T MacGreggor
TVWBB Pro
With zero smoking experience prior to picking up my WSM 14.5 for $179 at Lowes last week using a 10% off promo code found online I started by partially seasoning it following Harry Soo's method, but stopped after the first round of scrap meat. It was so brutally hot in the FL Sun in August I decided if I'm going to suffer in that heat, I d*mn well want something to show for it afterwards. So I picked up a 4lb fresh chicken and followed the WSM beer can chicken recipe here on TVWB.
I am glad I did one seasoning run with scrap meat as I learned several lessons on maintaining the right temp using only the lower vents. So when it came time to actually cook something to eat, it was a breeze to maintain the right temp and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. And needless to say all the excellent resources here on tvwbb and tvwb were a great help in shortening that learning curve.
Here's a SMOKE LOG & some observations:
Cook: 8-17-2014 inaugural run Beer Can Chicken run with the TVWB recipe: http://virtualweberbullet.com/chicken2.html
Started at 3:50pm, 87-90 degs outside, direct sun, winds 12mph WNW. Lid thermometer read 150deg after sitting in direct
sunlight for a couple hours even before adding coals!
Ingredients: Room temp Sierra Nevada Blindfold Black IPA, close to room temp single 4lb chicken rubbed with Emeril's Baby Bam
that was on hand, soaked three 2"x3" apple wood chunks in other half of the beer for 15-20 min.
Method: Minion method with 3/5th a Weber compact chimney of Royal Oak/Cowboy lump mix placed atop about 1 full chimney
unlit in the bowl with 2 of the wood chunks buried under the unlit coals and last one on top of the hot coalss. Water pan foiled
with no water.
Specs: Placed chicken with stand on lower grate. Started with lower vents fully open & went to 10-15% open when temp
reached 220 on the lid thermometer. Temps stabilized at 250 + or - 3 degrees quickly and stayed that way for first two hours.
Stopped seeing white smoke after about 1hr 45 min.
After two hours rotated cooking grate 180deg and basted with apple juice spray. Temps soon stabilized at 235-240 without
further vent adjustments. Opened vents very slightly after 30min and it creeped up to 275, so put them back to 10-15% open &
it returned to 250 like clockwork.
After one more hour basted again and opened the vents a bit more to 20% open. Stabilized around 250. 30 min later checked
internal temp on breast for a reading of 161-162 with a Thermoworks TW362B. Removed & let rest for 7-8min before carving.
End result & lessons: Moist, nice smoke flavor, but needs a better, more-flavorful rub next time with more pronounced heat. Use
slightly less unlit minion coals next time, as there were a few smaller unburnt ones left. Don't bother soaking smoke wood in
beer next time either.
Here's the final result photo. I'll try to also get some prep & cooking photos in the future.
I'm definitely hooked on the simplicity & quality of the 14.5 WSM and hope to have it for years to come. Up next, some venison!
One last note that might interest some 14.5 WSM & Smokey Joe Silver/Gold owners in case it hasn't already been covered on tvwbb: I noticed the charcoal grate of my SJS matches the 14.5 WSM's perfectly. And since I already had a second one for the SJS to help with smaller lump charcoal bits, it now does double duty in the WSM!
I am glad I did one seasoning run with scrap meat as I learned several lessons on maintaining the right temp using only the lower vents. So when it came time to actually cook something to eat, it was a breeze to maintain the right temp and a thoroughly enjoyable experience. And needless to say all the excellent resources here on tvwbb and tvwb were a great help in shortening that learning curve.
Here's a SMOKE LOG & some observations:
Cook: 8-17-2014 inaugural run Beer Can Chicken run with the TVWB recipe: http://virtualweberbullet.com/chicken2.html
Started at 3:50pm, 87-90 degs outside, direct sun, winds 12mph WNW. Lid thermometer read 150deg after sitting in direct
sunlight for a couple hours even before adding coals!
Ingredients: Room temp Sierra Nevada Blindfold Black IPA, close to room temp single 4lb chicken rubbed with Emeril's Baby Bam
that was on hand, soaked three 2"x3" apple wood chunks in other half of the beer for 15-20 min.
Method: Minion method with 3/5th a Weber compact chimney of Royal Oak/Cowboy lump mix placed atop about 1 full chimney
unlit in the bowl with 2 of the wood chunks buried under the unlit coals and last one on top of the hot coalss. Water pan foiled
with no water.
Specs: Placed chicken with stand on lower grate. Started with lower vents fully open & went to 10-15% open when temp
reached 220 on the lid thermometer. Temps stabilized at 250 + or - 3 degrees quickly and stayed that way for first two hours.
Stopped seeing white smoke after about 1hr 45 min.
After two hours rotated cooking grate 180deg and basted with apple juice spray. Temps soon stabilized at 235-240 without
further vent adjustments. Opened vents very slightly after 30min and it creeped up to 275, so put them back to 10-15% open &
it returned to 250 like clockwork.
After one more hour basted again and opened the vents a bit more to 20% open. Stabilized around 250. 30 min later checked
internal temp on breast for a reading of 161-162 with a Thermoworks TW362B. Removed & let rest for 7-8min before carving.
End result & lessons: Moist, nice smoke flavor, but needs a better, more-flavorful rub next time with more pronounced heat. Use
slightly less unlit minion coals next time, as there were a few smaller unburnt ones left. Don't bother soaking smoke wood in
beer next time either.
Here's the final result photo. I'll try to also get some prep & cooking photos in the future.
I'm definitely hooked on the simplicity & quality of the 14.5 WSM and hope to have it for years to come. Up next, some venison!
One last note that might interest some 14.5 WSM & Smokey Joe Silver/Gold owners in case it hasn't already been covered on tvwbb: I noticed the charcoal grate of my SJS matches the 14.5 WSM's perfectly. And since I already had a second one for the SJS to help with smaller lump charcoal bits, it now does double duty in the WSM!
