Wish I Went Pellet Earlier!

Who doesn't love good BBQ? However, between working during the week and kids with active calendars, it's been tough to really get good at it. A couple weeks ago, though, I decided I wanted a change. I ended up with the cheapest pellet smoker I could find. Four days and three meals later, wow! I wish I had done it sooner.

My brother-in-law makes some of the best ribs I've ever had. I think he as a degree in tasty BBQ. My attempts have always been good, but never nearly as good as his. A good chunk of the enjoyment is in the experimentation and trial and error. Each round of ribs was better than the last, always tasty, never memorable. I'm sure if I put in some more time I could easily get there.

A while back, I dropped some coin to get one of the hottest grills I could find for steaks. I wanted that steakhouse sear on a Tuesday night. I got it and love it. Smoking, on the other hand, took a backseat. I would use the smoker box for stuff like ribs. The ribs while tasty weren't on par compared to the steaks.

Enter the Cheap Offset Smoker. The COS requires a constant eye on the temperature and the wind. It took quite a few tries until food was coming out good. Of course, it was always edible. A bad day on the COS beats a good day in the kitchen.

A couple weeks ago I was smoking a pork tenderloin. While doing my best to avoid it, I ended up with white smoke here and there, uh-oh. Amazing how much of a difference there is between white and blue smoke. I decided it was time to upgrade.

I had been thinking one of the ceramic ones. I texted a few friends, all were in agreement. Except one, he mentioned a pellet smoker. Hmm, let's go to the interweb. OK, I'll give it a shot. Since I'd never even seen one in person, let's go cheap, again. See if it's something I'll continue doing. Later, I can always sell it and go ceramic.

The first smoke over four hours on the new grill was the ribs above. And wow were they tasty! The smoker was definitely packed tight with those four racks. They all came out phenomenal!

Unfortunately, I don't have a final pic. It was crazy that day. In all the excitement I forgot to take one to share. Oh well, I guess I'll have to start again. Can't wait!