Sac town smoker

Hey Everyone! Kevin here from Citrus Heights, CA, a suburb of Sacramento. I'm brand new to the forum, but been smoking for a few years on and off.

I started in about 2013 with a MES 30 electric smoker with an Amazen pellet tray. Due to restrictions at the apartment I was in at the time in San Jose, that's all I could have is an electric. When I moved up to the Sacramento area the MES didn't survive the move so I ended up taking a break for a while until this last spring when I decided I just couldn't go any longer without a smoker...... or two.

I have a few different options now, including a Pit Boss 1100 pellet smoker, a Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5, and a Weber 22.5 Kettle. I have a little Smokey Joe too which I just couldn't pass up for $35.

I'm just a back yard cooker at the moment, but due to getting hooked on the show BBQ Pit Masters, I've been thinking about maybe competing in some smaller local competitions. I'm not really sure yet but either way it's a lot of fun working to dial in my recipe's and processes! My current struggle is getting that perfect mahogany color on my ribs. They just keep coming out darker than I want, but I keep working on it... in fact I have three racks on the WSM as I type this!

I'm really looking forward to joining in on the conversations here!

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Here's a pic of the plated end product from last night's rib and tri-tip smoke. Ribs were still too dark in color, but they tasted great and were very tender!

guero_gordo said:

Welcome, neighbor.
When you're ready to upgrade, KAT smokers is just down the road in Manteca.

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Wow, thanks for the info... I have been dreaming of a good offset and thinking about pulling the trigger on one next summer. I hadn't heard of Kat, but was looking at Lone Star Grillz. These look better thanks to the reverse flow and to your point they're just down the road in Modesto.

Unfortunately for me, I have an issue I am concerned with about this and really any of the quality offsets. I have very narrow access and a TINY gate to my backyard with only 24" of clearance, so it would be a very tight fit to get it where it needs to go. With the pellet grill, I ended up taking it through the front door and in to the house to get it to the yard because of the larger clearance of the front door, but at over 600 pounds that's not gonna work on something like this!