New Smoker question(s)


 
C

Chris Spangler

New member
Hi everybody. After doing a lot of research, I took the plunge and bought the 18.5 Weber last week. Last night, using the Low and Slow book, I did the first recipe which is chicken which was marinated for about 5 hours. I followed the directions pefectly and used Cowboy lump charcoal and three chunks of apple wood. I thought the chicken was amazingly good, but my wife thought the taste was a little strong. Was looking for some thoughts on the taste she described since I am planning on doing ribs tomorrow and was planning on using the lump charcoal with hickory chunks. Any help would be geatly appreciated, but I had a blast cooking last night. Thanks and I have loved reading these forums
 
I don't understand your question. But hickory is stronger so you might want to cut back if you're trying to make your wife happy.
 
Go easy on the smoke wood, stick with the fruit wood and only a couple of chunks. When I do chicken I dont use any wood chunks, my wife can taste the smoke, and does not like it on chicken
 
Thanks so much for the advice with the chicken. Do you guys think I will get as strong of a flavor in the ribs if I use a few pieces of hickory or will it complement the tast of the ribs?
 
(from one noob to another)

I like the milder fruit woods...Apple and Cherry... I sometimes use one chunk of hickory and a couple of whatever fruit wood I have... Careful with the mesquite... you will figure out what you like as you use your smoker... and sounds like your getting good feedback from the boss!

D.
 
As noted here, chicken takes smoke easily. I did my first chicken cook low and slow with 4 chunks of oak and it was oversmoked with rubbery, but beautifully coloured, skin. Since then I cook it over 300F with no more than 2 chunks of more neutral wood (fruit woods) since the cook is only around 60-90 minutes. Mesquite can kill chicken and ribs quick. It seems to work better with heavier or more gamey meats but I tend to shy away from it now. That said, the taste is really up to the consumer (or his wife
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. My wife likes a more subtle smoke whereas I enjoy something heavier.

Recently, I've been using cherry and sugar maple chunks from Smokinlicious for ribs and chicken and hickory for butts and brisket. Gnerally, bigger cuts are much more forgiving.

Good luck and enjoy !

JDH
 
I love hickory with any pork. I agree with fruitwood and poultry. I am starting to mix and match to fine tune flavor. Most recently turkey with apple wood and a hint of hickory. It turned out very well. I used six chunks and will go four next time. Not bad this time, but not perfect either.
 
Just wanted to thank you all for all the advice and the information on this website. Hopefully, I got the picture up here correctly. I took the advice about how to do ribs and they were a big hit last night. Cooking on the 18.5 Weber, used a basic rub, 1 chunk of hickory, 1 chunk of apple and I was amazed how little you had to move the vents to keep the temperature at a certain level. I am trying to keep a log of what I used so I can refer back to it later. Thanks again you all!!!

6115671203
 
sounds to me the chicken skin may have been the culprit of the "little strong" taste.
Chris, what did you marinate the bird in?
How long did you cook the chicken?
 
marinated each chicken for about 4 hours in mojo criollo with half a lemon and olive oil. The skin was very dark brown when it was finished
 
Another thing on the wife and you disagreeing on level of smoke; you been breathing in the smoke during the cook so your tastebuds are saturated and a little numb before tasting. You'll find the day after eating leftovers, you get a true sense of the smoke level that your wife and others experience. I used to wonder why my ribs were alway stronger on the smoke favor the day after, until I found that out.

As to wood, I've found apple to be my favorite for pork. Like it better than cherry.
 
What they said. Chicken absorbs smoke easier for some reason. You will learn this as you use it. Also hickory is strong in flavor. Start by using apple wood with a small chunk of hickory and see how you like it and go from there. I too used too much wood the first few smokes and it was nasty.
However with beef you would want to use more wood as it does not grab the smoke as easy!
 
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