Really Frustrated Today.

Wesman61

Wesman61

is Blowin Smoke!
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I'm smoking about 10lbs of chuck on my COS for dinner at my Brother's tonight. My Niece worships my smoked meats and I love to cook for her. She's just an awesome gal but the problem is she gets migraines if I use fruit or oak wood. So bad she has to go to the emergency room. So I told her I would only use mesquite. Well trying to find a decent supply of mesquite in Idaho is a challenge. All the brands of lump I've tried are really stubborn and hard to get burning good. I bought some mesquite logs from a sporting goods place here but the are so dry they burn up in nothing flat. The chunks from Walmart and other places also burn fast because they are small. I'm chasing the temps all over the place. Rant over!
 
Try a Mexican market for mesquite lump.

I light the blue bag in a chimney. Then add to lump.

Sorry to suggest this, but she may just not like Bbq. If so, she must really like you to try to spare your feelings.
 
I'm wondering if there are any other variables to look at for causing the migraines. Is there a certain rub or rub ingredient that might be triggering the migraines? Is there a good brand of briqs you could use? They burn cooler than lump, but they are consistent.
 
Sorry, I'm so flustered I can't think strait. I won't try to figure out why she gets the headaches and it most definitely isn't that she doesn't like my BBQ. She eats it no matter how I make it and brags all over FB about it. She told me today she's all stocked up on her meds. It's just this damn smoker. With a full load of lump, chunks and a couple of logs it won't get over 200 degrees. I'm guessing it's because the wind picked up but not really that much. I have a pallet with a drop cloth near the intake to block the wind. Nothing is working. I'm going to mothball it till spring and finish my UDS so I can start the learning process all over. Sorry for ranting.
 
It's all good man, you ain't the first and you won't be the last to rant here.

You have all vents all the way open when you're cooking?

Anyway - you're probably making the right decision right now - it's about a nice time with family more so than anything else. BBQing is great and all, but as far as I'm concerned the real attraction is time spent with family and loved ones and nothing should get in the way of that.
 
Thanks gtr. I just watched my two Grand daughters open some gifts. Took my mind off of the crap. I just need to learn to pick my battles. This smoker and me don't get along in cold weather. It works a lot better with briquettes and chunks but I figure I might as well use a drum smoker if I use briquettes. My Son gave me the offset so I wanted to give it a chance but it's kicking my butt. In better weather and with local fruit wood it works great. I plan to have a merry Christmas and I hope you all do too.
 
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i found rather quickly that my wife and i can't do apple smoke. not sure on other ones but pecan is just fine for us. my wife is allergic to almost anything so i have to be carefull. oak seems ok so far. i plain don't like mesquite nor hickory chunks for smoke. have you tried doing a que without any smoke at all ?
 
Well, despite all my troubles the meat got raves. My Nephew who says exactly what he thinks was emphatic about how good he thought it was. I let my Niece and him take home the leftovers although there wasn't much left.
mbshop said:
have you tried doing a que without any smoke at all ?
Click to expand...
Not for her.
 
Glad it all worked out for ya, despite the troubles.

What kind of COS is it? I know that my NBBD doesn't work too well in the cold weather. We mainly use it as a grill, more so than an offset smoker.

Get that UDS made, and don't look back.

Matt
 
Apple wood while its smoking messes me up bad headaches. I moved to cherry and pecan they are the only 2 that do not screw with my sinuses...
 
Sorry to hear the complications you're dealing with.
Have you ruled out the ingredients from the rubs you are using?
 
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