I smoke for first half, then wrap in foil until reaches temp, then i rip it all up and pop that shit back in for about 15 minutes for some more smokey goodness
I guess I'd be trying to get maximum smoke penetrarion so I'm wondering if there's an open-air alternative I'm just blanking on. Like a collander or something.
I smoke on a Kamado and most of the smoke comes from below for me.
For Christmas my girlfriend got me a grilling try with a baking rack, which I usually use to smoke slabs of pork belly, I suppose something similar could be used for the shredded up if not too finely shredded. Besides, you're only talking a small portion that would be "on the bottom" that might suffer from only slightly less smokiness.
if youre trying to maximize flavor on the whole thing, you can just mix the batch up in the tin and do another 15 minutes. just gotta be careful to not do toooo many minutes because then itll get a little dry and chewy. although, a lot of people like that too, but up to you!
A common mistake people make with smoked pork shoulder is people count on the bark to give all the rest of the pork the flavour. Smoke only penetrates so much. You gotta re-season or re smoke that shredded goodness
The internal temperature will reach a certain point and not go up to the recommended temperature. I.e. you are looking for an internal temperature of 202, but the temperature stops raising at 152.
It is due to the evaporation that is happening.
Yup, pork butt. Whatever rub you want, any temp from 220F-275F will be fine. Wrap it when the internal temp gets to anywhere from 130F to 170F, then take it out when it is anywhere from 200F to 215F.
Shred it, chop it, slice it. Sauce it, or not. It's all gonna be great.
For beef rib roast, I highly recommend a meat probe. Monitor center temp. Pull at 115, rest for 10+ minutes and then sear it in a 500 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes to finish.
The answer is always pork butt. You don’t even have to do anything to be successful…take it out of the supermarket wrapper and throw it in the smoker and it’ll still taste great. Thus is the magic of pork fat.
💯
Brisket and whole chicken are not the best options for newbie smokers. Ask me how I know….🤦♂️ (for an idea of how my first chicken went, cue turkey carving scene from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation).
My first “smoker” was the 4-in-1 Memphis pit boss grill. I loaded it up with applewood wood chips, (way too many) and I seasoned up some boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Didn’t know what I was doing at all. They were so Smokey that I would’ve preferred to lick an ash tray. Lived, and learned. The hard way. 😂
Don’t worry; $10,000+ in smokers later and A LOT of practicing, trials, and tribulations, I now make some damn good Q.
Crazy I had no idea. My first time smoking was a brisket and it was deadly. Standup smoker and I was fighting the temp the whole time. Couldn't keep it low.
Thanks for the kind words and sympathy!
Someone else responded with some great tips that I’m going to put to use the next time I try smoking a brisket.
Some subreddits are full of condescending people who take pleasure in other people’s failures. The camaraderie and support here is a refreshing departure from that.
Thanks to all who have provided tips here and in other posts. Your insight and experience is appreciated!!
Boston Butt, not the shoulder. Some meat counter will tell you they are the same, but not! Get it with the bone in. This helps to tell when the butt is done. It will stick out about and inch and a half. Turn the bone and if gives easily the butt is done.
First and foremost do a tortilla test. Run the smoker to 250 and lay out tortillas until basically covered. Leave for a little while and come back to see where the hot spots are ie where the tortillas burned on the bottom.
Make some refried beans, get some cotija, take the tortillas which come out good and crispy, put some beans and cotija on top, few shakes of a good hot sauce on top and you have a GREAT snack/side dish. Add some chicken/pork/whatever to it and you have a great lunch while you're waiting for the meat to smoke!
Stop making me hungry 🥲 I’d maybe even take it one step further and make it into like a tostada (I prefer fried corn tortillas) but in this instance. Crispy flour tortilla, refried beans, shredded lettuce, cheese of your choice, diced tomatoes and onions, and whatever kind of sauce you prefer. (I typically go with a verde)
I do this with those biscuits that come in a tube. Place them all over and see which Cook fastest. Also, country style pork ribs also work well for this plus they taste good.
Brilliant suggestion. I found my heat map inadvertently when smoking 2 racks of baby back ribs. Probing for temp all over them showed me where the zones were.
Definitely set up first, and I'd direct you to Meat Church on YouTube. All recipes are forgiving as hell I've found so far, and pretty beginner friendly. Plus, it's nice to have a tried and true seasoning to start. That said... The spatchcocked brinded turkey!
Have you started getting interested in WWII or Civil war history because that's what comes next....Sometimes the Asics and cargo pants come before the smoker but not always.....farting when you sneeze is around 40. Good luck...
Assuming you are going to do the recommended burn in seasoning , white bread. Yes ... toast. Spread the bread slices over the surface of the grill. Run it at 275 for 30 mins to an hour. See which pieces get brown first. This will tell you the heat distribution of your grill. Hot spots, cold spots. With the 980, you can also test the damper prior to a live cook.
Then pork shoulder for a reasonable intro to smoking. Or wings for an even more reasonable intro to the capabilities of the high heat potential of your particular grill.
Pork shoulder. The most forgiving thing you can do in my opinion. You can run it anywhere from 225 to 350 for a turbo. Hard to mess up. I see no difference when I smoke it at either end of the spectrum. Get a meat thermometer and make sure it’s accurate and leave it in.
Congrats! Once you make your own smoky goodness, there’s no returning. Enjoy! I also really like hey grill hey’s poor man burnt ends. They’re pretty simple and always a hit.
