1st try - some issues


 
J

J Drew

New member
Today was my first try and I need some expert analysis. Sorry if this is too long. I ran two dry runs this week in my new 18.5 each with a full starter's worth of charcoal. It held about 250 with the vents wide open. Today I put about 30 lit coals on top of 30 unlit. I hit 250 and added four racks of ribs on two grates. the temp went to 210 and no higher. After a little over an hour the temp started to fall. I added 15 coals and it went to 225 and then back to 210. I use the 2-2-1 method and felt I needed the oven for the second two hours because of the lower temps. After I removed the meat the temp went to 250 and held. I added 12 or so more coals before putting the ribs back in the smoker for the last hour and I was at 210. The good news is they turned out just fine. I'm surprised at my low temps and assume I need to use more charcoal. It was VERY windy here today and I got out of it as best I could but I think it was a factor. I did have water in the bowl. Any suggestions?
 
J.
I just smoked four racks of baby backs ( two on each rack) on my 18.5 WSM. I filled the ring 3/4 full unlit with a hole in the middle to add 20 lit coals. The ribs were finished at about 5 hours and I continued to watch the temp for three more hours. The temp stayed constant at around 225 with all bottom vents closed to 1/4. I foil a terracatta plate over the empty water pan. The low temps you got may have been from not enough unlit coals?
 
What thermometer are you using and do you know it's accurate? Is the top vent wide open? A lot of new smokers try to hold more heat in the smoker by closing the top vent. Start with a full ring of unlit and when the cook is done close the vents. The remainder will go out and you can reuse them on the next cook.
 
I'm referring to the built-in thermometer. All vents were wide open. Based on Paul's post I'm pretty sure I just didn't use enough charcoal. Oh well, if at first you don't succeed.......
 
That built in thermometer is notoriously off and is inconsistent too. Mine is off by as much as 50*, sometimes lower, and sometimes higher than actual pit temperature. I would suggest a thermometer that will show you grill grate temp instead of the built in Weber. I use a Maverick 733 for the pit temp and meat if needed.
 
Always put more unlit in (at least half a ring). You can always shut it down when finished (to save the unlit coals). Its difficult to rejuvenate a dying heater because of lack of fuel.
 
Len Dennis said:
Always put more unlit in (at least half a ring). You can always shut it down when finished (to save the unlit coals). Its difficult to rejuvenate a dying heater because of lack of fuel.
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Len has it right....also it's easier to get the temp down then trying to get it to rise...I always over load with coals and dial the temps down to what I want...yep that temp gauge that comes stock is not the best therm either!!
 
30 lit and 30 unlit regular kingsford briquettes? 60 briquettes for a 5hour cook is not enough coal. I dont mess with lump I just use the standard kingsford charcoal and I light anywhere between 25-50 briquettes depending on the temp for the day and I would say I use at least 100 (rough guess) unlit briquettes. The temp was steady during your dry run but cold food absorbs a lot of heat. Use more unlit charcoal and you will get a longer more consistent temp.
 
When I cook ribs in my 18.5 (using the charcoal ring) I cover the bottom about two deep in charcoal which if I had to guess, would prolly be 50+ charcoals? I'm not a big fan of foiling the ribs, I'll cook them the first 75 minutes meat down, and then I turn them over (bone down) and I mop them about every half hour. My mop sauce is:

Cup of beer
Cup of Apple Juice
A "glob" of brown sugar
A lemon squeezed (depending how big the lemon, you could get by with half a lemon)
A couple shakes of worchestershire sauce

My ribs are done sometimes < 4 hours, never > 5
I start toothpicking them at the 3.5 hour mark, checking for tenderness
 
J Drew, if you are fighting to get temps up, try without water in the pan. I went from using water, to clay saucer, to dry. Wish I would have gone dry from the start, as it's even less to cleanup (water being the worst). There is bit of a learning curve with either method, but you will pick it up quick. You can also offset the lid about a 1/4" to 1/2", and it will help ramp up temps. This is especially helpful if you are doing high heat, or have the cooker loaded and need a bit more airflow.
 
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THoey said:
That built in thermometer is notoriously off and is inconsistent too. Mine is off by as much as 50*, sometimes lower, and sometimes higher than actual pit temperature. I would suggest a thermometer that will show you grill grate temp instead of the built in Weber. I use a Maverick 733 for the pit temp and meat if needed.
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I'll second that! I was so frustrated with my 18"wsm when I first started smoking with it. I didn't have something like the Maverick , and i was just going off of the thermometer in the dome. Come to find out that its off by about 30°+. I've found if its at 210°or so, I'm doing good. Get a digital thermometer.
 
J Drew said:
... and added four racks of ribs on two grates. the temp went to 210 and no higher.
Click to expand...

Do you have a pic of this? If not, were they spares or baby backs? Trimmed?

If these were all laid flat, depending upon size and/or amount trimmed, I wonder if you were choking the WSM. As others have noted, exhaust flow is equally important for maintaining proper temps. Offsetting the dome about an inch can help with this IF that was the issue.
 
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