First time smoker

Hi all
Name is Nick from Stoke on trent.
First encounter with proper bbq food was on my last trip to the states. Knew it was something I really needed to get into. Thought I'd give it a crack myself rather than wait for a place to open nearby, so took delivery of my proQ excel this week.

First off, packaging was great and everything arrived without a scratch.

Gave it a first smoking to get rid of any unwanted items last night.

First real smoke was tonight, possibly not the best night to try it out, what with the sleet and rain, but what the hell, one whole chicken with rub recipe from the supplied booklet.
Wife and I agreed was the best chicken we'd ever cooked.

Totally hooked, will be trying a pork shoulder next, cant wait.

Welcome Nick!

Probably not the best time to start smoking in the UK but what the hell - love the enthusiasm :-)

Welcome Nick! - It's totally addictive and the 1st sign of a serious case is when you start to take pictures of your food

Speaking of which



4 hours on the dot, I think maybe the sleet slowed me down a little . Doing three chickens tomorrow for visiting family with the Simon and Garfunkel rub. Smells fantastic.

One question I have is that we are planning a housewarming. Im looking to cook 2 pork shoulders the day before and 4 chickens on the day. Will I lose a noticeable amount of flavour in the shoulders if I cook them the day before and keep them in the fridge overnight, rather than me having to get up at 4 am to start the cooking?

Assuming that you are planning on pulling the pork, in my limited experience, you will gain flavour by doing it the day before.

I generally cook my shoulders the day before, and fully prepare them - let them stand in a insulated box for a while, then pull them, sauce them and pack them into foil trays. I then either put a lid on the trays or bag them up, and leave in the fridge overnight.

Next day, remove bags/lids, give pork a stir and add a little more sauce if necessary - you'll be surprised how much is absorbed by the meat. Then reheat to a safe temperature, either in a conventional oven or in your BBQ/Smoker.

Not only does this take a lot of pressure off - you no longer have to worry about the shoulders being done in time for when people want to eat - I am fairly convinced that the meat always tastes better the next day. If you put a little to one side when you are preparing it, for "chef's supper", you'll be able to do the comparison yourself.

Thanks for the reply Chris. Will certainly save me a lot of hassle on the day.