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



## pennstater2005 (Apr 16, 2017)

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


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## crazymoon (Apr 16, 2017)

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 !


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 16, 2017)

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.


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## SmokinAl (Apr 17, 2017)

Welcome aboard!

Check out the free 5 day e-course!

Lot's of good info!

http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-basics-ecourse

Al


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 17, 2017)

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!


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 17, 2017)

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?


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## bbqluvtoo (Apr 18, 2017)

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.


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 18, 2017)

^ Thanks for the recipe.  Sounds delicious! How do you hold them into a coil? With a skewer I imagine.


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## bbqluvtoo (Apr 18, 2017)

no need the bacon wrap will do it for you


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 19, 2017)

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.


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## tbrtt1 (Apr 19, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> 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.


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 19, 2017)

^ 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?


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## tbrtt1 (Apr 19, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> ^ 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.


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 20, 2017)

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!


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## SmokinAl (Apr 20, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> 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


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## sauced (Apr 20, 2017)

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


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 20, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> 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!





SmokinAl said:


> 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!





Sauced said:


> 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!


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 23, 2017)

Okay so I seasoned the smoker Saturday and smoked two whole chickens today.

The Seasoning: 













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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:













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And the finished product!












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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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## sky monkey (Apr 23, 2017)

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.


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## JckDanls 07 (Apr 23, 2017)

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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## pennstater2005 (Apr 23, 2017)

Sky Monkey said:


> 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.


Thanks.  I actually have a stand for the chicken I have used on my grill before but I forgot all about it.  I will say laying the chickens directly on the grill left some nice grill marks though!  


JckDanls 07 said:


> 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 ??


Thanks for the welcome.  Family loved them.  It wasn't overly smokey which I was worried about because my kids are picky but they thought it was delicious.  I think the brining helped retain moisture which must have helped because I smoked them for about five and a half hours!  They were bigger birds then I wanted but all that was left fresh at the store.  One was almost six pounds and I ended up having to finish it in the oven.


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## tbrtt1 (Apr 23, 2017)

Penn, 

Bird looks great. 5 1/2 hours is a long time to cook a bird. But if it came out good then great. 

One thought that comes to mind: maybe your smoker wasn't hot enough. In your pick you have the probe lying on the grate. That may have given you a false reading since grate would be hotter that the ambient smoker temp. Next time dangle it between the grate so it hangs down a little. Or use a crumpled up piece of foil to pinch it and secure it to the grate. Anyway, just a thought. Maybe those were just some stubborn birds.


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 23, 2017)

tbrtt1 said:


> Penn,
> 
> Bird looks great. 5 1/2 hours is a long time to cook a bird. But if it came out good then great.
> 
> One thought that comes to mind: maybe your smoker wasn't hot enough. In your pick you have the probe lying on the grate. That may have given you a false reading since grate would be hotter that the ambient smoker temp. Next time dangle it between the grate so it hangs down a little. Or use a crumpled up piece of foil to pinch it and secure it to the grate. Anyway, just a thought. Maybe those were just some stubborn birds.


Never thought to dangle it between the grates.  Not sure why I laid it on the grate
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






   I was having some trouble maintaining the temp on the smoker but it worked out after awhile.  My wife said it was more like 4.5 hours not 5.5 hours but it definitely took longer than I expected.  I wanted a 4-5 pound bird but all that was fresh were the bigger nearly 6 pounders!


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## JckDanls 07 (Apr 23, 2017)

If you do dangle it down through the grate...  just make sure it's not under the meat where drippings will land on it...  that will throw off the reading as well...  another way to do it is...  take a small potato and cut it in half...  stick the probe through it and then set the flat side (cut side) on the grate right next to the meat (an inch or two away from it) ...


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 24, 2017)

JckDanls 07 said:


> If you do dangle it down through the grate... just make sure it's not under the meat where drippings will land on it... that will throw off the reading as well... another way to do it is... take a small potato and cut it in half... stick the probe through it and then set the flat side (cut side) on the grate right next to the meat (an inch or two away from it) ...


Good tip, thanks JckDanls 07!  I'm off work this Friday and am going to try a pork butt.  I kept wondering why my WSM thermometer temp was so far off from the dual probe temp


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 29, 2017)

I'm going to try smoking baby back ribs tomorrow.  I got the Brinkmann rib racks and a rub I found at Lowe's.  It's the Three Little Pigs rub.  I liked that the main ingredient was brown sugar versus salt.  It had way less sodium overall than other rubs.  

I was going to try smoking today but scattered thunderstorms are predicted all throughout the afternoon and I don't feel like messing around with that.  Tomorrow has less of a chance here in western PA.


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## chopsaw (Apr 29, 2017)

The 14 " wsm is so much fun . Yours should have the rubber groment in the side to stick a temp probe in . Should be a slot , and a single hole .


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## Bearcarver (Apr 29, 2017)

Welcome Pennstater!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





From another Long Time Home-boy Penn State Fan!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 29, 2017)

chopsaw said:


> The 14 " wsm is so much fun . Yours should have the rubber groment in the side to stick a temp probe in . Should be a slot , and a single hole .


It does have the grommet.  I used it for the whole chickens I did on the first smoke.  Learning experience though as I laid the temp probe on the grate.  Don't ask me why [emoji]128563[/emoji] I'm going to put 4" casters on it today to make it more mobile.



Bearcarver said:


> Welcome Pennstater!! :welcome1:
> 
> From another Long Time Home-boy Penn State Fan!! Thumbs Up
> 
> Bear



Thanks Bear!   One guy from Penn State taken so far in the draft.


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## Bearcarver (Apr 29, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> Thanks Bear! One guy from Penn State taken so far in the draft.


Yup---Gotta watch out for Tampa Bay now!!

Bear


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 29, 2017)

Bear 
I saw in your profile you're a Flyers fan.  Now I'm disappointed [emoji]128540[/emoji]


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## Bearcarver (Apr 29, 2017)

pennstater2005 said:


> Bear
> I saw in your profile you're a Flyers fan. Now I'm disappointed [emoji]128540[/emoji]


Sorry about that---I'm not really a Flyers fan----I'm a Homer---I don't really follow Hockey.

I root for all teams close to home. Quakertown, Penn State, Nova, Temple,  Phillies, Eagles, 76ers, etc, etc.

This way I don't have to buy a Motor Home to root for the "Home Team". 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## chopsaw (Apr 29, 2017)

Just saying I use the single hole to check smoker temp .


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 29, 2017)

chopsaw said:


> Just saying I use the single hole to check smoker temp .



Oh I got you now!  Sorry took me a little extra time [emoji]128512[/emoji]


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 29, 2017)

Rainy day so good time for this:













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All in all about twenty minutes.  $20 in four inch casters from Lowes and rubber washers and nuts.  I did have to buy bigger bits for the drill.  Definitely makes it easier to move.  Handles next [emoji]128513[/emoji]


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## Bearcarver (Apr 29, 2017)

Nice Job!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





That'll make her move around a lot better!! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## pennstater2005 (Apr 29, 2017)

Thanks Bear.  I'm not super handy either so  this is definitely doable for just about anyone.


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