New #1 in CT

[pax238]

Hi:

After thinking about it for over a year, I finally got my first smoker, a #1 (and am now wondering why I waited so long). All set up, seasoned and the first smoke is now history (but not without a little adventure). Wrote it up here: http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=4478.msg40584#new.

 

[NDKoze]

Welcome from ND Barry! You are going to love your #1.

 

[swthorpe]

Welcome from Delaware, Barry!  I see many happy smokes in your future, with the salmon under your belt!  Cheers

 

[gregbooras]

Welcome Barry from Saint Augustine Florida!

Greg

 

[DivotMaker]

Welcome Barry!  The Little Guy is a real Giant in the smoker world!  Many, many happy smokes in mine!

 

[pax238]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I like this place already. It reminds me of a pizza forum that I belong to.

 

[DivotMaker]

We love pizza too, Barry!

 

[pax238]

We love pizza too, Barry!

That's good to hear, Tony (otherwise I would worry about you).

 

[SconnieQ]

Congrats on the #1. I love mine!

 

[coachB]

Welcome from Myrtle Beach, SC.  And if you are on a pizza forum and from CT you gotta go to Wooster St/Sq in New Haven.  And since you are in CT can you send me some Hummel's hot dogs?

 

[pax238]

Welcome from Myrtle Beach, SC.  And if you are on a pizza forum and from CT you gotta go to Wooster St/Sq in New Haven.  And since you are in CT can you send me some Hummel's hot dogs?

Thanks Bill. I've been known to stand in those long lines at Pepe's, Sally's and Modern from time to time! Should I include some Martin's potato buns with that order of Hummel's?

 

[coachB]

I am not familiar with Martin's potato buns Barry.  What part of CT do they come from?  I have been out of  CT since '86.  Seriously, the 2 food items I found I could not replicate (besides the apizza) were Hummel's natural casing pork dogs and whole-belly fried clams.  I did finally locate the clams when a couple from Boston opened a fish market here and they run trucks with Northeast seafood down twice a week.  They bring in Kayem's dogs (Fenway Park's hot dogs), but they can't compare to Hummel's.l

 

[jcboxlot]

Top 5 roll.

Maybe the pic will come up.

 

[DivotMaker]

That's a fine-looking pie, Barry!

 

[pax238]

Top 5 roll.

Maybe the pic will come up.

Those are the ones, jcboxlot. My mistake, Bill, Martin's are in PA.

 

[pax238]

That's a fine-looking pie, Barry!

Thanks Tony.

 

[SconnieQ]

If I could make a pizza crust like that, with the big bubbles, I'd be happy.

 

[coachB]

Barry, you got me thinking about Hummel's so I checked out their website again.  Surprise, surprise, they will now ship their dogs out of state!  The shipping is exorbitant (FedEx overnight perishable).  I balked at first, but finally talked myself into it.  25 lbs/$100, shipping $128.+.  I also found the rolls you suggested and they are good.  Poorer but happier camper.

On another note, as a previous poster said, how do you get that kind of air into your dough to bubble like that.  I know the pizzerias pop the bubbles during baking, but I always liked crusts with the bubbles.  Is it the flour?  I use King Arthur Bread Flour because I can't find Caputo 00 down here and the qnty requirement for shipping is just too large for 1 person to reasonably use.  Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[pax238]

If I could make a pizza crust like that, with the big bubbles, I'd be happy.

You can Kari. More details in this post. http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=4647.0

Barry, you got me thinking about Hummel's so I checked out their website again.  Surprise, surprise, they will now ship their dogs out of state!  The shipping is exorbitant (FedEx overnight perishable).  I balked at first, but finally talked myself into it.  25 lbs/$100, shipping $128.+.  I also found the rolls you suggested and they are good.  Poorer but happier camper.

On another note, as a previous poster said, how do you get that kind of air into your dough to bubble like that.  I know the pizzerias pop the bubbles during baking, but I always liked crusts with the bubbles.  Is it the flour?  I use King Arthur Bread Flour because I can't find Caputo 00 down here and the qnty requirement for shipping is just too large for 1 person to reasonably use.  Inquiring minds want to know.

That's quite the Hummel's commitment, Bill. Glad it worked out for you.
BTW, Caputo 00 flour is normally used for Neapolitan style pizza (high hydration and cooked for 2-3 minutes in intense heat... 800 degrees is pretty common). I make a NY or New Haven style of pizza and typically use 85% King Arthur (Organic) Bread Flour combined with around 15% King Arthur (Organic) White Whole Wheat flour . If you like big air bubbles (and some people do not), I've taken Tony's suggestion and posted a recipe and work flow here http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=4647.0

Hope that helps.

 

[DivotMaker]

Barry, that's a great post about the pizza crust!  How about starting a new topic in the pizza section (it deserves its own thread), and copy that over there?  Better to start a new topic, in the appropriate section, than have your introduction grow into a huge pizza discussion.  No biggie...just more of a "housekeeping" thing!  Once you create a pizza crust topic, you can delete your last pizza post here.  Thanks!