# Central TX Newbie



## pdbarsallo (Feb 8, 2022)

Hey everyone , glad to be here.

Having grown up in north Texas, and calling Austin home since 2010, I'm no stranger to good barbecue. I've always loved grilling (and cooking in general), but could never justify investing in a smoker as a renter moving frequently between apartments/houses. Well, I recently purchased my first home and FINALLY was able to take the plunge! I've had some exposure to pellet grills in the past and, while the final product was always great, the overall experience just didn't provide the challenge or satisfaction I personally wanted and knew I could get out of maintaining a fire in a stick burner. Side note: I'm also a big camper/hiker/backpacker so playing with fire is absolutely in my wheelhouse haha. Thanks to my location, I was able to track down a 1/4" steel pit with a decent size firebox locally (manufactured by Texas Longhorn BBQ Pits out of Uvalde, TX) and not long ago I brought her home and got her seasoned and ready to start my smoking journey. I'm real excited to be able to (hopefully) make some fantastic barbecue at home to share with my family and friends now.

I'll be using the forum as a resource for learning, finding recipes and tips/tricks of the trade, as well as generally seeking out inspiration. As a first request, I'd love if you threw some suggestions my way for what to smoke first! From my reading thus far, it seems pork butts are generally forgiving but can also take a very long time to smoke. If there's anything that might take less time while testing out my fire management skills and not necessarily breaking the bank then send it my way.

Happy Smoking!

Bonus pics of the smoker the day I brought it home as well as just before seasoning. Not pictured is a firebox grate for open fire grilling, can't wait.


----------



## tx smoker (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from the Hill Country just a few minutes northwest of Austin. Looks like a really nice rig you have there. Can't wait to see it in action...and pics are required   

Robert


----------



## pdbarsallo (Feb 8, 2022)

tx smoker said:


> Welcome from the Hill Country just a few minutes northwest of Austin. Looks like a really nice rig you have there. Can't wait to see it in action...and pics are required
> 
> Robert


Duly noted! Hey, any recommendations for sourcing wood around these parts? Would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## SmokinEdge (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from Colorado. You landed in the best place on the web for smokers. Enjoy your stay.


----------



## indaswamp (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from Louisiana!


----------



## 912smoker (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome to SMF from SE Ga !

Keith


----------



## Brokenhandle (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from Iowa!

Ryan


----------



## bigfurmn (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from Minnesota. Congrats on the grill and being a home owner!


----------



## Winterrider (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from ND


----------



## gnab2 (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome to CenTX. I am south of you in Lockhart. Many farmers will let you cut the dead wood but you must clean it all up. They most of the time just want it gone and cleaned up.


----------



## sandyut (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome to SMF


----------



## bauchjw (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from Virginia! You might try a smaller beef Chuck roast. Those are real tasty and not as tricky as a brisket….takes less time too.


----------



## Sven Svensson (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome, from California. I look forward to seeing your cooks.


----------



## pineywoods (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome to SMF glad you joined us. Congrats on the new house and smoker. Looking at the pic of the smoker I'm wondering if there is a grate in the firebox for the ash to fall away from the fire? Chicken would be a fairly good, cheap, quick first smoke. The only thing is if you smoke it at 225-250 the skin will come out kind of like rubber you have a few choices you can run the fire hotter or when it's about done stick it in an oven or grill to crisp up the skin, or just throw the skin away.
You will need a good quality meat thermometer to check to make sure the smoker thermometer is right and also to check internal temps of what your smoking almost everything we smoke is done by internal temp and not by time.


----------



## DougE (Feb 8, 2022)

Welcome from Kentucky.


----------



## BrianGSDTexoma (Feb 9, 2022)

Welcome from North Texas.


----------



## sawhorseray (Feb 9, 2022)

Welcome from Gilbert, AZ! RAY


----------



## JLeonard (Feb 9, 2022)

Welcome from Mississippi. Nice looking rig. Look forward to your posts and pics.
Jim


----------



## Humo18 (Feb 9, 2022)

Welcome from the MIdwest.  With that gear you've gone all in and I'm sure with all the good advice in this forum you will soon be smoking like a true central Texas pitmaster.


