Well, not quite new... I've had a small gas grill for years, but for my
birthday I got an electric smoker (Chargrill.) No, it ain't charcoal, but I
live in an apartment with a small patio so it will have to do.

Questions I have...
- do I have to worry about fire with this thing? I plan doing some things
that will take a while, like my beloved north carolina pulled pork. Can I
leave it unattended for a few hours?
- how bad is the smoke? I live on the top floor at least, but am I going to
get the neighbors either complaining about the smoke or coming by with paper
plates and saying it ain't real BBQ unless it's tri-tip?
- will it make decent Q?

Thank ya.

"Lurker Steve" wrote in message

Questions I have...
- do I have to worry about fire with this thing? I plan doing some things
that will take a while, like my beloved north carolina pulled pork. Can I
leave it unattended for a few hours?


Any electric appliance can start a fire. It is safer than any open flame
cookers. Follow what he manufacturer says about plugging it in and extension
coreds, if any are allowed. Think in terms of a space h eater for current
draw.



- how bad is the smoke? I live on the top floor at least, but am I going
to
get the neighbors either complaining about the smoke or coming by with
paper
plates and saying it ain't real BBQ unless it's tri-tip?
- will it make decent Q?

If the smoke is bad, you are doing it wrong. There is no need to have
billowing smoke in order to flavor the meat. Tiny wisp of smoke is plenty.
No visible smoke is even better.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

- how bad is the smoke? I live on the top floor at least, but am I going
to
get the neighbors either complaining about the smoke or coming by with
paper
plates and saying it ain't real BBQ unless it's tri-tip?
- will it make decent Q?

Thank ya.


Sure it will make "decent" Q. There are any number of famous Q joints that
use electric or gas and just add chips or chunks for flavor. I have made
lots of "decent" Q on a grill or in the oven. I have since moved to real
wood coals and the difference is amazing, but it sounds like you don't have
that as an option. Of course, many here will say that it ain't "real Q" if
it wasn't cooked over "real fire" (and on a purist level I tend to agree)
but I bet with some practice you can turn out some stuff that will at least
beat all the restaraunts I just mentioned.

As for the smoke, it depends. If you just put the meat in the unit and plug
it in you will get about the same kind of smoke as if you were to grill the
meat. The real smoke comes when you add chips or chunks. The more wood you
add the more smoke you are going to get. Smaller pieces will burn up quicker
as well. I would suggest using a few larger chunks and working from there.
You may not get as strong a flavor as you want to start with, but this is a
trial and error kind of thing. A few other things affect the amount and type
of smoke
1. how dry the wood is (and if you soak the wood)
2. temp of "fire"
3. kind of wood
one other thing to watch out for is that by introducing wood into the smoker
you increase the chance of having a real fire. If it gets hot enough the
wood will catch and can both create a fire hazzard and raise the temp in the
unit above a desired level.
One way to head this off is to wrap the chunks in foil and poke holes in it.
Keep an eye on it and have a fire exstinguisher handy.

have fun!
ag