I just finished carving the 3rd 2009 Thanksgiving turkey and I’m getting better at this every time! Two of the three were smoked in my Wal-Mart economy vertical gas rig and the last in a New Braunfels wood-fired vertical with a side firebox – nevermind the brick, we’ll get to that later. I’ll gladly admit using the stick burner was a lot more fun albeit more work since I was up every so often feeding it logs to keep the temperature where I wanted it.
The gas rig is by far the easiest way to go. I’ve never used an electric rig but I can’t imagine it being very much different than a gas smoker except you wouldn’t have to deal with keeping a gas bottle charged up for use. One trick I’ve learned over the last few smokes with my gas burner is to use chunks instead of chips in the tinderbox of these non-wood-fired boxes. I’ve found Chunks to be the better way to go mainly because they will produce a better head of smoke than chips and won’t burn out nearly as fast in a gas or assumably electric environment. I’ve heard that your temperature is also somewhat easier to control with an electric rig – there’s very little variance between not hot enough and too hot with the gas box! Gas and electric rigs also are really nothing more than outdoor ovens with optional smoke. With wood-fired rigs you don’t have much of a choice about your product being bathed in smoke for its entire stay in your cooker.
One thing is for sure, neither of these two verticals will hold more than one turkey at a time or at most 6 slabs of ribs so I’m on a mission before the next holiday season – UPGRADE! I’m thinking for my next smoker, something with wheels and a trailer hitch. What I want can’t be bought in a store, I’ll have to build it myself. Everyone has seen those home-made rigs that are built out of an old gas container with a firebox on the end – I want to take it a step further and have a choice of either gas or wood and, a mounted burner for crawfish boils, fish frying and such. Basically a rolling outdoor kitchen. I have this crazy idea of taking a little 5×8 trailer I already own and building a wooden deck, complete with rails! I know – it sounds crazy but it would be unique!
