1st smoke yesterday!


 
T

Tim (the grillaholic)

TVWBB Super Fan
I don't know wherre to start! I got my 18.5 WSM delivered Wed., and couldn't wait to try it out. I decided to jump right in, and do 3 racks of ribs. I would by lying if I said that I had EVER tried ribs before, but I just had to try it. Well, to say that the weather here in central NC was less than ideal for grilling would be a huge understatement! Rain/thunderstorms all afternoon. Oh well, the show must go on, we had some friends coming over to try some ribs. My first question is this, WHY DOESN'T EVERYBODY OWN ONE OF THESE?? After watching the video clips, and reading the recipe(from the 'beginners' recipe section) I really felt like I could do this. The hardest thing about the entire smoke was not being able to look at the ribs for 3 hours! Being able to get the temp in range, and not have to monitor it every 15 minutes was awsome!! Long story short, the ENTIRE experience was super. The ribs tasted great, were truly tender, and between 3 of us, we all but wiped out 3 full racks!! This is an awsome product, with an unbelievable community of friends/helpers! I am already trying to decide what to have for the 2nd smoke! I will try to post a couple of pics I took of the ribs just before pulling them off the WSM. Thanks again for all the help, a great product, and tons of great smokes to come!
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Congrats Tim!!! IMHO ribs are pretty difficult to get right so way to go making great ribs!
I think my favorite cook is lo n slo boston butts at around 225 for 14 or so hours. If you probe the meat to get an internal temp, consider pulling at 195 internal, then foil for juice re-distribution. This is southern cuisine at it's absolute best..and then some!

Brisket is a challenge to get right for me.

Ribs can be a challenge. St Louis from spares are my fave.

Butts are most simple.

Beer can chickens are the most fun.

What ever you do on the WSM...keep doing it cuz it just gets better and better!
 
Tim, I know what you mean. I looked at smokers for 3 years, and finally got the WSM for Christmas last year. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. What a perfect smoking device! I'm not at all surprised your first smoke was a success! Congratulations!
 
To be honest, I started my search for a smoker looking for a pellet grill. But the thought of 700 dollars (entry level) stopped me in a hurry! I happened to stumble onto the WSM by accident while doing a search for smokers. I was blown away by ALL the positive reviews. I also loved the fact that you can load the WSM up and it can last for up to 10+ hours! As I stated earlier, this thing is everything it is said to be!! I already have told my friends and family, "I've got the turkey this year for Thanksgiving and Christmas!!" I love this smoker!!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Tim (the grillaholic): I already have told my friends and family..... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is adictive and you only need to give them a sampling and they become hooked. I brought some brisket and butt into work a couple of times, and now have 3 others into it. We are even having our own little comps by cooking the same thing over the weekend and bringing in a little for those in the office to judge which is best!
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Have fun.
Kg
 
Tim, I too was on my way to buy the Traeger pellet cooker. I had pretty much decided I would bite the bullet on the cost untill I saw how much the pellets would cost. I was also a bit disappointed in the hopper size for the cooker size. Boy am I glad that I went with the WSM. Last weekend I catered a party for about 30 folks, 6 racks of spares and 80 ABTs on the WSM and a brisket on the Weber kettle. It all turned out good except I didn't get the same smoke ring on the brisket from the kettle cook that I did on the WSM. Hmmmm, maybe a second WSM is in my future?
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Mark
 
Mark, I also was turned away from the Traeger when I staarted to hear how poor the quality had become since they sent the production over to China in '08. Lower quality and the same HIGH PRICE is not a good equation to me. When you tell people you smoked several racks of ribs and how good they tasted, the looks I get are half the fun! I really take my grilling seriously, but by no means am I what I consider a good cook. My hope for this smoker is that it will help me get to what I consider to be 'the next level'. And if the first smoke is any indication, it will do just that!!
 
Being in my infancy in the world of smoking, I guess 'the next level' would be where I felt confident about the end result, before the smoke begins! Being "that guy", you know, the one people are coming over, they ask for a specific smoked meal..thats where I want to get. Then, yeah, I could see this (down the road) becoming quite a hobby/passion.
 
A little late, but here are a couple pics of the ribs from my 1st smoke! any takers on a used gasser!!<a href="http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu148/o2bobxn/wsm%20pics/?action=view&current=241.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i642.photobucket.com/albums/uu148/o2bobxn/wsm%20pics/241.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
You guys probably don't realize how lucky you were to steer away from the Traeger. I bought the Lil Tex model and quickly came to know it may be real convenient, but that's about all I can say good.
The auger motor went out after 3 months so that had to be dealt with. Another major issue is the food taste. Told my gf I would smoke some ribs on the Traeger while she was at work. When she tried the ribs, she stated "I thought you were going to smoke these"? I mean, the grill puffed smoke the entire cook but you cant taste any smoke at all. I am so sorry I wasted my money for this grill.
When I got the WSM, I couldn't believe the difference. Foods were just perfect and had a great smoked flavor. In fact, I had to learn to back off slightly on the wood to keep it from being oversmoked. Cant tell you how much I like the WSM...Great purchase for me!!!!
 
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