The next step in Illinois

[walterwhite]

Decades ago when we got married, we got a Weber kettle for a wedding present. I was young and ign'ant and just didn't get it, so it remained unused for several years. One day I finally unpacked it, bought some baby back ribs and went to town.

Holy cow!

I could hardly believe hot good they were.

We've been using the weber kettle ever since. At one point we did get a gas grill which taught me how important the charcoal is. Had it for years and we're still on the first tank of propane. About all I use it for is roasting corn. It puts out plenty of heat to do that. ;) A couple days ago I made some pulled pork, using hickory chips and apple wood on the briquettes. That came out really well too. The meat was fist size chunks of boneless pork labeled as rib trimmings and only cost $1.39/lb.

So I've decided to take it to the next level and get a Weber Smokey Mountain (er, WSM ;) ) I won't get rid of the kettle 'cause I'm sure it will still be better for stuff like shrimp, steak and marinated roasted potatoes (*) but when it comes to smoking, I think the WSM will open up a lot more possibilities.

I had to remove a box elder so I looked up whether I could use that for smoking and (as it is a maple) I can. I also have cherry and black walnut to trim so there is an additional source for smoking wood. I'll keep an eye out for oak and maybe even hickory storm damage and contact local orchards for apple and that should pretty well round out my wood supply.

-walter

(*) Marinate potato chunks in a mix of Italian dressing and Poupon mustard with Hungarian paprika and black or white pepper to taste and then roast on a kettle using the indirect method with fairly high heat. MMMmmm!

 

[smokingd]

Welcome to SMF, you will find and you need here lots of good people. We love the Q-View as well

 

[pineywoods]

Walter welcome to SMF glad you joined us. Congrats on the new smoker. You'll find lots of info and some great recipes here. Have fun and happy smoking

 

[gnubee]

Walter Welcome to SMF .

For corn you don't need anything fancy just shuck them and put them in with your regular smoke at 230f they take an hour and a half and turn out moist and sweet. ( yes they turn out moist even with the husks and beards taken off. ) You don't need soak them in water or anything like that. Its a Very simple formula and they taste far better than corn done at a higher heat. I put them in with ribs for the last hour and a half of the smoke.

 

[deltadude]

Ya done it now! No more Q without tellin your new friends here at SMF!
I don't own a WSM but from everything I read, had I not got the MES, my next choice would be a WSM. So which size are you going to get?

You may have already discovered this site, in case you haven't a great resource for the WSM is the Virtual Bullet.

I luv my kettle too, use it at least once or twice a week, and I use my gas weber the other days if not smokin. They are all fun to use for cookin and fixin good Q grub.

 

[walterwhite]

Thanks all for the warm welcome.

Thanks for the tips on making corn in the smoker. I'll have to give that a try.

I'm planning on getting the smaller size. By all accounts they both work well and with the kids out of the house, I don't think we need the extra capacity that we'd get with the larger one.

Thanks for the link to Virtual Bullet. I'd already found it and am perusing the operating tips now. Between that site and SMF there's an incredible wealth of experience that's going to get me off to a running start. In fact, the information I'm finding is probably going to be as big a factor - perhaps even a bigger factor - than getting a proper smoker in the first place.

best,
walter

 

[beer-b-q]

Welcome Walter, Glad to have you with us. This is the place to learn, lots of good info and helpful friendly Members.

Be sure to check out Jeff's 5Day Smoking Basics eCourse, you can find it here it's "FREE"...5 Day e Course

Everyone here enjoys seeing the qview so be sure to post plenty of pics.

 

[mballi3011]

First off welcome to SMF. You'll like it here cause there are alot of good folks here that would just love to help you out with anything to do with smoking. I think you should look up the E-corse it's free and very informative and it will give you the basics on smoking. Then you need to look up on the front page "for new members" there you will find a page about photobucket join that it's free also and will teach you how to post photos anf thats agood thing so we can see what your smoking on and what your smoking. then run out and get something to smoke if you have any question just ask them here and we will answer it for you. So go smoke something.
Welcome To The Addiction

 

[richoso1]

Welcome to the SMF, and thanks for the introduction. Plenty of friendly folks here who are willing to help, all you have to do is ask. It's all good my friend.

 

[irishteabear]

Hi Walter, welcome to SMF. Glad you joined us.

 

[roadrunr]

Welcome fellow Illinoisian...bout what parts ya from?

 

[walterwhite]

Far western Chicago 'burbs. (Winfield, to be specific.) How about you?

Picked up the WSM and had a go at some chicken and corn. :D (I learned a lot. heh. ;) )

best,
walter

 

[thomasyoung]

Welcome to SMF Walter!!Glad you decided to join us.

Thomas

 

[roadrunr]

Hey Walter, ya aint too far. Im in Schaumburg area. How ya like the WSM so far?

 

[walterwhite]

Not far at all.

Hard to say yet. Time will tell. The first food out of it came out well, but I really got it for stuff that I want to cook long and slow.

At the moment it's been closed down a couple hours and it is still hot, so I don't think it seals as well as my kettle. Perhaps I can improve that.

-walter

 

[northwoods]

Nice job on getting the WSM. That is a fantastic smoker. You are definitely on the right track. Good luck on your BBQ journey!

 

[brae]

Hey Walter. I am new like you. Also I am in the process of moving from a wood burner to my new WSM too, and frankly am a bit intimidated about using charcole versus wood. A completely new experience. So I am trying to learn all I can from these smart folks. I just manage to keep myself forever hungry when I visit here! LOL I am taking the ecourse now, and have read up on everything I can here in an effort to get ready to do my first boston butt in a couple of weeks. I'll keep watching to see how you fare and wish you tons of luck. As I progress with my WSM, I'll let ya know my sucesses and sadly, failures. chuckle

 

[chisoxjim]

good choice on the WSM guys. such an easy unit to use, pretty much set it and forget it in my experience.

 

[walterwhite]

Well, fools rush in... I haven't had my WSM for 24 hours and I've already prepared my first food in it. How can you wait!?!

Just do it. What's the worst that could happen? (Check food handling safety. There's probably a way to give you and your family food poisoning.

)

Charcoal is probably easier than wood since it tends to burn more consistently and that makes temperature control easier. No need to fear. But do get a charcoal chimney to start charcoal in. Some of the best $$$ I ever spent.

Like any skill, you won't get good if you don't practice it. Start small if you're worried about ruining an expensive piece of meat.

My $0.02consistently and that makes temperature control easier. No need to fear. But do get a charcoal chimney to start charcoal in. Some of the best $$$ I ever spent.

Like any skill, you won't get good if you don't practice it. Start small if you're worried about ruining an expensive piece of meat. There's a wealth of great information on this site but don't let it overwhelm you. You're not going to get anywhere until you light some charcoal and fiddle with the controls.

My $0.02

Good luck with your smoker.

-walter

 

[rickw]

Another Illinoisan here (Wilmington) welcome aboard.