Newcomer living in Lafayette, Louisiana


 

Lee Jeffrey

New member
Good morning, everybody. I have been lurking on the board for a couple of weeks now, but feel the need to begin posting since I just made my order for an 18.5" WSM this morning! I am super excited, and I am still trying to figure out what I will be smoking for Memorial Day. Any suggestions are welcome, but I am going for something easy, as it will be my first smoke.

I am originally from Ft. Worth, Texas, but moved to Lafayette about a year ago for a new job. Since moving, I have gotten a whole new perspective on cooking and have been doing lots of experimenting. Hopefully this new addition to my aresenal of cookware will help me expand my specialties and allow me to try new things. I am open to trying anything, so I look forward to getting guidance from this board.

Have a great weekend, everybody.
 
I know a girl from Lafayette, sounds like it is in the heart of Cajun country. I would imagine that you will be making your food super spicy before long.

I would recommend making pork butts for your first cook. They are very forgiving, and all the grease they produce is good for "seasoning" your smoker.

Harry Soo says the WSM produces its best results after being fully seasoned, which he says takes 10 or so cooks.

The WSM is also harder to control when it is new because it's not as air tight. Once fully seasoned, gunk will accumulate all around the air holes and make the unit more air tight.
 
Sven, As far as I can see, Louisiana doesn't really have a definitive style of BBQ. In this part of the state, when people say BBQ, they typically refer to a pork steak. I much prefer a good ol beef brisket, or some pulled pork.
 
I agree with Bryan B - smoke a pork butt. That was my first cook on my WSM because it's pretty much a "no fail" meat.

And welcome to the forums Lee!
 
Bryan, yes I am in the heart of Cajun Country. I actually work in Acadia Parish with some proud Cajuns who are teaching me a lot about cooking in a different way that I am used to. Here, you'd better like your meat in a gravy (which can be anything from a traditional brown gravy to a tomato gravy, basically any thick liquid you cook in), because that is the preferred way of cooking anything.

It's fun though because my mother is from New Orleans, so she taught me a lot about Creole cooking, and my Dad is from Texas, so I have a firm foundation in cooking on a pit. Plus with all of the mexican influence in the area, I am able to have a wide variety of styles and have been working on balancing all of the flavors from each style I know.

Good call on the pork butt, that was what I was leaning toward. After I get my smoker broken in, I plan to do some turkey breasts and some chicken. Maybe even try some duck. I love smoked poultry.
 
It finally came! I just assembled it, going to do a dry run tomorrow to practice holding temperature, maybe another on Thursday. Pork butts on Saturday. It's going to be a great weekend.
 
Congrats on the new WSM and welcome aboard. Don't forget to post pics of your cooks.
I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures this weekend. I'm pretty excited about finally getting to cook. I'll be up super early Saturday morning to get the meat on in time to have a good mid-afternoon meal. The dry run last night went really well, I used the Minion Method and was able to hold my temperature right in the range I wanted it. All I need to change is how I place my wood chunks because the smoke stopped a couple of times, and keep a better eye on the water bowl, it dried out faster than I expected.
 

 

Back
Top