New Weber????

[Guest]

My wonderful wife got me a WSM (as I see it called) for Fathers Day. I do not have much experience with slow cooking meat but I have been smoking fish for years. I was taught by a fishing friends grandfather years ago and have been doing it ever since. He learned back in the twenties and had a huge brick cooker in his yard. The fish are usually fresh caught trout or salmon and I would smoke them for 6 - 12 hours. Usually starting at about 140F and working up to about 200-220 in maybe 4-6 temperture incraments. That's what I was taught. All the fish are cured in a brine and dried for at least half to a full day.
So what do I do different? How should I modify my cooking methods for meat? My old smoker was quite a cheap one and took me a while to modify and master. It seems that this one is way better. Obviously with a web site dedicated to it. I see brine is not often used for meat. Any reason why?
Thanks for your help. Any tips appreciated.

Keith

 

[Ryan Solin]

There's a few places on this web site that you're going to want to read through.

Off the main menu, I would suggest first going through the "Usage Tips & FAQs". Within that, the most important section for you would be the "getting started" area. It is very comprehensive and very easy to follow.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html

Also check out the "Let's Cook!" section off the main menu. Everything you need to know about brisket, butts, ribs, chicken, fish, and more is there.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html

And of course, if you have any hang ups or issues, throw a post on the board here. There are plenty of knowledgable people here that can help you through virtually any issue you may have with the bullet.

Happy q'in!

-Ryan

 

[Jim Minion]

What you do will work for cured product but for most BBQ your are going to cook from 225 to 270?
and forget the 140? at the start.
Jim

 

[Walt Travers]

Keith --

You might also consider stopping at Randy's web site, where he has a great
presentation of his fish smoking procedure, using a WSM.

The address is: www.randyq.addr.com

Scroll down to the title -- Smoking FISH. I'm sure you can adapt his procedure
to your needs. By the way, the price of admission may well mean that you must
pass on your recipes and techniques ;~) . I'm always looking for a better smoked
salmon!

Welcome and good luck.

 

[Guest]

You need to understand that there is a difference between "cold smoking" and "hot smoking".

Cold smoking is done to cure meat or fish and usually involves some kind of curing agent like salt, sodium nitrate, etc. It is done at very low temperatures (say 90 to 150 degrees) and is not really intended to cook or heat the meat to cooked temperatures (150+ degrees). Examples, would be smoked salmon, bacon, cured sausages, hams, etc.

Hot smoking is a bit of misnomer, but that's the term that's used for long slow cooking in a bar-b-q pit. Here, the goal is to hold temperatures in the 225 to 250 degree range and allow a piece of meat to cook for a very long time to render the fat and tenderize it like pot roast. The reason for the relatively low temperatures is that they keep the meat below the boiling point of water so cooking for 6, 9, or 12 hours doesn't dry out the meat. This style of cooking is generally reserved for same kinds of meat that you would use for pot roast -- tougher, fattier cuts of meat.

A lean piece of meat (prime rib roast) or most poultry works better for "roasting" -- cooking in your barbq contraption at temperatures above 325 degrees.

Cold smoking or curing is pretty tough to do in a WSM. Not impossible, but it is really designed for "hot smoking".

Before jumping into cold smoking, you should read up on curing agents, sodium nitrate, and other safety information. Holding food in the 40 to 140 degree range for any extended period of time can lead to some very serious food poisoning issues -- particularly with sausages. Best to read up on the particular type of cold smoking you want to do.

An electric smoker like the Cook Shack is probably better suited to "cold smoking" at home.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, I understand. I never cold smoked my fish, just started at 140F. The fish always finished off at cooking temps of around 220F. I did recently cold smoke a bunch of cheese. It came out great. I did not even use a thermometer. I just made sure the grate was not warm. It was actually real easy on the WSM as I use to do it on a smoker with no adjustable vents. The only heat control was the amount of briquets.