Just bought Great Outdoors Big Block...now what?

[nyvram]

:shock:

First, I have never smoked anything before in my life. I researched smokers for several weeks before deciding on the $128 GO gas smoker from Wal-mart.

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/06/01/97/00/0006019700298_215X215.jpg

I also ordered a 2lb bag of TXBBQRub from this site to get ready for the first BBQ.

I plan to mod the smoker following this site's advice to use a little charcoal & to increae the longevity of the smoke:

http://thebbqsite.com/ (Click the 'smoker' link at that URL)

Now, my question is how ambitious should I be in this?

Should I start out with some basic ribs and move up to brisket & pork shoulder later?

How long should I experiement with the smoker before I attempt a 12-hour brisket?

The local Wal-mart has cryo-packed brisket for $1.28/lb and pork shoulder for $1.38/lb. Are those prices reasonable?

What can I expect my first time out? I have tried to soak up all the advice possible from watching OLN & Food network regarding cooknig BBQ but I know that all goes out the window until I've actually done it myself.

Thanks for any help for a newbie. Having lived in Texas, I am dying to show these suckas up here how REAL. Texas BBQ tastes. That vinegar drenched pork they serve up here can't hold a candle to the sausage & brisket I used to eat at the Goode company, etc. in Houston. But I wanna make sure I know as many tricks as possible before I ruin too many $15 briskets.

Finally..I'd love to whip up some awe-inspiring sauce to go with the BBQ. Is there a consensus on a great sauce recipe on this board?

Thanks all and I can't wait for the rub to come in! Is it is good as this site says? Any tricks to using it people have discovered?


:)

[Paul Taylor]

Hey Ram, 1st of all, welcome in to this site. In answer to your question on the taste of the rub, It is loved by PPL nationwide/now getting worldwide attention here lately. Yes It is that damn good. Now as far as your new smoker goes, my recommendation would be to experiment with it & play around to see how the unit is going to cook.As far as being ambitious, I would say be as ambitious about this as you really want. But that is just me.Also you can do pork @ the same time as the ribs, but the pork shoulder will take quite a bit longer, to get tender enough to really enjoy. Thare are soo many things to learn But he same time.Now as far as those prices go, The brisket is reasonably priced & the pork shoulder is too. However you can watch the sale papers & sometimes get them cheaper. Oh yeah, on the brisket, Do it exactly like Bill Cannon says to do it to begin with & you can't go wrong. I have been doing it that way for almost 2 years & have not had a bad brisket yet. If you do it like that, I don't see where you will go wrong. Good luck & again welcome in.

PS there ain't no such thing as a 'stupid'question except for the one that you don't ask. So don't be shy.


Paul Taylor

[nyvram]

Thanks Paul! I'll also read up on what Bill Cannon has to say on the brisket. My primary goal is to get good brisket but I bought the larger smoker so I can try other meats as well.

:)

PS I'm from Monroe and moved to Houston after graduating LSU although I live in Nashville now. My family still owns land in Minden and we got to reunions there once a year or so.

PPS I also own the same apron you are wearing on your website! :P

[herper]

welcome to the mad house. sounds like you go a starting plan, but do you have good thermometers for pit and meat temps???? try to get ones that can be calibrated. you might wnat to try some of Texanas fine Texas Pepper Jellies and Salsas. for a new england boy he does alright with these items.

Herper

that will get ol Texana out of the lawn chair in record time. time to hide bye guys!

[TexasBorn]

Welcome Bud. I'd start with a small shoulder and feel your way around the whole smoking thang, and your particular smoker.

I'd wait a while on the brisket till you've been around the block a time or two.

You are definitely in the right spot here on this board and I agree wit you about TN (and GA) BBQ. My folks are from Laneville, about 14 miles away from Minden.

TexasBorn

[Thom Emery]

Yea Man Pork Butt is easy great place to start

[Zeeman]

Howdy Bud,
Ya got a good plan and some good info. Bill's site is what I studied/started with. Sign up for his monthly newsletter, it has good stuff to.

