The next response in my one question interview series comes from none other than Rod Gray of Pellet Envy. Rod is a household name among competition BBQ followers, so he really doesn’t need much in the way of introduction. He and his wife Sheri hail from Kansas City – long revered as one of America’s bastions of great BBQ. Named 2009′s best team in BBQ and hard at it cooking, competing, teaching, and spreading the good word about good ‘cue, the Pellet Envy team’s contribution to this series is very much appreciated.
If I could start over again, I would see my potential choices for my first smoker in action and ask the owner a few questions. This could probably be best done any Friday afternoon at a barbecue contest.
Some things to consider would be how much attention the cooker needs during the cooking process including during adverse weather conditions, what is the best fuel source for the cooker and how easily and cost effectively can I obtain that fuel, and what steps are needed to maintain and/or clean the smoker after each use? All of these have potential to effect your cooking experience and the frequency of use of you new pit, which ultimately can determine whether you improve your cooking or give up because the process is just way to involved to enjoy considering the free time you have.
If it’s too much time or trouble to cook on a pit, it’s a bad choice no matter what others are using.
Rod Gray
Thanks again, Rod. It’s hard to pin you guys down there at Pellet Envy, and I’m glad to have your response among those posted in this one question interview series! Folks, be sure to connect with Rod and Sheri on the Pellet Envy Website, find Pellet Envy on Twitter, and catch up with them on the Pellet Envy Facebook Page.
UPDATE: See responses we received from those interviewed here.
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Our next response comes from Scottie Johnson of the World Champion Cancer Sucks BBQ Team. We know him well from the post we wrote about Scotty and his BBQ team’s successes, as well as his work with the CancerSucksChicago.com effort to support the fight against cancer. Scottie continues to be one of the premier competitors on the KCBS competition circuit, and we’re fortunate to have his reply as part of our one question interview series about what he’d do differently if he had to buy his first BBQ Smoker setup again.
My first real smoker was a FEC-100 pellet cooker. Quite possible the best cooker that someone can buy. It’s big enough, it’s easy to use and it is consistent. But if I was just starting out the criteria that I would be looking for would be ease of use. Size of smoker for different cuts of meats. Cost of smoker. And the availability of getting wood, pellets, lump or charcoal. If you are looking at a stick burner, where would you get your wood from? Is it the right kind of smoker wood, ie hickory, oak, pecan? What about cost of buying wood, lump, etc.? All things you have to take in to account when buying a new smoker.
Scottie
Be sure to contribute as you can to the CancerSucksChicago.com cause. You can also find Scottie on his Cancer Sucks Chicago Facebook page and can connect with him via twitter as well.
UPDATE: See responses we received from those interviewed here.
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