British BBQ Society Forums

Hi all,

Please bare with me, I'm new to this.
My lovely wife bought me a WSM (small) completely out of the blue after watching me try and smoke some meats (with some mixed results) on my Weber compact.
It's her birthday barbecue at the weekend and I'd like to demonstrate that it was a good purchase by producing some nice stuff. I was thinking a couple of topside or silverside joints (I think brisket maybe a stretch for me at the moment), a pork shoulder and a couple of racks of ribs. The compact can do the obligatory burgers, sausages etc.

So, my question is regarding configuration, timings and temperatures.

I used the "snake" on the compact, is this the best way to do it on the WSM? if so, should I stack two rows of 2?
Can I get by without a maverick probe?

Could I smoke all items at the same time, considering that the smoker temp for each is a bit different?

Lastly, could anyone shed light on time per weight of each meat for me please?
Perhaps an outline of what to put in where (bottom or top) and when would be fantastic.

I appreciate that I'm asking a lot so rest assured that your advice would be massively appreciated and if I can repay you in kind, then I'd be happy to do so.

Hi Mate
On my 1st smoke I would steer clear of Topside and Silverside, they do not have the same fat content and configuration as Brisket and would probably be better cooked using the Reverse Sear method.
Pork Shoulder is a very forgiving joint of meat to cook and there is a wealth of info on cooking this on the forum.
Ribs are a good place to start, but take up a lot of room on the Smoker, loads of info on here too.
Chicken Thighs are probably the quickest and most suitable for a 1st cook to get the hang of your pit.
I personally have not used the Snake method on my UDS or my WSM, but looking at how you would construct that type of fire set up I personaly would think it best used in a Kettle type smoker to enable you to get longer cook times for larger cuts of meat, search Minion Method on the forum.
In Oven type temp probes are invaluable for larger joints as you don't want to be lifting the lid on the pit all the time as this slows the cooking process, but a good quality food temp thermometer is a MUST, food poisoning is a bummer!
There is a table of safe food temps and approx times on the forum also.
As you are local give me a bell on07961816004 to set up a meet and I can talk you through some of the mistakes I made when first starting up so you don't have to and I can sort you out some fruit wood for your first go.
Si

Hi cyber pig, thanks for the response.
I smoked some topside on the compact (snake) and it turned out really nice. People have seen the pics and are demanding it so I have to give it a go.
I haven't got time to get a proper probe so I'll have to wing it this time but I will order one for sure.
I suppose I'll just have to give it a crack and see what happens!

I will get in touch soon, I've just liked your FB page.

Hi Backhander
This is a really usefull question. And some good advice Cyderpig.
I am a total newbie (expecting my first smoker tomorrow). I am catering for ~40-50 people on saturday.
DONT PANIC - there will be pizza, sandwiches and the mother-in-law does a mean quiche. Burgers and Sausages will be on the old grill.
The pressure is not all on the smoker, but i had planned on a piece of pulled pork and some hot ribs.
I had planned on giving the BBQ a burn to season when it arrives, doing the pork on Thursday to vac-pac and reheat in the domestic oven on the day.
Then, on Saturday startin the ribs early.
I have reigned back my initial plan to also do beer can chicken so it will be a couple of jointed chickens on the grill (oven finish).
Dom

I have another "do" in July where I want to have it all sorted and timed for outside "smoke and grill".