Not Having a Good First Smoke


 
J

John-Peterson

TVWBB Fan
Hey all.

Well I picked up a Pork Butt this morning to go along with my Ribs for my first smoke.

I bought another chimney, so that I can start with all lit coals. Im using Kingsford charcoal. I waited to the top coal just started to get white. Dumped both chimenys in along with about 10 briq. that were still in the bag. I forgot to get wood chucks, so I used apple chips that I had and wrapped them in foil. I used hot water in the pan, as its about 25 degrees outside.

Cooker got to 350 (lid) wide open. Closed bottom vents to bring it down, maybe about 10-15 min. til 290-300 (lid) degrees. I put the butt on and temps we ok. When I put the ribs on the temp have been all over.

I think I screwed up with the chips. I made a pretty large wrap with the chips, maybe 10x7" and put that in the center of the coals on top. Could that have smoothered the fire? I just stirred the coals and Im at about 216 degrees at the top grate. I cant really tell if the coals are still lit. But either way, I think im going to have get more charcoal.

I got my vents 50-85-85% and the top at 100%.

Im trying not to make drastic changes in the vents, and Im keeping a log. How long do you wait to make another change?

Anyone have any ideas? Or am I being paranoid?
 
I'm sure people will chime but as a rookie (still) what I did for my first two cooks was load the ring full (with a full bag of coals) then took about 40 coals and lit them in the chimney. Once those got all nice and white I dumped them on top of the unlit coals on the ring. Spread em out as even as I could. (I think this is the proper way to do the Minion Method). Temps shot up to 225*-250* and stayed there (for the most part) of 8 hours with little messing with the bottom vents. Top vent 100% the whole time. I also used chips in foil but had a little smaller roll. Maybe about the size of softball. I also tossed in a few hand full of chips here and there throughout the cook. I've got some chunks coming soon though!!

Maybe you used too much lit and it burned your coals too fast?? Like I said I'm only a rookie so I'm only guessing.

Though seems every time I try to help I've been wrong hahaha, but I guess that's how you learn right. So now that I think about you should prob wait for someone else to chime in.

Good luck and hope it turns out ok for you.
 
John,

I think Aaron is on the money, also the foil in the center is working against you. It acts as a heat shield, just like the water pan.

You will prob need 1-2 more chimneys of cc to finish.
 
Thanks for the replies.

After thinking, brainstorming and staring at the smoker. I think I figured out my problem. Following, loosely, the "Firing Up Your Weber Bullet" guide, was my first mistake. As Im assuming that the guide is for the 18.5" not the 22.5" which mine is. So basically I dont nearly enough fuel in there to heat that much volume. Also, I should have done the "Minion Method" as Arron suggested.

I did remove the "foil pack" as luckily Lowes had chucks. So I bought a bag along with more charcoal. I added another half lit chimney, and about 20min later added about 25 more unlit.

So far so.... well we'll see.
 
Hey John... first of all, I would not use water in the pan at all. Never. No reason to.
Second, Minion on EVERY (long) cook I do.
(long cook is 4 hours or more).
Using chips in place of chunks, I would not foil them at all. Simply toss a handful on the fire/coals WITH meat in place. Repeat as YOU feel needed.
You're suppose to have fun
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doing this stuff... so smile
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, open a beer and know it's ONLY food. If it doesn't turn out the way you expected, go to Dairy Queen and try it again.
It's really no big deal.
John... ENJOY!
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Hey Jim,

Thanks! It's good to get some Wisconsin input. No offense to anyone else it's just the whole climate thing, I suppose Boston is about the same. I think my fire is goin good/ok now. It's at 235 at the grate so I'll add a little more unlit to keep it going. I just foiled the ribs after 4 hours so we will see what happens. I'm probably going to finish the butt in the oven, as it's at 151 right now after almost 6 hours. I'll try fresh next time.
 
i'd keep it on the wsm ...
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butt if you do oven the thing, turn your temp to 275-300'F until the internal temp of the butt reaches 195-200'F - then tightly foil and rest in a dry cooler for at LEAST 20 minutes (an hour if possible) before pulling.
Then call me and I'll be there in NO TIME.
LOVE PP!!!
 
Hmmm, Well I would leave it on but the temp is now 153-154. at this rate it should be done by.... maybe tuesday? 2-3 degrees in 3 hours.
 
