Well, I answered my own question. Have had the 55 for a week now and I have done 5# of smoked dried venison (best I have ever had BTW), 37# of summer sausage (didn't know I was that talented), and I have a turkey in for the Christmas party tonight.
I left the dried vension for at least 18 hours with the door slightly open and it worked beautifully. I still have some work to do on the summer sausage but the flavor and dryness is perfect. The bottoms get alittle hot. I tried 12 inch casings on my last batch and definitely the way to go as they were cooked very evenly.
I really like the extra room that the 55 has over my older 008. BTW, I am in Minnesota and all of this has been done outside with the temperatures in the single digits.
Thanks again for the great information.
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