WSM mini smoker purpose ?


 
Frank H

Frank H

TVWBB Gold Member
I keep seeing these mini WSM's made from the smoky joe grill and (I guess) a big ol soup pan with the bottom cut out.... These look wicked cool , but what are they used for? I mean , what exactly are the advantages of making one of these?
 
The appeal to me is it's compact size - easy to store, easy to take along, and a perfect size for a few people (not a crowd). Less fuel usage is another plus. And since it was designed as a portable grill, just remove the center section and there you go.

That's just me talkin' though... I haven't built one. Yet....

Getting the assembly straight in my head will kickstart my project. If it works as well as everyone says (and so far everyone here is spot on!) and I build mine, I just might sell the 18.5" WSM... maybe... not too sure right now... I'll get back with you on that....
 
Frank H said:
I keep seeing these mini WSM's made from the smoky joe grill and (I guess) a big ol soup pan with the bottom cut out.... These look wicked cool , but what are they used for? I mean , what exactly are the advantages of making one of these?
Click to expand...

Smaller cooks like a couple of whole chickens or 1 pork butt.
Portable tailgater.
Affordable vertical smoker. Old Smokey Joes can be found at garage sales for $5 to $10.
Fun to make and add custom paint.
 
Cheap to make, portable, multiple uses, and it looks freakn awesome! Need I say more.

I love mine, I've done three Boston butts, ribs, and ATB's on it, with a whole list of other goodies to smoke on it.
 
Another option, is for those that are interested to try smoking meat on a smoker, rather than on their kettle. As mentioned before, These little smokers can be built for as little as $40! They perform ( heat up, hold their temp, fuel consumption) almost exactly like a WSM, so one can enter the world of smoking meats at a fraction of the cost. For me though, it was the fun of building it with my sons, and putting my own spin/twist on it. There are as many different ideas and theories in building the mini, as there are minis built! BUILD ONE! YOU'LL SEE!
Tim
 
I have a few reasons for building a Mini. The first was portability. I was sick of loading the WSM in my truck and driving over to friends for some ABT's or a few chickens. This makes things very easy when travel is involved. The second is fuel consumption. This little thing runs on 1/4 of the fuel that the full sized WSM does. When I am cooking for 2 people, the WSM uses a lot more fuel than the Mini. Its perfect for a Tri-Tip or a few pork tenderloins. Not to mention the customization aspect. Your friends will love it when you show up to the tailgate with your teams colors.
 
1. Fun to do.
2. Cheap smoker that works good.
3. Great for cooking for just 2 people.
4. Great conversation starter for anyone that hasn't seen one.
 
I can cook a full rack of bb's AND ten ABT's for the three of us using a 1/4 of the amount of fuel my WSM uses. And I can put the whole thing on the back of a bicycle, go to a local park with the family, and do that smoke there. That's what sold me on making one.
 
In my case, the reason was primarily cost. I wanted to get into BBQ after moving to the US, and since I'm British, I just thought that BBQ meant direct heat grilling over charcoal. I actually thought that when my father got a gas grill back home, and started using it for indirect heat cooking that he was cheating and that wasn't BBQ at all. Although he wasn't cooking low and slow, and didn't have any smoke wood at all... I didn't realise that indirect cooking was an important part of BBQ until I started researching what to buy.

During the research, I stumbled upon this amazing site, and really got interested in 'low and slow' cooking. I couldn't really justify the expense of a real WSM because I had never done low and slow BBQ cooking before at all. The size of a real WSM was a little off putting as well (I'd like to store the cooking in my garage, and there is only the two of us eating from it - my son is only 14 months old). A mini WSM was a very cheap introduction to real American BBQ, and so far I'm really enjoying it.

I might actually consider buying a real WSM because I found the small 14" grills a bit small for some larger cuts of meat. I used the second grill level for the first time last weekend though, so now that I've 'commissioned' that, I do have some more space to cook on.

Hope that helps.
 
The reason for me was the portability. I have an RV and this gives me a chance to enjoy smoked foods while camping. I already had a smokey joe I used as a grill. I can still grill and now can smoke as well.
 
Frank H, Howdy;

I live in a fifth-wheel RV. I can pack everything except the Smoky Joe into the soup can with a thyroid condition.
That inclues, Craycort CI grates, cake pan (heat diffuser), 2 cooking grates, and a Cast Iron Dtch oven (yep, I can
cook with the Dutch oven in there as well). Nice being able to only have 'one item' 14'X12.75" to pack-up.... :cool: :)
Soooo, with the bits-n-pieces I have I can grill a burger, fry some bacon an eggs (using a CI pan on the grates), smoke
using the stock pot (modified), and bake (in the Dutch Oven in the smoker section), boil some water (back to the grates),
pretty much do it all ... :cool:

hank
 
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Once I saw the idea I built mine specifically for camping. Throw it in the back of the truck and now can smoke at the campground. However I use it at home a lot just because of the convenient size.
 
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