Unfortunate lesson from a new user

I'm so sorry to hear that! I have been following your updates on it's arrival and was looking forward to your reaction to the smoker IN ACTION. Not this!

How smashed is the cooker? Must have been some sorry handling to smash a cookshack. Sounds like MY mailman. Been waiting on a check from Dollar General for some electrical work I did 2 months ago and when it finally came it was literally HALF a check. He wraps all the mail in rubber bands and then yanks it out real quick when he's at a stop. I guess the other half is in his floorboard.

quote:

Originally posted by cronyism sucks:
I'm so sorry to hear that! I have been following your updates on it's arrival and was looking forward to your reaction to the smoker IN ACTION. Not this!

How smashed is the cooker? Must have been some sorry handling to smash a cookshack. Sounds like MY mailman. Been waiting on a check from Dollar General for some electrical work I did 2 months ago and when it finally came it was literally HALF a check. He wraps all the mail in rubber bands and then yanks it out real quick when he's at a stop. I guess the other half is in his floorboard.

Well, I'm afraid this one is on Cookshack. I'd like to blame UPS, but there was no apparent damage to the box and the foam packing was intact.

Now I suppose this could be UPS. I suppose that the UPS driver could have unpacked the smoker, taken off all the packing material, unscrewed the top cover plate from the smoker, inflicted the damage, put everything back together, seal it up like it was in the original packaging, then delivered it to me.

Couldn't be more disappointed. So much for Made in USA.

I'm sorry to hear about your oven being damaged. Give me a call (800) 423-0698 here in Customer Service so I can get it taken care of.

Bill

quote:

Originally posted by ARiSAR:
Now I suppose this could be UPS. I suppose that the UPS driver could have unpacked the smoker, taken off all the packing material, unscrewed the top cover plate from the smoker, inflicted the damage, put everything back together, seal it up like it was in the original packaging, then delivered it to me.

Couldn't be more disappointed. So much for Made in USA.

Sorry about your problems, but come on, get some perspective. You sound like someone killed your puppy. CS will take care of the issues to your satisfaction I'm sure.

I've been following your posts and maybe the AmeriQue was the right decision in the first place. However, my 009 arrived last week, without any damage and smoked 2 boston butts to perfection. 4 large butts would have fit without any problems at all but if I had it all over to do again I might just have ordered the AmeriQue but then there's only the two of us.

Guys & Gals -- You keep mentioning the 008/009 and the AmeriQue, which are both great units. Now, if the 008/009 seems a tad too small and you jst don't want to pop the $$$ for the AmeriQue, there is always the 50/55 series . These (I "think") are the same size as the AmeriQue but without all the bells-n-whistles electronics. They are definitely bigger than the 008/009.

Just a thought!

quote:

Originally posted by Dodge1:
I've been following your posts and maybe the AmeriQue was the right decision in the first place. However, my 009 arrived last week, without any damage and smoked 2 boston butts to perfection. 4 large butts would have fit without any problems at all but if I had it all over to do again I might just have ordered the AmeriQue but then there's only the two of us.

You might be right on the Amerique. The 009 is REALLY dinky... I'm still wondering how someone would do 2 butts on it. I guess you've got to flatten them out a bit, and use the top 2 grates. Maybe I'll get a friend to redo the side rails to better accommodate just 2 grates with more space in between.

I talked with Bill today and he's sending out another unit. Hopefully I'll have it early next week. The ribs I had thawed for this week will end up as (yuck) oven ribs, since I don't want to re-freeze them. The good news is, I have a butcher right down the road who has BB ribs right now for $3.49/lb, spares for $1.99 and "Curly" ribs for $2.99. (Curly ribs are a Brand name of St. Louis cut spares)

I don't get how you keep calling the Smokette 'dinky'. Yes, it is a small smoker, but I wouldn't say 'dinky'. If you hate it so much, why didn't you just demand your money back or put it toward a SuperSmoker or AmeriQue ? Your insistent posts about how awful the Smokette is are starting to sound childish.

