Your first time

J

jsmoker

Guest
As just about everyone has read and provided input on, Tommy_Bandera broke into the smoking world today with his maiden voyage. It's been a great time listening to him go through the day on his way toward nirvana. It got me thinking about the first time I did (attempted to do) 'real Q':

About 4 years ago did a pork butt on a Brinkman ECB. Absolutely no mods. Stuck it on right after I got the coals going. After about 2 hours, the temp was still in the low 90s and I was having a terrible time trying to get the pit temps up into that smoking range on that wonderful ECB thermometer. Wife went to the hardware store twice to bring me wood CHIPS. I just keep throwing those things in the coal bowl and would get a flame going. That helped to get the temps up a bit, but they would almost immediatly plummet when the handful of chips burned out. Of course, VERY soon, I had a big old bowl of ashes that couldn't hold a burning briquette to save it's soul. After about 7 hours and my in-laws getting ready to show up, the butt had an internal temp of a whopping 140 degrees and the coals were non-existent. I was so farking peeved I threw the butt into a foil tray, dumped sauce on it, covered in foil and slammed it into the Weber gasser turned on full blast. Needless to say, it got to 200 degrees fairly quickly, but it was a bit removed from the nirvana I was hoping for. It ate, just didn't fit what I had going on in my head.

Since then, I've modded out the ECB, chucked it in favor of the 'Dera, found the Bretheren, and have taken quantum leaps towards hitting that pinnacle of Q that I had envisioned years ago.

How 'bout you guys? Any war wounds still present from your first time???
 
Pretty much the same as already stated, except it was ribs, and I just knew I needed more white smoke to make sure they tasted good. Also had a brisket on the grates since I had a smoker. End result, that brisket could still be lining my shoes. The ribs were eaten, but only because we were hungry. The brisket was given to the dog who turned her nose up at it after dragging and throwing it around the yard for awhile.

Then I found the Brethren........the rest is history.
 
I started on an ECB too. Did all the mods and was still left wanting. Now I have two WSMs, an array of themometers including a NuTemp wireless and life is good. I can sleep without worrying about pit temps overnight and the Q's getting better all the time. Now I'm trying to give the ECB away, but can't find anyone who wants it. I never had any complete disasters on it, but checking the fire once an hour for 20 hours (my first cook - a brisket of all things) got old quick.
 
Just went deep in the archives and reviewed some of my first few cook threads, I was so fortunate to have come here before attempting to cook anything.
My first pork butt was quite edible, first brisket was a little dry, first turkey boob and pork loin cook hooked me for good!!

Sincerest thanks to Phil, Big Al, Chad, Solidkick, Bill, Greg, Racer, Brian, Chris(ckkphoto) and Tommy Kendall for getting me started off right.

Also found the original post where Brother Smokeypig introduced the fatty to the Brethren. It wasn't until later that Brother Bigdog attached the now famous or infamous moniker.
 
Mine was on a Brinkmann Smoke-n-Grill (Stainless piece of CHIT!) Electric. It was cold and windy in November. I had a big old HDPE garbage can with a hole cut in the front for cooker access to block wind. I bought a 12 lb packer cut brisket (duh?! first cook and I start with a brisket?:roll: :eek: ) Well, "Smoke and Spice" says, cook it 1-1.5 hrs per lb at 180-220 degrees. That smoker never got above 190 .......and that was lid temp. They never told me internal temp was more important than time! I took it out at about 14 hours and sliced that mudflap up! It was awful! I kept feeding too many wood chips in as well. To my in-laws credit, they choked it down and told me it was good, but I knew it wasn't . A similar experience with a butt two weeks later, and two more briskets followed. I had a Klose 20 x 36" in the garage by February 20th!
 
She was blond and had big.....oh, you mean bbq.

Couldnt really tell you my first time. My first on an a bandera and using charcoal was last December.
 
