Nothing Like a Good Smoke

Oh come one now what were you thinking??

So for years I have used my gas grill and smoker boxes (cast steel boxes stuffed with wood chips) to try and get real bbq going.  Ribs, steaks, etc.  I have always wanted a real smoker.  For years again I have been eyeing The Big Green Egg.  It is a kamoda style ceramic BBQ but it is ridiculously expensive.  So after spending some time on the Internet reading various BBQ forums and a few books I figured out that I was being somewhat narrow minded and there are in fact many great smokers out there.

I settled on this one (two reasons I will get to in a minute)

It is the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker (hereafter known as the "WSM") I got the 18.5" vs the 22" and I am glad for once............man its huge, it would take a 17 to 20lbs Turkey no problem.

Ok why did I get this one vs many others out there.  2 reasons, it is pretty much the most widely used smoker out there that I could see on most of the bbq forums I looked to.  The second reason........well interestingly enough I had some Aeroplan miles that were going to expire if I didn't use them and lo and behold this was in their rewards booklet. Seemed like a no brainer after that.

So after it arrived I headed on down to the local bbq shop here and picked up some Charcoal and Wood Chunks, and a book.  I like this book as it gives very specific step by step instructions to a sure fire (pun intended) good smoking experience and builds on the fundamentals that can take you were you want to go.

For those that care the book is.  "Low & Slow - Gary Wiviott" it is a tongue in cheek book that is very fastidious (read anal) about the process to be used.  Plus it gave plenty of helpful insight on the need (or really lack there of) for special tools and gadgets.

So after carefully reading the first few Chapters I set about to fire things up and undertake my first real smoke in my new smoker.  So after marinating the Chicken for 5 hours "Mojo Criollo Marinade" I went out to light the smoker - wouldn't you know it..............Rain.  So took the WSM into the garage and fired it up.

I used a method called the "Minion Method" to light the lump charcoal.  Basically you pour lit charcoal onto a bed of unlit coal.  I used a Chimney Starter to get the coal going (no solvents or other stuff to add nasty flavors just paper and a match) and was pretty successful for my first light.  I used 6 nice chunks of hickory as my flavour wood, 3 buried in the unlit coal and 3 on the top of the lit coal.  I chose hickory as it is a little less intense and for chicken I didn't want to go to intense right away - although I love mesquite.

After getting the burn going it was back into the house to prepare the chicken from the marinade.  Simple really, remove excess marinade, pat dry then brush with olive oil and lightly salt and pepper.  Back out to the smoker and on she goes.

Put on the lid and ignore for 90 minutes.  This was the hard part for me, I am somewhat of a fusspot when it comes to cooking, I like to check things, monitor temps be sure things are going good etc.  But I stuck to the book and let it go.  It did make sense that if I opened the smoker I would lose precious heat that would take time to re-accumulate.

I set about getting the rest of dinner ready for the 90 minute mark. (my first and biggest mistake)

At 90 minutes I went out to get the chicken.

Plattered and in the house we go, pretty fine looking birds

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So, how did we do.

hmmm on a scale of 1 to 10.............a mediocre 5

Taste of the chicken was actually pretty good, on that alone I might have given myself a 7.  Here is the issue, the thighs were slightly underdone, and I do mean slightly but it turned off my dinner guests (Tammy and the Kids).  That is why I mentioned early that my first big mistake was to time the other food to be ready after 90 minutes.  Would have only taken 15 minutes to be ready so what I should have done is check first then start the sides.  After all even if the chicken was fully ready to go, at 225 degrees it could sit in the smoker for another 45 minutes to an hour and still not dry out or be over cooked. But in my eagerness I rushed it.  Hell its been 14 hrs and I am still ticked off at myself, I know better than that, food is my thing...............grrrrrrrr.  Lesson learned I suppose. 

Mistake number 2 was serving it.  I knew it wasn't perfect yet I plated it anyway.......also not my norm but again I was anxious not to have the family wait.

In general this was a relatively subtle recipe for smoked chicken, the flavours were good and after putting the remainders back on for a half hour the left overs are delicious.  The next step calls for a brined chicken, and while I would like to skip this one and move on to something more exciting I will follow the process, I will not however be in a rush.

A couple of things I think contribute;

• It was windy so I think the smoker ran a wee cooler
• I might not have packed the coal as good as I could have in hindsight and thus it cooled a bit when some burnt down
• My chimney might not have been fully engaged therefore leading to a slower burn in the main ring
• It was about 5 degrees outside so I didn't compensate for cooler temperature

Here is hoping the family likes real BBQ as much as I like preparing it. Plus they will have to put up with my multiple test runs to get somewhat good at it before I think of doing anything for guests.

I am looking forward to trying many many cooks on it.  In fact I am seriously considering getting a Kettle to go along with my smoker and gas grill..............nothing says BBQ like real wood fire.  Be a good use for my Christmas gift card I have been saving.

Would look good beside the WSM and the Napoleon Grill don't you think?

Comments

[Darrell]

The Performer is a great grill. You will not be sorry. The table and charcoal holder are great additions to the kettle.

[Tammy]

I asked the peas about this and they said you are supposed to cure the smoker before using it. Could that be part of the problem?

[Chris]

Hay there,
Shawn I've been laying smoke to my meat for a quite some time and I been finding that the kids really enjoy chicken with a maple smoke, which I think is very mild. I always tell Nada to not start preparing side dishes until the meat is complete because chicken, ribs and fish can hang out in the smoker and not get to dry.
There are two many variables to smoking (i.e. in/out temp, meat thickness, wind, smoke density) to try and have everything ready at the same time. Don't be afraid to crack open the lid and take a good sniff and evaluate.

Good Luck and Smoke On!!!
Chris