First Cook Tip - Use CHEAP Meat!


 
Roger R.

Roger R.

TVWBB Fan
I was just looking through some of these threads and noticed that a lot of people use expensive meats for their first cook. There are so many things that can and do go wrong when first learning to use your WSM, that I thought I'd drop the tip to begin with cheap meats until you get the bugs worked out. Chicken is a good "test" meat to use - brisket is over the top, etc.
 
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Sausages have always been my first cook. The problem with Chicken, it's not a low and slow cook, which is normally what a new WSM owner wants to do. Pork Butt is another affordable first cook, but I always do my first cooks, Italian Sausages
 
El Cheapo here.... I rarely pay more than $5.00/lb for meat. Usually less. A bit more for seafood.
That's where cooking with the smokers & kettles shines. You can make good eats without spending top dollar.
Check the weekly flyers in the junk mail from the local supermarkets/or newspapers & you will be eating well for less.
 
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Roger, I completley agree. My first cook was a big fatty made from a giant tube of Jimmy Dean sausage I got at Costco. I also threw on a pound of old bacon that had made it to the bottom of the freezer. This really helped to season the WSM and, more importantly, it helped me understand things like temperature control and fuel consumption.

My second and third cooks were whole chickens. Even though these needed higher temps, I still got in some good practice.
 
chicken and sausage are great starters. My advice to any beginners with WSM is to do a shorter cook with cheap meat! I wouldn't recommend a 16 hour brisket cook day 1!
 
I think I did chicken my first time out - and learned that low & slow = rubbery skin. About a $4.00 lesson. My next cook was a meat loaf, and hamberger was pretty inexpensive. It turned out great, and was a good tool to learn how to control the airflow. After that it was ribs and I learned quickly that I really didn't understand how much wood to use to produce the flavor I wanted. I went through a few "smokey" dinners learning. The ribs were far more expensive than the chicken or hamburger.
 
I keep hearing about chicken smoked at low temps produces rubbery skin but competitions teams still smoke chicken thighs at 250-275 right? Please clarify. Thanks!
 
I really think pork butt is the ideal first meat to try on WSM. It's inexpensive, the last time I bought some for $1.29/lb. and it takes a long time to finish which gives you time and plenty of practice to learn how your smoker works, like how adjusting the vents changes temperatures, and how much charcoal it will use, etc. And because pork butt is so easy to get right due to the time it takes to do it and the forgiving nature of pork butt, you're left feeling good about being successful the first time you use your WSM and are eager to do another.
 
Facundo Silva said:
I keep hearing about chicken smoked at low temps produces rubbery skin but competitions teams still smoke chicken thighs at 250-275 right? Please clarify. Thanks!
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I do mine at 275 - 300 and they turn out fine. I've cooked them as high as 350. Think of it like you would do in your oven - only with smoke. Low & slow has always produced rubber skin for me.
 
I picked up a "bone in sirloin pork roast", as labeled, small end piece for .87 cents a pound. It is currently snowing and the wind is blowing. I was planning to cook this this afternoon for supper. I figured for the price I could experiment with this cheap piece, any suggestions?
 
Didn't see the last post until just now, how did it turn out? Only suggestion I would have had for you would have been to keep it out of the wind. I've smoked meats in very cold conditions but always move my smoker to where it's sheltered from the wind. Wind will suck the heat away from your smoker, while cold by itself doesn't seem to bother the WSM.
 
IIRC my first smoke was some pork steaks and Moo& Oink Beef Hot Links. At that time both cheap cuts and tasty.

Tim
 
Sam said:
I picked up a "bone in sirloin pork roast", as labeled, small end piece for .87 cents a pound. It is currently snowing and the wind is blowing. I was planning to cook this this afternoon for supper. I figured for the price I could experiment with this cheap piece, any suggestions?
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Sorry Sam did not see this earlier. Did you give it a go yesterday?
Tim
 
Speaking of cheap meats... I made 2 meat loafs last night that turned out fantastic!
My new DigiQ made the cook sooo easy, it almost felt like I was cheating. The DigiQ
kept my pit a constant 340º until it was done. I am really liking my new birthday present!
 
It turned out great, I ended up using my 18.5 kettle instead. I got it up to 325 degrees and let her go with some chestnut wood. It took about 3.5 hours and it had a nice crispy skin (fat that I didn't remove). I made some bacon in the morning and used the fat from that to pre rub the roast and then sprinkled some Weber norleans rub on that. It had both dark and white meat on it, and I think a small part of the tenderloin too. The sale thru Wednesday, I will be getting some more of these, highly recommended.
 
My first cook was also sausages. I think I tried staying around 250 (lid temp) for about an hour, and they came out great.

Second cook was chicken drumsticks. I had already seen several threads here about going higher heat with no water pan, so I did that. I think it was right around 300 (again, lid temp) for almost an hour, and also came out good.

Third cook was yesterday - pork butt. First long cook. Lid temp stayed 225-250 for 11 hours, and it came out really good as well. I would like to have given it a little longer (some parts weren't as tender), as well as a longer rest (only rested about 15 minutes), but the family was getting ugly with me about it being so late already.
 
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