My New Smoker Has Arrived!!

[TwoElkhounds]

For many, many years I have wanted to do real BBQ, but never got around to it. I puddered with Walmart grills and smokers here and there, but never found the energy and time to do the real thing. I approached the boss (wife) a couple weeks ago and told her I wanted a real smoker, one I could drink beer and tend to all day while I cooked dinner. I told her I would not only cook the dinner, but I would clean up afterwards. I cook, I clean was the mantra. She agreed!!!!

Today, I took delivery of a Horizon 20" Classic Smoker weighing in at 400+ pounds. The unit is 100% American made, 1/4" American steel construction manufactured in Oklahoma. She is a tank, a serious piece of equipment.

This is my new hobby, drinking beer and whiskey while cooking spectacular food filled with fat and flavor!!!! Nobody can top my new hobby.

DAN

[Houndbb]

Congrats, Dan! That’s a beast. Do you have an injector? Very helpful to inject herb infused liquid into the meat to keep it moist for the long, slow cook.
N

[TwoElkhounds]

Congrats, Dan! That’s a beast. Do you have an injector? Very helpful to inject herb infused liquid into the meat to keep it moist for the long, slow cook.
N

I do not, but will look into getting one. Any suggestions or are they all pretty much the same?

DAN

[Houndbb]

I do not, but will look into getting one. Any suggestions or are they all pretty much the same?

DAN

It’s a popular stainless steel one with two injector needles (one with holes in the shaft, one with just the end opening). Looked at it this morning, but name isn’t on it. I’ll investigate further and get back to you. On those Weber probes-take care to use them on leaner meats. We had an unseen flare-up burn up two of our probes.
N

It was dark this morning. Name’s etched right on the darn thing: Grill Beast. Very heavy stainless, and came with extra o-rings. I wash it well, leave it out to dry, then put it away DIS-assembled. When I want to use it, I spray the rings with PAM, otherwise, it’s a bear to get moving.

[TwoElkhounds]

It was dark this morning. Name’s etched right on the darn thing: Grill Beast. Very heavy stainless, and came with extra o-rings. I wash it well, leave it out to dry, then put it away DIS-assembled. When I want to use it, I spray the rings with PAM, otherwise, it’s a bear to get moving.

That is a nice looking injector. Thanks for the recommendation!!! I will be purchasing one and will use on our Christmas Turkey.

DAN

[tfdcc]

Looks nice! I believe Horizon took the place of Oklahoma Joe's when they quit making smokers. You will love smoking on it. Very easy to control the temperature with the 1/4 steel. I've had mine for 18 years and still cooks great. Enjoy!!

Chris

[Billman]

Very nice. I have a similar one. Brisket and pulled pork are my favorite smokes using pecan wood when I have it. Doing a pork shoulder tomorrow. Currently sitting in marinade.

[TwoElkhounds]

Another gadget I got with my smoker was a Weber IGrill2, man what a great gadget. It is a temperature monitor that can accept up to four probes, I have two meat probes and two ambient probes. It is Bluetooth enabled, so all the temperatures display on your phone. You can set ranges and targets for each probe and the app will alert you when the temperatures fall out of range. It has graphs that show the trends over time. I played with it last night while seasoning my smoker and it was simply awesome, I could see exactly what was going on. I learned a lot about fire management just by watching the trends, first lesson learned was do not put a lot of wood on the fire!! Highly recommended, it is really well built and easy to use. At $66 for the base unit, it makes for a great Christmas gift.

DAN

[Dalek20]

Another gadget I got with my smoker was a Weber IGrill2, man what a great gadget. It is a temperature monitor that can accept up to four probes, I have two meat probes and two ambient probes. It is Bluetooth enabled, so all the temperatures display on your phone. You can set ranges and targets for each probe and the app will alert you when the temperatures fall out of range. It has graphs that show the trends over time. I played with it last night while seasoning my smoker and it was simply awesome, I could see exactly what was going on. I learned a lot about fire management just by watching the trends, first lesson learned was do not put a lot of wood on the fire!! Highly recommended, it is really well built and easy to use. At $66 for the base unit, it makes for a great Christmas gift.

DAN

I love the iGrill 2. It is powered by AA batteries, not a CR2032. Chicken comes out juicy and perfect every time. Steaks are exactly how you want it, without any guessing. Salmon is just right. I use it on exspensive cuts of meats. I am taking a Panama Canal Cruise and will spent Christmas in a time-share in Florida. I will do a 4 bone Prime Rib. My iGrill 2 was the first thing I packed for the cruise/Timeshare adventure!!!

[Gyro Gearloose]

Another gadget I got with my smoker was a Weber IGrill2, man what a great gadget. It is a temperature monitor that can accept up to four probes, I have two meat probes and two ambient probes. It is Bluetooth enabled, so all the temperatures display on your phone. You can set ranges and targets for each probe and the app will alert you when the temperatures fall out of range. It has graphs that show the trends over time. I played with it last night while seasoning my smoker and it was simply awesome, I could see exactly what was going on. I learned a lot about fire management just by watching the trends, first lesson learned was do not put a lot of wood on the fire!! Highly recommended, it is really well built and easy to use. At $66 for the base unit, it makes for a great Christmas gift.

DAN

Me being a Techno Geek and having, or have had many temperature devices, you need to verify their accuracy on occasion. I have CyberQ, Thermowork, Fluke, a few older Weber devices that are just used for timers now. If your probe is not accurate then the results you expect or get can make you think that recipe sucks. Been there done that! 10 degrees off makes a lot of difference on a steak or a smoked Brisket/pork shoulder that has not broken down the collagen, or is very dry.

There are few thing that are the enemy of these devices/probes. High heat, Moisture and low quality circuits.

1. High Heat: The wire gets to hot and insulation melts or temperature exceeded probe sensor temp(done that). Best used lower pit temp, indirect heat, keep away from flame.
2. Moisture: Most probes are not water proof and very low voltage sensitive devices. Moisture is a conductor and can mess up the readings. So be careful when cleaning. Another issue is moisture in the pit/bbq. Some people have water smokers or use a water pan when cooking. The high moisture content can get inside the probe (done that, I have bunch from my CyberQ that have gone bad in moisture rich smoking). Make sure you can get replaceable probes
3. Some devices may have low quality circuit that are not temperature compensated or their calibration pots are low quality or may move. (the ones I use for timers)

With that said.... Check your probes accuracy on occasion. Low temp and high around 200 degrees) if possible.. I use other probes to compare or verify different temperature devices at different temps. If they all don't track then something is wrong.

Water bath: https://www.thermoworks.com/thermape...ing_an_icebath