What to smoke first?

Christine Dabney said:

Heya folks,

My Weber Bullet is due to arrive today. However I won't be able to
smoke anything until the weekend at the earliest.

I want to give it my first run this weekend, and I am trying to decide
what to smoke first.

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel for
it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a day to
smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

First, do a burn-out/seasoning of the pit. Run the pit at about 250 to 275
for 2 to 3 hours. If there is any residual oils from the manufacturing, it
will take of it. Then I would smoke-roast a chicken. Do the chickens at
275F. This will give you a good feel for temperature control, and chicken is
cheap. Once you feel comfortable with the pit, then do pork butt.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Heya folks,

My Weber Bullet is due to arrive today. However I won't be able to
smoke anything until the weekend at the earliest.

I want to give it my first run this weekend, and I am trying to decide
what to smoke first.

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel for
it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a day to
smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

Thanks!!!

Christine

A whole chicken cooks slowly, so you have time to fix obvious mistakes, like
fat going up in flames. Different from something like a salmon fillet, which
gives you all of 11 minutes to cook. I know you're talking about smoking
rather than cooking, but still...pick something big. And cheap.

Try mesquite with that chicken. Awesome. Works great with turkey, too.

Christine Dabney <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Heya folks,

My Weber Bullet is due to arrive today. However I won't be able to
smoke anything until the weekend at the earliest.

I want to give it my first run this weekend, and I am trying to decide
what to smoke first.

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel for
it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a day to
smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

Thanks!!!

Christine

eggs... takes about 2 hours at low temp and is cheap. put in the raw
shelled sggs keep temp around 170f...smoke will permeate the shell and
viola smoked eggs ready to become smokey deviled eggs.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

It'll be a sunny day in August, when the Moon will shine that night-
Elbonian Folklore

Christine Dabney said...

Quoted message said:

Heya folks,

My Weber Bullet is due to arrive today. However I won't be able to
smoke anything until the weekend at the earliest.

I want to give it my first run this weekend, and I am trying to decide
what to smoke first.

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel for
it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a day to
smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

Thanks!!!

Christine

Christine,

I'd probably try hickory smoked cheeseburgers. I'm a smoker know-nothing.

Is there a Christening for it's "maiden voyage?" Like making the first dent
yourself for luck and so the second one won't be so disappointing OR
something???

Good luck,

Andy

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:39:22 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Christine Dabney wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel for
it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a day to
smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

First, do a burn-out/seasoning of the pit. Run the pit at about 250 to 275
for 2 to 3 hours. If there is any residual oils from the manufacturing, it
will take of it. Then I would smoke-roast a chicken. Do the chickens at
275F. This will give you a good feel for temperature control, and chicken is
cheap. Once you feel comfortable with the pit, then do pork butt.

Thanks Dave!!!

I never would have thought of seasoning it. Okay, I think I could do
that on Saturday, then maybe smoke a chicken on Sunday. I have
plenty of chickens in the freezer..so that would work out well.

Should I rub the chicken with anything first?

Christine

hahabogus said:

eggs... takes about 2 hours at low temp and is cheap. put in the raw
shelled sggs keep temp around 170f...smoke will permeate the shell and
viola smoked eggs ready to become smokey deviled eggs.

Are you serious? I never ever would have thought of that!!!

This sounds intriguing...

Christine

JoeSpareBedroom said:

"Christine Dabney" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Heya folks,

My Weber Bullet is due to arrive today. However I won't be able to
smoke anything until the weekend at the earliest.

I want to give it my first run this weekend, and I am trying to
decide what to smoke first.

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel for
it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a day to
smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

Thanks!!!

Christine

A whole chicken cooks slowly, so you have time to fix obvious
mistakes, like fat going up in flames.

That's not a problem with a WSM. The fat never gets to the wood coals or
charcoal.

Quoted message said:

Different from something like
a salmon fillet, which gives you all of 11 minutes to cook. I know
you're talking about smoking rather than cooking, but still...pick
something big. And cheap.

The WSM is for bbq, not grilling. It doesn't do fish all that well.

Quoted message said:

Try mesquite with that chicken. Awesome. Works great with turkey, too.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!. Mesquite can foul up an enclosed bbq pit and it will take
forever to get the nastiness out. Save the mequite -- in small quantities
for the grill. It puts out more btu than most other wood, so it does well.
But a little goes a loooong way.

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

hahabogus said:

Christine Dabney <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

Heya folks,

My Weber Bullet is due to arrive today. However I won't be able to
smoke anything until the weekend at the earliest.

I want to give it my first run this weekend, and I am trying to
decide what to smoke first.

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel for
it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a day to
smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

Thanks!!!

Christine

eggs... takes about 2 hours at low temp and is cheap. put in the raw
shelled sggs keep temp around 170f...smoke will permeate the shell and
viola smoked eggs ready to become smokey deviled eggs.

So you're arguing that the egg comes before the chicken :-)

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:48:57 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Try mesquite with that chicken. Awesome. Works great with turkey, too.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!. Mesquite can foul up an enclosed bbq pit and it will take
forever to get the nastiness out. Save the mequite -- in small quantities
for the grill. It puts out more btu than most other wood, so it does well.
But a little goes a loooong way.

