Hi everyone from the Mid-West


 
J

John LP

New member
My name is John and I recently bought a 18.5 WSM that I'm very excited to bring out with some Kingsford Blue this weekend. I'm so glad the salesman told me about this site - read up on some good tips and recipes.

Before I get started I want to get some suggestions on what methods people used to "break in" their WSM before smoking. Also, what should I smoke first?? Go!

Thanks all!
 
Hi John. I'm sure other more experienced cooks will offer help, but what I did when I got my 18.5 a few weeks ago was a few chicken cooks to break it in. A new WSM will run a bit hotter due to no build up inside the chamber and reflecting more heat. So you should start with cooking something that can be cooked high heat, that is fairly forgiving, and relatively inexpensive while you learn the nuances of your unit. There is a wealth of info on the site here and plenty of good folks always willing to help and advise. Enjoy that new smoker and happy cooking.
 
Welcome to the site John. I agree with what JR said. For my first cook, I did two beer can chickens. After that I went to butts and briskets and have not looked back since. From my perspective, my WSM excels at low and slow. The few times I have tried high heat on the WSM I didn't have as much luck so I have gone back to my Performer and now my "new" 1996 Geneses 100 for high heat and will only do low and slow on the WSM. While I know a lot of the guys here will do high heat and do it successfully on the WSM, my experience was not that.

The key here is what works best for you. Don't be afraid to use different techniques and don't be afraid to fail. Even my failures have tasted good. The key here is to enjoy your WSM. Good Luck.
 
John, a pork butt is also a great "jumping in" smoke to do. They're very forgiving and it's a long smoke, which should help considerably with "breaking in " your WSM.

Welcome to the "Greatest Smoke on Earth"!
 
JRAiona said:
Hi John. I'm sure other more experienced cooks will offer help, but what I did when I got my 18.5 a few weeks ago was a few chicken cooks to break it in. A new WSM will run a bit hotter due to no build up inside the chamber and reflecting more heat. So you should start with cooking something that can be cooked high heat, that is fairly forgiving, and relatively inexpensive while you learn the nuances of your unit. There is a wealth of info on the site here and plenty of good folks always willing to help and advise. Enjoy that new smoker and happy cooking.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip JR! I was leaning towards making spatchcock chicken or beer can as my first run.
 
Mike Willis said:
John, a pork butt is also a great "jumping in" smoke to do. They're very forgiving and it's a long smoke, which should help considerably with "breaking in " your WSM.

Welcome to the "Greatest Smoke on Earth"!
Click to expand...

I'm going for this next! I don't know if I want to do pull pork tacos or just stick to the bbq...decisions decisions!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top