Recent content by Chris OH

Hello, I got my first smoker, the 18" WSM, four or five years ago and have really enjoyed it. I almost immediately began using it without water to make cleanup much easier, and I'm now at the point that I'm considering getting something to supplement the WSM with the goals of that idea to 1)...

Yes, that would've been ideal, but I figured I'd be looking at least two to three hours more to get lit charcoal going, get the pork up to at least 195, rested, pulled and bagged. I don't think I was capable of staying up late enough last night to do all that or I would have.

Hi all, I put two bone-in pork shoulders totalling ~16 lbs on the WSM yesterday morning around 8 AM. Everything went fine except the stall took forever, and by the time the temperature got moving again, it was nearing bedtime and the charcoal was just about out. Once I realized they wouldn't...

I was able to take it off once it hit 196, as the bone would have easily pulled out, and there was no resistance with the probe. I foiled it and let it rest for 45 minutes. Everything turned out great, and we have plenty of leftovers. Thanks for everyone's help!

The pork temp got as high as 192 before it dropped to 190. The smoker temp didn't have a major drop, so it took me a while to realize I was low on charcoal, and when I checked, I was pretty low. I added half a chimney of unlit coals and stirred everything, and that seems to have done the trick...

Thanks - yes, it took some playing with the vents (had them all nearly closed at one point), but I got it under 300, and it's been in the 250 - 275 range for most of the cook. Currently, the pork temp is 190 with a probe temp of 263. Looking forward to trying it soon enough!

So I'm about an hour and a half into the cook, and the pork is currently at 150 degrees. For the past 45 minutes or so, I've hit a temperature spike that has gotten as high as 308 degrees at the grate level and is currently 299 degrees. Based on feedback here, I did not use water (I foiled the...

Thanks a lot for everyone's helpful input. Based on the feedback and suggestions, I intend to fill the ring full of unlit charcoal with 10-12 lit coals on top. I'll start checking for doneness around 195 but won't actually remove until the bone indicates it's ready. I've read a lot of...

Hello, This Saturday, I'll be smoking my first pork shoulder - a small, bone-in 5.5 lb butt I picked up today. I plan on following the instructions below other than only smoking one since it's my first go at it: http://virtualweberbullet.com/pork1.html Much like my first ribs cook, Saturday...

Thanks for more feedback - the more, the better. It seems clear that I didn't start with enough fuel (particularly given the conditions), so in the future, I'll definitely be more cognizant of that. It sounds like the suggestions are pretty split on the use/don't use water dilemma. My intent...

Thanks again, everyone - your input and the welcomes are much appreciated.

Thanks for the feedback - I started with a full chimney and a half. The half chimney was lit and dumped on top of a full chimney of unlit coals. I forgot to mention in my original post that towards the end, likely the second time I ran into a dropping temperature, I opened all the vents fully...

Hello all, I'm Chris, and I'm new to the world of barbecuing, as I've had the 18" WSM less than a week now. This site has been invaluable so far to a novice like me, and I'd like to get some feedback on what went wrong with a couple hiccups I experienced during my first baby back rib smoke on...