WSM - First Cook

[themattinthehat]

Hi All,

I'm taking delivery today of a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, hoping the weather picks up for the weekend so I can test it out! I'm hoping someone would be able to help me out with a question.......

As it would be my first time smoking, I would like to start out with something small. maybe a small pork shoulder or brisket big enough for me and the wife.

I've read several tutorials and watched some youtube video's of people doing these on a WSM, I'm feeling fairly confident I can follow these but as most people would generally cook a much larger chunk of meat, my question is, would cooking a much smaller amount require me to change anything? temp. cooking time etc?

Any other suggestions for something easy to throw on along side this would be great, I've heard baked potatoes can be done easily by wrapping in foil and corn on the cob can be put straight in

thanks in advance

Matt.

[Bucksend]

The size of your meat (sniggers) will change the cooking time noticeably, just keep an eye on temperatures and cook until its done. Brisket is one of the hardest to get right and your biggest problem with smaller bits is its chance of drying out - more likely with cow than it is with pig

Have you thoughts about trying some ribs? They are a shorter cook time and one of the easier things to do, specially if you wrap them after the first couple of hours.

[themattinthehat]

Thanks for the reply!

I expected the cooking time to change, I guess I was thinking more about temperature, would I cook a smaller piece of meat at the same temperature or try and cook lower for longer?

I think I'm going to give pulled pork a go but may pick up some ribs also if these aren't too difficult. I've also read that turkey legs are pretty easy if you brine them first

[essexsmoker]

I would agree with Buck on this one. Don't even think about brisket if you're just starting out.

Ribs are a great intro. Fairly forgiving and really tasty.

[themattinthehat]

thanks for the advice!, I was hoping to cook something that meets wife approval, and she isn't really a fan of ribs

Would pulled pork be straightforward enough to start out with? I have a Maverick wireless thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature

I've also read turkey legs are fairly easy if you brine them?

[sleepybones]

I would stick with pork or maybe chicken for the first cook. Your WSM will likely run quite hot for the first few cooks and pork & chicken seem to resist drying out better than brisket, in my experience.

From memory: I think I did baby-back ribs as my first cook. You could make up some ABTs as the 'something else' to throw on, they take about 3 to 4 hours to cook so would be good for timings alongside some ribs?

[BoneCandyBBQ]

I concur. Baby backs to start off are great. Short cook time compared to big joints.
Beer can roast chicken is a good shout for early cookies as the beer helps the chicken stay moist whilst you learn how to control the temperature and like sleepybones mentioned, it's likely to run hot.



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