Visioneer
08-23-2010, 10:33 AM
Hi fellow Q'ers,
I bought my first smoker, a WSM, in February of 2005. I had never had "real" Q before so I didn't know what to expect. My first smoke was a couple of pork butts since they appeared to be the most fool proof thing to try. Doing my first smoke in 15 degree February with a good breeze going was not ideal. What I thought would take about 14 hours actually took 24! I learned right away the necessity of good pit thermometers and a wind break. After 24 hours though when we finally pulled it we could not believe the flavor! I was hooked! I bought my second WSM that same Spring.
Cabela's held their "1st Annual BBQ Challenge" that June and it turned out to be their "LAST Annual BBQ Challenge". I entered as a one man team so I only did ribs due to my limited resources and experience. Here I was up against all these teams with their big smokers and campers from all over the place. I had a little 10' x 10' canopy with my lonely R2D2 WSM, a chair, , portable gas grill to cook my sauce and my cooler of beer. I think there were more pictures taken of my sparse setup than most of the others.
I placed 13th out of the 30 teams entered so I was pretty pleased with myself to be in the top half.
I haven't competed since then but I'm thinking about it again especially since there are more competitions in Michigan now.
When Weber came out with the 22" WSM I had to have one. The additional space of the larger unit is very nice even though it burns more fuel and doesn't cook quite as long unattended.
Last week I purchased my first stick burner, a used Lang 84 with the grill option. I have been looking for a used Lang for a long time but they don't make it this far North often. I found mine in mid-Ohio. I really wanted the warmer box option also but maybe next time or possibly I'll have one fabbed on it. I lit my fire on it for the first time last Saturday at 5 AM. It started raining at 7:30 AM and didn't stop until 4:30 PM. I was just doing a practice run and the 18 people that got to try the ribs I cooked didn't mind the rain at all. I had a little trouble keeping my temps up because the rain would increase every time I closed the dampers a little and decrease when I opened them. It was good experience though and at least three people said they were the best ribs they'd ever had. I also had some butts, brisket & sausage on there for myself and samplers.
I'm doing a BBQ dinner this coming weekend that will be my largest cook to date since we expect about 100 people. I could have handled it with my 3 WSM's but the Lang will make it much easier and allow for more ribs.
I also grill a lot but mostly with gassers but I don't want to start one of those discussions.:rolleyes:
Once again, Hello to All!
I bought my first smoker, a WSM, in February of 2005. I had never had "real" Q before so I didn't know what to expect. My first smoke was a couple of pork butts since they appeared to be the most fool proof thing to try. Doing my first smoke in 15 degree February with a good breeze going was not ideal. What I thought would take about 14 hours actually took 24! I learned right away the necessity of good pit thermometers and a wind break. After 24 hours though when we finally pulled it we could not believe the flavor! I was hooked! I bought my second WSM that same Spring.
Cabela's held their "1st Annual BBQ Challenge" that June and it turned out to be their "LAST Annual BBQ Challenge". I entered as a one man team so I only did ribs due to my limited resources and experience. Here I was up against all these teams with their big smokers and campers from all over the place. I had a little 10' x 10' canopy with my lonely R2D2 WSM, a chair, , portable gas grill to cook my sauce and my cooler of beer. I think there were more pictures taken of my sparse setup than most of the others.
I placed 13th out of the 30 teams entered so I was pretty pleased with myself to be in the top half.
I haven't competed since then but I'm thinking about it again especially since there are more competitions in Michigan now.
When Weber came out with the 22" WSM I had to have one. The additional space of the larger unit is very nice even though it burns more fuel and doesn't cook quite as long unattended.
Last week I purchased my first stick burner, a used Lang 84 with the grill option. I have been looking for a used Lang for a long time but they don't make it this far North often. I found mine in mid-Ohio. I really wanted the warmer box option also but maybe next time or possibly I'll have one fabbed on it. I lit my fire on it for the first time last Saturday at 5 AM. It started raining at 7:30 AM and didn't stop until 4:30 PM. I was just doing a practice run and the 18 people that got to try the ribs I cooked didn't mind the rain at all. I had a little trouble keeping my temps up because the rain would increase every time I closed the dampers a little and decrease when I opened them. It was good experience though and at least three people said they were the best ribs they'd ever had. I also had some butts, brisket & sausage on there for myself and samplers.
I'm doing a BBQ dinner this coming weekend that will be my largest cook to date since we expect about 100 people. I could have handled it with my 3 WSM's but the Lang will make it much easier and allow for more ribs.
I also grill a lot but mostly with gassers but I don't want to start one of those discussions.:rolleyes:
Once again, Hello to All!