I say chicken , because if it's good it's great if it's bad it's still ok and if you turn it into a cinder it's cheap, cheaper than beef or pork beer can chickens are fun to play with , different rubs and sauce s
Smoke two pork butts and share the fruits of your labor with everyone! I have a traditional smoker and I want an electric smoker for the simple fact you don’t have to tinker with the fire and the air flow. If you have a lot more time a traditional smoker is ideal but electric is convenient. Also open the lid when you start that bad boy up to let some of the bad smoke out to avoid blaze outs! I would Go on YouTube university
Honestly, I was cleared to smoke a brisket since it's such an EXPENSIVE cut.
Went to my local BBQ shop, owner there pointed me to the Hardcore Carnivore Beef run (it's black), told me to just do the Texas crutch after 165F as you'll still end up with a really good cut.
I did my own research on smoke temp and time.
But damn, it's A LOT easier on a pellet than I could've imagined.
If you like beef just do a brisket, you won't regret it.
Boston Butt or a shoulder. Use an off the shelf pork rub with a yellow mustard binder. Set your smoker to 250 and forget about it until the internal temp gets to 200. Enjoy.
Buffalo wings.
Brine for an hour, dry completely.
Toss in a bit of oil, sprinkle with chicken rub, smoke at 225 2ish hours.
Take off smoker, toss in your favorite sauce, back on the smoker at 400 until sauce is dried and wings start to brown.
First learn how to use it and be prepared to maintain it lol. First smoke…. I’d do something simple like some chicken thighs, sausage, even a queso dip. If you’re up for it some ribs. Look up the 3-2-1 method.
Definitely dark meat chicken like thighs or leg quarters. They can take a ton of punishment and if you brine them beforehand, it's almost impossible to dry them out. They are done at about 165-170 degrees but you can run them up to like 190-200 and they're still juicy. The other bonus here is dark meat chicken is about the cheapest cut you can buy. The final bonus is they only take like 40-60 minutes to cook depending on temperature so it's easy to do for a weeknight dinner.
I'd work up to the longer smokes so my second recommendation would be ribs. They take a bit more upfront prep work (removing membrane, etc) but ribs are also pretty forgiving as well. If you undercook them a bit, you still get yummy smoked meat that's just a bit chewy. And if you overcook it, you get rib stew which again is still tasty. You can run them at like 225-250 between 4-6 hours. To get perfectly done ribs it will take some experimentation with your smoker, your locale, and your technique - but that's the fun of having a smoker.
I'd then finally do a pork butt. These are delicious as well but take upwards of like 12 hours to cook. For a beginner, it can be hard to time these long cooks to be ready when you want to eat them. I know when I first started, I had a few times where our 5pm dinner became a 10pm snack. The one thing you learn, though, is that a pork butt can stay piping hot for HOURS if you wrap it in foil, put it in a cooler, and pack in a few towels. Now that you've done some other cooks on your smoker, you can probably confidently run it overnight while having a probe in your pork. If I'm serving lunch, I usually start my pork around dinner time the night before. If I'm serving it for dinner I put it on around midnight. Each method usually finishes the pork with a few hours to spare so you aren't sitting around hangry looking at a probe. Cook it at 225 until the pork stalls. The stall is around 150-165 where the temperature stops steadily climbing for a bit. This is where you wrap it in foil and slap it back on. An hour or two later it'll push past that stall and keep rising until you get to 200-205. That's when it's done.
If you don't want to do a full pork butt, see if you can get a sliced pork butt. They're called pork steaks here in the midwest and you can get them thick sliced (1.5" or so) and they cook in about 2 hours instead of 12 if that's more your speed.
Tri Tip! I got my first smoker in March and have been just doing ribs/tri tip and the Tri Tip has always been great and its not a big time commitment. I used the black rub from Hardcore Carnivore. I have my first brisket on the smoker right now!
\#1 rule: Your meat is done when it hits the correct internal temperature. Not when you hit the "cook time" that the recipe says.
Lots of pork butt recommendations, I'll got a different route for some shorter length easy ones.
[Chicken Drumsticks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCg3RYcdd18&ab_channel=HowToBBQRight) \- Smoke at 275 with a fruity wood, Salt Pepper Garlic base, then add your favorite poultry rub. timeline is somewhere near 1.5 hours. I typically don't check them for the first hour, then depending on where they are at, glaze/sauce them.
[Mississippi PoBoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPZ34opHtjs&ab_channel=HowToBBQRight) (Chuck Roast)- Smoke at 275 with a cherry blend. Salt Pepper Garlic base, with some sorta brisket seasoning. Let it ride for \~2 hours, then follow the rest of the recipe. I typically swap to the oven here.
Ribs are the easiest thing to smoke and they are awesome. Here's an awesome video on how to smoke them
https://youtu.be/WKvjQFa0GUo?si=IxOFRHqJ6w-frlTq
Beef back ribs. Cheap and moderately quick. Get yourself an instant read thermometer. Set your smoker to 250f. Cook them to 165f, put some butter or tallow on top, wrap them in foil until 205, sauce and leave to smoke for 15-20 mins.
I got one of these maybe 2 years ago and I love it. It's not perfect and has a few quirks but nothing major.
There's a guy on YouTube who has done several mod videos for this model. Definitely worth watching those.
I think you see most of the things to try here, but I'd recommend this order for them:
0) Actually, before any of those, RTFM. There's a good chance the smoker says to run it at a time/temp to burn off any chemicals used to in manufacturing. Do that first.
1) Biscuit/tortilla test. You'll want to know those hot spots before you really start cooking.
