5. Hardware--Smokers-------------------- [Do I have to have a very expensive smoker to make good barbecue?] Rodney Leist-- Listen folks. Several of us have been fortunate enough to get new pits (BBQ Pits by Klose) recently. There's been a tremendous number of posts proclaiming the religious experiences and enviable barbecue produced on these pits. Here is something for the newcomers and everyone--it's not the pit that makes good barbecue. Dave Klose and I discussed this a few days ago. He said, and I completely agree, that if you learn to cook good barbecue on whatever you use, whether it's a 55 gal. drum half, an NB, a Brinkmann, a bullet water smoker, or whatever, you've done the hard part and can feel good about what you've accomplished. There's no magic in any Cadillac smokers. They can't make a bad cook a great cook, they can only make a good cook better. ============== Philip F. Wight-- Rodney I think you've touched on the "secret of the ages" when it comes to barbecue . . . that if you know what you're doing you can turn out just as good a quality barbecue from a $50 converted oil drum as you can from a $50,000 BBQ Pit By Klose. The more expensive unit will have bells and whistles to make the work easier but the basic touch has to be there first. I'm told that many outstanding competitors use the bullets and small water cookers to turn out first quality stuff. That's why this List is so important; here we've learned technique as well as recipes, and I've come to believe that it's 90% in the technique. ============== Belly-- "It not the pit, it the pitmaster that makes good barbecue." -------------------- [What would you change if you could re-engineer the smoker you purchased?] Scott McDaniel-- I bought a Oklahoma Joe's smoker, and the only regret I have is I didn't get a bigger one. My advice: buy more than what you think you need. -------------------- [I was looking at an off-set firebox smoker and it looked plenty big enough to smoke 3 turkeys at once. Is this true?] Rick Thead-- One thing to keep in mind before you go out and buy too much meat to smoke at once is that the whole area in the smoking chamber isn't usable for smoking long-term. The section nearest the firebox will be too hot to leave the meat for more than a few minutes to an hour or so. I like to start the food near the fire end and then, after getting some browning, move it farther away for the rest of the smoking time.
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