New to smoking and have no equipment yet but it's on the way!

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pennstater2005

Fire Starter
Original poster
Apr 16, 2017
47
11
Hello!

My name is Eric.  I'm from western PA north of Pittsburgh.  I've never smoked anything but can't wait to!  I've ordered the WSM 14.5" and a few accessories.  I'm not even sure what to smoke first but I'll think of something.  I looked around at some other forums and this one by far seemed to be the best!

Eric
 
Eric, Welcome!  A first EASY smoke would be a pork tenderloin patted down with you favorite rub. Quick and foolproof ! Hit the searchbar above for all kinds of ideas to smoke about anything !
 
Thanks CrazyMoon.  Pork tenderloin it is!  An easy smoke is what I'll need.  I'll have to season the WSM first from what I'm reading.  I've been reading all over the place here.
 
Thanks Al! I did subscribe to that course. For the first part emailed right away. Evidently, I don't even know anything about meat either!
 
I've almost got all the equipment I need, or at least I think, to start smoking this weekend.  The WSM should be here tomorrow.  I've got charcoal, mesquite wood chunks, charcoal chimney, and a dual probe thermometer.  Oh, and a cover for the smoker.  Am I missing anything?
 
When doing pork tenderloins I love to cut the tenderloin into approx. 3rds season and coil tenderloin to form a small circle. Cut a 1/4"-3/8" slice of onion and 1/4" - 3/8" slice of tomato. Put slice of onion on top of each tenderloin put slice of tomato on top of each onion take 2 strips of thin cut bacon form a X put each tenderloin on top of the bacon wrap bacon up and around meat, onion and tomato. Smoke at 250 deg until meat reaches 160-165 deg. This is a foolproof way of not letting the tenderloin meat dry out as the bacon, tomato and onion continue to baste the meat the entire cook. Excellent meal with meat and veggies included. This is also one of them recipes that tastes as good if not better the next day - just heat up in microwave and enjoy the leftovers. When making these we always make enough for leftovers. Hint if the bacon does not crisp up the way you like it in the time it takes for the tenderloin to be done transfer to cookie sheet lined with foil and put under broiler in stove until done to your liking.
 
^ Thanks for the recipe. Sounds delicious! How do you hold them into a coil? With a skewer I imagine.
 
Got the 14.5" assembled tonight. Tomorrow will be the seasoning and then Saturday will be it's first smoke. I'm pretty excited :yahoo: I just got chapter three read today on the e-course and will have it finished up by Friday just in time.
 
I've almost got all the equipment I need, or at least I think, to start smoking this weekend.  The WSM should be here tomorrow.  I've got charcoal, mesquite wood chunks, charcoal chimney, and a dual probe thermometer.  Oh, and a cover for the smoker.  Am I missing anything?


Dude, sounds like you did some homework and I admire someone that shows up for the game ready to play. You ain't missin nuthin. Nice work.

Mesquite is a strong wood so don't get to aggressive with the amount you use. The flavor is excellent, just be mindful and only us a fist size chunk or 2 at the most on your first smoke.

Also, pork butt is probably considered the most forgiving meat to smoke. You can cook at anything from 210* on up and wrap or don't wrap, put a lot of smoke on it or jus a little, it doesn't matter. Just cook to an internal temp above 200 (205* is a popular IT) and you will have some good eats. Let it rest an hour or so and dig in. Do a search here for finishing sauce for the ultimate experience. Ummmmmmm!

Welcome to your new obsession.
 
^ Thanks for the additional info tbrtt1.  I probably would've used more mesquite had you not advised that.  I'm considering either pork or a couple whole chickens for the first smoke.  When you rest the meat for an hour it obviously cools off.  How do you reheat it without cooking it any further?
 
^ Thanks for the additional info tbrtt1.  I probably would've used more mesquite had you not advised that.  I'm considering either pork or a couple whole chickens for the first smoke.  When you rest the meat for an hour it obviously cools off.  How do you reheat it without cooking it any further?

Most of us rest it in a cooler so it stays warm. So , with the pork butt (I really recommend you start with a butt personally) and other large cuts like briskets, remove from smoker at appropriate doneness, and if meat isn't already wrapped, wrap it in foil and then rap that in a towel or something to keep your cooler from any juice leakage. The insulated cooler will keep it warm for many hours. It is one of a pit master most valuable tools. Meats can be cooked with time to spare and held for hours until you are ready.if you don't need to wait , the just remove and let it rest for 20 mins or so or until the internal temp drops to around 140-150*.

Don't forget to post pics from your maiden voyage.
 
Pork butt it is but one more question.  I have a 14.5" WSM.  What size pork butt would fit?  Right now it's mostly just me and my wife that will be eating.  I have a 5 year old boy who will eat a little and a 3 year old girl who probably won't touch it.  Thanks again for the advice, really appreciated!
 
 
Pork butt it is but one more question.  I have a 14.5" WSM.  What size pork butt would fit?  Right now it's mostly just me and my wife that will be eating.  I have a 5 year old boy who will eat a little and a 3 year old girl who probably won't touch it.  Thanks again for the advice, really appreciated!
You can fit an 8-10 lb. butt in your smoker. Look for one that's in the 5 to 6 lb. range with the bone in.

Leftover pulled pork freezes & reheats very well.

Al
 
Pork butt it is but one more question.  I have a 14.5" WSM.  What size pork butt would fit?  Right now it's mostly just me and my wife that will be eating.  I have a 5 year old boy who will eat a little and a 3 year old girl who probably won't touch it.  Thanks again for the advice, really appreciated!
You can fit an 8-10 lb. butt in your smoker. Look for one that's in the 5 to 6 lb. range with the bone in.
Leftover pulled pork freezes & reheats very well.

Al

Thanks Al. This is all great info as I truly have no idea what I'm doing but hope to soon!



Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new smoker!! Give chicken a shot, easy to smoke and tastes great.

Chicken will be next. My issue might be rain this weekend here in PA. I'm not sure about smoking in the rain. Thanks for the welcome!
 
Okay so I seasoned the smoker Saturday and smoked two whole chickens today.

The Seasoning: This did actually lessen the amount of smoke escaping the unit although not entirely.

And the smoked whole chickens from today which I soaked overnight in a simple kosher salt and brown sugar brine then did a dry rub today:

And the finished product!
I used cherry wood chunks but next time will try the mesquite ones. I think I'm gonna love smoking meat!
 
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Welcome to the forum Pennstater and I'm sure you'll enjoy smoking meat! I got into smoking about 4 years ago and this forum has been invaluable since I found it. Nice looking chicken, check out one of those "beer can chicken" recipes, they sell stands all over the place but with a little ingenuity one can be made with a coat hanger and beer can or something. It was first smoke and still my favorite way to cook a chicken.
 
Welcome to the BEST forums you'll find on the net (your new addiction) ... Chicken looks great.. how did you and the family like them ??
 
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