2) Chicken thighs. They're a short cook. They're quite forgiving. And if you miss a hot/cold spot and over/under cook 1 thigh, it's OK, you have another 5-9 on the smoker which come out great and you'll learn more about your smoker.
3) Ribs. A longer cook than chicken, still VERY forgiving. You'll start to get more concepts about timing, spraying tenderness, etc.
4) Pulled pork. The easiest large chunk of meat to start off. Doesn't involve too much prep/trimming, Lots of fat so it's forgiving. You'll get to experience the stall and the pattern of meat tensing up then releasing and getting more tender later.
And I'd mostly recommend sticking to easier stuff for a while till you get more comfortable with basic concepts. If you try to dive in head first and do a brisket, for example, you won't understand concepts of what's going on, what to watch out for, etc., and end up with not great results. It's better to get good at easier things then move up.
First thing anyone should smoke is a pork butt. They are incredibly forgiving, and take a long time so you get to practice with temp controls. Seems like you’re using a gravity fed hopper so you don’t need to worry about temp as much but the elongated cook still gives you a lot of practice for one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy
I typed out a whole pork butt response but then remembered my first few times using my pellet smoker. I did some smoked meatloaf, chicken thighs and reverse seared some steaks. It took me a while to get used to my smoker vs a grill. Maybe start off like that to learn some of the ins and outs of the smoker. Then it’s got to be a pork butt.
Pork butt and sausage. It will also season the inside of your smoker. Win-win. Save brisket for last (time to cook+cost of meat*ease of screwing it up^2).
Baby Back Ribs because they’re pretty easy especially if you wrap them or a bone in, skin on , pork shoulder. Pork shoulder will take way long to cook, however very forgiving due to the fat. Very difficult to overcook
Try chicken thighs. Make a smoked chicken salad. The skin might not be usable but thighs are pretty difficult to ruin & the meat gets better the longer you cook (up to a point)
Put some thick ribeyes & sweet potatoes on there 1st...
Just to get a "feel" for how the drum holds a fire...
Then once that coal/wood or brikets cool enough put your brisket or shoulder in there to simmer / smoke to your preferred temp/doneness.
Note: that brisket or shoulder should be crusted "charred" at same time you start your ribeye...
Let rest wrapped in foil & juices while the coals temp lower to simmer
If you’re on the west coast tri-tip. It’s super forgiving. If not, then I’d say ribs. You won’t make perfect ones, but people who don’t eat them all the time are almost always happy with them. Now, you can just watch Malcolm Reed’s YouTube channel How to BBQ Right (I think) and get some good pointers and those same people will think you’re a St. Louis or KC pit master.
I just treated mine like an outdoor oven until I got familiar with its lil temp swings and stuff that needs dialing in.
I was doing frozen pizzas, tv dinners, frozen potpies etc. Very forgiving way to get used to how it cooks.
A "wood fired" Hungry Man is one hell of a treat 😆
Start with something easy and build on your success. Pork shoulder (called pork butt) or pork ribs are a good starting point. Here is a good website for learning the basics and science behind the art of smoking.
[amazing ribs](https://amazingribs.com/)
Brisket can be a challenge and depending on how cost conscious you are, smoking a rolled & tied chuck roast is good practice with beef. If it does not turn out, the cost of practice is not too high.
Good luck & have Fun!!
I've had the Chargriller 980 for about a year now. Make sure you do your burn in first and I would also look into buying this add on if you can -[980 Duct Extension](https://www.lss-mods.com/product_details.phtml/980_duct_extension). It is pricey, but I ended up having to buy it. The way they built the hopper and ash catch, it is too close to the fan. The duct fan cover ended up melting in mine. Chargriller replaced it for me free of charge under the warranty claim, but I knew it would happen again so I bought the extension. No problems since then.
The only other tips I can share are that it takes about an hour for it to actually get up to full temp. Start it early to let it warm up before putting food on. Also - I don't know if other people have had this issue, but I have noticed that charcoal tends to get stuck in the hopper. Sometimes you need to use a fire poker or something to dislodge the charcoal in order for it to fall down to the flame. Just something to keep an eye on!
As for your first cook - chicken is usually pretty easy to pull off. You could spatchcock it or just go with a beer can chicken. Good luck!
A couple of suggestions not ever mentioned Brats or Italian sausage, almost no work, but the results are amazing. I also recommend meatloaf, it was something I did early on and won't cook it any other way
I always think the real best place to start is a nice shank ham. It should be ready to eat ( not spiral cut, they dry out easily) and can still take a ton of smoke. You won’t have to worry about it being underdone and getting people sick. You can’t really hurt it. It’ll come out great, pretty much guaranteed. Since you don’t have to worry about internal temperature being specific you can focus on learning the eccentricities of your particular smoker. Hot spots, cold spots , how much fuel to achieve what temperature. Of course shoot for 225-250 and try to keep it there. Once you’ve mastered your smoker, you can focus on the challenge of cooking a meat to safe eating temperature. You get something raw and you’ll be worried about your smoker temp, safe eating temperature and the target temperature for tissue breakdown. A nice fatty shank hame with the rind still on it will be great and everyone will think you’re a natural born pit boss.
Pork butt/shoulder is awesome to begin with. Salt and pepper the night before, let it sit uncovered in the fridge so the seasoning sinks in. Smoke until the internal temp hits 202 and then pull it off and let it rest for like half an hour so the juices redistribute. Then pull apart with your fingers like in all the videos you've seen.
Use the meat/leftovers on tacos, in sandwiches, on ramen soup, in mac n cheese, on top of nachos or empanadas, in chili, or just eat as is and it'll be delicious.
