RichPB (richlife)
TVWBB Wizard
Ok, so this isn't a recipe so much as saying how and why I did this multi-item cook. I just got lucky and bought a barely used 14.5 WSM (discussed at https://tvwbb.com/threads/adding-a-14-5.91161/ ) and was anxious to break it in and see how it did after a thorough cleaning. Aside from some preliminary excess smoke escape from being like-new, everything went as expected after having used an 18" WSM for ten years.
I will be using this 14.5 cooker for pork butts, ribs and brisket as well as everything else we all like, but this time I was interested in small common items that I used to do with my WSM and haven't been able to get the smoky success obtained using my Genesis 330. The old axiom that you can't smoke with a gas grill sadly appears to be true -- despite all my attempts. And that explains why I added back a smoker. Grilling is wonderful, but it ain't smoking! To start, here's the 14.5 WSM and the charcoal used.
Now on to my cook with pics below: Chicken wings, chili rellenos, jalapeno poppers, meatloaf, a couple of sausages. All were sampled and lots of leftover to resurrect on the grill. The WSM started at 225* on the lid thermometer and 250* in the cook area (a Kuluner instant read fully inserted into the thermo grommet). Temp just inside (up the sides) was 275*. I loaded up both grates, put the lid on and left it for an hour and a half. During that time the lid thermometer rose to 250. I should also say that I seldom use recipes except for ideas and inspiration, so every cook tends to be different. It works for me and I can usually repeat what I like easily enough. Pic before starting with thin blue smoke.
Wings: Cooked on the lower grate. Just plain wings, dried an hour in the fridge. Afterward I bowl tossed-with a mix of Texas Pete, a good sprinkle of my cajun spice (very little salt) and about a teaspoon of lime juice. The wings tasted fine, but 1 1/2 hours was too long in the smoker so they were a bit tough. The skin was almost crisp despite the low temp, but chewy and retained the fat layer underneath. I'll try a fast, hot grill to see if they can be improved. So they were edible but certainly not great.
The rest of the cook was great to awesome. For the sausage, I used a couple of inches of Zatarain andouille I recently found -- also on the lower grate. I didn't think much of this sausage grilled, but smoking it really improved it, though I'll still stick with Aidells despite the big price jump. I'm not much for Johnsonville sausages, but I do like their Jalapeno Cheddar. Again, smoking on the upper grate greatly enhanced these supposedly "smoked" sausages (more like hotdog than "sausage"). I think I'll smoke a bunch at a time and then freeze and reheat later.
Now we get to the best part. I wanted to try some new chili rellenos to improve on another recent attempt. Of course, the WSM improved them over just grilling. You can see that I don't use breading as you would for frying. On a trip to Colorado years ago, we stopped at a good Mexican restaurant -- it turned out they make their rellenos much like I do. A standard for my rellenos is chopped onion and garlic (to taste) with a layer of Panko on top. For two large poblanos, I mixed a quarter pound of good ground chuck with 4 oz of cream cheese, about 2 oz of Monterrey Jack and 1 oz sharp cheddar. Add a tsp of cajun spice and some (1/4 cup?) chopped, lightly grilled jalapeno and serrano. Fabulous! In another poblano I mixed some shredded sharp cheddar and a little Monterrey Jack, the remaining jalapeno/serrano mix (a tablespoon?) and a half cup of my recently made red, beef chili -- it's quite hot! For flavor I've mixed beef chili in to rellenos before, but have not used as much. I certainly won't hesitate on this in the future. I should also say that I always add an egg to my relleno mixes. The egg cooks quickly and helps keep the cheese from leaking out. One egg for 3 - 4 poblano rellenos.
I make my jalapeno poppers pretty much in a consistent way, though I vary the mix of cheese (cheddar, cream cheese, blue cheese, anything I have available), but I like to start with a layer of Virginia baked ham and top (or mix in) with cajun spice and add a layer of Panko. This time I started some bacon in the microwave and used it to top instead of the Panko. Poppers work really well on the grill, but smoking them is a little different. But it worked just fine to my taste and I'm looking forward to reheating the ones leftover on the grill. (I usually don't use bacon on poppers as it honestly doesn't add a lot if you use ham. But I was playing with the smoker.
)
Meatloaf: With the half pound of ground chuck leftover, I added more of the egg, more of the jalapeno/poblano mix. about 1 tsp Worchestershire, chopped onion, chopped garlic, dried oregano, dried basil and a few drops of Ghost Pepper sauce. Mixed all and shaped into a small loaf about 2" high on a piece of parchment paper. Then sprinkled well with cajun spice and a good thick layer of ketchup. After cutting the parchment paper out around the loaf, it was ready for the smoker.
Before and after pics of top grate:
And one final closeup after cutting off a slice of the meatloaf to sample -- first smoke ring I've seen in two years!
