Source for Oak, etc.


 
D

Dick Carner

New member
This is my first post. I have been lurking about following various topics for a couple of weeks. My 22.5 WSM just arrived this morning! I live in Lancaster, PA. I was wondering if anyone locally here has a source for oak and any decent smoke wood. I heading to Costco for a Brisket. Eagerly looking forward to smoking it this weekend. I will take some images and all once I get going.
Dick
 
In the meantime...I have gone ahead and put together a dry rub using a recipe from Smoke and Spice. I bought a 10 pound brisket and some pork ribs. I cut the brisket in half and froze one half then rubbed in 'Wild Willy's #1 Onederful Rub in both pieces of meat. Tomorrow, I start up the WSM for the first time and let it rip.
 
That sounds like a good plan. I can buy Hickory and Mesquite fist sized chunks in a bag at the local grocery store here. Have you checked there yet? With all the good prep your doing, you sure do need some smoke.

Good Luck with it and please do post some pic's.

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I've taken the meat out of the refrigerator where it has been since last night. I have read that it is best to let the meat settle in at @ room temperature. I did pick up a bag of hickory chunks from an old timey hardware store. Need to find a cheaper supply!

Any ideas on how to attach images in the body of the msg. Or, do I have to link images to a URL like Photobucket?
 
Dick, try Smokinlicious.com if you can't find cheap, local wood. They have a great selection of variable sized cuts and deliver quick and cheap. It's not the least expensive option but it is a pretty good alternative if required.
 
Here's some notes. Left them unedited
Rubbed both pieces of meet using recipe from Smoke and Spice called "Wild Willys #1 One-derful Rub". Stashed in refrig. overnight.
Next day
Outside temp. 28 deg.

1. 9am lit chimney 100 Klingsford briquettes around edge 35 in chimney. Minion method
2. 9:30 Chimney full dumped on unlit coals. 4 hickory chunks added. Water added.
3. 9:45 Temp. at 210 deg. Put meat on. 6 lb beef brisket and 1 rack of spare ribs @ 3lbs.
4. 10:00 temp at 225. Shut vents 50%
5. Temp started dropping to 200. Open vents back up to full. Temp still lingered at 200. Added 15 more brickets. 3 small pcs hickory at 10:20
6. 10:52 Holding steady at 220 deg.
7. 11:00 Temp. began sliding off. At 210 deg. I added some lump charcoal and @10 more bricketts.
8. 11:20 That did the trick. Temp. cruised right up to 240 deg. Outside temp. 37deg.
9. 12:45 Ribs developed nice bark. wrapped in tinfoil and put back on grill. Added 15 more bricketts & a few chunks of clump charcoal.
Left house ran errands.
10. 3pm Water in pan almost gone. Replenish. Added brisketts and lump. Temp was at 190.
11. Temp. jumped up to 250 deg. Once again took a recipe out of Smoke and Spice called "Bour BQ Sauce" and prepared. Took maybe 1.5 hours start to finished.
12. @5pm removed tinfoil from ribs. Brushed sauce on ribs and brisket. Brisket had developed a gorgeous dark brown to black bark.
13. 6pm took ribs off top rack. Had to pick up with a spatula. They were falling off the bone! The color and smell was awesome!
14. 7pm. Foiled brisket. Left in WSM until 10pm. By then fire was basically out.
15. Couldn't resist cutting a slice off the end just to see what was up. The outer 1/4" or so displayed what you call a 'smoke ring' Brisket was wanting to literally fall apart. Very moist appearance. Too late to dig in. Plus my girl and I inhaled the ribs after we pulled them from the smoker. I couldn't believe how good they tasted. Call it beginners luck.

Things I would do differently:
1. Ribs were slightly dry or overcooked in places. I would foil them earlier on.
2. I have the 22.5. I should have added more charcoal. But the ring is huge! So, what I ended up doing was feeding it 10 to 15 briquettes here and there. Having the Lump on hand was a good thing. It jumped the temp. quicker. I just wish I could attach a few images!

Any feedback will be appreciated. I had a blast.
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Hi Dick,
Welcome to TVWBB. Any smoke you can eat is a good smoke!
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That's the only feedback I'm going to provide.

My main suggestion is to log our cooks so the next time you prepare to smoke something, you can review previous smokes and look for opportunities to improve. I think you covered everything including your own suggestions for what you would do differently.

My other comment is that using your WSM is a skill and the more you do it, the better you will get. In other words, don't let yourself be discouraged if your results aren't exactly what you wanted. You will get there soon enough as long as you keep using your WSM.

Edit: I forgot to answer your question about wood. I keep my eye open for down branches or logs left from tree trimming or cutting. I get maple, oak, black walnut, cherry, pear, mulberry and lilac on my property or near by. I still buy hickory and mesquite which I have not found locally. You can find some at Ace Hardware, Home Depot, Menards, Lowes ... Look around for the bags of chunks. Some of the sporting goods stores like Cabelas also carry smoking wood. You can order Weber branded bags of chunks from Walmart and save shipping by having them delivered to a local store for pickup.
 
Thanks for the response. Wood is aplenty here in SE PA. I start hunting some up. PA may be the largest source for black cherry.
 
Foiling the ribs and brisket speed up the cooking process and doesn't keep the meat from drying out if you over cook it. I rarely use foil when cooking low and slow.

Were you probing for done?

As for wood you can try local orchards for trimmings or the local firewood guy can probably sell you maple and oak.
 
That is interesting what you say that foiling doesn't prevent the meat from drying out. I had a probe but never used it. The ribs were falling off the bone. I should have stuck a probe in the brisket but it was around 10pm when I went out to check the fire. I must have nodded off... The thermometer did not register any heat. The Brisket was in foil and warm. I just did a visual inspection then took a slice off the end of the butt.

I'll work on getting some free wood here soon. It really shouldn't be much of a problem.
 
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