Thinking of buying the WSM...


 
J

Jamie Mathews

TVWBB Member
I do a good amount of grilling (steaks/burgers), and a fair amount of bbq (usually chicken thighs and ribs). All I have is a Weber 26.75 inch kettle, which I'm successfully using for ribs by keeping coals to one side with bricks. No problem maintaining 250 degrees for 6 hours, might require 1 re-fuel.

So I'm thinking of acquiring a 22.5 inch WSM. My first reason is that more toys are always better than fewer toys. But is the WSM that superior to the kettle? We entertain a lot (we have the only pool in the neighborhood), and I would like to try some pulled pork and brisket, which I'm guessing would be easier on the WSM.

I have the $$ fortunately, I just need to justify spending it. So why do I need both the kettle and the WSM?
 
Tons of reasons. First is they keep each other company. Another is you can't do ribs (low heat) & burgers (high heat) at the same time during a cookout. For long smokes, the WSM is way superior to the kettle. I've got an 18" WSM and a 21" kettle. If you've got the room for both, then keep both!
 
If you find yourself entertaining a lot, pork shoulder can be had pretty cheaply and it's an easy cook that can feed a lot of people.

And, like Pete said. You can get a lot of burgers, dogs, chicken, fish going on the kettle while things finish up.

Getting a 22 will (I think) give you the capacity to cook 10 or 12 racks of ribs at a time with little to no babysitting or fire maintenance.
 
I agree with what Pete says. I've had a Weber kettle (22.5) for years, just added a WSM (18.5), and absolutely love it. I also like to use the kettle grate as a place to put hot items like the charcoal chimney while cooking with the WSM. Your BBQing will be easier and probably better using the WSM. If you're not already using something like it, I also HIGHLY recommend the Maverick ET-732 remote thermometer. It's like a baby monitor for your briskets. It makes it really easy to keep an eye on temperatures while you're away doing more important things like entertaining by the pool.
 
Why do you need both .. just because ..
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.. one is a GRILL and one is a SMOKER .. thats what I tell my wife anyway ..
 
I have been grilling and smoking on a 22.5" kettle (blue Performer) for a few years now and just picked up an 18.5" WSM to keep it company. My thinking was :

- the kettle handles everything up to ribs pretty easily (I see ribs and chicken as the overlap point between kettle and WSM), but larger hunks of meat require more fussing with a kettle than they do with a WSM

- I eventually gave up on trying to smoke anything big when entertaining because I needed to use the Performer for other things as well; some (ABTs) were compatible with smoking, while others (burgers & sausages) not so much - having a smoker and a grill you can run at the same time avoids nearly all of the conflicts

- I always wanted a WSM
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I should mention that I did also briefly consider getting a large BGE instead of the WSM, primarily because of comments that ceramic cookers had an easier time dealing with cold, windy conditions. In the end I figured it would be easier to arrange for a windbreak (I'm building a cart/table for the WSM anyways) and that the WSM arguably had the edge for long cooks under normal conditions, so ended up going with the WSM.
 
GET THE 22 1/2 Inch WMS. I got the 18 1/2 AND it is just not big enough to cook all the meat I try to cram in there. I wish I had gone 22 1/2.
 
I just bought a 22 WSM 3 weeks ago and I love it. I wish I'd bought one years ago. It has been really fun and rewarding to blow people away with the pulled pork and brisket, so if you entertain I would say go for it. Everyone I've served so far has raved and in my mind it's all the smoker. No matter how bad I try to mess it up with my meddling, everything I've cooked has turned out great.

Swimming in a pool with the smell of brisket in the air seems like a really good way to have a great time to me.

Being a Weber, I'd expect the WSM to last forever. Also it would look cool to have it right next to your kettle on a patio. All you'll need then is a Genesis.

Just my opinion of course,

Adam
 
I now have the 18 & the 22...in both grill & WSM fashion. My wife doesn't understand why I need all 4, but trust me I do!!!
 
You don't need both. I started with the coals on the side deal back in the early 90s.

You you can low and slow on a kettle, it's just much easier on the WSM.

Read through this thread

For quantity the WSMs excel. Today I did a 100 person party today with 55 lbs (6 butts) of butts and 40 lbs of chicken using a 18 and a 22 WSM. This would have been pretty difficult with kettles.

There is one good thread on slow cooking on a kettle in the
 
Why would you need a reason to buy a new black shiny smoker?

I had my wsm 22 for a few weeks now and i just love it!!!

It made me do a party for 36 people, darn it!
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I should mention that after owning an 18.5" WSM for a week or so I'm thinking it might have been worth getting a 22.5" - not for capacity in a simplistic sense (the 18.5" can fit everything I want to cook at the same time) but for convenience and "top rack" space.

Not sure if ribs have gotten bigger recently but they can be a tight fit on an 18.5 unless you cut them or roll them... although cutting works fine for me, I'm just being nitpicky. Today was my first weekend cook; wanted to do chicken for lunch and ribs for dinner. The ribs didn't fit particularly well on the lower rack (and I wasn't sure about the hygiene of chicken over ribs), and I wanted to take the chicken off before the ribs, so having the chicken on the lower rack wasn't an obvious answer either since I didn't want partially cooked pork dripping on fully cooked chicken. It all required more thinking than I like to do on a weekend.

I ended up deciding to put the chicken on first (top rack) then put the ribs on when the chicken came off. Nice and simple and the times actually work out OK, but I still had to cut the rib racks to make them fit (partly my own fault 'cause I didn't have a rib rack). Boo hoo, whine whine... guess my point is that you already seem to have smoking on the kettle figured out, so you're buying a WSM for convenience... and my initial impression is that a 22 probably ends up being more convenient than an 18 in a bunch of small ways.

EDIT - in hindsight I answered my own question in the previous post - should have done chicken on the kettle and ribs on the WSM
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+1 on being able to smoke and grill at the same time. Last Saturday, I did some ribs on my 18.5" WSM and grilled up some sausages and corn on the 26.75".
 
Thanks guys, I'm guessing a 22.5 WSM will be purchased soon. The other thing is, I love poultry on a rotisserie, and I can't believe that Weber doesn't make one for the 26.75. I'm afraid that I'll need a 22.5 inch kettle to accommodate a rotisserie (and for rare occasions when I'm cooking for a smaller group).
 
I know! I wish they had a rotiss for the 26.75" too. I'm going to have to pick up a 22.5" for the same reason.
 
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