Newbie questions

[Skyguy]

Hello, this is my first so I wanted to say hi. I have been lurking for a few weeks on here and enjoy the reading/learning. Almost bought a masterbuilt 30" and decided to do a little more research before I bought. Turns out they have a trend of heater element issues so I ended up on the cookshack website, which led me here.

I'm gonna buy the model 1 due to budget reasons and because it's my first expensive smoker and want to make sure I'll use it before I go big. Anyways to my questions, first I live east of Indianapolis and I am wondering, with the Midwest winters will I be able to smoke in the winter? Is there anything special about the wood that goes in the smokers? ( I live near a forest full of a variety of trees.)  And finally, instead of putting apple juice in the pan near wood, has anyone heard of using pineapple?

I appreciate the board and thanks for the replies in advance.

 

[jcboxlot]

Welcome.

You'll use the smoker, which ever you get.  After a few uses you will forget what you paid!

Outside temp is not an issue.  I've done 10 to 20 outside degree smokes here with no issues.  Many will chime in that sub zero is ok too. 

Pineapple is prob fine in the juice box, its all about preference. 

I think there are a lot here that home source their own wood, they will chime in for help too.  I buy mine online.

 

[Grampy]

Skyguy, Welcome from SW Arkansas. John just about summed it up. If you can stand the cold to set it up and get it started you should not have any issues with the temperature as far as your SI goes.

Any kind of juice you want to use should work fine. Its good to experiment and find out what you prefer. Just because someone on here says they don't like something doesn't necessarily mean you wont. That's one of the things so great about this forum is all of the different experiences people have had give you guidance on things to try.

Finally about the wood question, you can certainly use whatever wood you have available or can find. The only concern you should have is to make sure you cut it and let it season (dry out) for awhile before you try to use it. I do know you don't want to use wood that is too green. There are plenty of people on here that will chime in and help guide you with that should you need their advice. I for one ignore everybody's advice and use Western Wood Chunks purchased from the big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes. Many people insist that it is too dry and will combust in the firebox. They are absolutely correct it will BUT I have found that if I lay a double layer strip of foil in the bottom of my firebox and place the wood chunks on the foil they do not combust or catch on fire. Again, everybody has their own tricks and techniques that work for them. You just have to be willing to experiment and figure what you like best.

 

[swthorpe]

Welcome Skyguy!  The advice from John and Jimmy is spot on.    For the wood, you definitely want to let the wood season after cutting.  In the meantime, many of us are using Maine Grilling Wood or smokilicious.com(spelling may be wrong) as sources for good wood chunks for smoking.  You might consider one of these while your fresh wood seasons.

 

[Skyguy]

Thanks for the replies. I'd love to have a model 2 but I usually only cook for 3 people and budget is a factor.

I will probably get some wood at a local store or until I can get some seasoned, buying seasoned wood will also help me eliminate issues until I get good at it by getting rid of extra unknown factors.

After the until curing of the smoker, does it need cooled down before smoking something tasty?

 

[mizzoufan]

It wouldn't need to cool down completely, but you'll want to allow a bit of time for it to cool so you can wipe it down to get rid of any excess grime on the surfaces.  15-20 minutes sitting open should be plenty if you're in a hurry to create some delicious food.  Just give it a quick wipe down with a wet rag (preferably hot water) then load her up and get to cookin!

 

[Trip]

Thanks for the replies. I'd love to have a model 2 but I usually only cook for 3 people and budget is a factor.

I will probably get some wood at a local store or until I can get some seasoned, buying seasoned wood will also help me eliminate issues until I get good at it by getting rid of extra unknown factors.

After the until curing of the smoker, does it need cooled down before smoking something tasty?

You need so little wood in these, you don't really need to buy too much starting out.  See if you get a few small quantities of seasoned wood chunks to try out.  I wouldn't suggest using store bought bags of wood chunks unless it's local wood though.  Big commercial brands of wood chunks seem to combust a whole lot easier in our smokers.

As far as juice, you can pretty much use anything.  Taste doesn't seem to change with different juices to me, it's more about keeping water in the meat, so I just use water in an old soup can.