First hard lesson I learned was that when cooking anything that take longer than 3-4 hours you better have a box of sausage or something to cook and snack on. The first thing I cooked was brisket, and that's all I had. About midnight I was starving to death, and was only about half way though cook. The small things turned out to be the most inportant.

http://www.bbqhelp.com/march05.html
http://www.bbqhelp.com/april05.html
http://www.bbqhelp.com/may05.html
http://www.bbqhelp.com/june05.html
http://www.bbqhelp.com/july05.html

z

[TAR RIVER RAT]

Welcome nyvram.
Basics: Bills rub, thermometer,meat, pit around 225*to 240*. With this setup, you can smoke almost anything. With a pit like you have, I would move the meat up and around during the cook.
Tarrat

[Zeeman]

Nah.....gett'er Buck :lol:
z

[txbbqcarrie]

Welcome to the forum!

[Mic]

Welcome to the asylum, nyvram! Like they said, start with somethin easy soes ya can git ta know your pit's personality, then try the brisket thang! You've come to the right place ta learn how. Good luck! :wink:

Mic

[txpgapro]

Welcome to the madness nyvram!

[nyvram]

Thank you thank you thank you!

What a warm reception! :D

I'm thrilled to find a place that I can call 'home base' with all the BBQ talk on the web. You have made me feel welcome and I hope to make my contribution to the board at some point.

I'm thrilled to see all the La & Tx folks on here. I feel like I'm among friends.

I'll keep you posted this week on how it goes getting the smoker up to full speed. I'm planning to use the heck of this during football season this fall.

Thanks for the advice on the thermometer, Herper & the newsletter links Zeeman! I signed up for the newsletter as well but those links were handy to have.


PS How long should I expect a tank of propane to last if I'm constantly keeping the temp at 215-240?

[Thom Emery]

Propane? BBQFLA get a rope

[nyvram]

Hey, I mentioned I was modding it with charcoal...

:wink:

"Modifying your vertical gas smoker - Most experts complain that gas smokers lack the true flavor of charcoal and they refuse to use them. I took my Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain Series gas smoker and modified it to use both. It has the temperature reliability of gas and the flavor of charcoal."

http://thebbqsite.com/

[Thom Emery]

Q Brother
Give it a year and you will be budgeting some way to get
yourself a big smoker Ya got a good starter

[TexasBorn]

Propane? BBQFLA get a rope

nyvram,
Don't let 'em raz you buddy. While they're dragging out a rope, they're trippin over the aluminum foil which is just as "evil" in some folk's book. Propane away, dude! Don't know how much 'pane it'll take - (I'm way above that sort of thing). :wink: :wink: :wink:

TB

[Tailwagger]

Welcome, finally somebody thats within spittin' distance :lol: :lol:

[Thom Emery]

:wink:

[Bob-BQN]

Welcome nyvram.

I have a couple of the Stainless Steel Big Blocks and use 30# tanks with them. I usually get around 50 hours from a 30# tank so if you're using a 20# tank I would somewhere around 30 hours (depending on climate).

For a look at what your GOSM smoker can do take a look at my website: http://www.romineinc.com/BBQ/index.htm

The guys weren't yankin' your chain when they said you'll be budgeting for a bigger smoker . . . it happens. :wink: I'm looking at getting a Gator real soon. :D

[nyvram]

Sooo, it sounds like I should plan to fill this puppy up when I cook, huh? That will maximize the cost of the gas.

Gas refills runs roughly $12 (at least last time I checked) at the local Ace Hardware. Still cheaper than those $16 trade outs.

Its a no-no to smoke brisket & pork shoulder (or ribs) at the same time?

What brand of sausage do you recommend I smoke? Johnsonville? Surely y'all don't make your own..?

