Me and my twin 3 year old boys build our new WSM 22.5 this morning and now it's time to cook. For my first cook I am doing two racks of extra meaty baby backs using the basic baby back ribs recipe.
Prep of the ribs went well. Membranes removed, mustard and rub applied. I'm not sure I used enough rub as I had LOTS left over but I did not want to put on too much as I have over done it in the past and the results have been less than stellar.
I am using the minion method with a 3/4 load of charcoal in the WSM and a half chimney of lit coals. I am using 2 fist sized chucks and 2 smaller chunks of apple wood.
The rib went on 30 min ago and right now the temp is 270deg at the top grill as read on a Maverick 732. The top vent is full open and the three bottoms are 1/3 open. I just turn the bottom vent down to 1/4.
So far the lid thermometer is reading about 50deg lower than the Maverick.
I was a bit concerned about the weather when I started as snow rolled it and it was coming down fast with a moderate wind. 15 min later the snow had stopped and the wind dropped to a slight breeze.
As for the WSM I am very impressed with it construction and fit. I had to do only very minor adjustments to the door to get a better fit and thus far there appears to be no smoke leakage. The middle section fits like a glove to the charcoal bowl and the same with the lid. I did find that the water bowl is a little off but with a small rotation it sit very snug and balanced on the grill straps. The only leakage I have so far is from the lid and that is due to the Maverick probe cable under the lid. I will definity be looking into the notch modification. Despite buying the WSM yesterday it is a 2013 year model, so no gasket. I am quite happy about this as the gasket seems to be more of a PITA that it is worth and I am certain I would have cut a notch even it I have the 2014 year model.
Anyway that seems to be enough for now. My bbq beverage (Big Rock Scottish style heavy ale - delicious) needs some tending to.
Prep of the ribs went well. Membranes removed, mustard and rub applied. I'm not sure I used enough rub as I had LOTS left over but I did not want to put on too much as I have over done it in the past and the results have been less than stellar.
I am using the minion method with a 3/4 load of charcoal in the WSM and a half chimney of lit coals. I am using 2 fist sized chucks and 2 smaller chunks of apple wood.
The rib went on 30 min ago and right now the temp is 270deg at the top grill as read on a Maverick 732. The top vent is full open and the three bottoms are 1/3 open. I just turn the bottom vent down to 1/4.
So far the lid thermometer is reading about 50deg lower than the Maverick.
I was a bit concerned about the weather when I started as snow rolled it and it was coming down fast with a moderate wind. 15 min later the snow had stopped and the wind dropped to a slight breeze.
As for the WSM I am very impressed with it construction and fit. I had to do only very minor adjustments to the door to get a better fit and thus far there appears to be no smoke leakage. The middle section fits like a glove to the charcoal bowl and the same with the lid. I did find that the water bowl is a little off but with a small rotation it sit very snug and balanced on the grill straps. The only leakage I have so far is from the lid and that is due to the Maverick probe cable under the lid. I will definity be looking into the notch modification. Despite buying the WSM yesterday it is a 2013 year model, so no gasket. I am quite happy about this as the gasket seems to be more of a PITA that it is worth and I am certain I would have cut a notch even it I have the 2014 year model.
Anyway that seems to be enough for now. My bbq beverage (Big Rock Scottish style heavy ale - delicious) needs some tending to.