I only have one more thing to say, then I'll force myself to drop out of this discussion. Yes, smoking is a choice, and dying may be a consequence of that choice. But do they have the right to inflict on us the pain of watching them wither away with cancer, to grieve them even more knowing they could have prevented their own death, and to deal with the aftermath, such as unpaid medical bills because no one would cover them with insurance because of the illnesses caused by their choice of habits? My uncle's health insurance was cancelled due to the fact that he had reached the limit of coverage every year for three years. Of course, he couldn't get coverage anywhere else, because he had lung cancer. My aunt was left saddled with over $1,000,000 in hospital and doctor bills, and five kids to raise on her own. She had to declare bankruptcy, and her kids suffered because she could never really make enough money to support them. She finally remarried, and believe it or not, her SECOND husband died of lung cancer also. Luckily, all of her kids were away from home, but without his income, she almost lost her home and everything she owned. She's dying as we speak of emphysema from inhaling 30 years of second hand smoke. I have asthma from inhaling it from my father and from working in smoke filled offices. Do smokers have the right to inflict this on us? It may be their choice, but they leave us with no choice many times. I'm done ranting. Touchy subject for me.

Some great tips -- thanks, everyone! I do use the lump charcoal instead of the briquettes -- I think they burn much cleaner as well. And, I actually have two of those cable probe devices. I could easily use one for the meat and one as a general temperature gauge. Which could be especially helpful since I don't think that I'll get my husband to drill a hole in the lid in time. ;) I'm still concerned about how cold it's going to be -- we won't break out of the teens this weekend, so I may do this tomorrow during our heatwave of 30 degrees with a 50% chance of snow. I'll just have to really keep an eye on the fire and probably build it up more -- and if all else fails, I'll finish it in the pressure cooker. Good idea! I've thought about an electric smoker, but I really like smoking this way. Call me a purist or someone who just likes a challenge. LOL Saw this on the Epicurious site and may use it: For dry rub 3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper 3 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar 3 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons coarse salt 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 untrimmed boneless pork shoulder halves (also known as Boston butt; about 6 pounds total) For mop 1 cup apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup water 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper 1 tablespoon coarse salt 2 teaspoons vegetable oil 8 pounds (about) 100% natural lump charcoal or charcoal briquettes 6 cups (about) hickory wood smoke chips, soaked in cold water at least 30 minutes Thanks again for all the help and tips! I"m so hungry now!

Got an email about some sausage making supplies and casings. Instead of private, I chose to post the members question and my reply here: [This message originated at GardenWeb] Did you happen to catch the show I think it's called "Good Eats" with Alton Brown. He did a show about making sausages etc...I was just wondering if you saw it and your opinion on it. He use d collagen casings on his Italian sausages. Al My reply: Hello, No, I missed that show, but recall that he made a sausage show a while back. He used the meat grinder with attached stuffing nozzle to stuff the sausages as opposed to a separate stuffer. I use my meat grinder just for the meat grind, and then have a separate meat mixer where the spices are added as well as some water and liquid smoke (optional). Then. my stuffer is now motorized and allows me to fill 11 pounds of sausages per filling. The stuffer is vertical uses a big round piston and drive screw. http://www.texastastes.com/p39.htm Its a red frame with green color motor that takes the place of the hand crank. I bought it from a distributor called Weston Supply. They used to have these as well as professional meat slicers and when I was searching for them, Weston bad clearance sales that allowed me to get these for less than half the price. The method Alton used to stuff was to cut the pork into 1 inch pieces and then mix in the spices at that time. The stuffing was then done using a course cutter plate of about 1/2 inch. There are two types of collagen casings. The larger fibrous ones are inedible and are used for cured luncheon meats like salami, pepperoni, etc. The edible collagen casings are quite thin and are dry, and shrunken up (like an accordion) into a short tube length. I use a very small 1/2 inch diameter one for making pepperoni snack sticks, and my sausage stuffer labors greatly as its a lot of force to push meat into a 10 inch long 1/2 inch diameter tube. In any case the edible collagen comes in two colors, clear and brown (mahogany). Clear would be for things like breakfast and italian sausages. The mahogany color is for darker sausages like pepperoni and chorizo. I use mostly fresh (natural) sheep casings for my breakfast sausages as the cost for a hank of casings is a bit cheaper than the molded and edible collagen ones. Sheep and hog casings are not as consistent in their sizes or diameters. The natural casings also need to be rehydrated by soaking in water about 10 or more minutes. They last forever and are packed in course salt and refrigerated. Years ago, a whole hank of sheep casings (enough for about 150 pounds) cost only about $9. But today, they are way up there in price. At first, when I was making italian sausages years ago, I used supermarket type hog casings under the Hormel brand. These tended to be short pieces and had holes and were not sized very well, so you could get 1 inch to almost 2 inches in diameter in the same container. The holes in the casings were a real pain, but you found this out when they were rinsed and filled with water prior to the soaking. I used to see 2-5 foot lengths too, and that's not easy to deal with either when you stuffing 11 pounds of meat at one time. In any case, you can use either natural casings or the edible collagen ones for making italian sausages. I have some natural hog casings I bought which are slightly larger and properly sized for use in making Kielbasa. The sheep casings are used only for my breakfast sausages. Breakfast sausages use sage, ground black pepper, and coriander for its spices. For italian, I like adding lots of garlic, peppers, onions, and also fennel and even oregano, summer savory, or even hot red peppers.. For some, I mix in high melting point cheddar cheese. I also make brats with beer added (dried beer). The Kielbasa use lots of garlic, marjoram and also some whole mustard seeds. My grinder plates vary from smaller than 1/8 inch diameter holes to almost 3/4 inch holes. The pork fat is ground separate form the pork meat. I use a smaller plate for the pork fat, as it distributes better in a mix, than large chunks the same size as the pork meat. The sausage making suppliers sell dried beer, high temp cheddar cheese, dried peppers, and dried onions which are easier to deal with as they do not have extra water. The bottom line though, is to know exactly how much salt, herbs, and spices to add to the coarsely cut meat, as well as how much pork fat to use. Once its ground to the proper size, and salt and spices mixed in, I cook up a small piece to taste and see if it needs more or less salt or more herbs. You could end up with a bland sausage or an overly salty one if the recipe was not followed exactly. You don't have much control over the way the meat mixes with spices and salt while in the grinder and while its stuffing the sausage casings. That's the main reason I chose a separate stuffer and separate meat mixer device. Like every other recipe, it all goes back to your own taste preferences too. Beef fat should never be used in sausages. Pork fat can be refrozen without any concern about quality. Never use salt pork or pork fat back as these are cured and will melt away giving a wet sawdust texture. Ken

t-bob, Willard expands on what authentic Chipotle in the thread linked below. I don't have any experience with the Little Chief smoker. When I first started smoking peppers I warm/hot smoked small batches on my Big Green Egg. As I started smoking larger volumes I picked up a Bradley Smoker and continued to warm/hot smoke (the smoke element would heat up the smoker to 80F - 100F). A couple of years ago I picked up a Bradley cold smoke attachment and have cold smoked all my pods since then. I personally prefer hickory and pecan but have also had nice results with apple, cherry and maple. How long you smoke them for really boils down to your taste. I smoke mine between 2.5 to 3.5 hours. I finish by drying in a dehydrator set to 95F. Bill Here is a link that might be useful: Chipotle discussed This post was edited by ottawapepper on Tue, Sep 24, 13 at 16:36