New smoker

[banehog]

Hi everyone, just taken delivery of a Weber smoker today, my names Shane and I live in Bristol. Looking foward trying it out this week, its currentley taking pride of place in the middle of the lounge. What do you think my first cook should be. Never done any smoking before, so looking foward to learning all I can from the forum. Will post some photos of the results.

[keith157]

The first thing you have to come to grips with, I'm sad to say, is that it has to leave the warmth of the lounge for the great outdoors

[London Irish]

Good evening Shane and welcome to the forum......definitely the place to be no matter what your level of experience.

With regards to your question, it really depends on how confident you feel right now???? Maybe a pork shoulder, half price in Sainsbury's right now I've just injected and rubbed one ready to go on tomorrow

Whatever you decide, let us know how you get on,


John

[banehog]

Thanks guys,
Gonna try a pork shoulder, maybe put some butt rub on it. I like the sound of injecting the meat, what do you inject it with?
Just ordered two big bags of restaurant grade charcoal from macro, will let you know how it works out.


Shane

[London Irish]

Good stuff, I along with a load others on here use the blue bag.

I injected mine last night with-

3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup garlic braai salt (any salt will do)
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

Try and keep to 1 tablespoon per pound of meat.

Rub-

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/3 cup garlic braai salt
1/3 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin.

I buy my spices in 1kg bags from Asian retailers which really cuts down on costs.


Mine's chugging away at the moment with some pieces of oak and cherry for smoke

[banehog]

Thanks John,
Mission for today is a meat injector, i have a 1.8kg pork shoulder joint from sainsburys,how long do you think this will take to smoke.
Do you take the rind off before you apply your rub and then put it back on? leave it tied or untied.
Any recomendations for the lower shelf ? also thinking about getting a thermapen, are they necessary? do you use one.
I think thurs or friday im getting it on. been dreaming of smokey goodness for too long now


Shane

[London Irish]

Morning Shane,

the time length will depend on the temp of your pit but a rough guide would be one hour per pound (at about 225) until it reaches an internal temp of 195.
What you do with the rind is entirely up to you, personally I remove it, rub and tie back on, I'm a sucker for crackling

Regards the Thermapen, they're a fantastic piece of kit. They give a very quick reading, so ideal when you're probing your meat. I got mine from eBay...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=thermapen

E.T.I. state that they're recons but my one looked brand new and almost half the price

Looking forward to see how you get on!!

[keith157]

Have to echo London Irish's comments you MUST have some kind of thermometer doesn't have to be a thermopen when you are starting out but IMHO for the price they are the best readily available (and made) in the UK. They are all certified ( the thermopens not the staff although............ ) and as accurate as possible at that price. I got my first on ebay, if it wasn't brand new then the guy who does the refurbing must have been at Rolls Royce on the coachwork side.
Get a thermopen, get it as soon as you can, you have to be able to tell the temp of the meat you are cooking to ensure that it is ready to come off, and more importantly it is safe to eat.
A remote sensing thermometer (apparantly the ikea ones are all the rage for the price) i.e. one where the probe is left in the meat or bbq and the monitor is outside will stop you having to keep lifting the lid, is another good if not great buy. When the monitor indicates the meat is at temperature, check with your thermopen (or similar certified and guaranteed device) the do what you have to do before eating safe in the knowledge the food is cooked to as near perfection as us mere mortals can reach.

Have fun

[gazz_46]

Don't do it Shane.... Keep that baby wrapped up seriously, crack on wot ever u cook will be awesome on wsm

[philnewts]

Hi, and welcome.

Just a quick tip, If you do use Butt Rub, keep it light, a nice cover but light. It is easy to over do it, particularly with Butt Rub. I cooked with Byron at Grillstock and realised quickly that I had been over using it.