Hey all,
I threw this in Pork, cause i guess a majority of what i smoke was pork products (Baby Backs, Sausage, & the Spam)...
I got the Smoker delivered on 3/1 (was so busy had to wait till 3/12 to do my 1st smoke on it):
I started work on redoing my basement (nothing fancy... when all is said & done, it will just be a fresh coat of paint and a few improvements on the outdated items...)... My Brother came over Saturday for the demo/removal part of the job (we tore up carpet, moved out all the furniture, and a few other things)... What better way to break in the new Smoker than to treat the much needed help to a huge meal of meat, meat, & more meat! Oh an plenty of cold beer of course...
I ran to Home Depot & BJs early Saturday to get everything i needed... From HD I got a bag of Lump & a double pack briquettes (i also grabbed Cherry Chunks & a chimney starter)... Usually i like to get my meat at least the day before so i can rub the day/night before, but it was all last minute... Grabbed 3 racks of Baby Backs, 2 Pkgs of Beef Short Ribs, 1 boneless Perdue Turkey Breast (pre-seasoned), & Spam (my bro brought the sausage later that day, so no in pic)
I have my own homemade Brown Sugar based rub... I also have a bunch of store bought ones so i decided to do some multi flavored ribs... i used the below rubs...
McCormick's Sweet & Smoky went on one rack of Baby Backs, Jake's Grillin Pork Rub (made with coffee) went on the 2nd Rack of BBs, & My Rub went on the 3rd rack of BBs & 2 cans of Spam)... The Turkey i did not mess with and the Lawry's Perfect Blend went on half the Beef Ribs & I put Montreal Steak on the other half...
All Rubbed Down... (Used Mustard)
I smoked with Cherry Wood & a mix of the 2 charcoals... Did the BBs 2-2-1, the Spam for 2 hrs, The Beef Ribs 6 hrs & the Turkey i did by temp (not sure how long it took)... I didn't get any shots of the smoker in action because we were pretty well occupied in the basement, but here are the meats as they came off...
Spam (my first time doing this, and not my last... it gave us something to snack on with our beers and held us over for the good stuff)... Special thanks to The Dude Abides for the idea:
The Baby Backs (I did them 2-2-1 & dry for choice of sauce at the end... During the foil i added Apple Juice & Honey... BTW: these racks were pretty darn big... one of the rack had a good 2inches worth of meat after cooking on the bone... maybe more):
Boneless Turkey Breast (my first time doing this and will not be the last... this was a real hit!):
The Beef Short Ribs (I put them on the bottom rack so i didnt foil them... They came out good, but next time will go back to foiling... I also did them dry):
):
Here are 2 shots with the BBs cut up & the Turkey sliced... Also the sausage finally making an appearance:
Final thoughts on the WSM 22.5... I FREAKING LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! i was surprised i was able to get all this meat in the smoker... The heat maintained very well and for the duration of the smoke... with a few minor jumps here and there (and one dip)... but for the most part it was just as easy as my Gas Smokers... I almost forgot just how much flavor charcoal can add... It was great for my first smoke on it... I can not wait to do more... I would recommend this smoker to everyone & anyone... (special thanks to SmokinAl as he gave me a few tips and pointers on a PM for my first smoke)... Thanks for looking everyone!
I threw this in Pork, cause i guess a majority of what i smoke was pork products (Baby Backs, Sausage, & the Spam)...
I got the Smoker delivered on 3/1 (was so busy had to wait till 3/12 to do my 1st smoke on it):
I started work on redoing my basement (nothing fancy... when all is said & done, it will just be a fresh coat of paint and a few improvements on the outdated items...)... My Brother came over Saturday for the demo/removal part of the job (we tore up carpet, moved out all the furniture, and a few other things)... What better way to break in the new Smoker than to treat the much needed help to a huge meal of meat, meat, & more meat! Oh an plenty of cold beer of course...
I ran to Home Depot & BJs early Saturday to get everything i needed... From HD I got a bag of Lump & a double pack briquettes (i also grabbed Cherry Chunks & a chimney starter)... Usually i like to get my meat at least the day before so i can rub the day/night before, but it was all last minute... Grabbed 3 racks of Baby Backs, 2 Pkgs of Beef Short Ribs, 1 boneless Perdue Turkey Breast (pre-seasoned), & Spam (my bro brought the sausage later that day, so no in pic)
I have my own homemade Brown Sugar based rub... I also have a bunch of store bought ones so i decided to do some multi flavored ribs... i used the below rubs...
McCormick's Sweet & Smoky went on one rack of Baby Backs, Jake's Grillin Pork Rub (made with coffee) went on the 2nd Rack of BBs, & My Rub went on the 3rd rack of BBs & 2 cans of Spam)... The Turkey i did not mess with and the Lawry's Perfect Blend went on half the Beef Ribs & I put Montreal Steak on the other half...
All Rubbed Down... (Used Mustard)
I smoked with Cherry Wood & a mix of the 2 charcoals... Did the BBs 2-2-1, the Spam for 2 hrs, The Beef Ribs 6 hrs & the Turkey i did by temp (not sure how long it took)... I didn't get any shots of the smoker in action because we were pretty well occupied in the basement, but here are the meats as they came off...
Spam (my first time doing this, and not my last... it gave us something to snack on with our beers and held us over for the good stuff)... Special thanks to The Dude Abides for the idea:
The Baby Backs (I did them 2-2-1 & dry for choice of sauce at the end... During the foil i added Apple Juice & Honey... BTW: these racks were pretty darn big... one of the rack had a good 2inches worth of meat after cooking on the bone... maybe more):
Boneless Turkey Breast (my first time doing this and will not be the last... this was a real hit!):
The Beef Short Ribs (I put them on the bottom rack so i didnt foil them... They came out good, but next time will go back to foiling... I also did them dry):
Here are 2 shots with the BBs cut up & the Turkey sliced... Also the sausage finally making an appearance:
Final thoughts on the WSM 22.5... I FREAKING LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! i was surprised i was able to get all this meat in the smoker... The heat maintained very well and for the duration of the smoke... with a few minor jumps here and there (and one dip)... but for the most part it was just as easy as my Gas Smokers... I almost forgot just how much flavor charcoal can add... It was great for my first smoke on it... I can not wait to do more... I would recommend this smoker to everyone & anyone... (special thanks to SmokinAl as he gave me a few tips and pointers on a PM for my first smoke)... Thanks for looking everyone!