Keeping the wife happy

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Hey everyone, I just smoked my first batch of ribs and chicken on my new WSM (which came out great)and guess what? My wife doesn't like the smoked flavor in the meat! "Honey, I told you I was buying a SMOKER, that would have been good information to have BEFORE I bought the thing!" Anyway, I'm just wondering if it's worthwhile using the WSM without any wood chips and what the results are. Also, does anyone have any experience with people who are less than thrilled with smoked meat, and if it's possibly an acquired taste. In case you're wondering, I used oak chips since I haven't been able to find chunk wood around here yet (Cape Cod!)Thanks for any help!

Al S.
 
Alan,

The little experience I have is that chicken is really easy to over smoke. The first time I did boneless skinless chicken breasts they ended up tasting like hotdogs, not at all a good thing /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif .

Maybe next time just try using the charcoal without any smoke wood at all, this will still let you cook low and slow to get the tender ribs, etc but won't impart too much smoke flavor. Good luck.

Tim
 
OK I know there are folks out there who do not agree with this but I just am not a big fan of Oak and Chicken especially when you don't know what kind of oak it is. Have you tried the Hickory chunks from Wal-Mart?

Did you have lot's of white smoke pouring from the WSM? A little blue or no smoke is ideal.

If you must use chips put them in an aluminum pouch and stick one hole in it with a tooth pick.

HTH,
 
My advice would be to win her over with straight charcoal first, then try sneaking in some different types of wood! The charcoal itself gives a nice flavor and some people never add wood. If you experiment too much in the begining she might get turned off and not want to try it later.

One thing you will find is that different woods impart different flavors. If you can get a hold of some Apple you will find it to be fairly mild. Hickory is a bit too strong for my wife (even in small ammounts). Mesquite can also be overpowering if your not careful. Apple and cherry seem to work for my family. See what you can find locally first, because shipping charges can exceed the value of the wood depending where you purchase your wood from if you order online.

Don't forget the important part: Get her hooked first then experiment with some of the different woods!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Good luck,

-Rich
 
Hi Alan and welcome!!

Also, WELCOME to the other club.....wives and families who hate smoked meat! LOL

I been smoking stuff for many, many years and my wife just doesn't care for it. Never has and she probably never will. I simply use just charcoal with no smoke when cooking for her and the family.

I will say, when I started winning a couple of ribbons she maybe realized what she had and has started to tolerate a small amount of smoke on ribs. But, NO chicken or turkey.

To 99.9% of the eating public, smoke is smoke....they don't care if it's oak, hickory, apple, peach or whatever...it is smoke.

Now, there are a very few folks who can tell the difference, but they are accomplished at the art of smoking and more than likely have been smoking for many years. Truth be told....and I have said this many times before...I think the type of smoke wood you use is a very small part of your success(I am speaking of HARDWOODS ONLY). Me, I have won using oak branches I cut the day before, using very old oak and hickory and using 3 month old red oak I scavenged from the golf course in the spring. Makes very little difference. I think it is the AMOUNT you use, not the type you use.

So, just use some charcoal or even lump charcoal and cook it just like you would....sans smoke.
 
Tim, Konrad and Rich,

Thanks VERY much for each of your replies. Those are good tips, and I'll keep them all in mind when I fire up the smoker next time. I'm happy that my purchase may not be a waste of money after all!

Al S.
 
Kevin,

That's good stuff to know. At least I know I'm not alone out there! I think I broke your rule about the AMOUNT of smoke on my very first batch.

Thanks a lot,
Alan
 
By the way, I'm sorry I added this topic to the modifications forum. I'll do better next time.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

Al S.
 
Alan,

I'm afraid your wife will probably never really accept your WSM. For the sake of your happy marriage, I'll give you $50 (which will incl. shipping) for your brand new smoker. Email me for my addy.

It's the least I can do.


/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif
 
Rob,

I can't thank you enough for your generous offer.... I REALLY can't!
/infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif
Al S.
 
Alan!
I can't really add much to what all the others said. When I read it I almost fell off my chair! I could have written the exact same thing, but I thought I was the only one who had that problem with their wife. I'm so glad you shared that because I now see it is pretty common. I now use almost no smoke wood. As for chicken, I mostly cook the "chicken on the throne" method and always on my Weber kettle. I just can't get it crispy enough on the WSM. My wife loves that. The big hit with her is turkey, ham, and buffalo turds. Anything else she can pretty much live without.

Good luck!
Larry
 
At my house, it's not the smoke, but the aesthetics. She refers to spare ribs as "cave man food". But, fortunately, when I do a brisket, and get to say, "You aren't going to be needing that knife..." /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
 
Larry,

I'm glad I could offer some support!Maybe we should have a non-smoking forum.... Nahhhh!

Alan
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Alan Sansoucie:
[qb]Maybe we should have a non-smoking forum....
[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Bite your tongue.

Sansoucie-- you have any relatives in N.O., Baton Rouge, or Beaverton, OR? My friend Paul will give you an email address: www.sansoucie.org
 
Most people tend to over smoke when they first start out. It takes a while to learn to get an almost clear exhaust stack. Stay with charcoal and a 3" dia. piece of maple or apple. Women seem to really "hate" "smoked" meat. The longer that you cook the less that you will like it! You will learn the balace of flavors that will win her over.
Frank
 
Doug,

Thanks for the "Sansoucie" link. I don't know anyone in Baton Rouge or Oregon, but for all I know, they might just be relatives who are trying to stay as far away from me as possible!

Alan
 
Frank,

Thanks for your post. I'd try 3" dia maple or apple chunks, but can't find it around here. If I'm trying to smoke in a minimal way, won't chips be good enough?

Thanks,
Alan
 
Well, I guess I may be a bit different from most wives, in that I'm quite fond of most anything that's smoked. In fact, I was the one who ordered the new WSM to replace honorable husband's old ECB. He, that sweet ol' bubba o'mine for lo these twenty-some-odd years now, then turned around and brought THIS home for me, as a companion for the WSM (so it wouldn't get lonely, I guess). He told me, "It's for you, baby - it's all about you, baby."

http://www.gbronline.com/kcathey/bbq/Mvc-076f.jpg

I can deal quite nicely with his and hers smokers. We just have to determine which is "his" (which will probably concentrate on brisket and sausage) and which is "hers" (which will emphasize ribs, butts, and birds). /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Regards to all,
Keri C in OK
Smokin' on Tulsa Time


UPDATE ON MAY 20: Forget it. The WSM is MINE. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif HE can have the offset. My WSM is gonna be dedicated to the B&B (Butt-n-brisket) All Nighter from here on. <Grin> See http://tvwbb.101inc.com/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=001868 for my report on the 1st WSM cook. Yup, yup, I like smoke, alright.

kc
 
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