First Start-Up on New WSM 22.5 Was So Easy!!

Got my new WSM in Tuesday, and put it together...even added some wheels. Of course, I couldn't wait to get home last night and fire it up. I filled the charcoal basket with charcoal. I had cut down some of my splits I use on my offset to large chunks, and added 4 of them...2 buried in the coals and 2 on top. I started about 1/2 charcoal chimney with charcoal, and then created a little hole in the middle of the charcoal in the WSM and poured it in.

No meat, no water in water pan...was just going to check it out. I was worried at first, from so much smoke.


[/URL][/IMG]

After about 45 minutes, I had TBS, and a solid temp of about 250* for about 30 minutes. I would've put my meat on this time.

[/URL][/IMG]

With all 3 bottom vents cracked about 1/3 way open, and the top vent open all the way, it held temp right about 250* for 2 1/2 hours. I had my Maverick on the top grate, and was amazed at how close the built-in temp gauge was to the true grate temp. Going from here, up to 320* and back, the deviation was never more than about 8 degrees, and when there was a difference the Maverick always showed a tad cooler. This amazed me, because on my Old Country Wrangler stickburner, the grate temp is about 75* hotter than the built-in thermometer, and on my Weber Genesis grill the grate temp is 80* hotter than the built-in thermometer. So, naturally, I was ecstatic about this...and had already been shopping Amazon for an adjustable thermometer to replace the built-in one. I can forget that now.

[/URL][/IMG]

After holding at 250* for about 2 1/2 hours, I opened up all bottom vents and let it climb. Didn't take too long to get to 320*, where it stayed for about an hour. I think this is as hot as mine will get...which is fine with me.

[/URL][/IMG]

I have to say, overall I was very impressed with my new 22.5 WSM. And, believe me, it is WAY easier to control temps than it is on an offset stickburner. I think we will have a fun time. Can't wait to actually smoke some meat this weekend in it.

[/URL][/IMG]

One thing I was told on another post when I was inquiring about the WSM was to catch the temp on the way up, as it's hard to get it back down once you let it get up too high. That is most definitely true, as it took about an hour, maybe longer, to get back down to 250* after being at 320*. I will have to remember that. But, I think I am going to really enjoy smoking meat on this bad-boy...and I believe it will be a lot more laid-back than what I've been used to. Just let the WSM do all the work. I love it!!

Congratulations Mick.

It sounds like you had about as much fun as you can without the smell of meat to keep you company. You will have to share your trick about finding a Weber built in temp gauge that works well. I have only had two and frankly they are more use as ornaments than gauges. I am having great fun with mine and cooking every other day but very unconventionally (adding the use of an oven and a sous vide to get greater control of serving times and end results (for briskets). I hope you have great results.

Complimenti Mick!
Im very interested in tour opinion about smoke flavou.
I moved form chips in a pouch to 100% wood splits and back to 3 splits buried under charcoal.
I realized that the more wood I add the more I loose the rub flavour, but never have had bitter or ashtray taste (except once).
Due to this "taste sensation" I started recently to move back on smoking wood. The time before the last just 1 split cut in 3 chunks, all buried under charcoal. They were totally burned.
Last time I moved the 3 chunks over the charcoal but at the end of the cook they were only partially burned.
Let us know how much wood make the WSM run like your stick burner.

Thanks Petroni North! I did have fun last night...but drank way to much whiskey while doing it. LOL!! I never thought smoking meat could be so easy!

Enrico that is a good question, and sounds like a strange predicament you've found yourself in. I will continue to experiment, as my goal in buying the WSM was to put out the same quality of meat, without all the work. I've already seen it will be a lot less work. And, I have to say that the whole time I was running last night, 5 - 5 1/2 hours, I could smell the strong smoke smell with just those four chunks. That really surprised me, as I wondered how the wood chunks could even come into play, without the thick white smoke. But, once I got past that first 45 minutes, I never saw anymore white smoke. For my stickburner to run 5 - 5 1/2 hours, I would have used around 10 splits.

