When I was a junior in college I made the venture to purchase a pellet grill. They were gaining popularity on the market, and were a lot of new manufacturers. I found one that seemed to have a good warranty, so I made the $600 venture to purchase one. I did a lot of research and found one that fit our needs and wasn’t too small or large for what we wanted to cook. If you are familiar with hot smoking meat you know that it takes time. Low and slow is the name of the game. Most of the cooking takes place between 4 and 18 hours. The longer cooks tend to be the larger cuts of meat like Pork Butts and Brisket.
As a college student, that was a lot of money. It was also our first wedding anniversary, so I didn’t mind spending the money. We were able to cook a lot of food for ourselves and our friends during college. I enjoyed hosting groups of people so that we could spend time together. I found out a while back that I need to ask people to bring a side, drink, or dessert. People seem to be happier attending if they feel like they are contributing to the meal. In this photo there are 3 chickens. I will occasionally cook chickens and clean the meat off the bones to use for sandwiches or soup. We also eat a lot of it plain with sauce. When smoking chicken, it takes a little practice to get the skin crisp, but keep the meat moist. This chicken can really be used for anything that takes chicken in the recipe. I think smoking really improves the flavor of any chicken dish.
Let me tell you, this has been my greatest outdoor cooking equipment purchase ever. There are no limits of what we can cook, and everything comes out good. We tend to cook at home during holidays, birthdays, and just for fun during the week. During my first year having it I cooked about 3 days per week. I used it more than I did my stove. I did quite a bit of cooking pork butts while I was gone in class, and overnight while I slept. Sleeping helps the time fly while doing these long 16+ hour cooks. I have cooked different items since I have been out of college, and have found people to hang out with on occasion. The photo is of raw Italian meatballs that I smoked for spaghetti subs. Also pictured are a couple spaghetti subs that a med student and I enjoyed. Garlic toasted Italian loaf with meatballs, spaghetti sauce, melted mozzarella and topped with Parmesan.
I have done quite a bit of pulled pork (Boston Butt) in my smoker. I wish I would have kept track, because I would guess it is about 100 of them so far in my smoker. I cooked for my friends in college, for my family when they come to our home, and for medical students. We have hosted Thanksgiving for our friends, and had double dates as well. For Thanksgiving we always try to cook a turkey. Smoking makes a really tender and juicy turkey, and awesome gravy. The real wood fired flavor is cooked right into the meat, creating a flavor that can’t be done in an oven. Pictured is a single chicken, not quite the size of a turkey, but just as delicious.
We cook other items like pizza, pie, steak and hot dogs. It has just been a really good time having for fellowship with others and having good food for ourselves. Owning a smoker has allowed us to spend time with people, getting to know them. We have shared numerous meals with friends and strangers and have grown closer to a lot of them.
The True Power
After owning a smoker for a couple years I would deem its greatest power is bringing people together. We have not had opportunities lately with COVID-19, but we like to share with others when possible. It has been different enough from what others normally eat to attract them to try out the food. We hosted most of our track team while in college. We had the opportunity to host Thanksgiving with 20+ medical students for 2019. Not only did this allow us to meet new people, and get to know our friends more, but we get to have more fellowship together. We get to relate to each other in conversation sharing our experiences. It is always a good time where students can relax and just have a good meal. Food brings people together, but good food makes for a better time.
You are an awesome cook. Thanks for posting!