All right...time to pile on...I have gone to Academic Sports and brought home an offset smoker - The Old Country Pecos(google it...). I got it home last night about 8:30 and it was too late to season. Today, it rained until about noon. It never cleared up, but it stopped raining. I got out there pretty quick and fired it up...got it up to 190* for awhile, and then added a few more sticks and opened the damper. I had a thermometer stuck thru a potato (learned that trick right here) so I could read temp at grate level. After awhile the temp was reading close to 390*. Stayed up there quite awhile and the smoke thinned out real good. At about the 4 hour mark, I sprayed all sides, the top and bottom, and the rack with P_m (can we name that brand online?) and let it go until all the wood was ash. Before dark, I went out to check it and the rack is beautiful.
I will cook a rack of ribs and a chicken tomorrow and report back.
Ever since I watched Aaron Franklin work his magic on the same grill, I have wanted to try my hand at it. Besides, I love pokin' around in the fire and this one has a firebox that can handle 16 inch sticks. B T W, a guy delivered a huge truckload of split pecan (16 inch) and it is workin' fine.
I KNOW what ya'll said about offsets, but the lure of the flame offset all that.
Check with ya later...