First Day Ever with the WSM tomorrow!

[len-griller]

I already feel at home.....tomorrow is my first day to smoke meat on my new WSM (as I have learned is the way to identify my cooking apparatus). I'm so excited, last night I could barely fall asleep thinking about my upcoming first time smoking experience...tonight ought to be much of the same....haha

My name is Len and I live in Reading, Pennsylvania. I love to grill....but its time for me to do new things with pork. I'm probably the only Jewish guy to have a pig roast served at his wedding!

Anyway, I'm 36, my wife is Julie and I have a 16 month old girl, Emerson. She's so cute, I love her. Seriously she might be in top five cutest babies ever. Let's call Guinness...

On point here...tomorrow my plan was to smoke almost anything I can get my hands on! Haha.

Actually I have a pork sausage, pork chops, 3/4 thick pork steak, bacon (that I'd like to candy with brown sugar), 2 ground beef burgers. Any thoughts on what to do first or together...or avg lengths of time.

Is it ok to cook items for different lengths together, and open then, open the smoke to get the "first done meat"

I have a Redi Chek ET-81 digital roasting thermo.

I was thinking start with the sausage alone tomorrow . Play with that and learn that process.

I have all day Sunday too....

How much of a factor is rain? I'm not sure if weather will be real bad but there may be a little rain this weekend.

Any other first timer tips are good! I did use it without meat on Thursday night to see if I could maintain a temp and burn off any manufacturer grease etc....I did maintain about 210 for a few hours before I went to bed and closed the vents to snuff it. There was still a bunch of usable charcoal left too.

I have hickory chunks and Apple chips for smoke. I look forward to learning a lot on this forum as I embark on the world of slow and low cooking. I already have learned a lot here over the past few weeks I have been itching to smoke meat for a whole and I just had to pull the trigger on the right equipment.

Here I go, wish me luck!

LB

 

[s2k9k]

Hi Len! 

to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 45,000 members who just love to share their experience and over 900,000 posts describing it! The search bar at the top can be your best friend when you are trying to find answers to your questions but you can still ask too if you want!

Would you do us a favor and add your location to your profile, it helps others to know where you are when they offer advice, Thanks!

You might want to check out Jeff's Free 5 day E-Course, it will teach you all the basics plus a whole lot more!

It sounds like you are off to a good start, already did a test run and got that WSM seasoned! 

The sausage should take about an hour maybe 1.5 hours. Everything else probably 1.5 to 2 hours, just keep an eye on the chops and pork steaks, you want them about 145*, much more and they will start to dry out.

Nothing wrong with smoking different things together and pulling things as they get done. I do big pork butts and chicken wings together all the time. If you are mixing poultry with anything else just be sure to put the poultry on the bottom to avoid cross-contamination.

I like that you said you want to do the sausage first to learn, that is good to start, learn your smoker and learn the process and before you know it, it will just be second nature to you!

Rain isn't too much of a factor, that WSM is a powerhouse! If you have any kind of cover it will help keep you dry but I wouldn't worry too much.

Good Luck and remember we are always here to help you through! And make sure to post pictures, we love to see each others smokes!!!

 

[len-griller]

Thanks for the fast response and awesome info! Pics will be up tomorrow! I think I'm gonna try to "over smoke" a last chunk of the sausage...will that get dense and dry like sausage sticks/jerky?

I signed up for the course last night...I'll be sure to get a subscription too. I read the first email today....looking forward to the others!

 

[mike5017]

Len, you will find that the WSM is a great smoker! Temps are easy to maintain by simply adjusting your bottom vents. Just keep the top vent open all the way open during your smoke. After a couple of smokes you will find it pretty easy to dial in the temps. Good luck and happy smoking!

 

[fpnmf]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/135116/how-i-start-and-use-my-wsm

 

[seenred]

Welcome aboard, Len!  Glad you joined us.  You've found a great place to learn and share ideas.  Lots of friendly and knowledgeable folks here who really enjoy helping one another.  Congrats on that new WSM, and good luck with your first smoke.  Remember, we love Qview, and just ask when you need help and you'll get plenty.

Red

 

[kathrynn]

to SMF!  We are so glad you joined us! Little girls have a way of wrapping Dads around their little fingers don't they? 

If you didn't read the "Terms of Service" notes.....please do.  There are a few things that everyone should know before plunging into the forums.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/a/terms-of-service

If you need any help roaming around the forums....just holler!  Happy to help out!

Kat