I was just gifted a used Z-grills smoker recently that I have yet to use, and besides what I can learn from the manual and youtube, I was wondering if there's advice or personal knowledge you can share. TIA!!
What’s your one piece of advice/caution that the YouTube videos don’t tell you when you first start?
Skip YouTube and go read the amazing ribs website.
If you HAVE to watch YouTube, stick with Malcolm Reed - How to BBQ right
Malcom Reed is the goat.
Big fan of Malcolm. I’ll also add Chef Tom from All Things BBQ.
This comment needs to be pinned to the top and shared everywhere. Malcolm, Tuffy Stone. Hey Grill Hey just to name a few are all direct and straight forward. No insanely overcomplicated cooks, just straight old fashioned bbq from the original Goat/Pros.
T-Roy cooks
Malcolm fucks so hard. Just seems so genuine.
It always takes longer than what I tell my wife it'll take. Idk about everyone else and this mainly relates to offsets but they aren't the rocket science that many make it seem. There is sooo much out there now that it overcomplicates it for people and it ends up being an overload or analysis paralysis.
Just know that you're gonna rock some killer meals and fuck some shit up. Roll and learn what works and doesn't. Think about a smoke tube for extra smoke flavor.
Invite people over for the third time you cook something. And undersell how good you expect it to be. Then when you nail it like the first two times you become the barbecue god.
Yeah, I offered to make ribs for my family's get-together after having made a couple racks of ribs and some pork butts and other small stuff, it went over very well.
Dust off the ashes and your heat will be much better.
Definitely true when running the offset, it’s amazing how white ashes will insulated the fire and keep it from roaring when you need it
Don't let grease build up in the drain channel. Creosote in the stack can catch fire too.
I used to keep the pellet smoker under a roofed part of the porch of a brick house. After a couple fires I'm not comfortable with that anymore.
Pellet grill is a nice excuse to get a small cordless shop vac for the ash. https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-Lithium-ion-Tool-Only-Lightweight-Effortless/dp/B078GC33D4?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A1IGUON7BWL5N3
Figure out what temps it runs well, smoke lots of things, plan on a few hours longer than you expect, and have fun! Smoking is about enjoying the process. As Dight Schrute says, “once you see sausage being made, all you want to do is make sausage cause it’s so much fun.” Edit spelling
It's all a learning process, every single time. Take everything in and adapt it to what you have and what you like. There are no fool proof methods. I know what works for me now, but I'm always learning.
YouTube and the bbq Bible website useful goto
Have to regularly clean them out, especially pellet grills. Nothing like getting a jam in the auger and then everything catching on fire all the way back to the hopper. Fun times.
For an offset, there's a specific size of fuel that will be optimal for your smoker. Too big, too hot. Too small, too cool. Find the right size and it's much easier to manage temps.
Take the time to find and fix any air leaks. You'll have a less frustrating time dialing in and maintaining temps.
Try different woods to see what you like best. I have found mixing some woods together gives me the flavors I am looking for.
With my WSM, I used to obsess a lot over keeping a steady temp with minimal fluctuations. Got the CyberQ and everything, which is great, but over time I realized it doesn't really matter. Just set up your smoker, shoot for 250, if it wants to settle below or above that (within reason of course, plus or minus 25 degrees) then just let it go where it wants to go. You can nudge it a little, but stop fighting it and worrying about it. Season your meat, throw it on, wrap at the stall, and pull when it hits a little over 200 internal temp. That's really it.
I think most things have been said here. I have a few different smokers and all have their own personality. You Have to learn your grill's temperament. Tame it and enjoy the cook.
My biggest problem is the tipping point when you are about 20 degrees from pulling a meat. Be aware that last 20 degrees goes a lot faster than the first 130....
Learn how to smoke meats without spritzing. Youtube and online recipes almost always have some variation of it because its just another way to make their recipe different. Its a relatively new thing that gained popularity in the last ~10 years. It does next to nothing and only makes your bark worse if you are doing it too much
Agree 100% that it's not necessary for every cook... in fact I hardly ever do it myself anymore. But I also wouldn't say its "relatively new" either. Some type of spritzing/basting/dripping is probably about as old as cooking over fire itself.
I like to spritz with plain water if I see part of the meat is outcooking another part. I'll spray the tips of ribs or the flat of a brisket if it looks like its cooking faster than everything else. My mantra is "spritz reactively, not pro-actively."
Then again the 1000 Gallon pros just spritz everything with backpack units because they have so much airflow that their meat will dry out if they don't.
You can’t get burnt ends if you don’t let the ends burn!
It takes a real serious screw up for "dirty smoke" to get to the point where you'll taste it.
You typically get what you pay for. Cost cutting usually has its tradeoffs, whether it’s your smoker or meat.
Although Aaron Franklin is BBQ Jesus, his book is not gospel. There are lots of ways to make great BBQ. For instance, Franklin says to always wait for completely clean smoke before putting your protein on, yet some of the best places run a dirty fire for the first hour. Don't be afraid to experiment and make your own rules when something works for you. That's how you set yourself apart. Otherwise you will be another in a long long line of average at best "pit masters."
You are the product being sold.
Start cooking an hour or two earlier than your best guess on cook time. You can always keep cooked food warm