It's likely pretty obvious I happy with my "new" mini WSM. Because I cook mostly for myself and prepare almost all my meals outside, this is a fabulous add for my Genesis. Now to work more with them to complement each other...
I will be using this 14.5 cooker for pork butts, ribs and brisket as well as everything else we all like, but this time I was interested in small common items that I used to do with my WSM and haven't been able to get the smoky success obtained using my Genesis 330. The old axiom that you can't smoke with a gas grill sadly appears to be true -- despite all my attempts. And that explains why I added back a smoker. Grilling is wonderful, but it ain't smoking! To start, here's the 14.5 WSM and the charcoal used.
Now on to my cook with pics below: Chicken wings, chili rellenos, jalapeno poppers, meatloaf, a couple of sausages. All were sampled and lots of leftover to resurrect on the grill. The WSM started at 225* on the lid thermometer and 250* in the cook area (a Kuluner instant read fully inserted into the thermo grommet). Temp just inside (up the sides) was 275*. I loaded up both grates, put the lid on and left it for an hour and a half. During that time the lid thermometer rose to 250. I should also say that I seldom use recipes except for ideas and inspiration, so every cook tends to be different. It works for me and I can usually repeat what I like easily enough. Pic before starting with thin blue smoke.
Wings: Cooked on the lower grate. Just plain wings, dried an hour in the fridge. Afterward I bowl tossed-with a mix of Texas Pete, a good sprinkle of my cajun spice (very little salt) and about a teaspoon of lime juice. The wings tasted fine, but 1 1/2 hours was too long in the smoker so they were a bit tough. The skin was almost crisp despite the low temp, but chewy and retained the fat layer underneath. I'll try a fast, hot grill to see if they can be improved. So they were edible but certainly not great.
The rest of the cook was great to awesome. For the sausage, I used a couple of inches of Zatarain andouille I recently found -- also on the lower grate. I didn't think much of this sausage grilled, but smoking it really improved it, though I'll still stick with Aidells despite the big price jump. I'm not much for Johnsonville sausages, but I do like their Jalapeno Cheddar. Again, smoking on the upper grate greatly enhanced these supposedly "smoked" sausages (more like hotdog than "sausage"). I think I'll smoke a bunch at a time and then freeze and reheat later.
Now we get to the best part. I wanted to try some new chili rellenos to improve on another recent attempt. Of course, the WSM improved them over just grilling. You can see that I don't use breading as you would for frying. On a trip to Colorado years ago, we stopped at a good Mexican restaurant -- it turned out they make their rellenos much like I do. A standard for my rellenos is chopped onion and garlic (to taste) with a layer of Panko on top. For two large poblanos, I mixed a quarter pound of good ground chuck with 4 oz of cream cheese, about 2 oz of Monterrey Jack and 1 oz sharp cheddar. Add a tsp of cajun spice and some (1/4 cup?) chopped, lightly grilled jalapeno and serrano. Fabulous! In another poblano I mixed some shredded sharp cheddar and a little Monterrey Jack, the remaining jalapeno/serrano mix (a tablespoon?) and a half cup of my recently made red, beef chili -- it's quite hot! For flavor I've mixed beef chili in to rellenos before, but have not used as much. I certainly won't hesitate on this in the future. I should also say that I always add an egg to my relleno mixes. The egg cooks quickly and helps keep the cheese from leaking out. One egg for 3 - 4 poblano rellenos.
I make my jalapeno poppers pretty much in a consistent way, though I vary the mix of cheese (cheddar, cream cheese, blue cheese, anything I have available), but I like to start with a layer of Virginia baked ham and top (or mix in) with cajun spice and add a layer of Panko. This time I started some bacon in the microwave and used it to top instead of the Panko. Poppers work really well on the grill, but smoking them is a little different. But it worked just fine to my taste and I'm looking forward to reheating the ones leftover on the grill. (I usually don't use bacon on poppers as it honestly doesn't add a lot if you use ham. But I was playing with the smoker.
)Meatloaf: With the half pound of ground chuck leftover, I added more of the egg, more of the jalapeno/poblano mix. about 1 tsp Worchestershire, chopped onion, chopped garlic, dried oregano, dried basil and a few drops of Ghost Pepper sauce. Mixed all and shaped into a small loaf about 2" high on a piece of parchment paper. Then sprinkled well with cajun spice and a good thick layer of ketchup. After cutting the parchment paper out around the loaf, it was ready for the smoker.
Before and after pics of top grate:
And one final closeup after cutting off a slice of the meatloaf to sample -- first smoke ring I've seen in two years!
It's likely pretty obvious I happy with my "new" mini WSM. Because I cook mostly for myself and prepare almost all my meals outside, this is a fabulous add for my Genesis. Now to work more with them to complement each other...