Greetings from Eureka, Calif.

[teleskier]

Well I did it. After a lot of research I broke down and purchased a #2. It shipped out today so hopefully I will be able to season it next week and get to doing some BBQ on the weekend. The inferior little chief will have to find its way to my son. No more finishing things on the grill.

I have browsed the forum quite a bit already and know of things I NEED to purchase/upgrade already. Damn, I hate new hobbies.  But I want to start with doing a couple racks of ribs. I will do a nice dry rub with a binder, some apple juice in the smoker and probably 2-3 oz of wood.  Where in the forum can a person find basic "how to" for various meats for a beginner?

Thanks in advance friends.

 

[gregbooras]

You are going to enjoy your #2 smoker and so will your friends. I also went with the #2 and am super impressed with the results.

For recipes just to to the home and then scrolls down to the meats.

Here is my first smoke of ribs, that turned out great since I read a lot of the posts from others!
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=3047.msg23292#msg23292

Welcome from Saint Augustine Florida, 450 years old and still going strong.

Greg

 

[swthorpe]

Welcome from Delaware!  You are going to love your #2 ... I know I do!  Cheers

 

[SuperDave]

I was just up in your neck of the woods a couple weeks ago, Eureka & Trinidad.  Welcome! 

 

[teleskier]

We live in McKinleyville actually, just below Trinidad. Wish I had posted here earlier and we could have met.

 

[DivotMaker]

Congrats on the #2!  You're gonna love it - and I'm not just saying that!!  Beautiful part of Cali you're from!  When you get a chance, give us a first name in your signature line - nice to know who our new friends are!

One reference you can use is our guide to smoking times/temps/woods:

Guide

Next, read through the Pork section and find a rip recipe/cook that appeals to you - then duplicate it!  At first, it's best to copy proven successes.  Once you get a feel for things, you can begin improvising.  Greg's post, on his first ribs, is a great place to start.  Ribs are actually a very easy smoke, and once you do some, you'll see why!  Prep them, and smoke them by time (not internal meat temp), and you're set!  You'll be a rib Pit Master soon enough! 8)

 

[Limey]

Hi Teleskier,
Welcome from the Florida Keys. You will enjoy your SI unit and also this forum. Ribs are a good place to start as is a chicken on a vertical roaster. Remember to participate-that's what makes this forum so much fun and so valuable.

 

[teleskier]

Thanks for the link on the guide. I had previously downloaded that as a starting point and have looked through the different meat sections in the forum. I guess more to the point, I was curious if there was a place where the admins may have posted a couple of tried and true recipes for various meats in one central topic for us "newbies" where we could easily find a recipe for ribs, one for a pork butt, a brisket etc without having to scroll through pages of topics under each meat heading.  Thanks again for the guide.

 

[DivotMaker]

I guess more to the point, I was curious if there was a place where the admins may have posted a couple of tried and true recipes for various meats in one central topic for us "newbies" where we could easily find a recipe for ribs, one for a pork butt, a brisket etc without having to scroll through pages of topics under each meat heading.  Thanks again for the guide.

Mike, we're looking at making a section like you are talking about.  The problem is settling on some basic recipes!  There are SO many great recipes on here, it's really hard to choose!  Sure enough, if I post one on, say, baby back ribs, I'll get 20 messages asking why I didn't choose their ribs, or so-and-so's ribs!  It's a bit of a fine line!  Would have been much easier, back when we only had a hundred or so members!  There were only a handful of us that were really active.  Now, there are so many great Q chefs on here, and growing every day!

If anyone has any good ideas about this, feel free to PM me with your thoughts!  I would really like to get this together.  Thanks, Mike, for renewing interest in this!

 

[teleskier]

You are welcome Tony.

We as beginners would be well served with a basic how to. A "start here" mentality. There is no right or wrong with any recipe or method but a basic starting point to mature upon would be welcomed by many I am sure. As with anything else, the more we read, the more overwhelmed we can get. Also, a section on abbreviations we are likely to encounter in the posts such as EVOO, 2-2-2, 3-2-1, and the list could go on. Some are easy to figure out such as IT etc. but still would not hurt to include.

As for me, the only thing I have done in the past is Tri Tip in a little chief. I would rub 12-24 hours ahead, inject and smoke for 6 or so hours but as you know the little chief does not get hot enough to get the IT where it needs to be so I would finish on my gas grill.

 

[DivotMaker]

Got it, Mike - thanks again!