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[TheLocNar]

Looking good, Jeff!  Just FYI...you saw the big temp swings, when seasoning, because the smoker was empty.  Nothing but hard stainless, and no heat sinks (meat, water pan) that will absorb heat and keep it more stable.  That's why I tell folks to totally disregard box temps during seasoning.  Freaks some people out!

Understood about hose temp swings. As always, curiosity and my analytical nature got to me. lol It was never anything I was worried about though!

Going to try a half slab of ribs I've had seasoned, vac'd and frozen for a few months tomorrow. It's thawing out in the fridge now. Should be interesting since I saved it for sous vide. Updates when appropriate. 

[DivotMaker]

Looking forward to the ribs, Jeff!

[TheLocNar]

Put them on a half hour ago with some applewood chunks. Going to fool them after 2 hours with parkay, brown sugar, honey then pull them after 1.5 to check and go from there. Will update. ))

Thanks again everyone for the warm welcome and tips!

[grogorat]

I'm not a fish guy but those look good!

[TheLocNar]

The half slab came out great. Forgot pics as I dug into them immediately. lol

Loving this smoker.

One more Q. Is heavy duty foil necessary to line the smoker box and bottom? I'm running low, but have plenty of the regular stuff.

[grogorat]

Hey Jeff,
It's not necessary but it does make cleanup easier.
I went to a local restaurant supply store and bought the 1000ft. roll of heavy duty foil and plastic wrap.  Much cheaper than what the grocery store offers, in terms of what you pay in relation to total sq. footage.

[SconnieQ]

Some folks don't line the bottom at all (but foiling the top of the smoker box is pretty essential). Just more cleanup. Regular foil is fine and will help with cleanup, although it might stick in spots and you have to "scrape" it off. TIP: use an old credit card (or other plastic shopping or store card) for scraping anything without scratching! I think we all have one of those kicking around somewhere...

[TheLocNar]

Good deal. Ned to check webstaurant store etc. Have plenty of old plastic cards laying around I can use for scraping. Good idea!

[SconnieQ]

Look for Reynolds "Super Strength" foil. One notch heavier than "Heavy Duty". That's what I use to line the bottom of my smoker box. Use your "Regular" foil for your other miscellaneous kitchen needs (and for your smoker, until you get the heavier stuff). "Super Strength" is probably overkill for most of your foil needs other than your smoker, and wrapping/resting meats, so since I'm very frugal, I like to save money and use regular foil for other things.

[DivotMaker]

I find the restaurant supply roll I get at Sam's similar to the super-duty Reynolds.  The 18" roll lasts forever!  Their plastic wrap is great, too!

Foil and Plastic Wrap

[grogorat]

Not sure if there is a brick-n-mortar presence in your state but you can order from their website where I got my stuff:
www.acemart.com

[DivotMaker]

Looks like a candy store for cooks, Gary!

[TheLocNar]

Nice, Gary. We have Restaurant Depot here as well.

Did a whole chicken today. Butter, soy sauce, old bay under the skin. Extra virgin olive oil and more old bay on the outside. Didn't have time to brine. 250 with some cherry. Will probably use less wood next time or mix it up a bit. But the meat was so tender and juicy. Took my torch to the skin a bit but of course, it shrunk and split. Didn't really need the skin anyway. The chicken was that good. Loving my #2!

It was rainy too but wasn't effected. Took about 3 hours to get up to 160. Let it rest a bit tented with foil. The dark meat was excellent.

[grogorat]

Hey Tony,
That store is awesome. Tons of commercial grade kitchenware.

[DivotMaker]

I'll check it out again, Gary.  Their website had major trouble loading pages when I first looked at it.  Hopefully, they got that resolved!