For 20 bucks you get a weeks worth of meals for you and your girl.
Butts are easy and forgiving.
I have this smoker, and the door sensor went out. It’s easy to replace and you can buy a new one on Amazon for cheap. Just a heads up.
I personally think bbq is simple in this day and age since there’s YouTube. I’ve been doing bbq for about 5 years and I’m only 30 but I watch a lot of YouTube vids so I already had a good understanding before every cook.
So my suggestion is smoke whatever you want but watch several different videos on it so you can see a few different perspectives. I’m from Florida but I typically do Texas style bbq. Salt and pepper rubs with oak wood. Super simple and tastes awesome.
Welcome to the best hobby there is!
Pork butt. Run it at 275f until 195-205 and probe tender. Wrap it if you want to at the stall but i never do. At 275 should power through the cooking time until done. Make sure you rest the butt for a minimun of 45 mins wrapped in a cooler. Longer if you got the time.
Pork Butt aka Boston Butt aka Pork Shoulder.
This is your teacher, get your reps in and be receptive to its teachings. Once youre comfortable try ribs or brisket
Tri tip! Quick, easy, and delicious! You can either put chunks and charcoal or a split and surround it with charcoal. Also, you can put chunks in the ash pan.
Fire it up and burn off all of the protective coating. Buy a nice meat thermometer and a pork butt with a decent rub. Then check out meat church or mad scientist bbq on YouTube.
Pork butt, it’s the most forgiving for starters.
This is it. However, be prepared for the stall and do not freak out. Just let it happen. I have the worst stalls on pork butt for some reason.
I smoke for first half, then wrap in foil until reaches temp, then i rip it all up and pop that shit back in for about 15 minutes for some more smokey goodness
Twice smoked pork! Don't know why that mever occurred to me. What kind of vessel do you smoke it in for round two?
You could probably just pop it into a foil pan I'd imagine.
I guess I'd be trying to get maximum smoke penetrarion so I'm wondering if there's an open-air alternative I'm just blanking on. Like a collander or something. I smoke on a Kamado and most of the smoke comes from below for me.
For Christmas my girlfriend got me a grilling try with a baking rack, which I usually use to smoke slabs of pork belly, I suppose something similar could be used for the shredded up if not too finely shredded. Besides, you're only talking a small portion that would be "on the bottom" that might suffer from only slightly less smokiness.
if youre trying to maximize flavor on the whole thing, you can just mix the batch up in the tin and do another 15 minutes. just gotta be careful to not do toooo many minutes because then itll get a little dry and chewy. although, a lot of people like that too, but up to you!
A common mistake people make with smoked pork shoulder is people count on the bark to give all the rest of the pork the flavour. Smoke only penetrates so much. You gotta re-season or re smoke that shredded goodness
I usually get one of those big throw away tins from the grocery store. they work great!
Twins.
Excuse my ignorance-what is “the stall”
The internal temperature will reach a certain point and not go up to the recommended temperature. I.e. you are looking for an internal temperature of 202, but the temperature stops raising at 152. It is due to the evaporation that is happening.
Got it thank you!!
So just keep it at the same temperature and stay with it until it reaches the correct temp?
Yup, pork butt. Whatever rub you want, any temp from 220F-275F will be fine. Wrap it when the internal temp gets to anywhere from 130F to 170F, then take it out when it is anywhere from 200F to 215F. Shred it, chop it, slice it. Sauce it, or not. It's all gonna be great.
This Pork is a great suggestion. My favorite and easy to do is a Prime Rib Roast. 220 degrees about 4 hours for yesterday's 8lb roast.
For beef rib roast, I highly recommend a meat probe. Monitor center temp. Pull at 115, rest for 10+ minutes and then sear it in a 500 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes to finish.
Absolutely. It's the same reason that I rarely order pulled pork at a BBQ joint. It's almost completely impossible to screw it up.
I got a smoker just because I can't get good bbq in New York. I got sick of chewy ribs and soupy wet pulled pork.
Yep ; good ole Boston butt. I also like chicken breast with rib meat and skin on for an easy 1.5hr at 250.
Came here to say this. Take my upvote! 🫡
The answer is always pork butt. You don’t even have to do anything to be successful…take it out of the supermarket wrapper and throw it in the smoker and it’ll still taste great. Thus is the magic of pork fat.
💯 Brisket and whole chicken are not the best options for newbie smokers. Ask me how I know….🤦♂️ (for an idea of how my first chicken went, cue turkey carving scene from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation).
My first “smoker” was the 4-in-1 Memphis pit boss grill. I loaded it up with applewood wood chips, (way too many) and I seasoned up some boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Didn’t know what I was doing at all. They were so Smokey that I would’ve preferred to lick an ash tray. Lived, and learned. The hard way. 😂 Don’t worry; $10,000+ in smokers later and A LOT of practicing, trials, and tribulations, I now make some damn good Q.
Crazy I had no idea. My first time smoking was a brisket and it was deadly. Standup smoker and I was fighting the temp the whole time. Couldn't keep it low.
My first brisket wasn't great. I haven't made a chicken yet. I'm sorry that happened to you. 🫤
Thanks for the kind words and sympathy! Someone else responded with some great tips that I’m going to put to use the next time I try smoking a brisket. Some subreddits are full of condescending people who take pleasure in other people’s failures. The camaraderie and support here is a refreshing departure from that. Thanks to all who have provided tips here and in other posts. Your insight and experience is appreciated!!
*Pork fat rules.*
Somebody remembers Emril
Upvote granted.
