I agree with Alexa. A thermometer is worthwhile. I have had both electric and charcoal smokers. The electric is more convenient, but the charcoal gives better flavor IMO and is worth the slight amount of fussiness it takes to maintain the right temp. Best piece of advice I can give is to avoid the temptation to look at the food cooking. You may need to do so a couple of times during the cooking, but every time you take off the lid the system cools dramatically and it takes a good while to get back up to cooking temps. As far as wood goes, I really like pecan. You can use pecan shells if you have access to them. Hickory is good, but a little stronger than pecan. I used to live near an apple orchard; apple wood is great, too. I don't care too much for mesquite, but that's just me. Another trick is to put something fatty on the top rack and something that needs basting on the bottom rack. My dad used to do a pork roast on the top rack and as it cooked it dripped fat onto a turkey on the bottom rack. I've done ribs on the top rack dripping on to chickens on the bottom. Delish. I found I could smoke about 6 whole chickens at once. (They make little wire racks that make the chickens sit upright during the smoking, and that does make for a more efficient use of space. I found them worthwhile.) What I would do is smoke them, and then store them in individual freezer ziploc bags. Use a soda straw to evacuate as much air as possible, then seal them and freeze them. When you wanted a quick and yummy dinner, just take a frozen bird in its plastic bag, open the bag and put a couple of ounces of water or white wine in the bird's cavity, and microwave it in the bag for a few minutes till reheated. If you take the smoked chickens and take the meat off the bones, the meat makes a fantastic chicken salad; save the skin and bones, though, and you can make an incredibly rich and flavorful chicken stock that would jack up the flavor of many dishes like beans, soups, etc. What's really nice is that the cooking times are not written in stone, and slightly overcooking the stuff will not ruin it since it's a very moist environment. Another plus is that most of the work is done 3 or 4 hours (or more) prior to serving food. Once you load the smoker and get everything going, it really doesn't take much attention at all--in fact, most of the time it's better to leave it the heck alone. That means that if you're entertaining a bunch of people, you have time to check on everything else without worrying about the main dish. Much less stressful than, say, grilling a bunch of steaks for a crowd.

We almost always have leftovers of anything we do. So the freezer gets an accumulation of poor man's vac bags (fill zip lock, straw, suck, zip) of pulled pork, brisket, wings, bacon explosions slices, etc. Then, every now and then, it is clear out the freezer day and the meal is all thse assorted bits of bbq/smoker product with slaw, potato salad and (hopefully) corn on the cob. Like Chase, there is generally a couple or three of different sauces. We heat the sauces up and serve in bowls, you just take a chunk of whatever Q is on the platter, swipe it through the sauce of choice and go from there. We call it the BBQ Buffet and if I mention we are having it all the kids, their friends and a couple of our adult friends start angling to be there.

Thank you Teresa. I checked the Max Burton website but, even though I knew the Cameron was similar (somewhat heavier, I think), I didn't look at their website. This gives me something to go on. I'll try the salmon recipe ASAP. Maybe someone else has used these ''smokers'' also and will drop a note. I'd appreciate anything else you remember doing. Sandra

So sad. I feel she is looking down her nose at you as a stinky ex-smoker. You must be banned, you are the devil! I would just stay quiet on the matter. Ignorance is bliss and don't give her any more opportunity to talk down to you. A grandparents love and knowledge they pass down is more important than squabbling over bloody carpet. I feel for you really. My inlaws sound the same as your DIL's mum. They visibly used to crinkle their noses and sneer when my mum went outside for a cigarette, come back in change her top and wash her hands and teeth and then cuddle my first born. They even got to me a bit and I mentioned it to my mum who was very hurt understandably. Having four children now, I stick up for myself a lot. And just go quiet and change conversation when I see ' the face' starting to form. I agree with the poster who said, it's weird DIL's allergies only come on in your house when they have two Labradors one of the worst breeds of dog for shedding continuously, year round and they have a double coat so there is a lot of dander too. False objections There is a lot out there these days to hurt our children. Diesel particulates from being in a pushchair next to a road right in the line of the exhausts. Mobile phones and the masts, coal and nuclear power. Foods, poisons that leach into our water. Even fluoridation of water. At some point we all have to die. That's the only guarantee in this life. Life spent worrying and holding back is not really the way I'd like my one chance to go. This is a tense time so I'd lay low. Wait till baby is here and just get involved. After all, it's not like baby will be with you a lot of the time any dangers that are perceived are so low frequency. Sounds like this baby needs you in his or her life to inject a dose of reality and not 'bubble' or 'sugarcoat' things. i am a non smoker, have never smoked Hate it. But I think you are being made into a bit of a scapegoat hereHave just read your update above. How bloody sad. I wouldn't let this happen if I were you. Swallow your pride and make yourself part of that baby's life. Why should that woman get things all her way. Like you say, well planned. Perfectly executed. Set the seeds and walk away and you end up looking like the awkward one while she gets to coo over your grandson. Please, do not let this carry on. Call your son and meet somewhere and take things slowly but go from there. Your son needs you too.