Hey folks,
I've been lurking here for a while (for research, mostly), but finally got a hold of my #3. Last summer, we bought a mass-market competitor's product, and it was DOA--didn't even heat up. So we returned it, and I did some research, and found that that was a problem a lot of people had with it. I figured there had to be a decent-priced electric smoker that actually works, and eventually found Smokin-It. My wife got me the #3 as a birthday present (best wife ever), and since we don't live too far from Smokin-It HQ, I picked it up in person. Steve, Mr. Smokin-It himself, was very personable (and friendly to my curious three-year-old who had come for the ride), helped me load everything up, gave me a few tips on how to use it, and off we went.
I did the seasoning Saturday. Within a few minutes, a little bit of smoke came out, and my #3 was off and running. That already made it about a billion times better than that DOA hunk of junk we tried before! Sunday it was time for the maiden voyage. Because of time issues, it being my first time smoking anything, and because my wife loves ribs (and so do I), two racks of SLC ribs were the first things we made. Thanks to a lot of tips from all of you on the forums, I knew exactly how much wood to use. I also whipped up a batch of
Meathead's Memphis Dust rub for the ribs. Closed the door, fired it up, and six hours later, out came some excellent ribs. Smoked just right--not too much, not too little--and tender but not TOO tender. I've made ribs a bunch of ways, but never smoked them myself. These were the best. My wife loved them, too. Even our three-year-old son ate some and liked it.
If you're lurking around here wondering whether to buy a Smokin-It smoker like I was, do it. It's well built, easy to use, and just works. Nothing like good old American ingenuity: Steve's got himself a great product here.
And thanks to everyone else here for all the good tips. Next weekend is probably going to be a Boston butt or two for pulled pork.
Geoff