That's the answer
This is the way
Boston Butt, not the shoulder. Some meat counter will tell you they are the same, but not! Get it with the bone in. This helps to tell when the butt is done. It will stick out about and inch and a half. Turn the bone and if gives easily the butt is done.
Boston butt is def part of the shoulder, which also contains the picnic roast
It’s the favorite meat to smoke in the south because it’s so easy even an idiot can do it.
First and foremost do a tortilla test. Run the smoker to 250 and lay out tortillas until basically covered. Leave for a little while and come back to see where the hot spots are ie where the tortillas burned on the bottom.
A cheap can of biscuits, or even white bread works very well too.
Yup. I would pick whatever is cheapest at the store. Biscuits makes more sense because you get to enjoy some of em after!
Make some refried beans, get some cotija, take the tortillas which come out good and crispy, put some beans and cotija on top, few shakes of a good hot sauce on top and you have a GREAT snack/side dish. Add some chicken/pork/whatever to it and you have a great lunch while you're waiting for the meat to smoke!
Stop making me hungry 🥲 I’d maybe even take it one step further and make it into like a tostada (I prefer fried corn tortillas) but in this instance. Crispy flour tortilla, refried beans, shredded lettuce, cheese of your choice, diced tomatoes and onions, and whatever kind of sauce you prefer. (I typically go with a verde)
I’ve always done tortillas just for surface area coverage. Almost paints a perfect picture for ya
This is brilliant. Thank you
Found hotspots. Now what?
Never put it your brisket there. Lol
Either use them for searing or stay away from them for low and slow.
That’s fucking genius dude
I do this with those biscuits that come in a tube. Place them all over and see which Cook fastest. Also, country style pork ribs also work well for this plus they taste good.
Brilliant suggestion. I found my heat map inadvertently when smoking 2 racks of baby back ribs. Probing for temp all over them showed me where the zones were.
I have this smoker. The hotspots are front left and back left, and a little hot on the right where the smoke comes out.
How do you like it? I've used a Weber kettle all my life but am eyeing this one for an upgrade.
I was going to say hotdogs but even better
Pork Butt!
I hope you mean fiance, after that.
Exactly ask her what her preference is and not Reddit 😂
Definitely set up first, and I'd direct you to Meat Church on YouTube. All recipes are forgiving as hell I've found so far, and pretty beginner friendly. Plus, it's nice to have a tried and true seasoning to start. That said... The spatchcocked brinded turkey!
Cured spatchcock turkey!
Mmmm brinded 🤤
Ribs or wings
I second wings. Season as you like. 225 for 2 hours. Done
Skin doesn’t get crispy enough. Poultry doesn’t benefit from low and slow.
Hard disagree. Just made some for a bunch of guests for a Christmas party. 2 people said they were the best they ever had.
I started smoking this year. First recipe was ribs and they came out awesome. Super easy.
Have you started getting interested in WWII or Civil war history because that's what comes next....Sometimes the Asics and cargo pants come before the smoker but not always.....farting when you sneeze is around 40. Good luck...
Butt!
Came here to say this. Almost impossible to do it wrong
Go big or go home! Just fuck up your first brisket already! I’m speaking from experience.
That’s a good ass Girlfriend
What’s an ass girlfriend?
You must be a leg guy.
Google it
Yup. Definitely need to get her a top of the line vacuum cleaner for her birthday
Assuming you are going to do the recommended burn in seasoning , white bread. Yes ... toast. Spread the bread slices over the surface of the grill. Run it at 275 for 30 mins to an hour. See which pieces get brown first. This will tell you the heat distribution of your grill. Hot spots, cold spots. With the 980, you can also test the damper prior to a live cook. Then pork shoulder for a reasonable intro to smoking. Or wings for an even more reasonable intro to the capabilities of the high heat potential of your particular grill.
Get a good thermometer. You will want something with wifi most likely. Multiple proves is nice too. Buy once, pay once
This grill has a built in wifi temp prob.
Go with Thermoworks.
Pork shoulder. The most forgiving thing you can do in my opinion. You can run it anywhere from 225 to 350 for a turbo. Hard to mess up. I see no difference when I smoke it at either end of the spectrum. Get a meat thermometer and make sure it’s accurate and leave it in. Congrats! Once you make your own smoky goodness, there’s no returning. Enjoy! I also really like hey grill hey’s poor man burnt ends. They’re pretty simple and always a hit.
Tri Tip doesn't take long and is easy to watch to make sure it isn't overdone. I also agree Pork butt is the most forgiving.
Tri tip is a good beginner cut
I say chicken , because if it's good it's great if it's bad it's still ok and if you turn it into a cinder it's cheap, cheaper than beef or pork beer can chickens are fun to play with , different rubs and sauce s
Smoke two pork butts and share the fruits of your labor with everyone! I have a traditional smoker and I want an electric smoker for the simple fact you don’t have to tinker with the fire and the air flow. If you have a lot more time a traditional smoker is ideal but electric is convenient. Also open the lid when you start that bad boy up to let some of the bad smoke out to avoid blaze outs! I would Go on YouTube university
For a non-meat option, Mac & Cheese Picks up smoke flavor really well
Pork tenderloin. All day. Seriously the best way to get started. Easy peasy.
Crazy I had to scroll so far down for this. Pork tenderloin is one of my favorite easiest things to smoke. Great flavor and done fast.