As far as not tasting the rub, what kind of rub do you use? For beef, I only use Kosher salt and coarse black pepper, applied liberally, which is the Texas standard. I don't think I'll have a problem tasting the meat, or the salt and pepper rub. Now, on pork I do use a brown sugar based rub, that also has a little kick to it. And, I apply it liberally as well. It consists of:

1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Chili Powder
1/4 Cup Paprika
3 Tbsp Kosher Salt
3 Tbsp Course Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Cumin
2 Tbsp Coriander
2 Tbsp Allspice
3 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper

I will try this with some spare ribs this weekend and test the smokiness.

Thanks!

Mick thnks for the replay.
Must say first, I only use WSM with ATC and always at 250F. Really steady smoking machine. I removed waterpan and placed pizzastone inside.
This said I totally agree that the white billoing smoke stops round 45' to 60 minutes.
But the BT smoke goes on and on and on and this makes my rub disappear.
This is way I am reducing the quantity.
About the rub Im trying everything from MeatChurch to Harry Soo to Oakridge BBQ to SPOG.
BUT I really appreciate the 2 layers of flavour. I mean the base like SantaMaria by Oakridge + SPOG.
Or MeatChurch + SPOG.
At the end I just taste SPOG. The base disappears.
This is what I mean.

MickHLR said:

Got my new WSM in Tuesday, and put it together...even added some wheels. Of course, I couldn't wait to get home last night and fire it up. I filled the charcoal basket with charcoal. I had cut down some of my splits I use on my offset to large chunks, and added 4 of them...2 buried in the coals and 2 on top. I started about 1/2 charcoal chimney with charcoal, and then created a little hole in the middle of the charcoal in the WSM and poured it in.

No meat, no water in water pan...was just going to check it out. I was worried at first, from so much smoke.

[/URL][/IMG]

After about 45 minutes, I had TBS, and a solid temp of about 250* for about 30 minutes. I would've put my meat on this time.

[/URL][/IMG]

With all 3 bottom vents cracked about 1/3 way open, and the top vent open all the way, it held temp right about 250* for 2 1/2 hours. I had my Maverick on the top grate, and was amazed at how close the built-in temp gauge was to the true grate temp. Going from here, up to 320* and back, the deviation was never more than about 8 degrees, and when there was a difference the Maverick always showed a tad cooler. This amazed me, because on my Old Country Wrangler stickburner, the grate temp is about 75* hotter than the built-in thermometer, and on my Weber Genesis grill the grate temp is 80* hotter than the built-in thermometer. So, naturally, I was ecstatic about this...and had already been shopping Amazon for an adjustable thermometer to replace the built-in one. I can forget that now.

[/URL][/IMG]

After holding at 250* for about 2 1/2 hours, I opened up all bottom vents and let it climb. Didn't take too long to get to 320*, where it stayed for about an hour. I think this is as hot as mine will get...which is fine with me.

[/URL][/IMG]

I have to say, overall I was very impressed with my new 22.5 WSM. And, believe me, it is WAY easier to control temps than it is on an offset stickburner. I think we will have a fun time. Can't wait to actually smoke some meat this weekend in it.

[/URL][/IMG]

One thing I was told on another post when I was inquiring about the WSM was to catch the temp on the way up, as it's hard to get it back down once you let it get up too high. That is most definitely true, as it took about an hour, maybe longer, to get back down to 250* after being at 320*. I will have to remember that. But, I think I am going to really enjoy smoking meat on this bad-boy...and I believe it will be a lot more laid-back than what I've been used to. Just let the WSM do all the work. I love it!!

Click to expand...

Looks like you got it going on! Was just going to say dome temp on mine drops with meat on early in the cook but get more exact as the cook progresses. I use a mavrick 733 and just stick the probe in the side about 2 inches and run my temp at 250 to 270. My thinking is the temp will be little cooler above the pan in the middle and cook times work out to about what I hear others getting. Ive only been using mine a year or so and there are many people on here with more skills I'm sure but this works great for me. Have fun with the weber.Ive been grilling for 25 years or so but smoking is fairly new to me. May get a bigger smoker in the future but will always keep a WSM around for sure! You using a stick burner before this will be like will make running the weber like shooting fish in a barrel. Let us know after a few cooks how you think about taste on the weber vrs your stick burner if you don't mind.

your pictures make me want to leave work and go smoke something. too bad it's freezing cold and snowing in NJ right about now...