What wood, if any does work well?

I have some hickory chips here...

Christine

Is a Weber Bullet the same as a Weber Smoky Mountain?

Also, the latter's advertising says it includes a "water pan".
Why would I want steam and humidity from a water pan messing
with my Q??? Is the water optional, I hope?

Steve

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:51:33 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]

(Steve Pope) said:

Is a Weber Bullet the same as a Weber Smoky Mountain?

Also, the latter's advertising says it includes a "water pan".
Why would I want steam and humidity from a water pan messing
with my Q??? Is the water optional, I hope?

Steve

Yes it is the same...

I don't know the answer to that question, to be honest. I will let one
of the experienced smokers answer that....

Christine, trying to learn about smoking..from the best!!

Christine Dabney said:

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:39:22 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Christine Dabney wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

All you experienced smokers: do you have any suggestions for a first
time experience?

Something relatively easy would be nice: so that I can get a feel
for it...and preferably something that will not take forever and a
day to smoke. Plus inexpensive would be a wonderful thing too. 😉

First, do a burn-out/seasoning of the pit. Run the pit at about 250
to 275 for 2 to 3 hours. If there is any residual oils from the
manufacturing, it will take of it. Then I would smoke-roast a
chicken. Do the chickens at 275F. This will give you a good feel for
temperature control, and chicken is cheap. Once you feel comfortable
with the pit, then do pork butt.

Thanks Dave!!!

I never would have thought of seasoning it. Okay, I think I could do
that on Saturday, then maybe smoke a chicken on Sunday. I have
plenty of chickens in the freezer..so that would work out well.

Should I rub the chicken with anything first?

Rub the chicken with a bit of vegetable oil, not so it's sloppy, just so's
it's a light coating. Mix together some salt, course pepper, and granulated
garlic. The proportions can match your taste. Rub or sprinkle the mixture on
the chicken.

Feel free to ask me questions here or via email. Also, check out:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ You may have seen it already, but it's a
great resource for WSM owners.
--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

Christine Dabney said:

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:48:57 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Try mesquite with that chicken. Awesome. Works great with turkey,
too.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!. Mesquite can foul up an enclosed bbq pit and it
will take forever to get the nastiness out. Save the mequite -- in
small quantities for the grill. It puts out more btu than most other
wood, so it does well. But a little goes a loooong way.

What wood, if any does work well?

I have some hickory chips here...

Hickory, oak, and any fruit wood. I love apple, pear and cherry. Just keep
in mind that you'll want to avoid exposing meat to thick, dark clouds of
smoke.

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:56:17 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Feel free to ask me questions here or via email. Also, check out:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ You may have seen it already, but it's a
great resource for WSM owners.

Yes, I have seen it. And I was referred there by people on eGullet,
about the Minion "method". That was the method I was going to use, to
get my smoker going.

Is that a good choice, or is there a better one?

And I will certainly bug you with questions. Be prepared ...LOL.
Probably here on the newsgroup...

Christine

Steve Pope said:

Is a Weber Bullet the same as a Weber Smoky Mountain?

Sure is, Steve. It's also called the WSM. Not to be confused with the Weber
Smoey Joe.

Quoted message said:

Also, the latter's advertising says it includes a "water pan".
Why would I want steam and humidity from a water pan messing
with my Q??? Is the water optional, I hope?

The water pan is more for a heat sink, to add stability to the thermal mass,
than for moisture. It acts as a baffle to direct heat exposure. The best
thing is to fill the water pan with sand. That increase the thermal mass
making heat regulation a tad bit better.

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

Christine Dabney said:

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 22:51:33 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]

(Steve Pope) said:

Is a Weber Bullet the same as a Weber Smoky Mountain?

Also, the latter's advertising says it includes a "water pan".
Why would I want steam and humidity from a water pan messing
with my Q??? Is the water optional, I hope?

Steve

Yes it is the same...

I don't know the answer to that question, to be honest. I will let one
of the experienced smokers answer that....

See my answer to Steve, Christine.

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:57:55 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hickory, oak, and any fruit wood. I love apple, pear and cherry. Just keep
in mind that you'll want to avoid exposing meat to thick, dark clouds of
smoke.

Okay, I have seen apple and cherry in the stores. I might pick up
some of that.

Another question. I know that the temperature shouldn't go very
high... What kind of thermometer should I have for the smoker? I
think I have read about using one to monitor the temp...

I have instant read thermometers here at the house, but I am willing
to go out to get a thermometer that is suited to the smoker if I need
one.

Christine, realizing she has all sorts of newbie questions

Christine Dabney said:

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:56:17 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Feel free to ask me questions here or via email. Also, check out:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ You may have seen it already,
but it's a great resource for WSM owners.

Yes, I have seen it. And I was referred there by people on eGullet,
about the Minion "method". That was the method I was going to use, to
get my smoker going.

Is that a good choice, or is there a better one?

For long cooks, the minion method is good. For two to four hour cooks, you
won't need to do that.

Have you learned about lighting charcoal with a chimney starter?

--
Dave
www.davebbq.com

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:05:08 -0700, "Dave Bugg" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Have you learned about lighting charcoal with a chimney starter?

Yes, I have one, and use it to start my coals.

Christine