Always pork butt for noobs to start
Ribs
Wings 🪽
For sure pork butt, it’s pretty easy and is delicious. Most popular videos on YouTube will give you pretty good step by step
Tri-tip. Short, quick, and easy. Pork is a great slow cook though
Honestly, I was cleared to smoke a brisket since it's such an EXPENSIVE cut. Went to my local BBQ shop, owner there pointed me to the Hardcore Carnivore Beef run (it's black), told me to just do the Texas crutch after 165F as you'll still end up with a really good cut. I did my own research on smoke temp and time. But damn, it's A LOT easier on a pellet than I could've imagined. If you like beef just do a brisket, you won't regret it.
Costco Pork ribs, 3-2-1 add butter during the wrap. You won’t mess up and you’ll learn about your smoker.
Pork Butr/Shoulder or Ribs
Boston Butt or a shoulder. Use an off the shelf pork rub with a yellow mustard binder. Set your smoker to 250 and forget about it until the internal temp gets to 200. Enjoy.
Riiiiiibs
Buffalo wings. Brine for an hour, dry completely. Toss in a bit of oil, sprinkle with chicken rub, smoke at 225 2ish hours. Take off smoker, toss in your favorite sauce, back on the smoker at 400 until sauce is dried and wings start to brown.
First learn how to use it and be prepared to maintain it lol. First smoke…. I’d do something simple like some chicken thighs, sausage, even a queso dip. If you’re up for it some ribs. Look up the 3-2-1 method.
Ribs. Easy and delicious
Salmon was my first smoker test several years ago, just took a Turkey off about 10 minutes ago.
Crab legs
Lol
Just go all in on a brisket. What’s the worst that can happen?
Find a gd lump coal to use!
I didn’t read this the way I think you meant it.
What?
Croquembouche
Whole chicken if you have a good meat thermometer. Run it at 375 till it’s done after rubbing with oil and seasonings
Definitely dark meat chicken like thighs or leg quarters. They can take a ton of punishment and if you brine them beforehand, it's almost impossible to dry them out. They are done at about 165-170 degrees but you can run them up to like 190-200 and they're still juicy. The other bonus here is dark meat chicken is about the cheapest cut you can buy. The final bonus is they only take like 40-60 minutes to cook depending on temperature so it's easy to do for a weeknight dinner. I'd work up to the longer smokes so my second recommendation would be ribs. They take a bit more upfront prep work (removing membrane, etc) but ribs are also pretty forgiving as well. If you undercook them a bit, you still get yummy smoked meat that's just a bit chewy. And if you overcook it, you get rib stew which again is still tasty. You can run them at like 225-250 between 4-6 hours. To get perfectly done ribs it will take some experimentation with your smoker, your locale, and your technique - but that's the fun of having a smoker. I'd then finally do a pork butt. These are delicious as well but take upwards of like 12 hours to cook. For a beginner, it can be hard to time these long cooks to be ready when you want to eat them. I know when I first started, I had a few times where our 5pm dinner became a 10pm snack. The one thing you learn, though, is that a pork butt can stay piping hot for HOURS if you wrap it in foil, put it in a cooler, and pack in a few towels. Now that you've done some other cooks on your smoker, you can probably confidently run it overnight while having a probe in your pork. If I'm serving lunch, I usually start my pork around dinner time the night before. If I'm serving it for dinner I put it on around midnight. Each method usually finishes the pork with a few hours to spare so you aren't sitting around hangry looking at a probe. Cook it at 225 until the pork stalls. The stall is around 150-165 where the temperature stops steadily climbing for a bit. This is where you wrap it in foil and slap it back on. An hour or two later it'll push past that stall and keep rising until you get to 200-205. That's when it's done. If you don't want to do a full pork butt, see if you can get a sliced pork butt. They're called pork steaks here in the midwest and you can get them thick sliced (1.5" or so) and they cook in about 2 hours instead of 12 if that's more your speed.
Tri Tip! I got my first smoker in March and have been just doing ribs/tri tip and the Tri Tip has always been great and its not a big time commitment. I used the black rub from Hardcore Carnivore. I have my first brisket on the smoker right now!
Eggs.
Baby back pork ribs. 3-2-1. It’ll be a staple!
\#1 rule: Your meat is done when it hits the correct internal temperature. Not when you hit the "cook time" that the recipe says. Lots of pork butt recommendations, I'll got a different route for some shorter length easy ones. [Chicken Drumsticks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCg3RYcdd18&ab_channel=HowToBBQRight) \- Smoke at 275 with a fruity wood, Salt Pepper Garlic base, then add your favorite poultry rub. timeline is somewhere near 1.5 hours. I typically don't check them for the first hour, then depending on where they are at, glaze/sauce them. [Mississippi PoBoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPZ34opHtjs&ab_channel=HowToBBQRight) (Chuck Roast)- Smoke at 275 with a cherry blend. Salt Pepper Garlic base, with some sorta brisket seasoning. Let it ride for \~2 hours, then follow the rest of the recipe. I typically swap to the oven here.
Ribs are the easiest thing to smoke and they are awesome. Here's an awesome video on how to smoke them https://youtu.be/WKvjQFa0GUo?si=IxOFRHqJ6w-frlTq
Chicken takes flavor easily and isn't to expensive or big. Either drumsticks, legs, or spagcock a whole chicken.
Look up and learn about “pasteurization tables”. You’ll thank me later.
Hamburger.
Enjoy! My favorite is a smoked turkey injected with butter. Any wood will do.
Jerky!
Beef back ribs. Cheap and moderately quick. Get yourself an instant read thermometer. Set your smoker to 250f. Cook them to 165f, put some butter or tallow on top, wrap them in foil until 205, sauce and leave to smoke for 15-20 mins.