Did you watch any of the OLN bbq cook-offs? I thought it was funny Chris Lily was on 3 networks at the same time; on the Food Network in "Paula's Southern Tour", as the host of the OLN show & also on a Travel Channel show on regional differences in BBQ.

Since I'm only 100 miles or so from Decatur, I guess I should try out Big Bob's BBQ sometime.

Tonight I will hopefully have the time to assemble & season the smoker. My son is having a campout in the backyard for his birthday this weekend so I was going to cook for them. What do you recommend?

Those smoked burgers looked damn tasty, Bob-BQN! Are they difficult to make on the smoker? Got a recipe handy?

[Tailwagger]

Since I'm only 100 miles or so from Decatur, I guess I should try out Big Bob's BBQ sometime.

I live pretty close, about 25 miles or so, not really worth the drive if you ask me, I don't think they use the same methods and recipes as in cookoff's. I'ts ok, maybe was built up too much. Best bet is to follow instructions on this site, use TBBQRub and It'll be much better @ home :D

[serialgriller]

there's no rule that i know of that says you can't smoke briskets and pork butts or shoulders at the same time. my gator pit smoker has an upright section to it and i've had brisket, pork butt, and chicken smoking at the same time in it. don't know if/why you're set-up would be any different.

[Buckeye]

Welcome nyvram.

I have a couple of the Stainless Steel Big Blocks and use 30# tanks with them. I usually get around 50 hours from a 30# tank so if you're using a 20# tank I would somewhere around 30 hours (depending on climate).For a look at what your GOSM smoker can do take a look at my website: http://www.romineinc.com/BBQ/index.htm

The guys weren't yankin' your chain when they said you'll be budgeting for a bigger smoker . . . it happens. :wink: I'm looking at getting a Gator real soon. :D

Thanx fer that bit of info Bob 8) ......I axed a kwestyun a while back on how many hrs I cood or shood git on a 20# tank....an no one reelee had a answer.......at leest not az good az yers. :wink:

[nyvram]

Bob-BQN..you ROCK!!

I spent the better part of an hour drolling over the photos on your site (covet covet covet)..the one thing that stood out to me was how many of the pics you took were of meat smoking in the GO Smoker. Looks like you BBQ the heck out of that thing.

I sure hope the BBQ rub comes in tonight because I might just have to cook up some ribs or a chicken after I season the smoker.

That is one motivating site for a budding BBQ wannabe. Did you do this all with propane or did you mod the smokers?

[Tailwagger]

Bob B, I noticed you had a Bandera W/Gas & Charcoal. Do you have any info on your mod's to that unit, I have one as well and since I got my WSM, planning on tearing apart the Bandera and repainting and doing some mod's, any recommendations & info greatly appreciated :lol:

[Thom Emery]

Bud You put smoke to those Johnsonvilles or any good brand and ya
wont belive how much better they are than on the stove

I thought ya was supposed to but a pork butt atop your brisket

[Grumpy Gator]

Propane? Profane!

I've got the rope, boys... :lol:

Welcome to the madness, NYVRAM

[Woodman]

there's no rule that i know of that says you can't smoke briskets and pork butts or shoulders at the same time. my gator pit smoker has an upright section to it and i've had brisket, pork butt, and chicken smoking at the same time in it. don't know if/why you're set-up would be any different.

No , you're wrong. That would be Rule # 28 B-"No cross smmoking of meat types allowed!"

[TAR RIVER RAT]

Bob B, I noticed you had a Bandera W/Gas & Charcoal. Do you have any info on your mod's to that unit, I have one as well and since I got my WSM, planning on tearing apart the Bandera and repainting and doing some mod's, any recommendations & info greatly appreciated :lol:

Send me you email address and I will send you some pics or did we go thru this befor?
Targas

[nyvram]

The rub is here!

And the smoker is assembled & seasoned!

The temp gauge has been doused in boiling water & in ice & it seems to be pretty accurate!

The excitement builds!

