Hello from Vancouver.


 
D

Darren - Vancouver

New member
Hey everyone,

Recently was given a wsm 18.5" as a birthday gift and i really love it so far. First thing i cooked on it were the steaks in the picture below, i wasnt able to put them in the smoker at room temp so at first i had trouble getting them to 220 F.

Once i did everything started to level off and i was able to remove them at internal temp of 117 F and sear them. I found them to be perhaps slightly dry and a little too much "smoked salmon" flavour. I think part of the reason was because of the type of steaks i had as well as low temps to begin with and i did not have the water pan inside, i also put in two small chunks of wood.

Anyways, here was the final result (while searing). And if anyone has any advice for what i could do different, please hit me with it! Sorry for the long post.

20200606_174934.jpg
 
Hi Darren & Welcome to TVWBB. Reading between the lines it looks like you were trying to reverse sear those steaks. I think the reverse sear is over rated and can be difficult to execute. It seemed like I was over-shooting my done-ness every time, and like you say, it seemed a little dried out. I'm seasoning my steaks w/salt, putting them in the fridge for a few hours, then searing, then finishing indirect, and my steaks are turning out pretty awesome. On your WSM, you could probably sear them like in your photo, set them all aside, then reassemble, w/water pan and put your steaks on the top rack and wait for the temperature to hit the preferred done-ness and have some really killer steaks. Try salting and putting in the fridge for a few hours if you can, I think that makes a bigger difference than the reverse sear vs. sear and then indirect finish. Those steaks look nice and thick. Remember finishing over indirect might not be necessary on thinner steaks and chops.
 
Good point Brad, but Fahrenheit temperature references canceled "flavour" out for me so I'm still wonderin':unsure:

Welcome anyway Darren! You'll give it away sooner or later!

(Actually, nobody refers to Vancouver WA as just Vancouver...it's usually referred to as Portland/Vancouver)
 
Darren, welcome to the group from Vancouver Island!

Not a fan of smoking steak. I can see myself using my WSM as a makeshift kettle for searing steaks, but I'd likely cook them sous-vide first. I remember smoking a prime rib once and my family hated it. Just not the flavour profile my family likes for expensive cuts that cook hot and fast. Brisket and ribs, on the other hand, my family enjoys them slow-cooked and smokey. It's your first cook, so keep experimenting. You'll figure out what suits you and your family.

Mike Willis said:
Good point Brad, but Fahrenheit temperature references canceled "flavour" out for me so I'm still wonderin':unsure:
Click to expand...

It's funny that a lot of us (at least my family and friends) tend to use a mix of both the metric and imperial systems. I use milliliters over cups for fluid measurements, Fahrenheit over Celsius (at least for cooking, not so much for outdoor temps), and grams over lbs (but not when I weigh myself on the scale).
 
RémiB said:
It's funny that a lot of us (at least my family and friends) tend to use a mix of both the metric and imperial systems. I use milliliters over cups for fluid measurements, Fahrenheit over Celsius (at least for cooking, not so much for outdoor temps), and grams over lbs (but not when I weigh myself on the scale).
Click to expand...

Good point RemiB! I used "ml's and "cc's" in my career but that was the only time I used them. Even after 40 years of that I still talk ounces. Oh yeah, welcome to the forums! :)
 
Vancouver, BC

And I smoked a pork belly a couple of weeks ago and it turned out great except it didn't have that thick bark. I think it was because I didn't put any seasoning other than evoo and salt/pepper. And yes I think I will be grilling the steaks next time using the wsm as a grill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top