First use of smoker... Went better than I expected!

[Gloomy Hawk]

Hi all -

I finally broke down and bought a dedicated smoker. A Camp Chef DLX 24. (Not being a smoker snob; I had great results with my Weber since the late 80's just always wanted a REAL Smoker. I'm ecstatic that I finally got one!)

First real use tonight, cooking Salt &.Pepper chicken. Recipe: Dry chicken parts with paper towels. Sprinkle with S&P, smoke @ 160 for 15 minutes, then 375 until you reach an internal temperature of 170 (+ is ok) degrees - on my smoker. about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Things learned:

1) It's OK to use less salt (I went heavy, because I thought that the chicken skin would turn out flabby and disgusting.) Turns out it was semi-crispy and delicious. And a little too salty...

2) My smoker runs cooler than the settings suggest. ( 375 degrees setting runs more like 350-345) I need to adjust accordingly....

3) Cook times in recipes are bullshit. Multiply X 2 to get a realistic time.

4) THANK YOU. amazingribs.com for pointing me in the right direction!


- Spencer

[Oakgrovebacon]

Welcome to the pit from Southern Illinois! Enjoy the new smoker! Use it often for maximum satisfaction!

[Anton32828]

Did you upgrade from a Weber kettle or WSM? Asking for a friend who definitely does not have MCS, no sir!

[Donw]

Welcome from Maryland and congratulations on your new smoker. If you have a way to check actual temperatures at the cooking surface vs the programmed readout you will benefit in later cooks. Another thing you might want to try, if you haven’t already, is to do a toast test. Cover the grates with bread and discover the hotspots and coolspots based on the color of the resulting toast.

[RonB]

Welcome to The Pit Spencer. It sounds like you are off to a great start.

[FireMan]

Wow, what a gloomy report. Now that ya got the cook that sucked outta the way (tasted pretty good eh). Now it’s only to the moon. By the way, welcome, eat good and have fun! Well, not to much fun, just enough.

[smokin fool]

Sounds like you got it done.
In the 3-4 weeks I've been on this site my smoking has improved according to my victims.
Practice, practice, practice....just like playing the piano.

[AverageJoe]

Welcome to the pit from Colorado. Congrats on the new smoker. That is the same one that my brother-in-law purchased when he wanted to be able to do BBQ and not wait for me to cook it. His latest cook was with some nice large beef ribs from Costco. You will really enjoy the cooker.

[NapMaster]

Congrats on your first cook with your new smoker and welcome from South Louisiana!

[Jared49]

Welcome from Appleton, WI

[Mr. Bones]

Howdy from Kansas Territory, Welcome to Th Pit!
Congrats on yer successful first cook on yer new smoker, I wish ya many many more!

[HawkerXP]

Welcome to the Pit!

[ofelles]

Congrats and welcome. You just added a whole new dimension to your life

[MBMorgan]

Welcome from Colorado, Spencer ... and congrats on the new pellet rig.