...you see, the internal temp of the pork can settle at one temp for quite awhile... then bolt up before you know it...
It's good to have a solid base of heat - in this case, enough coal and HOT coal to maintain the temp you need and want to finish what you've started.
If this base is not there, at this hour and darkness now upon us, perhaps the oven is your answer.
After all, you have your smoke on the pork already.
 
John, what is the temp on your WSM dome?
235'F?
250'F?
Click to expand...
Thats the wierd thing. The dome temp is lower then the grate temp by about 20-30. My dome temp right now is 215 and grate is 250. I do have the probe close to the ribs as Im doing 3 racks. But its been like this the whole cook.

I didnt calibrate or check the lip therm before I started but may want to think about it. When I first started I thought that because the vent was facing the incoming wind (5mph) that may have been the issue. After rotating the lid, its still the same.

I think Im fighting a losing battle, and we start from scratch next time. I have to unfoil the ribs and finish them off. At that time I'll probably pull the butt and put it in the oven.

I was so hoping for this to be fun. Oh well, Come on Spring!
 
John, I'm not sure what you expected, but I think having a butt hit 150 after about 6 hours is about right. Did you realize that a butt will take 12 hours or more depending on size of butt and cooking temp? I bet in six more hours it will be a lot closer to 190 than your thinking. A typical "rule of thumb" is 2 hours per pound at 225º. That's about 16 hours for an 8 pound butt. Crank up the heat to 250 - 275 and you're looking at something closer to 12 hours.

As for your temp troubles, look into the minon method but most important from my point of view is to FILL the charcoal ring FULL. Then light about a half of chimney and pour it in the middle in a pile (a little depression in the center as you fill the ring helps a lot here). I don't know what you can get out of a 22" wsm, but with my 18" wsm and a full ring (no water), 12 hours is easy to achieve.

At any rate, if you're frustrated and want to get on with it, the oven is not a bad choice. By having the butt on the wsm for 6 hours, you probably have a good amount of smoke and now all you need is stable temp - something the oven can easily provide. Better luck with your next cook.
 
You know Jerry,

Your Right. I dont really know what I was thinking. Typical rookie mistake? I think I was so overwhelmed with not being able to get the butt the day before. Plus all the other stuff I had to get and do the day of. It is a 7lb butt so yeah 14 hrs went on at 11:30 so about 2am it should be close.

I am deffinately going to do the Minion Method next time.

As far as cranking up the temp, I cant. All vent are at 100%. Im pretty sure Im limited by fuel.
 
John... Jerry is 100% correct.

My butts were cookin' at 1.5 hrs per lb however.

I do not skimp on charcoal... use more than you think you'll use and after learning your cooks, cut back and move on. And that thing about calibrating the difference between the dome and the grill top is (IMHO) BS. and 5 MPH winds do NIL against your cook.
Hang in there John.. you'll master this yet tonight!
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Thanks for the encouragement Jim... Jerry and Aaron.

As far as calibrating, I really meant check the therm is boing water, just to see where its at.
 
last time here John, you're doing fine and very VERY soon, you'll have friends and family EETIN' outta yer hands!
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Have a great evening!!
 
Pulled the Ribs off. They were suprisingly good. I do know I will not use mustard again. It seemed to block the rub flavor. Oh well such is life. They were still pretty tasty though.

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Those ribs looked really good

As for the butt, don't lose heart - you'll do better next time.

The first time I cooked butts, they seemed to take FOR-EV-ER. That temperature that lots of people talk about is the real deal. Sometimes, things will progress nicely, and then that sucker will sit there at around 160 internal temp for hours before it starts to budge again.

That's where you need to learn to relax, crack a barley-pop or two, watch some sports or do some yard work, and check the thermometer every hour or so, and make sure that your fire is still going. Usually, once it starts to move again, it climbs relatively rapidly.

Better luck next time.
 
John,
What are you, nine feet tall? Your picture is killing my vertigo. Ribs look good.
 
Good lookin' ribs! And don't sweat it if the first couple of cooks don't go exactly right. As I've said many times,with the WSM,you can eat your mistakes! Keep smoking. You'll get the hang of it. And your friends and family will love you even more for it!
 
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