new WSM 22


 
J

jfowler

New member
Hello all, I am not new to cooking just new to the WSM, I bought a New WSM 22 yesterday after getting rid of my modified Landmann Black Dog 42, ( fuel eater) I have some friends that use the WSM with the same recipies as i do and their food seems to taste a little better in a side by side cook. So i did the obvious thing jump on the band wagon. My questions are:

I am starting a cook friday night 3 boston butts

I am going to use royal oak lump, if i start the cook at 11PM should i just load it up and let it run on a full load till it is done on the first cook? or should i baby it?

i found some chips Oak, cherry, apple. how do the WSM's do with chips or should i stick to chunks?

Do you guys use a light coat of oil on the inside before your first cook or just let it roll?

thanks in advance looking forward to using this thing

James
 
It will run hot on the first cook. Lump burns hotter and faster than briquettes. You can use chips or chunks. I did not oil mine. I Just cooked.

I would not just fill it and let it run.
 
22 pounds of lump at 250 should run for ~14 hr. Longer if you live in a warm climate and there is no wind.
 
I find with RO lump after maybe 7 hours you'll have enough ash buildup that temperatures start to drop - if you just poke at it some and let the ash fall down that'll fix it. Just try not to make a big cloud of ash for the obvious reason. But for an overnight cook I'll check it after about six hours (I set an alarm just in case the baby doesn't wake me up!)

Chunks are better, but if all you have are chips distribute them throughout the charcoal and it'll be OK.

No need to oil anything.

Don't worry overly about it being hot or fast on the first cook - if it's going to do it, it's going to do it no matter the fuel source, and you just need to make sure it's settled in at good vent settings before you go to bed. Lump burns faster given lots of oxygen... but you'll be controlling that via the vents. It's a non issue. That being said there are a bunch of threads that describe packing the ring for best results - just take a moment and make sure that the lump doesn't have too many air gaps in it. In an ideal universe it would just be one giant wall of lump. Some people fill a third, then rotate the ring a few times and shake it, then repeat until it's full.

I've only done one overnight cook with RO (it's not my favorite lump for that) and a ten pound bag went 14 hours with a little left over. Overnight during the winter... but the winters here are obviously not that cold. 22" WSM which uses more fuel than an 18".
 
I'd go ahead and use the RO, it's just not that dense compared to some other lumps. I don't know if it's the exact wood mix, or something about how they process it, but you'll notice that's a pretty big bag for only 10 pounds of charcoal.

Lump selection varies by region - it's heavy/bulky so there aren't a lot of national brands, but if you go here http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lumprankpoll.htm and keep an eye out for lumps in the top 20 you can find locally that's a big help.
 
Hi James,

I just did the same cook in my WSM last weekend. It was my second cook on the 22.

I'd recommend using the minion method and water in the pan, especially for your first run. I lit the entire ring of coal my first time and never could get the temps down where I wanted them. The second cook with the 4 shoulders, I used the minion method and closed the vents down to 10% at about 200 degrees, everything went smooth as butter after that. I went 14 hours on that first load of coal (briquettes), although I was down to embers after that.
 
just started cooker has been running for 40 mins almost to 200 used a full ring of kingsford with 30 lit briquettes minion method

water in pan

how long should i expect the kingsford to burn?
 
temp is sitting at 190, coals are hot on back side(side opposite door) i stirred them so we will see what happens
 
I know squat about kingsford, but here's a general trick that should be independent of fuel source:

If it's not up by now you might consider flipping the door upside down and then propping the bottom open a bit. This will provide more airflow and it's a good trick to know.
 
it settled in at 215 woke up at 6 checked it, sitting at 250 butts were done 190 pulled them filed them and shut the vents off, easiest cook i have ever done by far this things great
 
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