First cook on my WSM 22” with new Fireboard 2 and fan


 
D

DalePollard

New member
Hi all,

Couldn’t wait to try out the new smoker and Fireboard kit, so despite torrential rain for the last 24 hours in the UK, Gazebo went up and the smoking started at 7am on Sunday.

Took a while to dial everything in. Was fighting to keep temp down for the first few hours, closing the top vent a certain amount helped with that. Then the Fireboard and fan kept it perfect for the rest of the time.

Cooked a pork shoulder 2.8kg (6.2lbs) and didn’t wrap at all. Temp increase slowed down towards the end but never really stalled as such.

Here’s a link to my cook.

Sun Feb 18 - Pork Butt
share.fireboard.io

Sun Feb 18 - Pork Butt

2.8kg Pork Butt<br /> Put on rub and in fridge overnight
share.fireboard.io share.fireboard.io

Thanks for looking.
 
Looks like a great cook despite the weather.

How do you think it turned out? Would you do anything different?

What was the rub you put on the pork shoulder? Salt and pepper only?
 
Jepprey P said:
Looks like a great cook despite the weather.

How do you think it turned out? Would you do anything different?

What was the rub you put on the pork shoulder? Salt and pepper only?
Click to expand...
Thanks, yeah the weather was a pain in the rear all morning!

I used Angus and Oink Black Gold SPG Rub https://angusandoink.com/products/black-gold-supercharged-spg?_pos=1&_sid=6b5a23c4d&_ss=r
Essentially, its salt and pepper but with a but extra.

I was surprised it was so moist inside as I wasn't running any water and didn't wrap it at all. I've bought a meat marinade injector to inject some apple juice etc into the middle of the meat. That's my next cook to see how that would taste differently or not.

Overall, a very good cook, and I learned more about how the wsm cooks, which should help me dial it in quicker next time.
 

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Andy Kaminski said:
Did you run a water pan or some sort of heat sink?
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I had a foiled water pan in but it was empty.

I figured I would like to give that a try as from what I've read, having the water helps to stop your bbq temp from going to high at the cost of increased fuel use. I'd like to do an overnight cook and not worry about the fuel running out and/or the water pan running out, so thats why I'm going this way.

Do you have a similar setup? Your view on the water pan?
 
I just got an 18” wsm a few weeks ago so I’m no wsm expert.
I haven’t used a water pan yet just a defuser plate.

I’ve done 4 cooks on it and am still undecided on the defuser plate.
It came with my wsm when I got it.
It does take a bit of scraping with a thick putty knife to clean it and makes a mess on my work table enough to where I now have a small section of plywood I use to keep the crap off the table.
It also covers my coals so I really don’t have much access to them during the cook and adding wood chunks is difficult at best.
Those issues will probably disappear when I get used to it.
It does however put out an amazing flavor that is better than my kettles have done.
I would really like to see the thermal signature pic that the diffuser plate makes to compare it to a water pan
Chris showed thermal pics of a water pan and that outside ring/edge looked freaking hot.
Hot enough to reduce the real estate on an 18 so that does worry me to a degree.

Other than my chicken cook my profiles look very similar to yours.
I like the 275 temp range and have experimented with lower temps.
It will hold at 225-230 too.
Mine holds temps pretty good and the graph looks pretty flat other than when I open it up.

I don’t use a temperature controller but I might use the water pan when I do an all night brisket cook.
I’m going to try a daytime brisket cook with just the defuser to see how that works.
If it does well I don’t see any need for a water pan and the hot edges it brings.

How do you like your controller?
I’ve pondered on them for a bit .
 
I would like to know more about that large cooker in back on the right in the picture... A lot of folks in the Masterbuilt Facebook group replace the stock controller with a Fireboard 2 Pro or Drive. They are a drop in replacement for the stock one. They even make an adapter cable so there are no splices. If my controller ever goes out I will think about it as they are quite pricey.
 
Joe Anshien said:
I would like to know more about that large cooker in back on the right in the picture... A lot of folks in the Masterbuilt Facebook group replace the stock controller with a Fireboard 2 Pro or Drive. They are a drop in replacement for the stock one. They even make an adapter cable so there are no splices. If my controller ever goes out I will think about it as they are quite pricey.
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That is just a non-brand bbq that sold itself as a smoker, and I purchased a couple of years ago. I cant control the air well enough on it which is why I bought the WSM. It was part of my learning curve! It will still be used for none low and slow cooks ie burgers and sausages.
 
DalePollard said:
despite torrential rain for the last 24 hours in the UK,
Click to expand...
Also in the UK and my plans for an Easter weekend of pork and lamb on the smoker look a bit damp!

Great looking cook and nice temperature control with the Fireboard. I’ve had my eye on one of these for a while.

Out of interest, where do you get your briquettes? It’s hard work finding anywhere to buy them this time of year.
 
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