Smoking Noob - Hi and HELP

[SmokeyG]

Hi All

Just joined the forum and wanted to say hi. I live in Norfolk, UK.

I've been heavily into BBQing for a while now and finally upgraded my gear to a Weber One-Touch Premium a couple of months ago, which I am in love with. I've been steadily getting hooked on low and slow cooking and smoking and was debating on getting a Smokenator 1000 and having a go with this.

However, I'm just about to take the leap and get my first smoker but I'm struggling with the dilemma of WSM 47cm or ProQ Frontier. In fact I've seen an amazing price on a WSM 57cm for £332 and am seriously tempted!!

Any advice from some smoking/BBQ gurus would be greatly received.

Cheers!

[JEC]

Hello and welcome. Everyone I know has never regretted buying the WSM, the 57 is a bit more fuel hungry but if you need the space it's not a big issue. The ProQ is ok but in my opinion not as good as the Weber, I have cooked on both and the quality justifies the difference in cost

[SmokeyG]

Hi JEC

Thanks for the advice. I've been leaning towards the Weber to be honest, as I love the build of my kettle...I've just this minute bitten the bullet and ordered a WSM 47cm and cannot wait now to get stuck in!! Got it for a pretty good price too, £295 at Partridges Hadleigh online.
Any words of wisdom on seasoning once my shiny new toy turns up? I've read a few articles that mention giving it a good burning in at a high temp before thinking about cooking on it.

Appreciate the welcome and look forward to contributing to the site as I go.

Gav

[JONESEY]

Hi - let me know how you get on with the WSM ... I'm in the market for a new smoker and it's down to that or a ProQ Frontier.
... or that offset that's on ebay - hhmmm

[SmokeyG]

Hi Jonesy

Will do! Think I'm going to jump in at the deep end and plan on doing 3 big racks of spare ribs this Saturday! This will be my first time doing racks like this so crossing fingers they'll come out well. I'm feeding about 15 people as well so there might be a riot if the ribs aren't edible! Hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew for a noob.

I was really torn between the WSM and ProQ but in the end, as much as the Q has some awesome features, I just don't think you can beat the Weber build quality. I was looking at offset smokers as well and we're getting some pretty awesome models in this country now.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes and first impressions of the WSM.

[JEC]

Did you mange to get your first cook in yesterday? How did it go?

[SmokeyG]

Hello gents

I did indeed get my first cook done on Saturday. I cooked 3 racks of Spare ribs, rubbed with Meatheads Memphis Dust. I used apple wood chunks to smoke.

For a first time with a brand new bit of kit I was really pleased with how well it went. I used the minion method and about 5kg of Heat Beads, and got the smoker sitting at around 210f when the meat went in.

I think I used too little fuel for quite a full load of meat and for the first hour and a half I couldn't get any more than 200 out of it. After the meat had cooked a bit and stopped absorbing all the heat, the WSM held a steady 220-240f for the final 5 hours (I closed down the 3 bottom vents partially). I topped the water up twice but other than that it was pretty plain sailing. I learnt an absolute ton from this first cook and will make the second time much smoother.

Really pleased with the outcome of the cook, the ribs were great for a rookie and the 12+ people I had over loved them.

I have officially got the smoking bug and can't wait to try some new cuts of meat. I thoroughly recommend the WSM, as a complete newbie I was so impressed. It was very forgiving I think and it does look and feel quality.

Next steps, I want to get a decent probe and make use of that silicone probe port and also get something like the BBQ Guru for longer cooks.

Any tips on easy cleaning after the event?

Cheers, G

[Tiny]

G,
Good work, as for cleaning.
Personally I would shower as it is too hot for an bath, perhaps after a winter cook but its shower all the way for me.
As for the plates and utensils we have a dishwasher so this is no bother.
As for the bbq.....err....no idea at all, scrape it after firing up for the next cook?

Cheers tiny

[SmokeyG]

Haha thanks Tiny, appreciate the advice.

In all seriousness, I've read differing opinions on how to clean down the smoker after use and whether to clean it at all. Do you need to remove the carbon build up from inside the middle section and lid? I did this time but wondered whether anyone has an ideas or tips?

[Artust]

I only clean the grills in mine. Apparently the seasoning on the inside all helps but I think that may be a bit of old wives...