My first smoke - Beef Brisket and "Fatties" plus a few extra bits.....

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #20 on:** 15 Aug 2012, 03:38 pm »

Squirrel - You're very welcome!
That is a great site, with a lot of very friendly folks. It's the largest and fastest moving forum I've ever seen though. Not that I needed another forum, but I did join up. haha

Jerry, yea, there area lot of parallels between the two hobbies. The $$$$ some of these guys spend to cook food is insane. But, they could say the same about us.

Viggen, that bacon was nothing short of amazing. A new niche in the hobby of smoking food as far as I'm concerned. I foresee myself having some experiments with that.
The biggest obstacle is not looking like the self portrait Chris posted.

Bob

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #21 on:** 16 Aug 2012, 09:04 am »

Woot! Just ordered my smoker today!

I opted to try a Smokin-It Model #2. I hemmed and hawed for awhile about stepping up to the largest one, the Model #3; it's about 5" deeper, making it easier to fit larger items like whole rib roasts and large turkey in. But ultimately the #2 with all the accessories I wanted wound up being a bit under $500 shipped where the larger one with no accessories was about $650. Granted, over the years of ownership the extra couple hundred wouldn't be a deal breaker but I think the #2 is a great deal.

Hopefully soon I'll be cranking out delights to rival yours!

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #22 on:** 16 Aug 2012, 12:20 pm »

Good deal Rob, nice unit.

We'll be waiting for those pictures.

bearman2 · « **Reply #23 on:** 16 Aug 2012, 01:04 pm »

I have smoked a lot of meat in my day but never a fattie but I must try that in the near future. Great looking pics and I'm glad to see the mushrooms and onions included in the roll because I would not want to eat anything that would be unhealthy. LOL Keep up the good work I'm sure your family enjoys the results, I know mine does.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #24 on:** 17 Aug 2012, 10:22 am »

Pics will be there!

I've been eying this smoker for a few months but I gotta admit, this thread got me off the bubble!

I'm blown away by the results you've gotten, Bob. I'm a pro chef and I can't get those results off of the (admittedly crappy) grill that I have. Of course, it's a gas grill...

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #25 on:** 17 Aug 2012, 12:23 pm »

Glad I was able to push you over the edge Rob!

Thanks for the fattery.

Bob

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #26 on:** 17 Aug 2012, 12:31 pm »

Thanks, buddy! Right now I'm dancing around the #2 - If all goes well I' have the order for the #2 cancelled and replaced by the #3.

Stay tuned!

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #27 on:** 17 Aug 2012, 01:31 pm »

Do the #3 Rob.

The unit I got is sold in a 18.5" and a 22.5".
I opted for the larger one, figuring I'll never "want" for more. Had I bought the smaller one, I'll always have that little bit of doubt.... "Should I have"?

Bob

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #28 on:** 17 Aug 2012, 09:06 pm »

By the way Rob, here's a link to issue #9 of a pretty good BBQ magazine: http://www.smokesignalsmagazine.com/SSM/Issue9/index

Check out page number 44-45.
Since you're getting a unit that looks like this one, make sure you can buy pans in the sizes that will fit your unit. You may need the bigger one to accommodate typical pan sizes?

Hope that helps,
Bob

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #29 on:** 18 Aug 2012, 07:58 am »

That's a cool site, but the page turning is kind of gimmicky.

I might be out of luck on the #3. I sent an email asking if I could cancel my order and get the bigger one; they shot back an e-mail saying they'd cancel it today so I could reorder this evening. But when I got back from work I had an e-mail that my #2 had just shipped.

Either it was too late or internal communication isn't the best at Smokin-It. Oh, well...I have only myself to blame. I should've ordered the larger one to begin with.

However, I did pick up 2 x racks of baby backs and 1 x rack of St. Louis style ribs as a consolation!

Now I'll be ready when the smoker shows up.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #30 on:** 18 Aug 2012, 11:13 am »

Yea, the page turning was just silly.

Oh well, if typical pans won't fit, you can alway use the grates. It's all good.
Looking forward to seeing some "ribbage" pictures. When you show me yours, I'll show you mine.

I was doing ribs in an old worn out gas unit that I converted to charcoal. Not the best "smoker" as the openings on the unit were massive and it was hard to keep the temps down and durations up. But I managed a few nice racks of ribs with it. I've yet to try ribs on the WSM.

Bob

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 Aug 2012, 07:33 am »

Well, I was able to cancel the #2 and order the #3- it's en route as we speak!

I also ordered this pellet smoker for pure cold smoking. It was raved up at many different forums and should be a good addition not only to my smoker but my gas grill.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #32 on:** 23 Aug 2012, 03:53 pm »

Good deal, I think you'll be happier Rob.

That little smoker looks good. The first thing that comes to mind is cold smoking some herbed butter or cheese.

Or maybe some salmon too.

Bob

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 Aug 2012, 05:03 pm »

I think it will be good for that. My Smokin-It Model #3 is designed to be able to cold smoke, too, but by itself I can probably only get down to around 100 F (the lowest thermostat setting). But the A-Maze-N smoker produces negligible heat and produces a high volume of smoke for many hours. Oddly enough I learned about it from a guy at a camping/survival forum. I guess they're all the range among BBQ pros. I should be able to set in the bottom of my Model #3 and get a lot of very cool smoke for cheese, nuts, etc. Heck, I even saw a guy on youtube use his in a Yoder rig to smoke chocolate cake!

Before it shows up it's hard to tell for sure but I think I'll be able to fit a dozen racks of baby backs in the thing at once (not that I'll have many occasions to do so). To me the big draws will be doing brisket w/o the need to cut them in half or fold them, and being able to fit a whole prime rib in to smoke.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #34 on:** 23 Aug 2012, 05:20 pm »

Sounds good Rob. I foresee a lot of good in your future.

Even though you got the bigger unit, there's always that little voice that says you could have/should have gone bigger.
Check > THIS < out.

Tonight on the way home from work, I'm buying a salmon to smoke.
Not sure how I'll prepare it, marinade it, season it, or cure it yet. The only "for sure" is that it'll end up on the smoker.
I'll be sure to post pics.

Bob

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #35 on:** 23 Aug 2012, 08:34 pm »

Looks like I will have to register there to see the pics, but 31 lbs would be the MOaB (Mother of all brisket!).

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #36 on:** 23 Aug 2012, 08:57 pm »

The pics begin on page two...not sure if you caught that?

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #37 on:** 24 Aug 2012, 04:20 am »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 23 Aug 2012, 08:57 pm

The pics begin on page two...not sure if you caught that?

Yeah, but if you're not registered/logged in they're just attachments. I can't open or view them. On the other hand, it's a good lookin' forum. Maybe I should join.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #38 on:** 24 Aug 2012, 04:25 am »

Hahaha!

Turns out I was already a member, just forgot my info!

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #39 on:** 24 Aug 2012, 01:17 pm »

That's funny right there.

The Salmon has been in the fridge for about 12 hours curing. Pics later.