Got a ton of response during the past week to my story about how I lost my mind over cooking with my backyard smoker.

John Weiss of Spring Hill writes:

Jeff:
Great piece in today’s Trib on smoking and smokers.  My salivary glands were in overdrive the whole time and I think I’ve got to try this, but first . . .
My limited experience with vertical (vs offset) smokers is that when the heat source is below the meat the temp gets higher than many enthusiasts like, i.e., when the heat is high enough to produce smoke, it’s too high for slow cooking.  What kinds of temp were you able to hold during smoking?  You mentioned a few, but I wasn’t clear if you were able to hold at, for instance, 165 or if the temp eventually rose to 185 or even higher over time.  Was it possible to hold a constant temp at all?  All those guys on Food TV really value keeping a constant temp.
Also, you didn’t mention spareribs in your feature.  Surely you’ve done what many consider to be the king of BBQ.  How were they?
That’s it.  Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I’m looking forward to your next feature on rubs, marinades and smoke secrets.  Hah.

No, I did not mention spare ribs. That’s because I haven’t had a chance to try them yet.

Not to worry, John. I shall. Oh yes, they will be mine! [cue evil scientist laughter]

Then came this note from reader Jay Taylor:

Morning Jeff:

You have only touched the surface with your “smoker’s obsession”.  If you really want to see some people with a “problem” you barely touched on the “cult” with your mention of the Big Green Egg (BGE).  You have nothing on us EggHeads! 

I have been an owner of the BGE since January of 2002, when I bought my first Egg.  It not only has turned out some of the best food I have ever eaten, but it has introduced me to a whole new set of friends from across the country.  When we get together at an “EggFest” it’s better than most family reunions.  The next Florida EggFest will be held March 16, 2008, in Ocala.

Here is a picture of some pork butts I did a couple of months ago.  There are three still shown on the Egg, the fourth is on the counter in the upper right corner of the picture.

This picture is of the outdoor kitchen at my home in Brandon that I created to hold my collection of Eggs.  It will be getting a workout this Friday evening as I will be hosting my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner.  The menu will include pulled pork, wings, ABTs, corn soufflé and baked beans, all of which will be cooked on the Eggs.

For even more pictures of the amazing array of food that has been prepared on the Egg check out the BGE forum.  Tuesday is a very good day to see pictures as that is Woosday (picture day) on the forum.

Note to self: Go to Eggfest in March to see this addiction firsthand.

I also got a nice note from Pete Rennick:

Jeff,

My wife and I have been reading the Tampa Tribune since 1984 and your Smoker article is the most fun food article I remember reading in it.

You got me all excited about getting the smoker out of the garage and trying a pork butt on Memorial Day. From the article I see that you already know about Cooks Illustrated. If you do not have their hard-cover bound annual collections going back to the early 90’s and get an updated full index every year then you might want to subscribe to their web site. They truly have a treasure trove of recipes and cooking-related information. As a guy I like the way they methodically analyze each recipe to move it closer to the ideal of each dish.

You may not know about Penzeys: http://www.penzeys.com/. They are the best source for spices and seasonings (rubs too). While you can order their stuff online you don’t get the full product descriptions unless you get their catalog. They regularly mail their catalog and we just mark it up and order online.

Request their catalog here.

In the early 70’s a friend gave us a one pound bag of Tellicherry black peppercorns and we have been using Tellicherry ever since. It is the best black pepper. Penzeys even offers an extra bold Tellicherry that contains just the very best of the Tellicherry peppercorns. I only recently tasted this and it is fantastic.

There is a good explanation of black pepper types, and Tellicherry in particular, here and here.

My wife thinks you must already know about Penzeys but I want to be sure you do.

I had not heard about Penzeys, but after Pete’s note, I logged on and ordered a catalog. Sure enough, it came in a day or so.