I can't recall my first time either but it was on one of those cheapie $50 Brinkman water smokers... I used to trout fish a LOT more than I do now and I'd just toss some black pepper and lemon on the whole trout, inside and out and smoke til it flaked off. Got some decent results that way and to be honest, when I started looking into better smokers like the Bandera close to two years ago, I imagined smoking mostly fish. Then I was introduced to the Brethren site and it became a farking obcession. I was also fortunate in that I found out about this place due to my research and joining of the Yahoo group and signed on here about five weeks before I bought my Brinkman Smoke King Deluxe. I think I had a pretty good idea what I was doing before I even got started thanks to the Brethren. But I was nervous for my first cook. It was for my daughter's 4th birthday and we had about 15-20 family members over best I recall. I cooked 'em all... except butt. A brisket flat, ribs, fatties and a whole chicken. I know the BSKD was loaded! It all turned out good. I remember the brisket was a touch dry and the ribs were "fall off the bone". Got good reviews though. Looked in my photos file and found a couple. Those ribs look like CHIT! :roll:
 
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And look where you are now.... You've graduated to Wayne's chicken recipe!!! :eek:)
 
Well, Wayne's chicken METHOD anyway. Added a few tips from Denver Cajun Steve but the recipe itself (my rub and marinade) are my own ideas. Not necessarily "recipes" but how I've combined things. And since Sparkling Rick and I are neck and neck in our pursuit of chicken points, I have to keep that under wraps for now! :lol:
 
A few years ago I used one of the rectangular Brinkman. It still had the same water and charcoal pan from the ECB so it didn't work well at all. My first cook didn't come out at all. I spent about 8 hours trying to cook two whole birds, but could never get the temp over 150. I found out that I could cram an imitation Smokey Joe in there and finally could get some heat out of it, but there still was no way to control the temps. Used it about 3 times and then gave up and put it out on the curb. Some metal collector picked it up in about and hour, good riddance!! I didn't Que anything (still was grilling though) for a few years and then last November I bought my Bandera.

Now I know what real Q is.:-D
 
Smoked my first brisket on the Weber kettle and turned it into shoe leather.
 
i remember my first time was right after my stepdad gave me the trailer smoker i have in my avatar , after he won it in a raffle. i took it over to my apt complex (hehe) and called over some buddies. well needless to say i farked with the fire for the longest time, think i started at about 4pm lol. had no clue what i was doing, with a pit like this, as i had only used a kettle grill or gas grill before. we consumed alot of beer and had most of my neighbors coming over to seen when dinner was goin to be ready or to gripe about the copius amounts of smoke bellowing thoughout the neighborhood. I think we finally got to eat some ribs and chicken around 2am lol. Learned from that and now everyone is waiting for the next time i cook out.
 
LMAO... Great stories. I guess I'm relieved to hear that you guys, the veritable Sultans of Swat on the 'Dera, had similar rocky beginnings to what I went through. Oh, only if I would've seen the light and found the Holy Grail of Q sites before I abused that poor pork butt.....

Here's to getting better and better each time we go out!
 
First Smoke was Ribs in a webber kettle almost 3 years to the day, came out well, but since frequenting these fair boards my cooking has improved so much I wouldnt have eaten them!
 
I was in Amsterdam in the summer of '77....

Oh, yeah, first time smoking meat, right! It was about 10 years ago when I was living in Dallas. We bought a cheap water smoker, not sure of the brand. Did a small brisket for about 8 hours. Didn't know a darm thing about how long or anything else. I have no idea what temperature the brisket got to before we ate it. It wasn't raw, but it wasn't very tender. We did another one a few months later before the Dallas wind bent the smoker up too much to be usable any more.
 
My first time was years ago. I had some pheasants and tried to cook them on an ECB. Turned out terrible.
 
My first time was a success because I had the brethren on my side.Got lots of help and made an awesome pork butt. MrsMista still remembers it.
 
bruno said:
My first time was years ago. I had some pheasants and tried to cook them on an ECB. Turned out terrible.
Click to expand...

Whoa! Really? Pheasants on an ECB??? I'm an avid pheasant hunter but have never had the cojones to throw one in the smoker. The meat is so lean, doesn't it dry out like crazy? Old man we hunt with swears by the motto, "If it flies, it fries." Of course, I'm more the 'If it flies, it dies' school, but you get the idea!!! :twisted:
 
About 13 years ago I was smoking a turkey for some students for T-day at the university I work for. I was using a weber kettle and had too much time on hands with some gin and when I woke up the turkey was beyond jerkey. Ran to the store in the morning got another turkey and did it the right way, drinking coffee versus gin. Good thing the sun woke me up at 7a and dinner was not until 5p
 
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