Newbie from Lititz, PA and Crystal River FL

BrewsandBlues

BrewsandBlues

New member
Hi everyone, I am excited to be a new SI #2 owner. Mine should arrive next week. I have lots of hardwoods in my shop, so I am excited to try some woods like sassafras at some point.

I have never owned a smoker, but am so happy I found this site and the SI smoker. I had been eyeing smokers for a long time, can't wait!!!

I also started homebrewing this year, so I am already planning the ultimate homebrewbbq weekend!
 
Welcome!  Great choice in the #2 - I love it!  You now have the 2 most-perfect hobbies in the world!! ;D

Send a PM to Wik - he's our resident brew master, and owner of a #3.

Check out the "What To Do When It Arrives" post under User Guidelines and Instructions, and you'll be off to a great start.  Great thing, about these smokers, is you don't have to be a BBQ Pit Master to make some really great Q; all you need to do is follow some simple guidelines, and move into the world of "Lazy Q!"  We'll have you making some of the best Q you've ever had in no time flat!

Nice to have another Southerner on board!  When you get time, go ahead and add your first name and location in the signature line of your profile - we like to know our new family members!

Let me know how I can help!
 
Welcome Scott...glad you found the forum and the SI #2.  I purchased a #2 back in Jan 2013 and pretty much have something smok'in every weekend (and a few weekdays when I can fit it in!).  Lots of good advice and recipes here on the forum...welcome!  Cheers
 
Welcome.

Two of my favorite pasttimes, beer and smoked meats!

I used to be a homebrewer, not enough time, my favorite was ales.

 
Welcome from ND Scott.

You have purchased a great smoker and have found one of the best smoking forums out there!
 
Welcome Scott...You have found a good place here...These guys know their business...Tried the home brew a few years back and blew up my building and that was the end of that...
Send us pics of your smokes....
Again welcome...
Tony
 
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. I went back on the site and ordered 2 of the cord hangers as well as the rib rack, those look to be required equipment in my view.

I am thinking I should be able to smoke 6 racks of ribs, a few pork butts and Mac and Cheese in the #2. I am going to read through the forum to see if I can come up with a "smoking plan". My thinking is that I would like to document recipes, meat amounts, and smoke cook timings in a step by step plan format. Any ideas on that would be awesome to hear.

Homebrewing works like that. It is essentially a brew plan that yields 5-6 gallons of beer per brew. I would like to create "smoke and brew" plans to share with friends and family.

I am going to run it some of the tried and true recipes on this forum before I get into temperature control and monitoring. I am a techie by trade but want to try my hand in an analog fashion and also to keep me out of the doghouse with the Mrs. The smoker is far too small to live in!

I do extract brewing which takes the guessing and lots of the work out of the process. I brew ales, am going to brew an irish red ale next weekend.



 
Thanks for the info on Memphis Dust.

I actually emailed Steve this morning and changed my order to a #3 from a #2 this morning. I decided the extra $100 for the unit was worth for the increased capacity. I started mapping out my smoking plans and realized that I would be pushing the limit of the #2.

My wife agreed as long as I cook the Thanksgiving turkey in the new smoker. Good thing I have some time to practice!

I did have one question. How do y'all weigh your wood chunks?

 
I use a little digital scale I got at Aldi for $20. You don't need something super nice just basic. However having a tare function is handy when you start developing recipes by weight.

You wont regret getting the #3. Had I not seen my friends #2 in person I would have ordered it. After looking it over I was impressed with the quality but knew I wanted bigger.
 
Scott,
I made a batch of the Memphis Dust today.. It turned out really well.. Haven't use it yet but I gave it a taste run and it was awesome. Excited to use it. Divot got me on the right track to find the recipe.
Again, you're gonna love this place and your smoker. The #3 was a good choice.
Tony
 
I also got a set of digital scales. I learned the hard way. Everyone here advised me to get digital scales and I did and use them every time.
Tony
 
Yes on the digital scale ... you will be surprised how little 2-3oz of wood really is!  At most, you might want to go to 4-5oz for some smokes, but generally you won't need more than 3oz as a rule.    Smoked turkey is a beautiful thing at Thanksgiving...you will love it.  Last year I did one turkey in the oven (traditional) and a turkey breast in the smoker - very nice.

If you haven't done so already, I would also suggest getting a remote thermometer like the maverick ET 732 or 733 ... this will be essential for monitoring the internal temps of your meat while smoking. 
 
Hey Scott, welcome to the club and congrats on the new smoker. I have the #3 and for the extra $100 it is well worth it. Not only do you get the extra capacity, the #3 also has a 1200 watt heating element. 

Regardless of which model, they are all great units, but I love the capacity of the #3, especially having more shelves abailable when making Jerky. And if you plan on making jerky, get the fan, it works great.

Btw, I haven't tried brewing beer, yet, I am into wine making since it is my wife's drink of choice. I have about 200 bottles aging at the moment.
 
That is an impressive wine collection! Would like to try making wine sometime. If needed, I have loads of info on homebrewing, how to get started, good "how to" sites, etc. There are several really good mail order companies that sell extract kits reasonably.

Extract brewing is sort of like assembling a model, they pre-measure everything, just need to boil, chill, and ferment.

Scott
 
Thanks Scott. I'm going to have to take you up on that offer some time.  And that easier the better, pre-measured and ready to go.

About the wine, I would have to say that I got a bit carried away, but it is well worth it to make it in advance and let it age in the bottles.
 
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