Coach me on the WSM

[hachi-roku_fan]

Just did my first cook on my 22.5. I filled the ring 3/4ths and it went to about 8 hours no problems at 250. I did use the water pan. Thing help temps pretty well with few adjustments. Used the minion method as other described using KBB. Now thinking about a 14.5 because the 22.5 is a fuel hog lol

 

[bwaynef]

I meant to add earlier, my water pan's filled with sand and covered with foil. That way I'm able to hit higher temperatures (that you can't hit with water), and still have a heat sink in place to even out any fluctuations. I could probably run it as well with the pan simply foiled ...but I've already got the sand in there and it works. The benefit to it is I can put a drip pan on my water pan just below the bottom grate to catch drippings and it be supported by the sand, w/o risking tearing the foil and having a mess to clean up.

 

[pork_butt]

Be careful with repeating step 7 too many times, as this can lead to overcooked meat. Trust me on this one. :icon_blush:

 

[RolandJT]

nothing wrong with KBB (stubbs is good too, more natural). Briquettes give you a steady predictable burn...I also recommend filing the ring all the way, and reusing whatever coals you have left on the next cook. You will get a smoother minion and steady temps during the burn. I would also leave a gap in the center for the lit coals.

I am a big beleiver in always using a full load. The stuff that went through a smoke and didn't burn should be moved over so that the next smoke starts with that--I find a lot faster to TBS using partially burned stuff to start out.

 

[El Ropo]

I'm puzzled why you guys need so many fully lit coals to get your wsm's up to temp. I've never needed more than 12-15 briqs to light my UDS, and it is usually up to temp and purring within 15-20 min.

Oh and one more comment.. Please don't soak your wood as was suggested by another poster above

Not a fan of leaving a hole in middle of charcoal and adding lit coals there either. Have always had better burns simply dumping the lit coals on top of the unlit ones.

I've had nicer burns using half lump and half briqs too.. a bit easier to cruise at higher cooking temp, and less ash buildup. That's a win win.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I've had better results after much trial and error going with a full ring of your favorite charcoal and closing vents when your done. You will be surprised how much is left.

I'm also with El Ropo on his post.

BTW, what are you going to smoke?

 

[grantw]

I light up with 1/4 bucket and it's up to temp quick, I'm a water guy

 

[Swine Spectator]

BTW, what are you going to smoke?

Think I will d a batch of chicken thighs on my maiden voyage.

 

[Swine Spectator]

Maiden voyage update:

Yesterday I went to Lowe's and picked up a bag of Stubb's as recommended. The 22.5 holds a full 15 lb bag:

I pulled out enough to fill my mini-chimney:

My wing man inspected the pit and gave me the wag of approval:

Coals down:

I assembled the pit:

I got quite a bit of white smoke. It settled down after about 30 minutes:

I closed two intakes and ran the pit for a while to try to get a feel for it. It climbed to 300° and held steady. That's a bit hotter than I wanted.

At about the 3 1/2 hour mark, the temp had settled in around 285°. I put on a batch of thighs:

Basted with Stubbs's Sweet Heat thinned with apple juice after about and 1 hour 15 minutes:

Another baste after about 15 minutes more:

Finished product:

After I pulled the meat, I closed all of the vents (top and bottom) and went in for dinner. about an hour later I went out to see if it had cooled down. it was sitting at 200°. I checked again after another hour - still at 200°. Three hours after I closed the vents (8 after I started!) it was at 185°.

It did not appear that I was going to snuff this out, so I opened all of the vets to see if it would come back up. Sure enough, it was over 275 in about 30-45 minutes. I gave up and went to bed.

Overall, I am impressed with how well it ran, but I still have some leaning to do.

David
The Swine Spectator

 

[zanna5910]

A little tip I use that I dont see on here much... I like to leave wood chunks out until I'm at temp and at blue smoke. Then I open the door and add the chunks all around on top, then put in the food and let er rip. Seems to get a better wood flavor as you dont burn off the wood in there while getting to temp. Also, about 3 hrs in, I toss some more wood chunks in. I like the wood smoke flavor as I came from the stick burner orginally. But basically yea, make a ring, I use KBB all the time, make a little indention in the middle and pour in some hot coals.

