OK so I knew someone who was giving up a smoker. I took it in, refurbishjed it some (sanded and painted). Turns out its an Oklahomoa Joe/New Braunfels era Bandana model which is apparently a good one to have. Never done any smoking so this will be a new deal. I stained the wood slats with the stain I had around (Olympic Cinder).
That's a nice looking machine
Looking good! Some of the best food I have ever had in my life came out of a smoker. One was a boneless lamb leg, smoked with rosemary over the course of a race day. I cut into that thing and I swear I could have eaten the whole ~5lb leg myself if it wasn't for the thought of the disapproving glares from my race team.
I love side-box smokers, and the vertical smoke box is a big plus. Nice score.
I had a New Braunfels side-box, but it was the horizontal barrel. It was lovely, but as with most of those horizontal machines it had inconsistent heat. The side with the fire box was way hotter than the far end. I had to modify it a bit to even out the temps.
Don't be afraid to experiment. Don't dive in to the deep end of "how to smoke the right way." You kinda can't screw it up. Some guys insist on tending a perfect mesquite fire in the box. I've done that. It sucks. Its 9 hours of constant supervision. If you stuff it full of hardwood charcoal and periodically toss in some foil packets of smoking wood, you'll get 8-9 hours of worry-free heat. One of the nice things about a smoker like the one you have is that you can control the heat with the air vent. When you build a charcoal fire in a grill, the amount of briquettes you put in determines the heat, not the time. When you do charcoal in a controlled flow like a smoker, it determines time, not heat. Don't hesitate to dump in a whole bag of Kingsford and adjust the vent to get 225 degrees. It will likely last the entire smoke.
Smoking things "the right way" makes amazing food happen. Smoking things the wrong way is 90% LESS work, and 90% AS MUCH amazing food quality. Don't hesitate to toss in flesh (or veggies), dump a bag of coal, and reap the benefits.
You'll need to log in to post.
