Girlfriend received a 3 rack propane smoker for her birthday.
I have never smoked anything before.
Tips\Tricks? Any slamdunk first run recipes to try? There are thousands on the web, so I am looking for a shortcut to meaty goodnees.
Thanks,
I love doing country style ribs on myne, I do a dry rub, usually takes about 12 beers. I do an apple smoke. Not really a recipe for you but something I love on the smoker! Keep an eye on temperature if it doesn’t have the temp setting control because it can be rather difficult to dial in for the right temperature. 
Here’s one:
For your smoking you will need some chunks of dry fruitwood or pecan or hickory. Also, pick up aluminum foil, some apple juice, a quality pre-made BBQ rub, bbq sauce and some brown sugar.
Ribs:
Get some nice St. Louis Cut or Baby Back ribs. Trim off any excess fat on the top, flip them over and use a butter knife to peel the membrane off that runs along the backside of the bones. Rub them with a generous amount of your rub.
Heat your smoker to 275. Maintain consistent temperature throughout the smoking process (this is key)
Put your ribs in bones down and let them smoke for 2 hours, you want to get a nice crust on them.
Then make a double layer foil package for them by laying two pieces of foil down about 18″ long (you want to seal up the ribs nice and tight.) Put the ribs on the foil and then pour 3-4 ounces of apple juice under the bones in the packet. Sprinkle a handful of brown sugar on top of the ribs plus a little more rub. Now seal the package up tight by rolling the sides and crimping the top.
Put your foiled ribs back in the smoker for 3 hours. Check them at 3 hours for tenderness. Crack open the package and push on the meat with your finger, it should be nice and tender. If you want them softer you can let them go for up to 4 hours (then they start to fall apart)
Pull the foil package(s) out of your smoker and carefully save the delicious mixture of apple juice, pork fat, brown sugar and rub that is in the bottom of the packet. You can later mix this with your sauce or serve it by itself to dip the ribs in, it’s incredible.
At this point your ribs have smoked for 5 hours. Now you want to brush them with a coating of bbq sauce (or the mix from above) and put them back in the smoker, bone down, for another hour to let a crust develop.
Pull the ribs after that last hour and let them rest for a few minutes. If done right these will be some of the best ribs you have ever had.
Also, keep the smoker closed when you are foiling and defoiling your ribs. This will keep a lot of heat in. Remember the old bbq saying, if you’re lookin you ain’t cookin’!
For jerky a good way to start out is by using high mountain jerky cure. Gander sells it and the directions are easy to follow. I have never had a bad batch and I’ve made about 40 plus batches this past winter. There’s allot of different flavors to choose from I’ve tried just about all of them and liked em all. Good luck
Its her smoker,have her do it………..lol
Check out this place for Supplies. http://www.quetopiabbq.com/
Quetopia BBQ Supply 5757 Sanibel Dr. Unit #8, Minnetonka, MN 55343 PH 952-405-8495. They have rubs, sauces and woods. Also Try http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html for recipies and tips. Enjoy your new machine. Best bought rub I like is Made by Plow Boys BBQ and called Yard Bird. Works great on Chicken and pork.
Have fun.
The secret is SLOW and LOW. Temps of 230 to 240 for a long time. And a Texas crutch always helps. 
I just did my first smoke ever last weekend and it was baby back ribs. I have an electric smoker and they turned out awesome. I used the 2-2-1 method. 2 hours at 225F with hickory smoke, foil for 2 hours and then 1 hour with no smoke and no foil. They turned out great. I started friday night, pull off the membrane on the ribs, put yellow mustard on the ribs and then add the rub. Put in fridge overnight. Next day I started the smoker at noon and was eating by 5:30. Lots of things to smoke and choose from. Im hooked. Good Luck
I do mine a little differently for the added smoke flavoring and deeper smoke ring.
Fall off the bone – not competition method
(I use a charcoal/wood ILO gas)
American Cherry – dry chunks for cooking/added to a 50% charcoal/wood mix.
I add a hand full of soaked chips every hour for the fist 2.
Night before prep:
Remove menbrane on inside and only remove the excess fat. Don’t trim it all.
Rub with seasoning to your desire. I like a hotter cajun kick to them and use a lot of blacken. If you think you have enough rub, add MORE. Wrap in cellophane and in the fridge over night.
Morning – set out on counter for a couple hours for room temp. (while starting up the smoker)
Smoke @ 225 for 2 hours
Open up and re-arrange as needed for even smoking – 1 additional hour (3 total)
Place racks of ribs in a deep aluminum baking tray (I get the turkey sized)
Add 2 cups of pure Apple Cider – I don’t use juice
Cover tight with aluminum foil and in the oven at 230 for 2 hours.
20 minutes before they are doner, I dump my charcoal/wood from the smoker tray into my Webber grill. Add more dry and get it blazing. Smother out the flame and add the ribs meat down on the grill – and cover. 10 minutes, I flip them over to bone down and let the grill heat back uncovered. If it flames up, I’ll cover. Maybe 5 to 10 minutes and done. If someone wants sauced ribs, I’ll add a HONEY based sauce NEVER VINAGER BASED!!! and bast/heat on grill and serve.
Dam, now my mouth is watering for ribs……
Go to AMAZINGRIBS.COM Everything you could want to know.
^^^^ What he said.
The simplest and cheapest way to start is to buy a chicken or two. Now you could brine them or brine one and not the other to see which way you prefer, but you do not have to brine. You could inject them if you want, but again to be simple you dont have to. Just toss them on let the smoker do its work.
I do suggest you get a wireless temp setup. Put the probe in the meat and you can keep an eye on the meats temp without having to open the smoker and check temps. Resist the urge to open it every time to want to check on it, it isn’t like your grill you don’t have to open it every 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Quote:
The simplest and cheapest way to start is to buy a chicken or two. Now you could brine them or brine one and not the other to see which way you prefer, but you do not have to brine. You could inject them if you want, but again to be simple you dont have to. Just toss them on let the smoker do its work.
I do suggest you get a wireless temp setup. Put the probe in the meat and you can keep an eye on the meats temp without having to open the smoker and check temps. Resist the urge to open it every time to want to check on it, it isn’t like your grill you don’t have to open it every 5 minutes. Enjoy!
X2 on check them!! I have a digital probe that I stick into the lid of the smoker. I check the temp and never open it! 
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