First Time Smoke with 22.5 WSM - Ribs


 
A

Andy Erickson

TVWBB Pro
Finally got my 22.5 WSM after waiting a couple of years. Put it together and fired it up with two slabs of st. louis style ribs. Did a rub with brown sugar, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, black pepper and salt. Put them on and was shooting for about 250 to 275. Checked the grate temp against the dome temp and they were almost identical the entire cook. Ended up being closer to 280 most of the cook, but that was OK since it is the first time smoking on this WSM. Ribs were a big hit. I sauced one rack with Stubbs BBQ sauce. They smoked over chunks of apple wood for about 4 1/2 hours.

I love this thing! It will have a lot more cooks on her throughout our time together for sure. Going to add some wheels and handles for the middle section. I think those are the only mods I need. I love the silicone grommet for the probe to go through. Very handy.

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Nice looking ribs! I am somewhat envious that a rack can fit without bending/folding/stapling. I can only curl 'em on my 18.
 
Nice looking trio of cookers! Those ribs look very nice, I need to smoke some more of them.

For the life of me, I can't find my ambient temp probe. So, I've just been balling up a wad of aluminun foil and sticking the probe through it. I don't think the aluminum dissapates the heat on the probe and gives a false reading.

Edit: what are these silicone grommets I keep seeing posts about? Are they new and come on the WSM from the factory?
 
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Jeff Holmes said:
Edit: what are these silicone grommets I keep seeing posts about? Are they new and come on the WSM from the factory?
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My new 18.5" WSM came with one. They are about the size of a quarter and fit in a pre-fabricated hole located on the upper side of the smoker's middle section. My grommet has a slot and a hole for temperature probes.


Good lookin' ribs, Andy. :)

I, too, need some wheels for better mobility.


EDIT: I'm curious. How much usable charcoal did you have left over from smoking?
 
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Rusty James said:
EDIT: I'm curious. How much usable charcoal did you have left over from smoking?
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I didn't check, since it was the first time using the smoker I just opened up all the dampers on the bottom and let it burn out to get more seasoning. I probably started with 10 pounds of charcoal and it was more than enough to cook for 5 hours. Have no idea how long it kept going either.
 
Jeff Holmes said:
For the life of me, I can't find my ambient temp probe. So, I've just been balling up a wad of aluminun foil and sticking the probe through it. I don't think the aluminum dissapates the heat on the probe and gives a false reading.
Click to expand...

The sensor is in the tip of the probe so as long as the tip is exposed the foil ball works fine. A half potato flat side down works too.

Jeff Holmes said:
Edit: what are these silicone grommets I keep seeing posts about? Are they new and come on the WSM from the factory?
Click to expand...
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Yes weber added these stock a few years ago. i had one on my 18" WSM. it was ok, certainly better then nothing, but i didnt love it. Some folks find it tricky to install and doesn't have a ton of room for probes. i always felt like it would rip out mid cook if a probe got snagged. Seems many folks prefer the cutting a notch in the lip instead.
 
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