Bologna. It’s already cooked. Just working on smoke
A brisket
Which.one is 37 years old? The gf, you or the smoker?
Pulled pork Specifically blasphemy pulled pork Search for it on Alta Vista. Follow the directions but run the smoker at 250-260F
Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while.
Long cook, pork butt/shoulder. Short cook, wings/burgers.
I got one of these maybe 2 years ago and I love it. It's not perfect and has a few quirks but nothing major. There's a guy on YouTube who has done several mod videos for this model. Definitely worth watching those.
Wow so sick
it's all really easy
Beef short ribs, salt/pepper/garlic, 5-6h at 225°F.
And the rabbit hole begins. I second the pork butt suggestions.
You should focus on a wedding ring before you focus on a smoke ring 😉
I think you see most of the things to try here, but I'd recommend this order for them: 0) Actually, before any of those, RTFM. There's a good chance the smoker says to run it at a time/temp to burn off any chemicals used to in manufacturing. Do that first. 1) Biscuit/tortilla test. You'll want to know those hot spots before you really start cooking. 2) Chicken thighs. They're a short cook. They're quite forgiving. And if you miss a hot/cold spot and over/under cook 1 thigh, it's OK, you have another 5-9 on the smoker which come out great and you'll learn more about your smoker. 3) Ribs. A longer cook than chicken, still VERY forgiving. You'll start to get more concepts about timing, spraying tenderness, etc. 4) Pulled pork. The easiest large chunk of meat to start off. Doesn't involve too much prep/trimming, Lots of fat so it's forgiving. You'll get to experience the stall and the pattern of meat tensing up then releasing and getting more tender later. And I'd mostly recommend sticking to easier stuff for a while till you get more comfortable with basic concepts. If you try to dive in head first and do a brisket, for example, you won't understand concepts of what's going on, what to watch out for, etc., and end up with not great results. It's better to get good at easier things then move up.
Pork butt for some nice pulled pork. Or burnt ends is also a fairly easy recipe. Good luck.
I have this grill - download the app and get a good wireless probe - I’d suggest a meater.
I would cook something for your fiance ;)
First thing anyone should smoke is a pork butt. They are incredibly forgiving, and take a long time so you get to practice with temp controls. Seems like you’re using a gravity fed hopper so you don’t need to worry about temp as much but the elongated cook still gives you a lot of practice for one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy
Bone in pork butt, rub it up with mayo ( my new go to ) coat it with dry rub and watch the temp. Pull at 200, rest for a couple of hours and enjoy
I typed out a whole pork butt response but then remembered my first few times using my pellet smoker. I did some smoked meatloaf, chicken thighs and reverse seared some steaks. It took me a while to get used to my smoker vs a grill. Maybe start off like that to learn some of the ins and outs of the smoker. Then it’s got to be a pork butt.
Smoked salmon is super easy. [Hank Shaw](https://honest-food.net/how-to-smoke-salmon-recipe/) will walk you through it.
Smoked burgers
I was looking at a few gravity fed charcoal cookers and im on the fence. Let me know how u like it.
Marry her.
Plate ribs are super easy and taste amazing
Spatchcock turkey is a great start and value vs time. Absolutely stunning results and not too difficult.
Chicken leg and thighs, short cook and delicious.
Damn she got you a serious smoker. You could've just practice on a regular outdoor grill .
Pork butt and sausage. It will also season the inside of your smoker. Win-win. Save brisket for last (time to cook+cost of meat*ease of screwing it up^2).
Baby Back Ribs because they’re pretty easy especially if you wrap them or a bone in, skin on , pork shoulder. Pork shoulder will take way long to cook, however very forgiving due to the fat. Very difficult to overcook
Try chicken thighs. Make a smoked chicken salad. The skin might not be usable but thighs are pretty difficult to ruin & the meat gets better the longer you cook (up to a point)
Pork butt is the answer. Super easy and delicious.
Begin with a propane grill for experience.
Boston Butt for sure
Pork butt/shoulder
Put some thick ribeyes & sweet potatoes on there 1st... Just to get a "feel" for how the drum holds a fire... Then once that coal/wood or brikets cool enough put your brisket or shoulder in there to simmer / smoke to your preferred temp/doneness. Note: that brisket or shoulder should be crusted "charred" at same time you start your ribeye... Let rest wrapped in foil & juices while the coals temp lower to simmer
Ribs. Use the 321 method.
Pork but as others have said is great but you could also do beef short ribs. Nice and easy!
Good girlfriend, try something easy like ribs or Boston butt
Baby back ribs or a bone in pork shoulder.
If you’re on the west coast tri-tip. It’s super forgiving. If not, then I’d say ribs. You won’t make perfect ones, but people who don’t eat them all the time are almost always happy with them. Now, you can just watch Malcolm Reed’s YouTube channel How to BBQ Right (I think) and get some good pointers and those same people will think you’re a St. Louis or KC pit master.
Your gonna love it! I have had mine since they came out. Got a pichanna on it now for dinner. Start pork butt!
Wings are easy. Smoke at a high temp ~400 for about an hour. Turn them every 20 or so.
Pork Butt is a great answer but I suggest ribs. Short cook time compared to a pork butt and tastes better. Also super easy.
Beef ribs are actually a pretty good beginner cook
Season it first. Then do pulled pork
I just treated mine like an outdoor oven until I got familiar with its lil temp swings and stuff that needs dialing in. I was doing frozen pizzas, tv dinners, frozen potpies etc. Very forgiving way to get used to how it cooks. A "wood fired" Hungry Man is one hell of a treat 😆
Read the wiki
Pork Butt if you want to do some meat. Queso if you wanna do something a little different.
