comments:
Until you get dialed in, do smaller amounts of "inexpensive" meats. Or, as close as you can get in this market. Looking at your comments here, your logs were too big and that is something you can't really fix until you can split logs. Youtube videos don't talk about that as much because the people making those videos are using much bigger smokers that can accommodate bigger logs. I use something like this https://a.co/d/0d1fLaXy because I don't feel safe with an axe, but the one I got cost less and included an 8lb sledgehammer. Once you get your log splitting game good, if you are cooking often enough you will want to locate a source of wood other than the big box stores. I got what was described as 1/4 cord of wood for about the price of 3 or 4 bags of wood from the hardware store. The good old boys who delivered the wood gave me more than a full cord, and stacked it for me. They filled the two patio boxes I had, and the firewood rack, and the space under my smoker and my grill, and there was still a small pile left on my patio for me to move after I got another patio box. Landscaping companies sometimes have wood for sale, sometimes it's a side hustle, you just have to do some search engine magic until you find a good source.