MikeWestmoreland
New member
Hey y'all. I'm fairly new to using my new 18.5 WSM. I've been reading through the articles on this site voraciously and I've found them to be extremely helpful. Since I got my WSM I've smoked a turkey, a brisket, a rack of ribs and a leg of lamb. This weekend I'm gonna try a nice thick salmon filet. But Thanksgiving is on it's way, I've got 30 or so kin folk coming over and I'm thinking about trying to smoke a turkey and a ham at the same time. I've been skimming through the cooking tips on this site but so for I haven't found anything that really talks about this specific endeavor and I was hoping that someone with more experience would be able to give me some tips so that I don't disappoint the multitudes that come to my house.
I've done a turkey low and slow on my WSM. I soaked it in a basic brine over night and smoked it at about 250 for close to 4 hours and it was one of the best turkeys I've ever had. I'm not naturally a fan of turkey because the usually end up too dry for my taste. but this one was awesome. I have to confess... that was my first smoke on a WSM and I was actually trying to get the temp up to 325 or so. But, being uneducated, I put water in the pan which made that temp unavailable to me. So I settled in and cooked it slow. I'm glad I did.
I was so impressed that I'd like to smoke my Thanksgiving day turkey the same way. But I'd also like put a ham on the top self and smoke it at the same time as the turkey on the bottom rack. I've been reading the articles on smoking hams and I noticed that a "ready to cook" ham needs to smoke at 325 - 350 while a "ready to eat" ham smokes at 225 - 250, which is the temp I'd like my turkey to smoke at. So I seem to be locked into using a ready to eat ham. Because of the size of the crowd I'm expecting I plan to get a whole bone-in ham (if I can find it).
Again, I'm still pretty new to smoking meat and I'd appreciate any suggestions or advice on this particular adventure. Glad to be here and very grateful for this site.
I've done a turkey low and slow on my WSM. I soaked it in a basic brine over night and smoked it at about 250 for close to 4 hours and it was one of the best turkeys I've ever had. I'm not naturally a fan of turkey because the usually end up too dry for my taste. but this one was awesome. I have to confess... that was my first smoke on a WSM and I was actually trying to get the temp up to 325 or so. But, being uneducated, I put water in the pan which made that temp unavailable to me. So I settled in and cooked it slow. I'm glad I did.
I was so impressed that I'd like to smoke my Thanksgiving day turkey the same way. But I'd also like put a ham on the top self and smoke it at the same time as the turkey on the bottom rack. I've been reading the articles on smoking hams and I noticed that a "ready to cook" ham needs to smoke at 325 - 350 while a "ready to eat" ham smokes at 225 - 250, which is the temp I'd like my turkey to smoke at. So I seem to be locked into using a ready to eat ham. Because of the size of the crowd I'm expecting I plan to get a whole bone-in ham (if I can find it).
Again, I'm still pretty new to smoking meat and I'd appreciate any suggestions or advice on this particular adventure. Glad to be here and very grateful for this site.