A litle help

[james74]

Hi there everyone!

Well after a long time I have used my smoker (WSM 18,5) but I've found myself with some trouble and doubts...and unfortunately there are not many folks who know about smoking around here (Spain)

Do I have to clean my WSM?(Water and soap) or do I have to spray some oil in it to make the coating inside the smoker?.

Well thanks for the help in advance.

 

[daks]

James, you should be able to just fire it up and go.  Had several smokers and grills over the yrs and never seasoned any of them with anything.  Just remember to clean off your temp probe every once in a while as carbon and other things will build up on it. 

Spain huh?  Had some really really good times in that country back in the early 80's.  WOW...good times. 

 

[wade]

Hi James

Just give it a quick brush out with a wire brush to remove and loose dust/carbon and scrape out any visible lumps that should not be there. You should then run it hot for an hour or so without any meat to burn anything off that may be inside. You are then good to go.

You can use the soap and water on the outside if you want to to make it look nice and shiny again.

You will not need to oil it with cooking oil - and whatever you do don't even think about using any other kind of oil!

Once you get it in action again don't forget to post some photos of your first cook

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Have fun , and send some Spanish recipes

as always . . .

 

[james74]

Well. Thanks for the advices. I can post some spanish recipes if you want, but I don't know where to place them,and they wouldn't use smoke.

Tonight I am trying to smoke a pork shoulder but I am having some trouble with the temperature. I can't reach even 250F with my WSM. It only goes to 220.

And I have used a lot of oak coal. A lot.I have refilled it with hot water.
I think (almost sure) that I am doing something (probably a bunch of things) wrong.
At first I realised that the coal that I lit in the chimney starter for twenty minutes, as soon as I place it in the WSM, looses its brightness and its heat.
I thought it may be the ashes, so I emptied it from ashes and filled it again with lit charcoal chunks....but the same happened. Only 220F.

The pork shoulder has reached 188F, but I have spent my last coal.....how will this end?

Ans other two questions: How on earth do you refill the water? And...do you add the coal chunks lit or unlit? I have noticed a strange smell when they burn at the beginning.

I will really appreciate your help.

Thank you.

 

[wade]

The pork shoulder has reached 188F, but I have spent my last coal.....how will this end?

Don't let it go to waste - finish it off in the kitchen oven if you have run out of wood/charcoal.

 

[james74]

Well that is a good idea. But isn't that temperature enough?
In Spain we consider it safe when it reaches 174F

 

[venture]

Pork shoulder is safe at that temp, just not the texture you are looking for.

To make pulled pork, you need to be in the 200 F internal temp range.

At 174F temp you would have meat for slicing, but most of us like to pull them.

We could be dealing with culture differences here?

Also, I would welcome any Spanish, Basque, or Portagee recipes you would care to post!

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[james74]

Well. Thanks for the explanation. As I want to get pulled pork,....I will do it the right way.

As for the recipes....although there are some basque in France, the basque country is IN Spain, and is a part of it, despite what some basque nationalist (some of them FARC buddies) claim.


The basque have some very good cod recipes, if you want I could post some, first of all the bacalao al pil pil.

 

[noboundaries]

James, sounds like the smoke is done but I'm sure there are more on the horizon.  Here's what you can do to get your temps up, and I'm assuming we're taking F not C. 

The WSM should easily cruise up to as high as 350F, so first decide at what temp you want to smoke. 

Now, fill the charcoal ring with a layer of cold charcoal about 25-35mm thick.  Evenly space 3-5 fist sized pieces or piles of wood.  Then cover that with another 25-35mm layer of cold charcoal and put another 3-5 pieces of wood evenly around the top of that.  Open all your bottom vents and dump a half chimney of flaming hot, ashed over charcoal in the middle of your charcoal ring on top of the cold charcoal.  Spread it out a little so it doesn't touch the bottom of your water pan.  Leave the WSM unassembled and the charcoal burning like that for about 5 minutes.  Then add your barrel, pour hot water to fill your water pan, then put the lid on with the top vent fully open. 

Watch your temp climb and when you are within 25F of your desired temperature start closing down your bottom vents.  You'll get the feel with practice how much to close them.  For higher temps they stay open more.  Lower temps, like 225F, they may be only open 5-8mm. 

Add the meat when you start to see the smoke change from whitish grey to hints of blue. 

As far as refilling your water pan, that's up to you.  I don't.  I dry smoke with my WSM a lot of the time (no water), or wet-to-dry smoke (fill and when it is empty I don't refill).  BTW, water is best used when you are smoking at 250F or less, otherwise you're just using heat from the fuel to evaporate water.  What you want is a low simmer, not a rolling boil.  For higher temp smokes, 275 and up, no need for water.

When the smoke is over, remove the meat, close all your vents top and bottom, and reuse the leftover fuel the next time, just knocking off the ash.  I have got good at lifting the used charcoal grate and ring, setting it on a couple bricks, dumping the ash from the bowl, then putting the grate/ring with the used charcoal back in the smoker.  Add more cold charcoal, wood, and hot charcoal for your next smoke.   

Hope that helps. 

Love the wine from Spain BTW.  One of our favorite wine producing countries.  I just might have to open a bottle tonight! 

 

[wade]

The basque have some very good cod recipes, if you want I could post some, first of all the bacalao al pil pil.

Yes please. I would certainly be interested in some of your local recipes.

 

[welshrarebit]

You had me at bacalao! That is some good stuff...

There's a lot of Portuguese people here in Hawaii and they use to put bacalao inside a local dish, lau lau, and it was incredible to eat! It very rare to get a lau lau with salted cod anymore because of the price.

 

[james74]

Well thanks for the tips.

About the cod, I will try to post them..but..do you know where I am supposed yo do it?

Thanks

PD Thanks Wade. I finished the pork in the oven. And it looks great.

 

[venture]

For bacalao, this might be a good place:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/103/fish

Actually for anything Spanish, Spanish Basque or Portagee?  You could just PM me? 

I wouldn't even discriminate about any French Basque recipes?  But Spanish Basque is my main interest.

I especially like old family recipes.  Down home country food!

Good luck and good smoking.