The obsession begins - WSM 22.5 first smoke


 

CraigJ

New member
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.
 
Congratulations on your WSM and on your Maiden Voyage ... sounds like you have things well in-hand for what I know will be a great cook! Also, don't forget to post some pictures of your cook in the Photo Gallery!
 
Congratulations on your WSM and on your Maiden Voyage ... sounds like you have things well in-hand for what I know will be a great cook! Also, don't forget to post some pictures of your cook in the Photo Gallery!

Congrats on the maiden vouage! Welcome to the dark side. LOL
 
Congratulations on your WSM and on your Maiden Voyage ... sounds like you have things well in-hand for what I know will be a great cook! Also, don't forget to post some pictures of your cook in the Photo Gallery!

I will have to read the post on how to link photos. I have taken a few so far for posting once I figure it out. SWMBO is at work today (I'm off) so if I have everything timed right the ribs will be done as she walks in the door.
 
Well I am 3.5 hrs into the cook and the ribs are looking great. They are not passing the tear test but I did not expect that they would. I have been basting with apple juice every 30 min since the 3 hr point. I am hoping they will be done at 4.5hrs.

I am very surprised at how easy it is to maintain temp on the WSM. I have been able to hold it between 250-260 with very very minimal adjustments for the better part of 2 hrs.

Now it is time to start preping the hassleback potatoes, corn and spiced grilled apples for dessert.
 
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The cook was finished successfully. The ribs moist and tender though not entirely fall off the bone. One of my sons and I really enjoyed the ribs while my wife and other son found them a bit too spicy. I also found the smoke to be a little strong.

For my next rib cook I will try reducing the heat in the rub and use fewer or smaller wood chunks. Luckily there are two CFL games on tomorrow I need to watch which will be the perfect excuse to do another smoke.

The biggest lesson I learned in this smoke is Harry Soo's 'less is more'. And be careful transferring the coals from chimney to WSM. Even the tiniest ember can scar the deck. In my younger days I used to live by the philosophy 'you did not have a good summer if you did not acquire a new scar' so the scar on the deck is a small badge of honour.
 
Glad to see your cook came out well. I'm one of those rib guys that like to gnaw the bone kind of guy, so those would be just right.
I've over smoked with cherry once so bad you couldn't eat them, so at least they were better than that.
Keep us up to date on your next smoke.
 
Congrats on your success. You'll learn what you and your family like.

I use smoke wood like a strong spice: a little goes a long way. For example after I have a clean burning fire, I'll add the ribs and only use one chunk of wood, two at the most (consecutively not concurrently) if it's a mild wood.
 

 

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