Bobby Flay & the WSM


 
T MacGreggor

T MacGreggor

TVWBB Pro
You veteran WSM smokers might be able to provide some insight here.

Caught a rerun episode of Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction recently where he was smoking some trout fillets on a WSM. He opened the access door on the front, which showed surprisingly little lit charcoal, maybe 1/3 of a full sized Weber chimney. In one hand he had a bowl of wood chips, not chunks, swimming in water. With the other hand he started to fling them on top of the lit coals, water and all. I immediately thought he's going to put those coals out with all that water & saturated chips!

Granted, I've only had my WSM for 7 months, but I've always used unsoaked wood chunks, not the soaked chips which is what I use on the Weber kettle. So I was just wondering if anyone else uses Bobby's method and/or what you take on it is. I mean he's an accomplished chef and I'm just a WSM newb, but that method seemed to run counter to everything I've read here on TVWBB & elsewhere when it comes to the WSM.
 
I remember a throwdown where he went up against Myron Mixon (hope I have that correct) & his awesome BBQ truck with several 22.5 Kettles. Can't remember what they were cooking. He lost. & is a good sport.
I think he knows what he is doing.
To me... as time goes on... there are many ways to do things in BBQ. Some work better than others. Some work when they "shouldn't".
I would not criticize Bobby Flaw until I had walked a mile in his shoes. At that time... I'd be a mile away & have his shoes.
 
Dwain Pannell said:
Uh in another episode he placed the water pan directly on the coals. I think you know better.
Click to expand...

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/humor1.html

flay_wsm.jpg
 
I agree there's more than one way to skin a cat, Robert, though Bobby Flay seems to know his way around a traditional Weber kettle & a Genesis much better than he does a WSM.
 
I would guess he was trying to do a cool smoke on those trouts. How did he finish it, use it as an app, or main course?

Tim
 
1/3 of chimney of lit coals isn't that crazy... When I start my cooker minion method I have used fewer coals then that before. I have never thrown wet chips on the fire but to each their own I guess!
 
Sure, with minion method I use less than 10 lit briquettes spread on top of unlit charcoal, but this wasn't minion method that Bobby Flay used with the trout. It was just around a 10-12 briquettes in the bottom of the 18 or 22 WSM. So few you could actually see the charcoal grate. I've got to believe he finished the fillets on a hot grill. Can't imagine there was enough heat to get any grill marks after flinging all that water & wood chips on so few coals. I've been looking to catch that episode again to see for sure how he finished them up.
 
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