If you are using wood or charcoal
The BBQ Guru or Stoker are an easy and wonderful
modification. They control pit temp and monitors meat temp. They work best with
a true airtight design. That is one that will put out the fuel and leave
it so it can be re-used.
Everything is now on the
Smoker Modifications Page This is one of the most
popular features of our site.
There are a tone of resources on the web. I'm going
to point you at one the Texas BBQ Forum
post on how to build a UDS (Ugly Drum Smoker.) This is the home made
equivalent of a WSM.
http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3613
Equipment or So You
Want To Buy A New Smoker
This is my advice as of New Years Day 2010. I wrote
a blog post on choice for under $400 at
www.ProPitmaster.com , the official BBQ Institute™ blog.
Any cooker can cook very good BBQ if you know what your doing and NEVER leave it
unattended. A good cooker will make your life easy as it holds steady
temps, does not burn the food and can be left unattended. Price is not a
factor there are pits that start at $10 that are great and $1000 stainless steel
boat anchors.
The two best bargains out there are a used Weber 22"
kettle which can be found for little or free on
www.Craigslist.org and the UDS.
For details on how to build an Ugly Drum Smoker see the build you own link right
above this.
Weber The Weber Smokey
Mountain is the entry level true smoker for a very reasonable price. It
will cook well enough to take first place in Brisket and Pork Butt at the Jack
Daniel's World Barbeque Championship. You also have amazing web support at
the independent
www.virtualweberbullet.com website.
www.PigRoast.com
The WSM is the best bang for your buck
in a new store bought barrel style smoker. Lang is the best bang for your
buck in a new offset firebox pit smoker. Lang uses the reverse flow
design. We have won big with this design which is inherently even cooking.
You don't need tuning plates with a reverse flow. Every size Lang offers from
the 48 to the 108 cooks evenly and is a good choice. The 48 is a great
choice for the backyard as it comes in a patio model and has the capacity to
cook for a crowd. Lang and Jambo pits don't need a stay away from the
small untuned models warning.
Warning
Many famous and expensive pit builders have entry level models that we do not
recommend. Many of our students come to class looking for answers to
problems with these $1000+ pits from other pit builders. Even if you can
live with entry level models tiny capacity they are not tuned. The lack of
tuning makes the already small capacity even smaller.
www.ProPitmaster.com , the official
BBQ Institute™ blog has a posting on using biscuits to find your sweet spot.
Other Pit Makers worth looking at
The list is so long
that I suggest you go read some forums and see which is flavor of the week.
These are the reliable regulars. Since we started this list in 2002 some
folks have have gone belly up and a bunch of new ones have appeared. Buyer
beware and make sure you can get spare parts down the road. If you are
buying a classic offset firebox design pony up for tuning plates or buy a
reverse flow. Charcoal users will buy a lot happier if they have a
charcoal basket.
- Pits by Jambo
Jamie Geer Phone 817-572-7631 home,
cell 817-822-1689
These are the nicest pits I've seen. They are hand made one at a time
with incredible attention to detail. These are the pits use with great
success by Johnny Trig of the Smoking Triggers, Uncle Earnie and Jamie and his Buckwheat
Express team. His website says "Jambo
Pits are the best smokers money can buy" I'd agree.
Lang and Jambo pits don't need a stay away from the small untuned models
warning.
- Gator Pits
Ritch Robin is one of several great pit makers in the Houston area. Stay away
from the small untuned models.
- Dave Klose is a
well know Houston Pit Builder. Stay away from the small untuned
models.
- Lyfe Tyme This is probably one of
the oldest makers of the Classic Texas offset pit. Stay away from the
small untuned models.
Pellet Cookers wonderful when they work but
unreliable in our experience with everything from backyard models to $3000+
commercial models. We have used over 5,000 pounds of pellets to cook over
50,000 pounds of meat and will not buy another pellet cooker. While they
can win contests one of their biggest fans is now winning with a Jambo pit, the
choice of champions.
Some folks who feed logs into big steel pits
have a less than generous attitude towards ceramic cookers. The Asians
have been cooking with these for many centuries. They can cook low and
slow or sear at 1000°f. Take care, flash burns are a danger with these.
All three these units can cook world class food.
- Big
Green Egg The most popular of the three. The Large is there most
popular size and a far better choice than any other size and we have owned
M,L & XL and won a Small for first place at an Eggfest.
- Primo
Grill
- Kamado
Return to Table of Contents
BBQ Brethren Forum
One of the better moderated forums on the internet.
Click HERE for Cee Dub's Website
everything to do with Dutch Ovens
Boss Hawg's World Champion BBQ team and restaurant in Topeka,
Kansas.
Boss Hawg's is run by Elizabeth Lumpkin who started the
restaurant with her late husband Hank. They were an invaluable
help in getting us started and will always be an inspiration.
God Bless You Both.
Lost Nation Smoke Company Smoking up
some mighty fine Q down east in Vermont.
Why BBQ by
Billy "Belly" Maynard
The Kansas City Barbeque Society which is the
biggest sanctioning body for competition in the US.
Southern Food
Alliance Preserving the awesome heritage of Southern cooking
International Barbeque
Cookers Association although if you look at the calendar every
single event is in Texas
Texas Barbecue Trail
Barbecue: A Texas BBQ Love Story Great DVD
on BBQ in Texas www.BBQFilm.com
BARBECUE AMERICA -- A 13 PT.