----------



## pdbarsallo (Feb 9, 2022)

pineywoods said:


> Welcome to SMF glad you joined us. Congrats on the new house and smoker. Looking at the pic of the smoker I'm wondering if there is a grate in the firebox for the ash to fall away from the fire? Chicken would be a fairly good, cheap, quick first smoke. The only thing is if you smoke it at 225-250 the skin will come out kind of like rubber you have a few choices you can run the fire hotter or when it's about done stick it in an oven or grill to crisp up the skin, or just throw the skin away.
> You will need a good quality meat thermometer to check to make sure the smoker thermometer is right and also to check internal temps of what your smoking almost everything we smoke is done by internal temp and not by time.


Thanks for the advice! Yes, it does have a grate in the base of the firebox. Is that preferred? I figure it probably is since it will allow some oxygen under the coals as well as prevent a bunch of ash from building up in my coal bed, but would appreciate any insight otherwise. 

I'd also love any tips on getting it fired up properly to ensure I'm not fighting to keep my fire going during long cooks. My current plan is to fire up a chimney of lump charcoal, burn down 2 or 3 splits of wood to get the smoker up to temp and start building a coal bed, and from there just keep a split preheating at the front of the box at all times, turning it over into the fire as needed to keep a flame going (and placing a new split to preheat). Any and all suggestions are welcome.


----------



## pineywoods (Feb 9, 2022)

pdbarsallo said:


> Thanks for the advice! Yes, it does have a grate in the base of the firebox. Is that preferred? I figure it probably is since it will allow some oxygen under the coals as well as prevent a bunch of ash from building up in my coal bed, but would appreciate any insight otherwise.
> 
> I'd also love any tips on getting it fired up properly to ensure I'm not fighting to keep my fire going during long cooks. My current plan is to fire up a chimney of lump charcoal, burn down 2 or 3 splits of wood to get the smoker up to temp and start building a coal bed, and from there just keep a split preheating at the front of the box at all times, turning it over into the fire as needed to keep a flame going (and placing a new split to preheat). Any and all suggestions are welcome.


 
Yes you want the grate in the firebox in place to do exactly what you were thinking.
Don't make your splits to big try some that are just shorter than the door opening and about the size of a magnum beer can in diameter. What your looking for is thin blue smoke (TBS) not thick white billowing smoke. Add another split or two when the last ones you put in are burned down but not to the point you loose temperature. A 1/4" thick steel smoker is going to retain some heat so by the time the temperature gauge starts to go down you've let it go to long. I would suggest when you season the smoker spend some time trying to get your temps stable and figure out about how long between adding splits and get somewhat comfortable with how it works before starting the smoke. I usually am adding a split or two every 30-45 minutes with my smoker. For short smokes you can do chicken as I mentioned earlier or hamburgers, sausages


----------



## tx smoker (Feb 10, 2022)

Sounds like Jerry (

 pineywoods
 ) has you pointed in the right direction as far as running your smoker. You can take what he says to the bank and accept it as gospel.



pdbarsallo said:


> Duly noted! Hey, any recommendations for sourcing wood around these parts? Would be greatly appreciated



You can get most of the stuff at Academy but it can get a bit pricey. There's a guy about 5 minutes from my house that did all the lot clearing for us when we built. He keeps oak and mesquite split and stacked on his lot and you can just drop in and grab what you need. The one I'm having a hard time finding is cherry. As far as finding stuff in Austin, I'm at a loss. Although I spend too much time in town for work, I'm just trying to get in and out as fast as possible. Being that everything is pretty much built out in the city it's not likely you'll find anything there that folks have taken from lot clearing. Add to that the Austin Tree Nazis won't let you touch a tree for any reason, there won't be any taken down.

Robert


----------

