moflicky

Young Frankenstein is in my top 10 movies all time. saw it in the theater when it came out. He was a treasure. DAMN YOUR EYES! -- too late.

Update: Classic II assembled and ready to cook on. the walls of my brick enclosure are not too tall for the wings, but close enough that I have to take them off to raise or lower them - no problem. really excited to start cooking. made a trip to costco and got two racks of ribs, a butt and a prime brisket. the butt is for later - in the deep freeze. the ribs are for practice this week and the brisket is for a friends and family cookout next saturday. it's been a long time... my akorn rusted out about 3 years ago and I've been dying to get back into the low and slow game.

that answers my question. thanks for the quick answer. the landscape block wall enclosure will not be wide enough or short enough for the wings to open up easily, so I was hoping to be able to set it sideways, stand and cook over the side wall and open at least one of the side tables. the walls themselves have plenty of room to set things, so it's not a big deal - I was just thinking out loud. about the possibilities.

hey all, I just ordered a Joe Classic II from costco. should be here in a few weeks. I was wondering if it's possible to rotate the lid 90 degrees. I won't bore you with the specifics, but it has to do with the wall block enclosure I want to put it in. I'd like the lid to open from the side while still having full access to the air vent at the bottom/front. can I just loosen the bolts on the lower ring and rotate the lid? thanks a ton!

Nice work!

Nice find! But 5 hours? lol. 12 at least, 18 is better. :-)

table top model? if you're only grilling a couple steaks or burgers, this seems like a much better option.

I'm not a doctor or a scientist, but it wouldn't stop me from eating it. the amount of vapor off a tiny bit of melted plastic probably wouldn't be poisonous if you somehow consumed every bit of it - in this case, 99.9% of the vapor went out the top vent, just like 99.9% of your smoke. ymmv. EDIT: The only thing I'd be worried about is taste - but again, once you pull it and mix it up, I'm sure no one will notice.

My akorn butts, ribs and briskets are every bit as good as those done by several friends who have BGEs. I could just be a better cook, but I doubt it. It's the difference between driving a Kia and an Audi. Is the ceramic nicer? you bet. Is it better quality? sure. will it last longer? probably, as long as you don't drop it. It's also harder to move around if it doesn't have a permanent spot. Just depends on what you want. If you want ceramic and can afford the extra bucks, get it. If you don't miss the money, I'm sure you won't regret your upgrade. on the other hand, 2 or 3 hundred bucks can buy a lot of pork and lump. :-)

As far as rubs, marinades and seasonings for bbq, I've never gotten bad advice from Meathead. amazingribs.com great site.

An expert level smoker right out of the box.... a lot of folks will be jealous. :-) Welcome!

for low and slow, I recommend a decent thermometer. they're not dirt cheap, but amazon has the Maverick 732 for $60. you might find it cheaper if your google fu is strong. it monitors meat and bbq temps remotely.

re "how much lump to use" - fill it up. They're usually fairly air tight right out of the box so you can close up the vents when you're done and it will be extinguished in a half hour or so, leaving you with a good start on the next cook. If it's not going out with all vents closed, there are topics in this forum describing how to make it more air tight.

I did the same thing with the legs on mine - 3 or 4 years ago. they should put stickers on them... :-) welcome to the club!

as everyone else says, fill 'er up. on a low and slow but (sometimes as long as 16 hours) I'll use a little over half of what I put in. eight hour brisket, about half of that gets used. my firebox is smaller than most because I use a spread steel basket instead of the bare firebox, but it's not that much less.