Great thread! I've posted these elsewhere on 2p2, but can't resist. Looking forward to some BBQ advice from those with more experience.
After watching too many food shows on TV, I was anxious to be able to BBQ. My husband went to work building a smoker.
Smoker Version 1: The box is the same in all versions. It's a cafeteria milk dispenser that my husband converted into a smoke box. Version 1 was heated by a cast iron wood stove we had around. It worked great, but heat was very very difficult to control:
Brisket and smoked corn from version 1: Brisket wasn't smoked long enough to get as tender as it should have.
Smoker Version 2: He converted to a propane heater to which he added a wood box over the flame. Temp held perfect at 230. Unfortunately, there was no shut off or anything on the propane, so it wasn't exactly the safest set up.
We're now on version 3, with a new propane barrel grill with added safety features. He's still tweaking, so I'll post pictures when it's done.
Pork Butt from Version 2: This came out awesome, fall apart tender. A little crusty. We didn't do anything to it. It probably should have been mopped.
We threw some beef ribs on with dry rub on Friday. They were a revelation. I had no idea I could like ribs that much.
I have a brisket in the freezer. Any suggestions? How many hours in the smoker? Foil or no foil? Mop? I'd really like to improve on the first effort.