Looks like your on the right track there. Some good lookin chicken.

 

[lantern]

Looks like you are well on your way to being a WSM veteran!

The waiting on the white smoke to dissipate is what led me to making a hole off to the side and placing my coals there. Just seems to get to blue smoke quicker in my experiences. And when you're cooking large cuts on the wsm 22.5 you need every extra hour or two that you can get if you're looking at 12+ hour cooks. A coffe can with the top and bottom cut out makes it easy to pack the rest of the ring tight and leave space for the coals. Just toss the hot coals in and then pull the can up using pliers.......and some heat resistant gloves.

Also, I like the control in adding fist sized chunks one at a time just as bwaynef mentioned.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Looks good but those coals should have extinguished with all vents closed. Look for smoke leaking around seams next time. After it builds up some gunk it should seal better.

Good Luck!

 

[bradgreer]

It could be that your pit is a little out of round.
Take a tape measure and measure the diameter of the center section. Then rotate 45 deg and measure again. You may need to gently squeeze on the barrel until no matter where you measure at, it reads the same. You can do this on the top and bottom of the center section, the lid and the bottom section.
Mine was very out of round when I first started, but after I did this, I could snuff out a fire really, really fast.
Hope this helps.

 

[Swine Spectator]

It could be that your pit is a little out of round.
Take a tape measure and measure the diameter of the center section. Then rotate 45 deg and measure again. You may need to gently squeeze on the barrel until no matter where you measure at, it reads the same.

You sir, are a genius. :idea: I took a tape to my WSM. 22 1/4" diameter one way; 23" the other. After a couple of "hugs" (mind your own business neighbor), I got 22 1/2" all directions. I am going to light it up again this weekend.

Thanks for the tip! :thumb:

David

 

[lantern]

Looking forward to the results!:thumb:

 

[aawa]

I fill my ring except for the middle part. I bury 4-5 fist sized wood chunks and then I start with 3/4 of a regular weber chimney. The reason being is because I cook at 300-325 and screw waiting 30-45mins for it to come up to temp. I can normally get it there in 15mins and hold it stable.

 

[Win nut]

I use the tin can method too. The can, a Van Camps pork and beans (tall skinny one), with both ends cut out, placed in the center. I put a layer of charcoal (lump or Stubbs) down, add about 6-8 pieces of wood, then fill the basket with charcoal. Then I light 8-10 Stubbs, letting them get ashed over, pour them into the tin can. I assemble the smoker, add my water and adjust my vents, after carefully pulling the tin can. I always run the exhaust wide open and adjust the temp by the bottom intakes. I usually completely close 2 intakes and use the 3rd for temp setting. Wait for thin blue smoke, then start cooking.

 

[Swine Spectator]

Update - After ensuring that my WSM was round and fitting together tightly, I did my second cook on the WSM last night. I lit it at 5:30 and ran it up to 225° before closing two of the bottom vents. Then in climbed to around 310° and went Thin Blue. I closed the third bottom vent and brought it down to 275°.

I threw on a chicken for tonight. When the chicken was done, I decided to let it run and see how it would do. (I know, that was a waste of charcoal, but I wanted to get a feel for the pit.) I checked it before I went to bed around midnight and it was still at 275°. At 7:00 AM this morning it was at 260° and when I left for work it at 8:00 was at 250°.

I got ~12 hours out of a 15LB bag of Stubbs. I am impressed!

Thanks to all of the Brethren that helped me on this thread!

David

 

[DaveAlvarado]

WSMs love cooking in the summertime. I've gotten close to 24 hours with a charcoal ring that was almost overflowing.

You won't see anywhere close to that if it's cold and windy out though. That's where you're running wide open to keep that 275F temp.

 

[Herkster]

Ahh, you'll love the WSM. I do as many on here, fill the ring full, leave an outside portion open for the lit coals, and dump them in. I leave my vents wide open all the time and when my temp gets to 300 or so, I put my meat on. I have a clean fire at this point 95% of the time.
Putting the meat on will bring the temp down a bit, and then I just let 'er rip. None of this 225-235 stuff. 275-325 is okay by me!
Oh, water pan empty. Foil over the top of it.