Brian Cross said:

Looks like you got it going on! Was just going to say dome temp on mine drops with meat on early in the cook but get more exact as the cook progresses. I use a mavrick 733 and just stick the probe in the side about 2 inches and run my temp at 250 to 270. My thinking is the temp will be little cooler above the pan in the middle and cook times work out to about what I hear others getting. Ive only been using mine a year or so and there are many people on here with more skills I'm sure but this works great for me. Have fun with the weber.Ive been grilling for 25 years or so but smoking is fairly new to me. May get a bigger smoker in the future but will always keep a WSM around for sure! You using a stick burner before this will be like will make running the weber like shooting fish in a barrel. Let us know after a few cooks how you think about taste on the weber vrs your stick burner if you don't mind.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Brian. I'm anxious to compare the WSM to the stickburner, as far as taste. I already see it's going to be a lot easier.

Tim McG said:

your pictures make me want to leave work and go smoke something. too bad it's freezing cold and snowing in NJ right about now...

Click to expand...

LOL!! I hear you Tim. Sure is nice to live in Texas...70's and sunny. Able to smoke meat basically anytime. And, I'll be able to do some "playing" this weekend.

On my first couple of smokes on my 22 the lid therm would match my maverick grate therm almost exactly. Here lately the grate temp is about 40 degrees higher than the lid temp. I don't worry about it too much either way though. As long as I'm between 225 and 300 I'm good to go.

Nice write up.
I get very good temperature control too, but I only have one bottom vent open <1/4 to lock in at 250.
It seems like you have a nice tight WSM right out of the box, which is a very good situation. As you start getting a grease build up it will get even better.
I think you are going to be very pleased with the flavor of your BBQ.

Enrico Brandizzi said:

Mick thnks for the replay.
Must say first, I only use WSM with ATC and always at 250F. Really steady smoking machine. I removed waterpan and placed pizzastone inside.
This said I totally agree that the white billoing smoke stops round 45' to 60 minutes.
But the BT smoke goes on and on and on and this makes my rub disappear.
This is way I am reducing the quantity.
About the rub Im trying everything from MeatChurch to Harry Soo to Oakridge BBQ to SPOG.
BUT I really appreciate the 2 layers of flavour. I mean the base like SantaMaria by Oakridge + SPOG.
Or MeatChurch + SPOG.
At the end I just taste SPOG. The base disappears.
This is what I mean.

Click to expand...

Enrico, I did my first smokes this past weekend on the 22.5 WSM, and did not see what you are talking about with smoke. For both smokes, I used one of my normal splits that I use on my stick burner. I cut up 8 chunks from each split, and put 4 chunks on top of a layer of charcoal. Then, I finished filling up my charcoal bin, and put the remaining chunks on top. I scooped out a little area in the middle, where I poured about 1/3 of Weber chimney of lit charcoal...and let her go. I will say I got about the same smoke taste out of the one cut-up split on a 6-hour smoke, that I normally get on my stick burner, which would use 10 or so splits in 6 hours. I could taste the rub that I mentioned above. And, Saturday night, when I did an all-night pork shoulder, 12 hours later I could still get a faint taste of the Tabasco sauce I used to slather on as a rub binder.

So, for me, on the spare ribs, a ham, and a pork shoulder I smoked this weekend...about 8 chunks of wood was just about perfect for me. I ran the ribs and double-smoked ham at 230* grate temp on Saturday. Then, I ran the pork shoulder at 250* all night Saturday night and the next morning. It had slipped down to 200* when I woke up yesterday morning, but came right back up to temp after I added some charcoal. But, there was not any problem tasting the rub on any of the meats...while they were all plenty smoky-tasting.

