First time cook

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I just ordered a WSM sia this website and will be getting it in about a week. I have read all about getting it started, but would like some suggestions for a EASY, tasty first time cook. That even I cant screw up. Something that will make my wife say "I'M glad you bought this and didnt spend this money on me" Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Scooter /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Scooter,

Welcome to the board. You might consider cooking a mustard butt. Pork butts are relatively cheap and pretty hard to screw up as they have a high fat content and don't dry out, even if you overcook them a little. Chris's method of preparing them is a winner:

Mustard Butt
 
Welcome Scooter, you're going to love that thing. I agree with Mr Squeaky, throw a butt on if you have the ; a chicken is hard to beat also. You'll be amazed at the results. But I have to tell you, I q'ed butt,ribs, brisket, sauage, venison and chicken in it the first two months I had it and it all came out great. Just follow the directions on this site and you can't miss.
 
meant to type..'throw a butt on if you have the time'. Dumb fingers aren't working. Gotta get another cup of coffee.
 
Scooter, glad to have you here. You won't be disappointed.

I had to laugh at your comment about "Something that will make my wife say "I'M glad you bought this and didnt spend this money on me".

This is a bit off-topic but the my first birthday after my husband I were together, I put the poor guy in a state of shock. In his previous marriage, it was jewelry or flowers or clothes or all of the above for gifts -- anything else would P*** her off but good. So Kevin asked me what I want and I told him I wanted really good cutlery. I had a terrible time convincing him that I wasn't kidding and that I would PREFER that over jewelry any day.

Now that he knows me, though, I get really cool stuff /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif like kitchen gadgets and BBQ accessories.

Anyway -- to get back on the subject, I agree with the others that you can't go wrong with pork butt. It takes time, but it's time well spent (IMHO). Let us know what you cook and how it turns out, Scooter!

Kelly
 
Ya can't beat good cutlery. My wife likes quality cookware, too. (Although, she really loves diamonds and gold.) I don't even try to buy her clothes, because she is too particular. Fortunately, she knows this and is happier with a stack of cash. My gift is to go shopping with her and not whine during the process.

Now, to make this a Q post. I'll be cooking two butts this weekend. My first butts on the WSM and my first overnighter. Probably my last big cook before Paul Kirk's class. I'll be trying my first mustard based sauce, too.

Darren
 
Howdy Scooter,
You are going to love your WSM. What is your wife's favorite BBQ food? That is what I would suggest that you make. You will both be impressed with the quality of the food, and she will be flattered that you were thinking of her. If you follow the guidelines on this website, you pretty much can't go wrong. The WSM is a very forgiving machine. Let us know how it goes.
All the best,
George
P.S., Don't forget your Polder!
 
My wife and I give each other quality cookware, accessories, cutlery, glassware etc. for birthdays, etc. (There are other ways to get jewelry)
 
Funny, Peter!

Hey Scooter, do you have the book "Smoke & Spice"? IMO, it's a must-have. All kinds of great recipes, tips, history, etc. Entertaining reading even if you ignore the recipes!

Kelly
 
Scooter....Pork Butt would be great if you can find one that is not pickled. They call it enhanced, I call it pickled. Actually they inject a pound or 2 of salt water, among other things into the butt and when its BBQed it tastes like ham. You have to watch for the same problem with spare ribs. It uaually is marked as enhanced some where on the package. Or there may be what appears to be excess fluid in the package.

I looked all over Cody, WY today and all of the butts and spare ribs were marked enhanced with a 12 Percent solution. Even at Walmart's Super Store. I finally found four racks of Spare Ribs at an IGA in Basin WY that were not soaked with brine.

I think spares would be as good a first time as a Butt. Except for telling when they are done.
Some say they are done when the meat shrinks away from the bone about 1/2 inch. Or you can easily slide a tooth pick into the meat. Or the Rack will try to break when you pick it up.

One more caution. Go light on the rub if a pinch of it tastes real salty.

Good Luck, You are going to amaze your self!!!
 
Scoot,
Congratulations on your new cooker. Best plan
of attack, no matter what you cook, is to prepare, for a much longer cook, than anticipated. Have everything in place, and ready to go, before you even fire it up. Plenty of beverages, utensils, source of fuel, flavor wood, etc. Keep in mind, this form of cooking is low and slow. You will be much more relaxed, and the food will be ultimately better, if it is wrapped in foil and sitting in the cooler, long before dinner is called. I also suggest a pork butt for the first time out. Throw some sausages on for lunch. You'll be in hog heaven.

