Chicken and Fatties! First Cook on the New 22.5 WSM!

Well...All I can say is I'm in love.. This thing locked into 270 - 275 and stayed there all day long. Cooked for 6 hours on 1 a full chimney of unlit KBB + 15-20 lit. Never had to open the lid or touch it.. Once I set the vents It was off and running. Once I was done I shut it down with coals left over.

Wanted to cook some fatties to get a good aroma going in the new cooker and so my boys and I could have smoked sausage in the mornings before we head out. I also bulk cook chicken a lot and eat it throughout the week for lunches and dinner. It all came out perfect! Enjoy the pics!

Getting everything ready to go.



Full Chimney of until KBB stacked like a volcano with a crater in the middle for the lit and a couple fist sized chunks of Apple. We all like milder woods and I'm experimenting with how much smoke to add to foods.. Taking the less is more approach right now and I really like Apple.



Staring the day with some fatties.. The HEB stuff was on sale so I grabbed one to see how it tastes.



Both of the Jimmy Dean rubbed with Bone Suckin' Sauce Rub.. Love that stuff. One of my favorites. Left the HEB fatty nekkid.



Rolled the Performer over to use the table. Fatties on and smokin'!



It's fatty time!! Cooked them to 170 internal temp.




Pulled the fatties and made way for the Chicken... Brined in a simple 1/2 cup kosher salt and 1/2 cup sugar brine, rinsed, patted dry, and rubbed with Otis Tucker's Grill Dust.. Good stuff.. Bought a bunch of it from my son's fund raiser for his football team.. Good spicy kick and not very salty.



Sliced one of the fatties open.. Love the flavor of the apple wood mixed with the BSS rub and the maple flavor sausage... Nice and juicy too.. My son's and I almost ate this whole fatty in a few min.



Forgot to take pics of the chicken coming off the pit. Didn't sauce these since they will be eaten in salads and other stuff... These were by far the best chicken breasts I've ever cooked.. Smoked them at 275 until they reached 165 internal.. No smoke wood used for the chicken, just KBB.

I've never brined chicken breasts before but, I can promise you I will be from now on! The flavor is unreal and they are so moist.



Hope everyone has a good weekend!

-Kevin

Nice job Kevin. Way to break in your gear.

way to break it in!

Kevin;
That looks like a perfect job! Good going with your new smoker!!

Keep on smokin',
Dale53

Looks good!

Thanks everyone.. Had some of the chicken along side a bowl of my wife's Potato Soup... MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM... So good....

Great job my friend.

Fatties looked AWESOME and those looked like some lips smackin' good chick'n boobs



Drink a little drink, Smoke a little smoke

Awesome looking fatties and chicken!!!

Everything looks absolutely delicious! Great way to break in that new WSM!

Looking good! I never thought of cooking the whole sausage "fattie" like that, but after seeing your results it's something I am going to try!

Kevin those are some awesome looking cooks! Love the fatties will have to try that and the chicken is perfect, great job!!

Interesting approach on the fatties, like it and that chicken looks great too. Nice way to break the WSM in.

Good job and it all looks really good.

Everything looks really good! Looks like you've got it down already.

Excellent! And congrats on the new 22. I love mine!

Great way to break her in Kevin. When I first got my 22, when I would start her up, I would fill the ring almost full of unlit, push that out so there was a hole in the middle, fire up 3/4's of a chimney, and pour that in the middle. When done cooking, I'd close the vents and she'd be out in a little over an hour. Any left over coal was used the next time I filled her up.

Soon after that, I found out about using a flame thrower to light it and haven't used the chimney since.



I got mine at Harbor Freight for cheap:

http://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-with-push-button-igniter-91037.html

I keep telling myself I don't need WSM but you guys aren't helping a bit...

One of the first things I considering getting after making through my first cook was a weed burner.. My neighbor uses one to light his pit.. Really convenient. I was looking at the same one at Harbor Freight too.

First mod though has got to be wheels. It's a heavy beast...

THoey said:

Great way to break her in Kevin. When I first got my 22, when I would start her up, I would fill the ring almost full of unlit, push that out so there was a hole in the middle, fire up 3/4's of a chimney, and pour that in the middle. When done cooking, I'd close the vents and she'd be out in a little over an hour. Any left over coal was used the next time I filled her up.

Soon after that, I found out about using a flame thrower to light it and haven't used the chimney since.

I got mine at Harbor Freight for cheap:

http://www.harborfreight.com/propane-torch-with-push-button-igniter-91037.html

Click to expand...

Great looking break-in cook. Top job!

One question. Is there any particular reason why you didn't run the temp probes through the silicone grommet on the barrel?
(It looks as though the temp probe wires are being trapped between the dome & barrel).