Congrats Mick, and good luck with your WSM! I'm new here to the forum and to smoking, so I'm trying to get a bit of info here. What is meant by after 45 mins. you had TBS? Also, how much briquette wise, did you start with in the coal ring? I'm in the seasoning process and my first light up with bacon took the temps up to 325. I'm using a Maverick 732 to monitor the grate temp. My access door is quite leaky, I've got a Cajun Bandit door on the way. The manual states that the remedy for the high temp. is water in the pan. I ran mine foiled, but empty. Closing the vents did little to bring the temps down. I even closed the top vent, and it chugged away at 311 for ever. I hear they run hot when new. Am I doing something wrong?

Hey Richard...thanks, and welcome to the forum. I'm new myself, and there's a wealth of information here for the WSM. What a magnificent piece of equipment! After spending most of my life smoking on offset stick burners, I've been amazed. This thing is amazing, holds temp, and is really making me lazy. I'd pay twice the price for one.

I'm sorry about the terminology. TBS, or "thin blue smoke" is what people who cook on a stick burner live by. When you're burning wood only, you have a possibility for thick white smoke every time you add wood to the smoker. And, you never want to smoke meat in thick white smoke. That's where the creosote taste comes from in smoked meats...so that's why TBS is so important. I just forgot that a lot of folks on this forum have never smoked on a stick burner...and it is a whole different world. I've had my 22.5 WSM 4 weeks now, and have done 5 smokes...including 3 all nighters. One weekend I was gone and didn't get to smoke anything...and was having withdrawals by the next weekend. And, ever since this first startup, it has taken me an hour to get TBS. So, now I just plan on an hour after I pour in about a 1/3 chimney of lit charcoal. Also, you mentioned you didn't put water in the pan. If you want to keep the temps down, put some water in it. I've used water in mine every time so far, and it has worked well as a heat sink. I'm not really sure why some don't put water in the pan, when that's what it was designed for...but, then again, I'm still learning to use this bad boy. I don't do all that foil wrapping of the water pan either, as I have an outside water hose nearby to just turn on and wash it all out before starting the next cook...no problem. I just want it to be simple, and provide the same quality of meat as my stick burner did, without all the work.

Now, how I start mine may not be the way others do it, and may not be the correct way, but it works for me. I start off with a layer of charcoal on the bottom and a few chunks of post oak that I cut up from my large splits for the stick burner.

[/URL][/IMG]

Then, I fill up the rest with a full 18.5 lb bag of Kingsford...along with a few more chunks of post oak. And, I pull out a little bit of charcoal from the middle and lay it up around the sides. And, I don't think most people use wood chunks this large. But, like I said, it works for me.

[/URL][/IMG]

Then, I pour in about 1/4 - 1/3 charcoal chimney of lit coals in the indention I made in the middle of the coals. People talk about using coffee cans and all kinds of stuff...but you don't have to be that perfect with it.

[/URL][/IMG]

Before I got my Auber temp controller, I'd close all bottom vents, but one. And, just open it about a 1/3 of the way and it would pretty much adjust to 235*-250* according to the how much I opened that one vent. Now, with the Auber, they're all closed, except the one the Auber fan fits in. I always leave the top vent wide open. Smokers need some air to keep TBS. I bought those little 3/4" hole covers at Home Depot, as I didn't want to use the tape that came with the Auber.

[/URL][/IMG]

Then, you can just set the Auber to whatever temp you want it to hold. When it needs air, the Auber fan will blow...when it doesn't need air to keep temp, it won't run. Pretty simple. On the 3 overnight cooks I've done, when I got up the next morning, I'd just go out there, stir up my coals, and add 6-8 double handfuls of charcoal down the chute. And, to my surprise, not once has it started churning out thick white smoke when I've done this. Mine never ran hot like you're talking about. The very hottest I was able to get mine with everything open was 320*...and I'll never smoke anything that hot. One thing another person on this forum told me was it's a lot harder to bring the temp down if it gets high, than it is to slowly let it go up. I've paid attention to that, as a stick burner is just the opposite. So, I always make sure I ease up to temp, and not go too much over, as it does take a long time to cool off. Another thing I've noticed is after I've cooked something and closed it all up, to kill the heat, it will still be about 140* or so 24 hours later. I don't know, maybe I got lucky and got a good one...but my door doesn't leak, and I really don't think it leaks hardly anywhere else. But, leaving that top vent wide open will also help with that...as that smoke should draft right on out the top.

