tgstrang
Full Fledged Farker
Well, here she is! I have to say this is absolutely the coolest thing I have ever owned. I flew down to Birmingham on Thursday and met my cousin who was down there for business. He picked me up at the airport and headed over to Tuscaloosa to pick up my smoker. I ordered a trailer model without having a truck :crazy: to tow it. My plan had been to buy a truck at the end of this quarter when I get my bonus but looks like I'll be buying one on Monday or Tuesday (more on that later). Anyway, I know it's been said time and time again (and there's a reason for that) but Paul and Tyler and the whole Shirley crew are amazing people who build an amazing smoker. They are first class all the way, not a single corner was cut or single detail was missed on this smoker. It is an absolute tank! Oh and aside from building a great smoker, they are just awesome people as well. We left Tuscaloosa around 4pm and drove back here to St. Louis. This is a heavy smoker and she pulled like a champ the whole way home. My cousin parked her in the garage and headed back to his house in Indianapolis the next morning (he was so impressed he'll be ordering his this week). Even my wife (who puts up with my BBQ obsession but could really care less about every detail of a smoker) was overly impressed. She couldn't believe how cool it is. Now, I knew the smoker was going to be heavy, but man this thing is a tank....it's heavy duty. Next time we have a tornado, the hell with the basement...I'm just going to go out to the garage and crawl in the main chamber. Anyway, on flat ground I can lift the tongue end and maneuver it around but once it hits my driveway which is on the slightest of inclines (like 1%) I can't move it. In fact, it moved me.....all the way into the grass when I pulled out to season it. I totally under estimated the weight and once it hit my driveway she started pushing me towards my grass until I could get her stopped. It was never out of hand or anything but it was an eye opener that I'm not going to be able to pull it in and out of my garage by myself like I had planned. When I got it stopped I was like "well I guess this is where I'm going to season her then". My wife came outside and asked me what I was going to do if I couldn't get it in and out of the garage? I said "Well I guess I'll be buying a truck on Monday". She rolled her eyes and went back inside. I seasoned her up (sprayed ever inch with cooking spray) with some hickory and an "extra spicy" naked fatty Came up to temp in about 30-40 minutes and held temps like a champ. It was so easy to run. My buddy came by when I was done and we tucked her back in my garage. I can't tell you how excited I am to have this thing. IMHO there is not a finer smoker on the market than a Shirley Fab and I am really proud to own this cooking machine! Thanks again Paul and Tyler! Anyway, enough of my babbling....here is the pron:
