My history of smoking includes the use of a Brinkmann charcoal smoker, a Weber Smokey Mountain, and a Primo Kamado that I still have and use. I have to admit that I got interested in electric smokers watching someone cooking on a Masterbuilt smoker on QVC, but knew that I would want something more substantial than a Masterbuilt and the similar units that I have seen in local stores. Some reserarch later, I pulled the trigger on a Model 3 a few weeks ago and used it for the first time last week. Talk about a leap of faith, my first smoke was 7 racks of baby backs. I followed all of the instructions here including foiling, making a small boat for the wood chunks (a mix of oak and hickory -I can't beleive how little wood I used!), etc., set the dial to 235, poured some apple juice in an aluminum pan, and didn't peek for the first 5 hours. Being the first time out, I had another meal ready for guests just in case. However, after a total cook of about 6 hours, I pulled the ribs out of the unit and was able to serve a wonderful meal to all of my guests. Now I'm anxious to give it a go again ASAP. Thanks to everyone on this forum for your help and advice. I'm sure that I'll need more going forward.
Here's a question. Packer briskets are not that easy to come by here in Massachusetts, but trimmed briskets in the 5 to 7 pound range can be found in any Costco or even local food stores. Are they worth smoking? How well to they come out? What adjustments do you have to make to cooking time, wood amounts, etc.? Thanks again.
Doug B.
