Okay, someone talk me into buying a smoker

[Tab]

I don't have a lot of extra cash; I have a chronic illness; I love to cook. Help me make the argument to buy a smoker. Pleeeeeze, I'm begging you.

[BarbaRosa]

1. Do it.

[In_The_Wind]

2. I bought a indoor rotisserie grill after my husband overcooked things in the smoker.

just sayin'

[Major Nikon]

7. Smoking meats is not for the faint of heart

There is a fine line between slow cooking and leather production. That being said there are some things which are relatively easy to prepare in a smoker, provided the temperature can be controlled adequately. Pork ribs can be rubbed and smoked for 2-3 hours, then wrapped in aluminum foil, a braising liquid applied, and finished in the oven for 2-3 hours at a low temp. That method is mostly foolproof. Brisket can be prepared with the same basic method.

[zbdent]

3. I've tried smoked turkey, smoked salmon, smoked provolone ...

every damn one of them was too hard to keep lit long enough to enjoy ...

[boston bean]

4. We have a Weber smoker.

AND WE LOVE IT!

It's one of the bigger ones, but if it's just you, a smaller one would work great!

Now, I only taste what's been cooked on it, so I can't say much about cooking on it, from first hand experience at least.

But from watching and waiting, the most prep comes before plop your meat on the smoker. My husband bought a book that taught him everything thing he knows. I'll try to get the name of it for you.

[elleng]

6. Used a Baby Weber, YEARS ago,

and smoked bluefish, on our apartment balcony, as my future husband had a dream about smoking turkey there! Worked well, and as we had good crops of bluefish (from weekend trips to the Chesapeake,) was well worth it. The Baby Weber is long gone, tho.

[Inkfreak]

5. Wish I could send ya a sample of brisket.

I'm no cook. My wife is, professionally & at home. I usually stick to grilling cause I can't screw that up. However, I got a propane smoker from Cabella and it awesome. It's fairly easy really. I season the meat a day or two ahead of time. Then toss it in the smoker and wait it out. My wife makes a mopping sauce depending on the meat and I slather(love that word)it on to keep it from drying out.

Oh it's so awesome. I live up here in Oswego, NY. Not a decent BBQ joint around for miles. I don't bother with the Dinosaur BBQ up in The 'Cuse cause of lines and its a bit overrated. This smoker is a huge benefit to us for that reason. I don't think you'll be dissatisfied if you enjoy cooking & BBQ.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. How handy are you?

My son made one of these. It works great. After years of use, the burner burned out. The new one has been bought, but is not yet installed.

Alton Brown made this famous. There are now tons of hits in a google search for "Alton Brown Flower Pot Smoker"

http://www.instructables.com/id/Flower-Pot-Smoker-Improved-Lid/#intro

[MrMickeysMom]

9. I'm on my second Weber smoker, nothing fancy...

The first one I spent $100 bucks on, the same one 12 years later cost $325. It's worth it because I love the result, plus you can smoke lots of things at once, then have all sorts of dishes for the week.

I get me some cut wood, I get some hickory chips, mesquite and apple wood chips, some charcoal, heat me up some water, and I have a smoked turkey in 3 hours after an over-night brine.

The wonderful thing is that it's versatile and chicken breasts or turkey or anything else you wish to smoke is so delicious and the ritual of doing it brings you around "the campfire to ponder the world in its glory. That's got to be good for the soul.

[Major Nikon]

10. I'm smoking a rack of beef back ribs today

I smoked them for 3 hours over hickory, glazed them, wrapped them, and am now braising them in the smoker for 3 more hours. I'll finish them on the grill.