suggestions for maiden voyage


 
J

J. (Archer) Stapleton

New member
New WSM 22.5 arrives tomorrow. I'm as new as the smoker when it comes to this type of cooking.

Would like suggestions on what to try first time out. Maybe links to how to's and recipes.

What do you say guys?
 
Check the cooking section under bulletin board. First time out I'd go with the ribs very basic and oh so good.
 
Pork butt, very forgiving and a nice look cook to really let you enjoy your new toy, I mean cooker. Good luck and be sure to take some pictures!
 
Depending on the length of cook you are looking for i'd say baby back ribs (shorter cook) or pork butt (longer cook).

Check here for some options.

Oh, and welcome aboard
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My first cook was a bunch of chicken drumsticks and thighs - DISASTER. Actually it wasn't so bad. The meat was good and smokey and moist and all that. The skin?? - different story. I didn't have the temp high enough to get good skin.

I would try ribs or maybe a butt. If you can get your hands on some tri-tip, that would be good too.
 
I agree with Larry. Pork Butt. Gives you experience in doing a long cook plus it's a very forgiving piece of meat.
 
Another vote for Pork Butt. My first cook was two 7 lb. butts on an ECB and they were great. You can cook 2 as quickly as 1 and the leftovers freeze nicely. There's a ton of information on here about how to cook them. Here's Chris's version of what I did on my first cook. A successful first cook is a powerful motivator.
 
Well, picked up to bone in butts today. Which recipe is more fail(newbie) proof??

Chris Lilly's Six-time World Championship Pork Shoulder or The Renowned Mr. Brown

Will be smokin' this week end.

Thanks everyone for the input.
 
Might be a little late for this input,but I would go with chicken or butt both handle higher temps better and are some what more foregiving because in most cases a new WSM will run a little hotter than you want. You'll probably be to anxious or nervous to get any sleep anyway. Good luck and have fun.
 
Beer Can Chicken is very forgiving and cheap, the only thing than can go wrong is over cooking the bird. 325-350 for about 1.5 - 2 hrs should do the trick. Actually cook at least 2 birds cause you will want 2nd's and 3rd's. Good luck on your maiden voyage.
 
Welcome! The WSM does a great job of holding the heat. If you are going to do a lot of overnights (e.g. butts or brisket) you might consider a Maverick remote thermometer. You can roll over and check the temp (both meat and grill) from your bed. Also, you can set alarms for temps getting too hot or too cool.

Enjoy!

JJ
 
Nice, let us know how it goes. Don't stress out about temp swings too much as stated butts are VERY forgiving 75 degrees one way or another (unless too low) isn't going to ruin your end product.
 
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