This was the best pork butt I've ever smoked. It took 14 hours overnight at 235*.

[/URL][/IMG]

And, this is the brisket I did last weekend. Started it at 10:00pm Friday night and finished it at 3:00pm Saturday...running at 230* for 17 hours.

[/URL][/IMG]

Good luck and good smoking, my friend. You can’t buy happiness, but you can Barbecue, and that’s kinda the same thing.

Yup Mickey!

That shure is a nice, pretty, CLEAN WSM - but she'll run even better once it gets a little "seasoning gunk" on the inside.

One of the differences that you'll probably have to play-with a bit vs. the stick-burner is what kind of charcoal you use and how much smoke wood with it.
Many like the taste that K-Classic provides and only needs to be accented with a bit of Smoke Wood.
I find that when I use quality hardwood lump charcoal - It is more "flavor-neutral", and can tolerate a lot more smoke wood without over-powering the meat in most cases.
Initially, I would stick with what works - and only tweak one variable at a time until you develop a feel for it.

I suppose that down in your "neck-o-the-woods" Barbeque runs in the blood. Us cheeseheads are on a bigger learning curve in most cases...

The reason I don't use water in the pan is because I don't want to clean up the mess.
It takes <5 minutes to foil the pan and <30 seconds to clean it.

Charles H. said:

The reason I don't use water in the pan is because I don't want to clean up the mess.
It takes <5 minutes to foil the pan and <30 seconds to clean it.

Click to expand...

Thanks Charles...if I'd had that kind of experience with it, I might consider foiling the pan. I'm still a newbie, and still learning with the WSM thing. And, I actually tried foiling the pan on a couple of all night cooks, and both times it took me a lot longer to get all the gunk out and cleaned up than without foiling it. Both times, in some places the foil had torn or leaked, even after doubling and tripling it in some places, and it still made a big mess in the pan. So, the next time I didn't foil it, and just washed it out with a water hose when done, and put it back in...fast and easy. And, I don't care if the water pan stays a little greasy to the touch. After spending most of my life smoking on stick burners, I've never used a water pan, and I'm still getting used to it, but actually kinda like it.

I seem to be doing a lot of firsts in my old age. LOL! I never thought I'd ever be one to use an automatic temp controller either...but, I'm finding out that the meat smoking technology is amazing. A temp controller with a WSM should be against the law. And, sometimes I've found it hard to continue acting like it's so hard to smoke meat to the family. They've just all been so used to me spending all my time and a lot of energy controlling my old smokers through the years, and I'm not gonna lie...it was tough, but worth it. Now, with a WSM and an Auber, the quality of meat seems to be just as good, with no effort at all from me. So, I feel guilty taking all the credit now. I never thought I'd love a smoker this much!

Ron G. said:

Yup Mickey!

That shure is a nice, pretty, CLEAN WSM - but she'll run even better once it gets a little "seasoning gunk" on the inside.

One of the differences that you'll probably have to play-with a bit vs. the stick-burner is what kind of charcoal you use and how much smoke wood with it.
Many like the taste that K-Classic provides and only needs to be accented with a bit of Smoke Wood.
I find that when I use quality hardwood lump charcoal - It is more "flavor-neutral", and can tolerate a lot more smoke wood without over-powering the meat in most cases.
Initially, I would stick with what works - and only tweak one variable at a time until you develop a feel for it.

I suppose that down in your "neck-o-the-woods" Barbeque runs in the blood. Us cheeseheads are on a bigger learning curve in most cases...

Click to expand...

