Recent content by Dan Hay

Temperature hit 340F. Internal temperature reached 170F (maybe a little higher once it was foiled and left to rest). Chicken was very juicy. Smokiness complemented the jerk paste that had been slathered all over the chicken. Potatoes took on a mid smoke too. Interesting learning about this...

Sorted! One chicken plus four large potatoes on top grate cooked in 1.5 hours as suggested. Full ring of lit charcoal, no drip pan. Ps also smoked three mackerel earlier - two hours at approx 200F - still oily and moist, good hint of birch wood. Beginning to relax and enjoy this! Thanks...

Thanks all - based on all the advice I have concluded that a lack of airflow (overloaded grate), only half the charcoal lit, and presence of the drip pan (even empty) were the cause. Lew - thanks for running the experiment, sounds like it was fun and had a flavoursome result. Sorry to hear...

Weber is the only decent charcoal I've been able to find over here so far. I just Googled Kingsford, the only suppliers offering it ship from the US, you can imagine the crazy prices. All vents were open (top and bottom). Lew - I look forward to hearing the results of your experiment!

Fuel - Weber briquettes How much - I used a 3/4 full Weber large chimney for starting Starting / Minion - I lit the chimney using fire lighters until flames were clearly at the top, then added this to the fire bowl that was half full of the same briquettes (at one side of the pit, not one on top...

Rusty - Yes, two split birds on top rack of 14.5" WSM. One was cut in two. Very snug! Lew - linked article is very clear, thanks. I see you have a 14.5" and 22" as I have. Apart from amount of fuel etc, are they similar to operate or what is the main thing to watch out for?

I cooked one chicken yesterday (before the additional comments). I used no water, but still struggled to get the temperature above 265F. I even took the top and mid sections off after an hour and used a BBQ blower to get the briquettes really hot. Results was very tasty but still took waaay...

Thanks Arun - to answer your questions: - yes, I refuelled before the main cook, not during it - "birch plank" means a piece of raw, split silver birch wood with dimensions of 1/2 inch x 3 inches x 5 inches - both chickens on the top grill (they had been spatchcocked and it was pretty tight for...

Thanks for the feedback, how do you get the WSM so hot. E.g. Do you still use the pan, if so how much water?

Hello all. I set up my new 14.5 inch WSM yesterday. After 3 hours of "burn off", I reloaded the charcoal, added a birch plank, and tried to smoke two chickens. These were spatchcocked and both placed on the upper grill. I used an electronic temperature gauge with two probes - one inside the...