3-2-1 method for babybacks, no need for a probe thermometer.  Cooked between 225 and 250, they will definitely be done.  Once the meat pulls back from the bone, and they tear apart easily, you're there.  ALot of folks like them "falling off the bone" tender.  Not me, I like then to have a little tug.  Who wants to pick up a rib, and by the time you get it to your mouth all there is is bone and the meat is siiting on your plate?  Anyway, thats just me. Hope this helps.


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## devolutionist (Jun 21, 2007)

Did you add the wood in with the smoker cold or did you get the heat up before adding the wood chips?  If it was already 300-350 and you put the wood chips in dry (without soaking them) then yeah they'll probably go up pretty quick.  When I want a lot of consistent smoke from mine I take a handful of wood chips that I've soaked for a few hours and mix them with a handful of dry ones - seems like the dry ones get going first, and about the time they've burnt up the soaked ones start going - I usually get about 2 hours of solid smoke out of them that way, but I also typically don't run mine over 250.  At 300 they'll burn up faster, so if you're in a hurry like that you should probably get at least an hour of good smoke from mixing it.

Also - I keep a small tupperware bowl of dry hickory chips in my deep freeze that I use when I want to do some spur of the moment smoking.  The deep freeze runs at about -5, so mixing that with room temp dry ones seems to give a little bit of a staggered smoking run, but honestly I'm not really sure how effective that is.  

Of course, it could very well be that I just like to get a rise out of my wife by putting something like wood in the deep freeze.  I keep my spearfishing bands in the freezer too - drives her crazy...  Does that make me a bad person?


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 21, 2007)

BillyQ, thanks for the advise on the ribs, does the 3-2-1 method work for all ribs....i.e. baby back, spare ribs, country??


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 21, 2007)

Devolutionist- I did do a pre heat and added the chips once the smoker reached 250F, I like the idea of mixing wet and dry, I will definitely be trying that. Hmmmmm, I can see the wood chips in the freeze....not sure on the fishing bands though but to each their own


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## lance-a-lot (Jun 21, 2007)

I'm getting ready to smoke some ribs but the more I look at the racks in the smoker the more unsure I am that I can actually lay out a full rack. I read in this thread (page 2) that Virgo53 said he hung 2 full racks of ribs from the hooks on top of the smoker. Is there a trick to doing that? I'm thinking about tying a piece of butchers string to the end and hanging it that way but then I'm thinking that once they near the "fall off the bone" stage they might actually fall off the hooks. I'm also assuming you cant use the 3-2-1 method if your going to hang them because you need to wrap them in aluminium foil right? I have the propane "Grillware" smoker from Lowes. Thanks again all.


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## devolutionist (Jun 21, 2007)

I haven't done ribs in mine yet, but I've been wondering the same thing... I just assumed I'd have to cut the slab in half.  Using the 4 shelves in our Grillware smoker, you'd end up with a 1/2 slab on each shelf.

I'd be nervous hanging a full slab of ribs from a hook - although if you like the meat "falling off the bone" you'd certainly know when it's done!


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## virgo53 (Jun 22, 2007)

I used skewers from Wall Mart adapted by strong pliers, (IE, Bent to fit what I needed) And pushed through the meat. Haven't finished this idea yet. tying to get Pix and let ya'll see what I did after more 'engineering"

I noticed that they hung completely filling it from top to bottom with the tips about an inch from the lower rack. Worked well but the tips were a little overdone.  Many more racks can be smoked at the same time since it wasn't overfilled by two!!!, Just haven't been able to do this yet.

Time was compressed simply caused by shortage of time and increase of temp, Still came out great. Neighbors, my wife, father inlaw, and of course myself, thought they came out great.

Some way of hanging then needs to be looked into. My way worked, but I know it can be improved, If I can get off the road long enough to do this, Experiments will continue, I will let you know what I did and see what the forum thinks,

This smoker requires you to "make smaller" ribs if you don't hang'em

Workin the issues, just interrupted by travel to give it time to get it right.

That smoker box is one heavy duty unit, I think it really helps to keep the temp static, however, I am reading and learning from others that have this unit and will listen and learn to use them and use mine better.

The vacuum sealer definetely aids the apple or other wood used, Using non soaked wood with the soaked wood has quite a bit going for it from what I have read and am going to try with mine.

This smoker has alot going for it, Ain't big, throttles are touchy to say the least, But i haven't had a bad smoke yet Regardless of what I have tried,
Fish, chicken, ribs, cornish game hens, ribs, corn etc.. If any one can get it wrong, my 25 years of trying has been really good educationally (costly)

weather, for some reason, doesn't seem to affect this smoker as yet, Wind plays with it, but hasn't caused any troubles except worrying about it while it does it's thing. Rain hasn't cooled it off, however mine is somewhat protected from rain.

More to come, just need time to do it

Thanks for the education from those that have this, I am Listening!!!!

Mike.


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## devolutionist (Jun 22, 2007)

mine's sideways in the wind and there's no problems.  the manual says specifically to have the front door or back facing the wind - not sure why - but mine works great with the wind blowing into the side.

that skewer idea has me thinkin' too... that's a damn fine idea you got there...  a hanging rib rack... much more efficient use of space in a vertical smoker for stuff like ribs... hmmm...


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## lance-a-lot (Jul 6, 2007)

Last weekend I made my first brisket on the smoker. I had about an 11 pounder which I cut in half. I adjusted the temp to 230, rubbed the brisket with Jeff's rub recipe (most yummy), inserted the temp probe and off I went. I started smoking it at 10:30am. After the meat temp reached 170 I wrapped it in foil and placed it back in the smoker for another hour. Total smoke time was 8 hours. Because I cut the brisket in half, I used one for slicing and one for pulling. The one I sliced was ok but not nearly as soft as I anticipated and the one I pulled......forget it, it was like eating rubber. Anyone have any thoughts as to what I may have done wrong? I never flipped the meat or basted it during the smoking process, should I have? Thanks.


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## smokeeater (Jul 6, 2007)

You'd get more repiles if you start your own thread instead of jumping on this old one.

I would spray (or mop) the meat every time I open the smoker, or about once an hour after the first few hours. You say you foiled at 170F, but you don't mention the temp you stopped cooking at. For sliced brisket, the ending temp should be 190F, I believe. At that point, you should double foil it and place it in a cooler for several hours to let it rest and it will get more & more tender. If you tried to slice/pull it right away, it could explain your problem.


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## pigcicles (Jul 6, 2007)

L-A-L, next time try putting that brisket in a pan and foiling it that way. You can spray or mop as you please before then, but when you're ready to foil use a pan and take the internal temp up to 190Âº ish. If you are cooking a packer most will slice the flat and pull / chop the point.

Keep Smokin


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## bigarm's smokin (Aug 17, 2007)

*I just bought one today, I asked the fella about the smoker,wanted to make sure it was the right one. he couldn't find it on the stores computer?? He was the guy that sold it to me? 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 Terry*


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## devolutionist (Aug 17, 2007)

Yeah, that's always been a little weird to me.  It's still not on there...  Did you get it for the new reduced price?  They're selling for $139 down here - in the Lowes that still have them.


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## bigarm's smokin (Aug 17, 2007)

*When I checked on it last week, it was $139, yesterday, I got it for $98. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  It was the last one they had. Terry*


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## mtnfolk (Apr 25, 2011)

Looks like my new Weston smoker, Cabelas. for $117.00 full price including tax and shipping.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/West...eston+smoker&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products


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