TELEVISION SERIES
Hosted by KCTS-TV (PBS) Seattle, Washington
We met Rick at Red Hook he is one of the nicest people you could want to meet
and a true BBQ fan who knows what good BBQ should taste like.
Dr. BBQ One of the top cooks
and instructors in the country
RandyQ's Barbecue Ramblings
BBQ Taboos is a must read
Boss Hawgs World
Champion BBQ team and restaurant in Topeka, Kansas
BBQ FAQ Gotta love
those TLA's
B & B Charcoal Some
high quality lump, not made from scraps of dubious origin.
Famous Dave's Seven years of living in Minnasocold and I
grew to like his sauce. The bread pudding is one of the best I've had.
His meat is OK but any serious back yard smoker can do better. He sells
his sauce and book on this site.
Hawgeyes BBQ
Great source of rubs and other things BBQ.
Big
Green Egg Forum I'm not going to get in the
religious war about Steel v. Ceramic but this board has a lot of good recipe
ideas.
The International Dutch Oven
Society The Dutch Oven is a fine companion to
any smoker
www.lehmans.com An old
fashioned Amish General Store with all kinds of things you will not be able to
live without. They take excellent care of their customers.
Lexington Barbecue The best Barbecue Pork Teddy Bear has ever eaten!
Barbecue'n on the Internet
Lots of good stuff
BBQ Judge
Johnny Garlic's
This link has been here since 2003 when Konrad had the pleasure
of cooking with Guy in Houston and Kansas city. Now Guy Fieri the co-owner
is the 2006 "The Next Food Network Star." Congratulations to Guy.
Penzey's Spices
Bad Byron's Butt Rub
Grand Champion - American Royal/KC
Masterpiece International Invitational October 2001 Seller of Rubs with a
memorable logo ;)
Texas Rib Rangers
Very Successful Team with excellent products used by other teams
My Spicer online spice
retailer
American Royal One of
the big three National Competitions
Memphis in May is both
one of the big three competitions and a sanctioning body for MIM events held in
the south.
Jack Daniels
Invitational is also one of the big three
A Redneck Pig Roast
Informative and humorous
Carbondale Pork District
Return to Table of Contents
Beware meat that is Flavorized or some such by the addition
of liquids this is not what you want.
Ribman All about ribs
Smart and Final/Cash and Carry, Costco and Sam's Club are all
sources of meat for award winning teams.
-
The best prices on Beef and Pork I've found is
Smart and Final Smart & Final stores
Non-membership warehouse grocery stores; Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada
and Mexico. They also go by the name
Cash & Carry Wholesale foodservice supply warehouse; California, Idaho, Oregon
and Washington.
-
If you ask you can get the classic BBQ cuts of Beef and Pork at
Costco and
Sam's Club they have good prices and are more national than Smart and Final.
Meat Wholesalers will often happily sell to the public.
Just don't expect a display of meat. They normally open early and close
early and don't work weekends. Minimums range from a plastic cryovac
package to a case. You need to know what your asking for when you walk in
or phone them. You can get a better choice is you order a case of exactly
what you want and the price will be better than a butcher but not as good as the
first three above.
Return to Table of Contents
Books
New Books Cheap
David Spriggs the owner not only saves you a bundle on Books he is also a great
friend to BBQ.
Abe Books Good resource
for find out of print books
#1 BBQ Recipe Resource is
The Virtual Weber Bullet
Best BBQ Recipe archive on the web
is
www.virtualweberbullet.com
#1 All Purpose Recipe
Resource is
allrecipes.com
What makes
allrecipes.com great is user ratings of recipes
Bread, Pizza & Focaccia on the BBQ
Grills make great bread cookers. The ceramic grills like a Big Green Egg
are the ultimate. Any grill can cook bread with the addition of an
inexpensive pizza stone. When cooking indirect you can place the dough
directly on a clean oiled grate.
Our favorite bread recipe site is
www.TheArtisan.net
Other Recipe Sites
BBQ FAQ Recipes and answers to
all the common questions this is from the internet so nothing should be taken as
a proven fact
Jim Goode's BBQ Beef
Rub Pay Attention Class ;)
Naked Whiz's Spatchcock Chicken
This works on Weber Kettles and WSM's and is one of our favorite ways to prepare
Chicken to eat at home
Ugly Brothers includes some good
sauce recipes
3Men With Nothing
Better To Do this is a great resource
Len Poli
How to make your own Sausage recipes
Manufactures Website with Recipes and/or
Forum
Greater Omaha BBQ
Society Mrs. Teddy Bear AKA Cuddle Bear is from Nebraska and her family has
both a Machine shop which turns out top quality works including soon we are
hoping world class smokers and a Corn and Cattle company.
Iowa BBQ Society One of the
better regional sites
California BBQ Association
There are some very wonderful people in this great state where we used to live
and this site does the state proud!
Florida BBQ Assoc. A
large innovative well run organization
Arizona BBQ Association Wealth of information
New England Barbecue Society A very well run
organization
North West Dutch Oven Society for those of us
in Washington State and surrounding area.
