ChrisInhove
New member
Hi,
Weber's are pricey in the UK, but having now used my new 14" WSM for the first time I would say they are worth it. I already know the quality from one of their fire-pits we have, but this little wonder worked like a dream, even on my first attempt and various school-boy errors!
I read up the Weber books and this site all week .....
I bought a large 4-5kg pork shoulder from a quality butcher Saturday. I have previously attempted a pulled pork joint on my Broil King gas grill, but used the fattier, smaller leg bit. That turned out OK but not exceptional for the cost and effort and I figured this time that a larger, leaner and more cuboid lump would be more forgiving. A dry rub of wild garlic salt, brown sugar, black pepper and smoked paprika went on and it sat that way over-night.
Sunday morning unfortunately brought the hangover-from-hell as we had watched/partied my wife's Godson race in the 1500m final in Rio, then Mo's gold in the 5k, but the WSM went on about 7:00am .
I foiled the inside and out of the water pan. On the 14" it is wide lipped like a WW1 helmet so you can leave a gap up to the rim, preventing seepage. Looking at the state of that foil, I am soooo glad I did.
Error 1. I crammed way too many briquettes into the fire chamber so when I added the small chimney full of lit ones, the water pan sat in those rather than the brackets. Next time I'll check and work out exact numbers before lighting.
Having over-smoked food in the past, I just used 3 small chunks of cherry wood, and obviously the minion lighting method.
A little more rub and then the pork joint went on the top grate, and after waiting for 200deg to be achieved, closed the vents to 25%, and I went for a lie-down.
Fantastic smells began to waft.
About 11:00 am, with the temperature at a steady 250, I popped in about a dozen lit briquettes and refilled the water pan. Having then read the Weber manual it says to use unlit to refill, so I did that next time.
Error 2. The door latch goes to 12-o-clock, not 9. At some point after the above, the door fell open and the temperature had soared by the time I saw it. Lid off, door on, lid back on ... maybe 15 -30 minutes of too high heat.
12:30pm I probed for temperature getting 160-170 degrees wherever. Hurrah! I lifted the joint on a carving fork and put it into a roasting bag and loosely tied the end. I figured this would work at least as well as a foil parcel. Back in the WSM.
Error 3. I hadn't changed the settings but couldn't get the lid thermometer reading above 200 deg - I opened the vents, waited, shook the briquettes, waited, opened the vents some more, waited ... nothing. The roasting back had inflated and was touching the probe! Lifted and rotated the lid, vents back to 25%, and voila, back to 250 deg.
About 3pm, a few more briquettes.
About 6pm, opened the neck of the bag - 198 to 202 deg where probed. Family still out, so re-tied the bag and put the lid back on, until...
7pm. Joint off, snipped corners of bag to collect juices, and rested, still in tied roasting bag under towels, until about 7:45 when we tucked in.
The bones just fell out clean, the meat was tender enough to have shredded with a rubber spoon, a proper smoke flavour - served on buns with Apple coleslaw - fantastic!
I am delighted with the WSM. It is properly thought out and works well. I am going to have fun with this.
Thank you, also, to you guys for all the information and advice, both here and TWVB.
Brisket next, I fancy ...
Weber's are pricey in the UK, but having now used my new 14" WSM for the first time I would say they are worth it. I already know the quality from one of their fire-pits we have, but this little wonder worked like a dream, even on my first attempt and various school-boy errors!
I read up the Weber books and this site all week .....
I bought a large 4-5kg pork shoulder from a quality butcher Saturday. I have previously attempted a pulled pork joint on my Broil King gas grill, but used the fattier, smaller leg bit. That turned out OK but not exceptional for the cost and effort and I figured this time that a larger, leaner and more cuboid lump would be more forgiving. A dry rub of wild garlic salt, brown sugar, black pepper and smoked paprika went on and it sat that way over-night.
Sunday morning unfortunately brought the hangover-from-hell as we had watched/partied my wife's Godson race in the 1500m final in Rio, then Mo's gold in the 5k, but the WSM went on about 7:00am .
I foiled the inside and out of the water pan. On the 14" it is wide lipped like a WW1 helmet so you can leave a gap up to the rim, preventing seepage. Looking at the state of that foil, I am soooo glad I did.
Error 1. I crammed way too many briquettes into the fire chamber so when I added the small chimney full of lit ones, the water pan sat in those rather than the brackets. Next time I'll check and work out exact numbers before lighting.
Having over-smoked food in the past, I just used 3 small chunks of cherry wood, and obviously the minion lighting method.
A little more rub and then the pork joint went on the top grate, and after waiting for 200deg to be achieved, closed the vents to 25%, and I went for a lie-down.
Fantastic smells began to waft.
About 11:00 am, with the temperature at a steady 250, I popped in about a dozen lit briquettes and refilled the water pan. Having then read the Weber manual it says to use unlit to refill, so I did that next time.
Error 2. The door latch goes to 12-o-clock, not 9. At some point after the above, the door fell open and the temperature had soared by the time I saw it. Lid off, door on, lid back on ... maybe 15 -30 minutes of too high heat.
12:30pm I probed for temperature getting 160-170 degrees wherever. Hurrah! I lifted the joint on a carving fork and put it into a roasting bag and loosely tied the end. I figured this would work at least as well as a foil parcel. Back in the WSM.
Error 3. I hadn't changed the settings but couldn't get the lid thermometer reading above 200 deg - I opened the vents, waited, shook the briquettes, waited, opened the vents some more, waited ... nothing. The roasting back had inflated and was touching the probe! Lifted and rotated the lid, vents back to 25%, and voila, back to 250 deg.
About 3pm, a few more briquettes.
About 6pm, opened the neck of the bag - 198 to 202 deg where probed. Family still out, so re-tied the bag and put the lid back on, until...
7pm. Joint off, snipped corners of bag to collect juices, and rested, still in tied roasting bag under towels, until about 7:45 when we tucked in.
The bones just fell out clean, the meat was tender enough to have shredded with a rubber spoon, a proper smoke flavour - served on buns with Apple coleslaw - fantastic!
I am delighted with the WSM. It is properly thought out and works well. I am going to have fun with this.
Thank you, also, to you guys for all the information and advice, both here and TWVB.
Brisket next, I fancy ...
