1st use - suggestions


 
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Guest

Guest
I picked up the WSM yesterday, put it together last night, and am planning breaking it in on Saturday, 2 racks of ribs and a brisket or shoulder. Wondering if anyone had any suggestions that would be helpful for a 1st time WSM user who has ECB experience. I plan to put the ribs on the top rack, brisket/shoulder on the bottom.

I did fit the smoker with a long stem thermometer and have it positioned about 1 inch above the top grate, and about 4 -5 inches from the side of the smoker, do you feel this will give me decent temp readings? I also have one of the digital ones, but I plan on putting that in the big hunk o'meat.

Dean
 
Dean,

Just remember, the lower grate will run cooler than the top....for that reason I usually put my "BIG MEAT" on the top shelf. Really splitting hairs here, but I just had to post something!! LOL

Welcome aboard and best of luck to you!

Stogie
 
What Stogie says is true. I usually put meats on the top grate that will need the most attention, or the ones that will be done before the ones on the bottom, so I can get at them easier. Ribs cooked on the top grate will be finished before I even turn a brisket on the bottom grate for the first time.

The temperature differential between top and bottom is 10-15*F, so keep that in mind.

Have fun,
Chris
 
Well I ended up doing 2 4lb pork butts and 3 racks of ribs. I put the butts on 1st, and after 4 hours, turned the butts and added the ribs. The only problem is that after I added the ribs, the temp went down to 200 and wouldn't come back up, after about 1 hour, I started another chimeny of coals, and added them, got the temp back up to 240. I think the problem was that since this was the first run, the smoker was running pretty hot, 240 with no bottom vents open, the coals may have been somewhat smothered?

The results were pretty good though. The butts came out very good, and the ribs (with BRITU rub) were also good. I could have kept them on a while longer, they didn't pull off the bone as easily as I would have liked. But everyone gobbled up everything, only had left overs for maybe 1 serving.

Would you have suggested putting everything on first, then removing the meat as they get done?

Thanks for you help,
Dean
 
I try to time everything to be done at the same time. The key is to always start earlier than you think you need to, so you're not pressured by hungry guests to pull the food off before it's just right. Plus you need time for the food to "rest" after you pull it off the cooker. If something gets done early, you can wrap it in foil and maybe a towel, then put it in a cooler.

I'm not sure what the deal was with the temp. I've never had to add coals when cooking for 12 hours or less. What type of coals did you use?

Steve
 
Dean....

Sounds like you did pretty good! All a matter of practice, practice, practice.

As far as when to put the meats on..It really depends if you want to eat all the meat at the same time. If you cooked the butts and the ribs to eat at the same time, then you need to do what you did...plan on them coming off at the same time, which means start the butts well ahead of the ribs.

What happened to the ribs was the temp dip GREATLY EXTENDED your cooking time. One factor that may have kept the temp down also was the ribs may have been cold...especially if the temp outside is cold or windy.

I am cooking up 10 racks of loin backs tonite for Mon Nite Football......trying 2 different recipes..one that is marinaded and then foiled after 3 hours and a typical dry rub batch with 3 different sauces to try.

It is cool here today and very windy, so it will be a constant struggle to keep my temps up to 225. I will do the Minion method except will start with a FULL chimney!! Very important in this type of weather and a WSM FULL of meat. I will let the unit heat up a little before placing the meats on...usually I would add the meat the same time as I add the charcoal.

One last bit of advice for you Dean.....ALWAYS ADD 1-2 HOURS TO YOUR COOKING TIMES!! This margin will diminish as you and your WSM become one. It is so easy to store BBQ foods and they will keep hot for literally hours!

Sorry for the long post!

Stogie
 
I used kingsford coals, with cherry and oak for the smoke. I didn't pull the ribs early enough from the frig, so they only sat for about 1/2 hour before going on the smoker, I figure that probably was a big part of it. I did add a few hours slop in the estimated time, which I needed. But I got nothing but compliments, so not too bad for the first run.

Thanks for the help....

Dean
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top