Jim
 
My first cooks on the WSM were whole chickens, butterflied as shown on this site. I just rubbed some seasoning on it and tossed it on the WSM.

Nice thing about the chicken is that it takes a lot less time than a butt, they taste good, and you don't end up with enough food to feed an army.

Added bonus for me, my boys thought eating a drumstick was the neatest thing in the world.

Darren
 
Scooter,

Hopefully all this encouragement, and the info on this site, will give you confidence.
There is no reason to be intimidated. The WSM makes it so easy.

For my very first cook on my new WSM, I went all out and did an overnight cook using the Minnion Method. I did a butt (Mr. Brown's) and some ribs (BRITU). Both recipes I found here on the Let's Cook section of this site.

I was shocked how easy it was.

Jim Morrissey's suggestion of wrapping your meat in foil ( and then some old towels) and letting it relax in an empty cooler after the cook is a great one, too. His sausage idea was even better!

Just try not to peek too much during the cook. That was the hardest part of the whole process for me!

Round up a good thermometer and you're all set.

Have fun,

HJP
 
Wow, thanks everyone for all the feedback and encouragement. It's comforting to know there are people who obsessed with things like I do. I think the hardest thing now is to wait for amazon to ship the darn thing(eta 1st). I'll let you all know how it goes when I finally decide what to cook. Thanks Again.

Go Ducks, Scooter
 
Scooter,

Just a note about chicken -- and perhaps you are already aware of this -- low and slow will give you delicious, moist and tender chicken, but the skin will not be crispy. This has been discussed here before, so if you haven't read about that you might want to do a search. Me? LOVE crispy skin, so I grill my chicken or deep fry it. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Kelly
 
Scooter,
Just my two cents.
The WSM is very forgiving.
1)It doesn't matter how precisely you close the vents to get your target cooking temperature. I looked rather silly using drill bit shanks to gauge the vent openings on my first cook.
2) Tone down the bells and whistles till you're ready. By that, I mean don't stress yourself with a wireless themometer and trying to ceramic sleeve the probe. Get a Polder-type, stick a probe into a potato and set it on the top grate just like the instructions on this site. Get another cheapo Polder and stick it into your meat.
These guys are so cheap, I saw one the other day for $6 each. They all come out of the same factory in Shenzhen, China and get branded under different names.
3) As a first try, cook a butt,it's hard to go wrong. Toss in a chicken and some sausages because it's irritating to wait so long.
4) Don't invite the whole neigborhood. the expectations and the stress level go up in proportion. Just cook for a few.
5) Which leads me to my final point. Have fun! I see some of my friends stressing over their fancy pits and ceramic cookers and laugh. Mine just cost $200 while they paid in the thousands for fancy tile on the outside. Thank you Weber!
 
I second that emotion! The WSM is very kind. In spite of my best efforts,the meat still comes out
close to perfect be it butts,ribs,chicken,duck or brisket. All of the suggestions here are right on.
Get a chimney for starting the coals is a must to me. I also probably wouldn't cook without my remote thermometer.Eliminates a lot of guessowrk and lifting of the lid. The only other thing you need is something to do while the WSM cooks the meat. Think Maytag repairman.

P.S. Glad there are other gadget freaks out there in QLand. I am partial to cookware,Calphalon and All-Clad mostly from Amazon.com on the cheap and
Sabattier,Wustoff and Henkel 4&5 stars. Really makes cooking fun. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kelly Ratzlaff:
[qb]Funny, Peter!

Hey Scooter, do you have the book "Smoke & Spice"? IMO, it's a must-have. All kinds of great recipes, tips, history, etc. Entertaining reading even if you ignore the recipes!

Kelly[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Their book "Sublime Smoke" 'aint bad either. I treated myself (I am single ) to it just before I bought my second WSM. Lots of good recipes that you can cook in a short time. It makes it nice to be able to pull a meal off and eat halfway through a long cook
of brisket or shoulder.

I gotta find someone who'll buy me this kinda stuff!
/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Yo scooter! :-)

Good talkin' with ya earlier today. I'll bring by a few good Q cookbooks to check out when I swing by tomorrow.

Also....I'm going by United Grocers today to pick up a pallet of mesquite lump charcoal. I drop a bag off for ya. Great stuff!

-souldaddy
GO DUCKS!!!!
 
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