Just popped my WSM cherry

[jotch]

Hello

Currently living in the south east of London and over the long weekend I fired up, using the Minion Method, my brand new WSM after relentlessly studying virtualweberbullet.com and cooked a Pork Butt (The Renowned Mr Brown - overnight) and a rack of Ribs (not overnight!). Well Tasty!

Used BigK Briquettes (£5.79/5Kg), Apple and Hickory Wood Chips (~£5/Kg) - a nice smokey taste...and nice smokey clothes, hair and neighbours washing that was still on the line at 9pm!

Gonna try a beer can chicken and a brisket next I think.

If there are any recommendations on where to go to get the wood chunks rather than chips as well as a good supply of briquettes or heatbeads...that would be welcome, I went to Polhill near Sevenoaks

Smokey!

Nice and Spicy bark and all tender in the middle!

[esselle]

Hi Jotch,
Food looks nice There is a great wood supplier we use and they also sponsor on of the teams on here too. Very reasonable prices for members and great service. PM Steve from Royal Q for details.
Welcome to the forum.

[Eddie]

Welcome to the world of low and slow. Done some beer can chicken myself last week and got some fantastic results. Brushed melted butter and soy sauce as a baste.
Heatbeads I get online from simplybarbecues.co and newham court garden village on the M20 juct 7, and wood from Gouldens, a sponser of Royal Q.

Have a look at the post about fatties, thats a good one to try.

Eddie

[jotch]

Thanks for the tip Esselle and nice to meet you, hopefully Steve will say 'hi' and save me the trouble finding his profile.

I've got everything else I think, a good local butcher ~£24 for a whole shoulder, 10lbs+ with bone in and skin on (which he kindly removed the bone from and the skin) + a full rack of back ribs.

And I can get hold of the briquettes easily, although no 10kg bags found...just 5kg...oh well. And the spices and ingredients for the rubs, etc, I can just pop over to Wingyip who sell everything in 1kg bags that seem to last forever.

[jotch]

Hi Eddie, thanks for the tips on the fuel and wood...although those Heatbeads ain't cheap. I went through about 7-8 kgs of fuel on my overnight slow and low. How do heatbeads actually stack up?

Fatties...I've heard about these, although when I mentioned them to the wife, she didn't seem impressed...I'll have to secretly smoke one and surprise her with it.

With my beer can chicken I was going to rub with some spices and baste with the left over beer...ale to you and me, you know, real beer But the butter and soy sauce sounds interesting.

[esselle]

Goulden Hardwoods ...that's the one ....couldn't remember the name. I'm sure Steve will be on soon and give you contact details though. You might want to ask your buther to leave the bone in the shoulder. Most of us cook it with the bone in for best results.

[jotch]

Really? Leave the bone in? I've read lots of different views on this...and by the time you've seasoned it, pulled it, slapped it in a bun and put on your favourite bbq sauce - you probably can't tell the difference. Maybe next time I'll get 2 and do a blind taste test on the wife to see what tastes better...one with bone in and one bone-less

I suppose it doesn't make any difference in cooking times, so can't hurt.

Gouldens...think I've seen the website, £36 for 3 boxes delivered seems quite reasonable.

[Steve]

Speak of the devil and he shall appear

Paul is your man, check out http://www.bbqsmokingwood.co.uk he does mail order. Obviously delivery bumps the cost up but he's so reasonably priced on the wood it's still good even with delivery.


Welcome to the forum by the way.

And yes, leave the bone in, it absorbs heat during the cook and then radiates it out. You end up with a better product and the blade bone is a perfect indicator for when it's cooked. If it slides out easily, your butt is ready.

[jotch]

Bone in it is then...maaan, what a n00b

Thanks for the welcome and the advice on where to get the wood from, I suppose I just need to sort out another date for a big smoke to practice. I wonder how easy it is to come up with my own rub/baste/bbq sauce...

[JEC]

And I can get hold of the briquettes easily, although no 10kg bags found...just 5kg...oh well. And the spices and ingredients for the rubs, etc, I can just pop over to Wingyip who sell everything in 1kg bags that seem to last forever.

Wickes currently have 10kg bags of BigK for £10. Welcome to the WSM club