My First Smoke... Ever

Before your next smoke... this post is a great detail on the science behind the firepit. The tips will help tremendously.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showpost.php?p=601400&postcount=60

Looking forward to your next fire.

WOW, what a first cook!

I remember my first cooks 5 years ago, not as good as yours, trust me.

B3............................;}-

Another Buckeye! Hey, go ahead and do the Butt like you want, then after it is done subject it to others for tasting? Why, to see if they can taste the charcoal!
Now, if they did, next time get some wood chunks at a store and start them like charcoal (in a chimmney) and use only wood , them taste.....:!:
I will assure you the taste will be phenonmenal:wink:
Just saying,
have fun and
SMOKE HAPPY :mrgreen:

landarc said:

Thanks for the save Jeff. I do think it will be a good experience to develop the same bad habits I have. Actually, I have had a lot of butt cooks where things have not gone right once I got to the final few hours. I tend to like to know what is going on so I check, at least every 20-30 minutes or so. Once I get the sense that things are close, I now know that I have to pay attention. I think it is a lot like a ladder, 165F is just another rung on the ladder, towards getting done.

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There was no save involved... You were right (did I just say that out loud?)...

My problem is that after 20 years of cooking Que, I forget about some of the exceptions... Do I check it when it hits 165*? I look at it, maybe feel the bone if it's really pulled back, but generally, no, I don't... But then there are the exceptions where experience has told me that some thing just isn't right... May have been a REALLY lazy pig... I don't know, but those are rare...

landarc said:

There is an old maxim in BBQ, 'You ain't cooking if you are looking', but, since I cook be feel and not temps, except as a reference point, I need to look once in a while.

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Again, different strokes for different folks... Once I look at it at 165*, I like to ignore it until it hits 195*... That's just me... Most of my cooks are on the 'Mistress' and once you open her up it takes a while to get her back up to temps, especially during the winter so I'd just rather keep her closed up...

B3 said:

Thanks for the link Bandit.


Mike, believe me, literally 90% of what I did was discovered on this site. Without it... I may have never moved past the gasser.

bbqfans, next time I assure you that I will be aiming for "phenomenal:wink:."

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That's the right idea!