My First Try


 
J

JasonJ

New member
Got my 18.5 yesterday, trimmed up some spareribs today and put them on around 2:45. I filled up the bottom with unlit charcoal then lit a chimney and scattered over them.

The temp never has gotten over 205 or 210-ish according to the thermometer on the lid. I've replenished with a chimney of lit coals twice and still can't get over that hump.

It's fairly breezy here in west Texas so I guess that might be the culprit. What we consider "windy" is a wind storm to others, so I'm placing the blame on that for now. I dunno - maybe I am doing something wrong.

Going to check them in another hour and will probably have to finish them on my gas grill. What a bummer.
 
Dont dispair Jason the WSM thermometers are well known for their inaccuracy, mine was a full 50 degrees low when i first fired it up but did slowly creep up to 20 degrees low, this was compared to a redicheck. I would say open the vents to get the temps up and then use the top vent to get it stable. Your food will cook ok you just need to give it time.
 
All my vents have been 100% open the entire time. When I added charcoal it looked like a lot of it never lit or was half-lit. I may go waterless next time.
 
Hey Jason, congrats. on your new purchase. I would verify your themometer to see if it's correct. If anything, the breeze would elevate your smoker temps. How much unlit charcoal did you use? Was the top vent opened 100% at all times? What was the position of your bottom three vents? Are you using fresh charcoal?(humidity) These are all variables that can affect your WSM temps.
 
I filled the ring close to full of unlit then put a chimney's worth of lit over it. The top vent was at 100% the whole time as well as the bottom 3. The charcoal was Kingsford that I bought today at the store.

I had a LOT of water in that pan. Whenever I'd open the door or if I propped the lid open a little bit, the temps would come up. It's like the unit is too tight and can't breathe.
 
Oh wait - you know what? I actually used a bag that had been open and stored in a chest out on my porch for a few months. We're in a very dry and arid part of the country (desert), but I guess that could've added to the problem.
 
You're doin fine Jason and so is the WSM
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210*ish on the Weber dome therm = 230*ish on the top grate
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"Set it and forget it" approx 4 hrs later you'll have great ribs
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For me 200-250* on the Weber dome therm is close enough...cook time will vary with cook temp ...they'll taste the same
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I checked my thermometer in boiling water and it showed about 10 degrees low so I'll have to keep that in mind.

One thing I did was throw the coals in there and then slap the assembled middle and meat on top of it right away. It sounds like I might need to wait a little longer next time before putting them on as well.
 
I had a the same cook today but in jersey with rain. Dome temps stayed around 210* the whole time. As Ron said the grate temp will be a little higher.
A strong steady wind will suck the heat right out. Next time just set up a wind guard of some type and you'll be good to go.
Enjoy cause it only get better from here.
 
Update - went out to clean the cooker today. There was hardly any ash. The ring was full and the briquettes were still in tact. My charcoal just never got going good it seems. I guess that's why it hung around 185-190 most of the time.

I guess I need to read up more on how to make the minion method work.
 
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