Mixing meats - turkey & ribs

Greetings all!

That big ole box under the Christmas tree was not a WSM afterall. It was <shudder> a Char-Broil water smoker. It was promptly returned and I ordered a WSM from Ma's Smokin' Chips, along with a chimney. Both arrived Monday - thanks, Steve!!! - in great condition with nary a scratch.

Wife has family coming in for the weekend and she wants me to play with my new toy. Like I'm going to complain...! Anyway, she wants me to cook a turkey breast and a rack or two of ribs. Both should take four or five hours - perhaps less. I want this to be a great start, leaving the experimenting for immediate family, so I'm asking the veterans to comment on smoke wood selection for this. Seems to me, the ribs would do great with Hickory or Oak or both, and the turkey with something sweeter - apple or cherry. Comments?

Thanks!

Alan

Alan.....

If this is your first cook, it is my belief that you will not be able to tell the difference between the various woods(except possibly mesquite). Try to use maybe oak or hickory and get a feel for what the taste is like, how much smoke flavor you like, etc. Once you have that baseline, then you can start experimenting and seeing the difference between the various woods. For me, I use whatever is in my backyard.

I believe 99% of the smokers out there can't tell the difference between all the various woods! How's that for starting a discussion? I would love to be able to do blind taste tests. I have done these with cigars and people who claim to know what they are doing...they couldn't tell the difference between a $1 stogie and a $10 stogie! I've also done it with gas grills vs. charcoal..same results, though a few did "guess" right! All the rubs and spices that we apply will tend to mask the small differences in the various woods we use.

Anyway, just my thoughts! Sorry if I offend some people.

Stogie

Stogie...
In theroy, I agree with you. It's probably tough for a novice, such as myself, to tell the difference from one wood to the next. That's something only experimentation and the passage of time will be able to answer for sure. However, knowing that some woods will impart a stronger flavor than others, I was looking for info more about the wood of choice for two different meats. As I presently have more than a few chunks of oak, I guess that's what I'll use. If, on the other hand, both meats would be better served with, say, a cherry smoke instead, I'll need to beg the neighbor for some of his fire wood. There's not a lot of smoke wood available hereabouts - or at least none I was able to find at the places I called yesterday.

Thanks for your input.

Alan Bosch

Alan,

I'd suggest using what you've got. Oak will work just fine for both meats. You can add just a little hickory to the oak if you like.

Going forward, try to find yourself some apple and cherry and see how they compare to the oak. I find these woods "lighter" in aroma and flavor and I'm using them a lot lately in my BBQ. Maybe it's just a phase I'm going through...I've still got a lot of oak and hickory in the garage waiting to be used.

Best wishes,
Chris

P.S. Funny story about the box under the Chrstmas tree! Hopefully no one's feelings were hurt by returning the original gift.

[This message has been edited by Chris Allingham (edited 02-01-2001).]

Hi Alan, if your wife is anything like mine, I'm sure she thought she was getting a real deal on the Char Broil and saving you a lot of money. I had the devil of a time convincing my wife I needed to spend $200 bucks on a WSM when I had a 5 year old ECB in the garage! Women.

Back to your question, I think there is little difference between Hickory, Oak or Pecan. I can tell the difference between those three and Apple. Apple is milder. I have not tried Cherry yet, but I figure most of the fruit woods are similiar. So, use what you have. Enjoy your WSM.

Doug W

Chris, Doug, et al,
No ones feelings were hurt or punished in the exchange. Wife told my parents that I wanted "...a smoker..." (and a VW Westy camper), but couldn't remember the brand. Dad went to one of those huge, we've-got-everything-under-one-roof home centers, saw a smoker, and picked it up. After everyone went home after the holidays, I bribed wife with the balance of my bonus from work, if I could just have enough to get the WSM I wanted. The promise of money did wonders! After assembing the WSM in the living room, she stood there, in that wifely pose - you know, hands on hips, etc. - and wondered if a gas grill AND a smoker were too much. I politely pointed out that the grill was for grillin', the smoker for smokin', and that the new dining room set you bought with the remainder of MY bonus was many times larger, heavier, and more expensive than my little smoker. A dining room table - unless it's oak - won't make good for a good Q.

Anyway, oak it is for the first run of the new WSM. Barring a complete disaster, I'll keep you folks posted as to how it went.

Alan Bosch