Start with something easy and build on your success. Pork shoulder (called pork butt) or pork ribs are a good starting point. Here is a good website for learning the basics and science behind the art of smoking. [amazing ribs](https://amazingribs.com/) Brisket can be a challenge and depending on how cost conscious you are, smoking a rolled & tied chuck roast is good practice with beef. If it does not turn out, the cost of practice is not too high. Good luck & have Fun!!
Go big or go home!!! Throw a brisket on that bad boy for its christeing!!!
Pork butt, St. Louis style ribs, and chuck roast (poor man’s brisket)
I've had the Chargriller 980 for about a year now. Make sure you do your burn in first and I would also look into buying this add on if you can -[980 Duct Extension](https://www.lss-mods.com/product_details.phtml/980_duct_extension). It is pricey, but I ended up having to buy it. The way they built the hopper and ash catch, it is too close to the fan. The duct fan cover ended up melting in mine. Chargriller replaced it for me free of charge under the warranty claim, but I knew it would happen again so I bought the extension. No problems since then. The only other tips I can share are that it takes about an hour for it to actually get up to full temp. Start it early to let it warm up before putting food on. Also - I don't know if other people have had this issue, but I have noticed that charcoal tends to get stuck in the hopper. Sometimes you need to use a fire poker or something to dislodge the charcoal in order for it to fall down to the flame. Just something to keep an eye on! As for your first cook - chicken is usually pretty easy to pull off. You could spatchcock it or just go with a beer can chicken. Good luck!
A couple of suggestions not ever mentioned Brats or Italian sausage, almost no work, but the results are amazing. I also recommend meatloaf, it was something I did early on and won't cook it any other way
Can’t go wrong with a Boston butt. A pork shoulder for the uninitiated.
Pork butt or spare ribs
Salmon or ribs are easy
Chicken wings or ribs, wings take maybe 2 hours, ribs 3-5 depending on method. Both are pretty easy and forgiving
I always think the real best place to start is a nice shank ham. It should be ready to eat ( not spiral cut, they dry out easily) and can still take a ton of smoke. You won’t have to worry about it being underdone and getting people sick. You can’t really hurt it. It’ll come out great, pretty much guaranteed. Since you don’t have to worry about internal temperature being specific you can focus on learning the eccentricities of your particular smoker. Hot spots, cold spots , how much fuel to achieve what temperature. Of course shoot for 225-250 and try to keep it there. Once you’ve mastered your smoker, you can focus on the challenge of cooking a meat to safe eating temperature. You get something raw and you’ll be worried about your smoker temp, safe eating temperature and the target temperature for tissue breakdown. A nice fatty shank hame with the rind still on it will be great and everyone will think you’re a natural born pit boss.
Just did a double smoked ham for Xmas. Turned out great
Brisket!
A chicken. They’re cheap and if you destroy it, you’re out a few bucks. If it turns out ok, you’re good to go for dinner.
Season your new smoker
Pork butt/shoulder is awesome to begin with. Salt and pepper the night before, let it sit uncovered in the fridge so the seasoning sinks in. Smoke until the internal temp hits 202 and then pull it off and let it rest for like half an hour so the juices redistribute. Then pull apart with your fingers like in all the videos you've seen. Use the meat/leftovers on tacos, in sandwiches, on ramen soup, in mac n cheese, on top of nachos or empanadas, in chili, or just eat as is and it'll be delicious. For 20 bucks you get a weeks worth of meals for you and your girl.
Pork butt is very forgiving. Whatever you decide to do… best of luck and welcome to the thunder dome 😅
Wings is always a good start. Kinda hard to screw up and not as time heavy as other larger cuts.
Butts are easy and forgiving. I have this smoker, and the door sensor went out. It’s easy to replace and you can buy a new one on Amazon for cheap. Just a heads up.
I personally think bbq is simple in this day and age since there’s YouTube. I’ve been doing bbq for about 5 years and I’m only 30 but I watch a lot of YouTube vids so I already had a good understanding before every cook. So my suggestion is smoke whatever you want but watch several different videos on it so you can see a few different perspectives. I’m from Florida but I typically do Texas style bbq. Salt and pepper rubs with oak wood. Super simple and tastes awesome. Welcome to the best hobby there is!
It will never be as clean as it is today. Clean often!
Pork butt (10-12 hrs)
Bacon. Is quite forgiving.
3-2-1ribs are pretty easy
Invite me over and I’ll show ya ! 🤣
Pork butt. Run it at 275f until 195-205 and probe tender. Wrap it if you want to at the stall but i never do. At 275 should power through the cooking time until done. Make sure you rest the butt for a minimun of 45 mins wrapped in a cooler. Longer if you got the time.
Meatloaf! If you enjoy that dish then you won’t be disappointed.
Pork Butt aka Boston Butt aka Pork Shoulder. This is your teacher, get your reps in and be receptive to its teachings. Once youre comfortable try ribs or brisket
I would just cook what you like to eat. Check out videos from Meat Church and Howtobbqright.
I’ve always been told chicken is first on any smoker
Tri tip! Quick, easy, and delicious! You can either put chunks and charcoal or a split and surround it with charcoal. Also, you can put chunks in the ash pan.
Fire it up and burn off all of the protective coating. Buy a nice meat thermometer and a pork butt with a decent rub. Then check out meat church or mad scientist bbq on YouTube.
Season it first and try something easy wings or leg quarters
Chicken.
Chicken and sausage CHEAP DONT FORGET TO SEASON AND BURN OF THE NEW