I can get 4 butts in my Smokette easily. Regular size butts. Not dinky butts. Also, my Smokette continues to put out the best Q me or any family or friends can get. Yours can too, if you will just give it a chance.

quote:

Originally posted by GLH:
I don't get how you keep calling the Smokette 'dinky'. Yes, it is a small smoker, but I wouldn't say 'dinky'. If you hate it so much, why didn't you just demand your money back or put it toward a SuperSmoker or AmeriQue ? Your insistent posts about how awful the Smokette is are starting to sound childish.

I can get 4 butts in my Smokette easily. Regular size butts. Not dinky butts. Also, my Smokette continues to put out the best Q me or any family or friends can get. Yours can too, if you will just give it a chance.

"Keep Calling..." I'm not quite sure what you mean by this, since I only said it once.

I haven't yet had a chance to cook on mine, but my initial look at it didn't seem to show how I could cook multiple butts. To me, there doesn't seem to be enough space to cook them, but I'd be pleasantly surprised to know differently.

Please share your experience with me as to how you cook multiple butts. I would welcome that knowledge.

And I didn't say it was awful. What I said was that the one that was delivered to me sucked.

Since you want to be specific, then I will be also: The cart that was delivered was top-notch. Excellent quality. The Cooker looked like it was made by someone in a junior high-school welding class.

When I finally get mine, I certainly hope that it cooks better than it looks.

Any more questions?

The smokette will do 4 decent sized butts quite nicely. You have to realize that after about 2 hours in the smoker, the shrinkage is quite noticeable. Apply the rub to the butts, put two butts on each grate and then push them together on the grates. From my limited experience, it does not seem to matter that the butts are touching each other when you load it up. They shrink up pretty fast. I use the packs from Costco, which are boneless. I will sometimes tie them like a rolled roast. That keeps them in a more uniform shape.

As for the racks, I have started putting the side rack guides on the upper setting, then using the bottom rack and the middle rack for the butts. Works great!

In reference to the AQ, I think the difference is the width of the grates. The AQ is several inches wider. The 050/055 series is a "vertically enhanced" smokette. Same width, just a little taller and a higher wattage heater.

I must admit, when mine came, my first thought was "whoa, this is tiny". After a little experience, you can get a lot in there.

Depending on the physical dimensions of the butts you can do three to six.

This works for me, not a recipe, just a suggestion to try.

For 1, put in middle rack, for two, put one in middle rack right and 1 on upper rack left (smoke/air flow).

You may be able to fit two on any rack, they'll touch if they're big, but like Dale said they're shrink, and NO BBQ law about meat touching.

If they're so big, 1 per rack (8 to 9+ lbs) then the third one can go on the bottom fat side down. The fat does NOT have to be on top to "drip down" through the meat (urban legend) and putting it fat side down let's it take the direct heat since it's close to the element. With three I offset them from each other to help with smoke/air flow.

I think the cookette is just right for the average home or party use. Who cooks more then 8lbs for a family anyway. I find that many time people want overkill

Yep. I don't care if my neighbor or in laws have a bigger smoker. They don't know how to cook on them.

What's the difference if you put two 4 pound pieces together or use one eight pounder.

quote:

Originally posted by Arthur:
What's the difference if you put two 4 pound pieces together or use one eight pounder.

None, if you tie them together so they act as one mass, but any gaps, openings will be where the heat goes in and they will cook a little faster if more surface is exposed to heat.

ARiSAR, I saw that you have already received a replacement smoker from CS. Sorry for your initial problems, but looks like CS came through in their usual fashion; quick and friendly. Hope your smoking goes well. I always knew your customer service issues would be resolved promptly.

Yep, so far so good. Almost seasoned.

First cook will be ribs... probably Baby Backs. Local butcher has them for $3.49.

Your first cook should be a big fatty pork butt or shoulder to finish getting the smoker seasoned up well and to get to know how it cooks a little !

Well, the timing isn't quite right for a pork butt, so I compromised and got spares instead of Baby Backs. Nice fatty spares and I won't trim any, just let it all render.

It sure is nice not having to spend an hour or so letting my Gator Pit stick burner get to temp, or even 45 minutes firing up my WSM.

I think this little Smokette is gonna be just the ticket.

ARiSAR -- You will be amazed at how much time you save using the Cookshack! On those long smokes you can relax & even sleep through the night knowing that "Old Faithful" is doing its job.

So much to smoke & so little time!