Brand new here; just got our WSM today

[Guest]

Uncle Sam sent my husband and I our $600 rebate today and we promptly went out and bought our WSM (it's been on our wish list for quite a while). Got the last one our local Ace Hardware store had!

I've been reading up at this site and picking my dad's brains (he's a Q 'expert') and I'm raring to go. Gotta wait until Sunday, though, since we're busy tomorrow afternoon (but I'll spend the morning reading more!).

I want to try pork back ribs and salmon.... can I do both at the same time, and if so, does it matter which goes on which rack? Looks like the salmon will smoke faster than the ribs, so I'm guessing the salmon would go on the top rack. Next weekend I'm going to go for the Renown Mr. Brown.

I can't wait to sink into this. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hi to you all.

Kelly

http://www.kellyandkevin.com

(our web page has nothing to do with BBQ, but it's a whole lotta fun!)

 

[jeff lowe]

Look in the 'tuna steaks' thread below and I have posted a recipe for salmon. If you follow my recipe, you will notice I have no water in the pan and the grill temperature is only 190-200 for about 1 hour. I would make the salmon first, It does take some prep. I brine it first for 1 hour and then let it dry on a rack next to a fan. You can do this beforehand a day earlier.

Make sure you get a salmon with the skin on. It keeps all the oils and moisture in. Cook it skin side down. I rub the grill with potato so it doesn't stick.

Good luck on your new WSM. I love it.

 

[Guest]

Hi Kelly, welcome to the group !! You are going to love it here...
May I suggest you use thje BRITU recipe for your ribs... They are the BEST !! My family just loves them.. VEry easy recipe and this site gives step by step instructions, so very little chance of messing anything up first time out !
I also am planning to do a smoke this Sunday... I am going to use 2 recipes out of "Smoke and Spice"... I will be doing the "Pit Pot Roast" as well as "Sweet and Fruity Tenderloin" I have done the tenderloin and it is AWESOME, but this will be my first with the roast...
Good Luck and Welcome !!


------------------
Gary in AR

 

[Rita Y]

Hi Kelly,
Welcome! You're going to love your WSM as much as I do. There is so much good stuff on this site and everyone is so helpful.

As far as putting the salmon over the meat, you might not want your fish dripping on the meat and affecting its flavor.

You're going to want to cook 24 hours a day, but keep in mind that you can't cook it ALL in one session!

Best of luck,
Rita

 

[a galarneau]

I wouldn't cook salmon and ribs together. The salmon skin especially has a distinctive odor when it's heated that the ribs could pick up.

My preference is to smoke my salmon on a Weber kettle, using offset heat and a handful of soaked wood chips. It really only takes about 30 minutes to cook, though you could go to an hour for more smoke. This isn't rib cookery, where you need many hours to break down tough connective tissue.

Just my $.02, I'm not the smoke master here by far.

 

[Guest]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to get started fairly early tomorrow and see if I can put the salmon on as the ribs come off, rather than try to do them together. Makes sense not to do them both simultaneously. I forgot to mention, the BRITU recipe is the one I'm planning on. Jeff, I printed your recipe for the salmon last night -- looks good! My dad is also sending me one of his salmon recipes.

Smoke and Spice is on its way from Amazon (couldn't find it locally and read about cheapnewbooks.com a day too late). Rita, you're right -- I haven't even tried it out yet, and already I want to cook 24 hours a day!

Thanks again for the wonderful advice, and I'll come back and let you know how my first time turned out!

Kelly

P.S. Got lawn chairs and plenty of beer, so I think I'm off to a good start!

 

[Guest]

UPDATE.... Okay, the ribs were overdone -- I haven't gotten the thermometer yet so I wasn't able to check the temperature -- but the flavor and tenderness were fantastic. My husband inhaled them graciously, making yummy noises and grunts, so they weren't that bad! Can't wait to try them again.

After the ribs came off, I put the salmon on. Jeff, I used your recipe. I had 4-ish pounds of salmon, some caught fresh and previously frozen and some boneless/skinless filets from Costco. All turned out absolutely wonderful -- good flavor, texture, moisture, etc.

Finally, on a whim I smoked some almonds. I mixed about a pound of almonds with a tbsp of oil and coated them with a BBQ rub I had on hand, cut with some brown sugar. I had no idea what I was doing, but it sounded good and they turned out great.

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful advice. Considering that it was my first time, and my thermometer and Smoke and Spice book aren't here yet, I did an excellent job and can definitely put my first smoke as a good experience.

Kelly