How hot should first smoke on WSM run?

I've heard that the WSM will run hot the first couple of times you use it. The question is, what is reasonable?

I finally got the chance to do my first ever smoke yesterday, and although the results turned out very well, I'm wondering if my temps were reasonable. I followed Wiviott's Mojo Criollo method from "Low and Slow" so as to keep things simple for the first time. So I used about 3.5 chimneys of lump with all vents open, per his advice. Once the fire got going and the chicken was placed on, the temp on the WSM was pegging out at the max 350. Knowing this was too high, I closed each of the bottom vents around 1/3 to 1/2 closed and the temp steadied out around 315 or so. I decided to just run the smoke at this temp and check the results. Chicken came out good and tender, so the session was a success. However, I'm curious if this is about right for a first time with a full bowl of lump, or is this still a bit too high. I did run some E-73 probes out of the lid, so maybe they produced a small air gap? Wiviott recommends a 250-275 range and said to run all vents wide open; however, it was obvious that running all vents wide open would've been waaaayyy too hot, so I'm wondering if something wasn't quite right. Curious of your thoughts.

Love the smoker! Can't wait to run it again this weekend!

Prof. Wiviott would tell you to throw your **** thermometer in the drawer and follow his instructions. I don't recall a temp range recommended in his book for this recipe.

Keep in mind that chicken does well at higher temps due to it's low fat content. You may notice that other WSM specific chicken recipies, such as the marinated chicken on this site, suggest that vents be set at full open to achieve temps near 350.

I cooked that recipe last night. It turned out good, but I used Kingsford Competition briqs and his advice of 3.5 chimneys put me over the top of the charcoal ring. My water pan was sitting on the charcoal, preventing a proper burn, and my temps sat at 275 for 2.5-3 hours. I was using 4 pound birds so I expected to go longer than his recommended 1.5 hours. The end result was very good. I brought some leftovers to work today and my co-workers were very happy with me.

If you want to eat the skin try his advice to blow torch the skin after the birds come off the smoker. I did this on one bird and it really helped. I put the torch head about 1-2" from the skin and moved around to avoid burning. You'll see the skin shrink and crisp up, but if you keep moving around it won't burn.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Craig A:
Prof. Wiviott would tell you to throw your **** thermometer in the drawer and follow his instructions. I don't recall a temp range recommended in his book for this recipe.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh, I know he would! But I have a new 2009 model, so the thermometer is built in. That's actually why I didn't close the vents any further - didn't want to stray too far from the guidelines.

Come to think of it, I guess he didn't specify a temp range for this recipe. However, he did say in the beginning of the book that he likes 250-275 for barbecue. I took this to mean that the chicken was supposed to be in that range, but maybe it wasn't and 350+ was intended. Next time I might just try it there the whole time and see how it turns out. I've grilled chickens indirect at 400, so I know it won't hurt 'em - just thought smoking was supposed to be lower temps.

But digressing from specific recipes, I guess my big picture question was whether or not it's normal to be running 315 or so with the bottom three vents closed 1/3 to 1/2 of the way (water pan full, no bottom rack) and the top wide open. Is this normal for a new WSM or still a bit high?

FWIW...lump tends to burn a lot hotter, briqs may yield the temps your lookin for...

My first smoke was the pulled chicken recipe from this site. My initial temp with Kingsford Competition briqs was around 350 with all vents open, as measured at the top vent (about 30 deg hotter than the built in lid therm). Then I ran out of fuel due to my lack of understanding how much charcoal I needed to maintain those temps. Based on what I've read I would expect lump to burn a few degrees hotter, so your temps sound normal to me.

Thanks guys. Will experiment some more with both lump and briqs to see the difference. Glad to hear I'm probably not too far off.

I got my 22" WSM in December. First cook was New Year's weekend. First fire was a simple one, I did cook 3 hamburgers over the coals, then assembled and let it ride empty.

The next day I cooked a single 9 lb Boston Butt. Two days later I cooked some chicken, well enough to completely cover the top grate. As in 2 whole chickens and 2 packs of chicken breasts.

I used all of that meat for chicken soup and chicken stock. I felt it was "seasoned" after that. I have since cooked 2 more 9 lb Butts.

I did my first cook a couple months ago, and as i had read on this board, the WSM runs hot the first couple cooks. The interior is shiny and deflects the heat, making it hotter. Once you have about 3 or 4 smokes on it, and grease and smoke build up on the inside, it will stabilize. By my third smoke, I was able to dial in the temp as low or high as I want.

I fired up my brand new 22.5 WSM for the first time last weekend and I had similar results.

First assembled, with a ring of coals just starting to grey on the top, my temps were sky high, well over 350. I closed all my bottom vents completely but the temp during my 5 hour cook never went below 260 at the top grate.

My recommendation, and what I'm going to do next time, is start with a much smaller fire, like the minion method, and shut the vents much earlier.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by J Woodard:
I did my first cook a couple months ago, and as i had read on this board, the WSM runs hot the first couple cooks. The interior is shiny and deflects the heat, making it hotter. Once you have about 3 or 4 smokes on it, and grease and smoke build up on the inside, it will stabilize. By my third smoke, I was able to dial in the temp as low or high as I want. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

J made a good point, but your're right. That's pretty hot for having a full water pan, new or not. The probe wire isn't enough to make a difference, but I'd suggest you probably have some fit issues (leaks) somewhere, probably the door. It's made to be bent into shape.