Thanks Ron! Yeah, she's tightening up more and more. 3 overnight cooks have helped a lot...one was 12 hours, one was 14 hours, and one was 17 hours.

I do like the regular old Kingsford, and that's all I'll use in my 26.75" Weber Kettle as well. I do think it burns longer and cleaner than anything else. Just my opinion. And, I only use post oak, red oak, or hickory wood...that I keep under tarps in three different 1/3 cord stacks in my back yard. They are normal sized wood splits, 14" - 16" that I used in my stick burner. I just use my miter saw to cut pretty good sized chunks. And, for my taste, I've found that 7-8 of those chunks work pretty well.

LOL!! Barbecue may well run in the blood down here...and we spell it with a "C". But, down here, for the most part, barbecue = beef. And, an occasional spare rib. I have recently acquired a taste for a good pork butt though...and you sure can't beat the price, as compared to brisket or beef ribs or beef shoulder clod. But, probably the biggest difference down here is we can smoke meat year 'round. I was chatting with a guy from WI on here the other day, and it was snowy, rainy, 30's* up there, when it was 85* down here. And, that makes a huge difference.

I spent 20 years in the military, lived all over the world, and when I lived in England back in the 80's my English neighbors thought I was one crazy Texan, out there smoking meat in the cold and rain. Until they tasted Texas brisket for the first time...then, they didn't think I was so crazy! LOL!! The biggest problem I had over there at that time was finding wood though...that was really rough. I think the main thing, for me anyway, is that smoking meat is just plain fun...you get to drink while you do it, and have something great to eat when you're done. My kind of thing!

Post Oak?

I wonder if that's what some call "Scrub Oak" - the stuff that gets cut-up for heavy-duty industrial pallets and crates for big, heavy machinery?

My FIL was once a "Crazy American" - during the Cold War, he worked for a company that made machinery for handling / processed Iron Ore. One of his assignments was getting several systems working in Siberia. The availability of decent food in those parts was "limited" to say the least, but he and his buddy noticed that they walked-past a large, swampy area on their way to the plant. He said that the Locals were amazed that those Crazy Americans found a way to gig some big 'ol Bullfrogs and cook-up some Frog Legs... (Apparently, this is something that was completely foreign to the Siberian Soviets...)

Ron G. said:

Post Oak?

I wonder if that's what some call "Scrub Oak" - the stuff that gets cut-up for heavy-duty industrial pallets and crates for big, heavy machinery?

My FIL was once a "Crazy American" - during the Cold War, he worked for a company that made machinery for handling / processed Iron Ore. One of his assignments was getting several systems working in Siberia. The availability of decent food in those parts was "limited" to say the least, but he and his buddy noticed that they walked-past a large, swampy area on their way to the plant. He said that the Locals were amazed that those Crazy Americans found a way to gig some big 'ol Bullfrogs and cook-up some Frog Legs... (Apparently, this is something that was completely foreign to the Siberian Soviets...)

Click to expand...

Hey Ron...No, post oak is not scrub oak. Post oak is actually part of the white oak family and grow abundant in wilds of Texas. And, if I remember correctly, they got their name from way back when people found they were good to make fence posts from, as they didn't rot in the ground, like a lot of other woods. And, it's so abundant, it's one of the cheapest woods to use in this area. I also like red oak for smoking...and it seems to burn a little hotter, be a little smokier and has a tad sweeter taste than post oak. Scrub oaks are nothing more than small shrubby-looking oaks. They grow more in drier conditions and are related to the live oaks, and stay green year around, whereas post oaks are deciduous. Post oaks have large, dark green leaves, while scrub oak leaves resemble holly leaves. Some people say it is OK to use scrub oak for smoking meat, I've just never used it...and it would take a lot of scrub oak trees/bushes to get a cord of wood, as they don't grow very large.

Funny story on the frog legs. I can see that! Hey, I've eaten a lot of things in other countries, that I wouldn't normally eat, a lot of times aided by alcohol. So, I always figured those folks needed to try some good Texas barbecue. Have yet to find anyone who didn't like it.