The only difficulty was trying to get it down to 125 degress (as per the instructions) to season the smoker for 1 hr. The lowest I could get it was 155 with the tank barely open & the burner turned almost completely off..as a matter of fact, it blew out once & I had to restart it. This particular version of the Big Block only has a single damper (on top) and opening/closing it seemed to have little effect on the heat.

Also, I noticed the flames were pretty yellow at 'low' temp but seemed to get more blue at medium or high. At the 'halfway between off & high' I got some low blue flames but that wasn't an official setting on the dial.

I'm out of town tomorrow & THursday..but Friday night we gonna cook us some MEAT! I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

[Tailwagger]

Bob B, I noticed you had a Bandera W/Gas & Charcoal. Do you have any info on your mod's to that unit, I have one as well and since I got my WSM, planning on tearing apart the Bandera and repainting and doing some mod's, any recommendations & info greatly appreciated :lol:

Send me you email address and I will send you some pics or did we go thru this befor?
Targas

We have I believe, I think I got 3 pics from you. Just getting ready to do this in the fall and trying to gather all the info I can :) Thanks Tar

[Bob-BQN]

nyvram - As you can see from my pictures I like to fill the smoker when I cook. Brisket, pork, ribs, poultry, veggies, etc... all go into the smoker. Some folks have concerns about poultry dripping contaminating other meats but in a 225-250* environment I don't believe that to be a problem.

The burgers are easy to make. Two large thin patties of beef with a bacon, onion, butter spread between and some BBQ rub sprinkled on top. I cook them to 155-160* in the smoker and then finish them on the grill for color, caramelization, and grill marks. (only a few minutes as they are already cooked). You can even smoke them ahead of time, refrigerate them and grill when needed.

I've heard your model smoker referred to as a Wide Body GOSM smoker.

The food was cooked with all smoke and no mirrors. :wink: Although I have a Bandera and have had 3 other charcoal smokers, most of the food was cooked in the 3 propane smokers. I like using both types but my weekends are very busy so I'm usually multi-tasking while I'm cooking.

If the temperature gauge you are referring to is the stock one for the door, even if it checks accurate in boiling water and ice water it will still read "off". The temperature inside the smoker will vary from shelf to shelf. I find it hotter near the top shelf overall but hottest on the bottom shelf around the outside edge of the water pan where the heat enters the cooking area. The door gauge is probably a good average. I noticed last weekend that my door gauge is reading about 30* lower than a probe I have on the top shelf. Part of the difference may indicate that the stem on the gauge is due a cleaning.

Buckeye - Your mileage may vary depending on the size of your burner, number of burners, cooker's size, and how high you have the fire burning. I get around 50 hours on Medium with a 30# tank.

Tailwagger - I haven't made any other mods to the Bandera. Two I'd like to make are to insulate the firebox and add a baffle in the cooking chamber. I think both would save on fuel.

[Buckeye]

I plan on uzin' thoze times az "ballpark" figgers. :wink: ...Thanx agin.

[TAR RIVER RAT]

Tailwagger, did you get the picture of the 1/4in ss plate I put in the firebox? Granted it eliminates using it as a grill, but I have another for that. The space in the lid can be used as a warmer, That mod alone will cut gas use by 75%. The other baffle in the vertical is a must too. I can turn mine on and in less than 10 min the vertical is at 225*. Then when the wood starts to burn,you can cut down more on the gas. Great
Tarmodgod

[Tailwagger]

Tailwagger, did you get the picture of the 1/4in ss plate I put in the firebox? Granted it eliminates using it as a grill, but I have another for that. The space in the lid can be used as a warmer, That mod alone will cut gas use by 75%. The other baffle in the vertical is a must too. I can turn mine on and in less than 10 min the vertical is at 225*. Then when the wood starts to burn,you can cut down more on the gas. Great
Tarmodgod

I did get that pic, but hadn't thought of using as a warmer, what a great :idea: :idea: :idea: