Newb Fuel and cook time questions!


 
R

Richard S In Phoenix

New member
Just received my 22" WSM and had a couple of questions about fuel an timing. Planning to use BGE lump charcoal and Applewood chunks to some 2each 7lb pork butts. How much charcoal and wood chunks should I load to be able to burn approx. 10 hours figuring 1.5 hrs per pound at 225 degrees?

Thanks,

Richard S in Phoenix
 
Richard.
Pack that charcoal ring to the max. Whatever you don't burn, after shutting down the WSM, you can use another time. (I always do this when firing up the Bullet). You don't want to have to add fuel mid-cook if you can help it.
As far a wood is concerned. I usually bury about 4 chunks in the charcoal and a couple on top. YMMV.
Edit:
With regards to cook time, I would allow at least another couple of hours for the cook. If it is done early, no worries. Just foil the butts, wrap them in an old towel & into a cool box. They'll keep hot/warm for a few hours. I did a 5lb shoulder the other week and it took 11 hrs to get up to 203f.
 
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First, Tony is spot on in his recommendations.
Second, welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn and to share. Everyone here is very friendly.
Congrats on that new WSM. They are great smokers and will give you many years of service.
 
TonyUK said:
Richard.
Pack that charcoal ring to the max. Whatever you don't burn, after shutting down the WSM, you can use another time. (I always do this when firing up the Bullet). You don't want to have to add fuel mid-cook if you can help it.
As far a wood is concerned. I usually bury about 4 chunks in the charcoal and a couple on top. YMMV.
Edit:
With regards to cook time, I would allow at least another couple of hours for the cook. If it is done early, no worries. Just foil the butts, wrap them in an old towel & into a cool box. They'll keep hot/warm for a few hours. I did a 5lb shoulder the other week and it took 11 hrs to get up to 203f.
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Thanks for the info! Just added the BBQ Guru DigiQ to help maintain temps on the longer cook. Smoking overnight Sunday to tailgate for MNF at the Cardinals/Jets game. I'll post back on how it turns out!
 
First, welcome to the forum.
Secondly, do not worry about HOW MUCH charcoal.
Fill the ring at the max and when you will finish your cook, just close all the vents and use the residual in the future cooks.
About apple chunks, I would say 4 chunks buried.
 
I remove any unused charcoal from my WSM or Performer and put it into a small bucket and use it on future cooks when grilling on the performer. I always use only new on the WSM. Used is reserved for grilling and then probably 50% new and 50% used. That is just how I roll.

Arun L. said:
What is considered residual charcoal that's good for future cooks? If it's not white?
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Arun.
Shake that basket. Whatever doesn't fall through....re-use it.
Read what Bob I. has said. Easy.
 
I've been smoking boneless pork shoulder picnic roasts and my smoking time per pound has been well over 1.5 hours. Just today I did a 4lb shoulder.. I started at 12:30 AM and it came off at 12:30 PM at 194 degrees. It turned out great, the best I've done yet, but I'm curious how anyone is cooking bigger pieces of meat in less time? Why did this take 3 hours per pound?

Is it that it's boneless? Is it the water in the pan? Are people who get it down to 1.5 hours per pound wrapping in foil to avoid the stall?
 
Richard S In Phoenix said:
Thanks for the info! Just added the BBQ Guru DigiQ to help maintain temps on the longer cook. Smoking overnight Sunday to tailgate for MNF at the Cardinals/Jets game. I'll post back on how it turns out!
Click to expand...

Half Crocked 1st attempt!

Well, not a great first smoke. Filled the ring to the max and lit the lump coal at 10pm, was running too hot but came down to 225 after about an hour and a half. Seemed like it was doing fine so I went to bed setting my alarm for 4am just to check on it. When I checked on it the coals were completely spent and the alarm on the DigiQ was beeping. Damn!

Busted out the crock pot and finished it in there. It had a decent amount of bark on it and the flavor and texture is very good. Maybe I'll try briquettes on my next attempt at a long smoke, and not on the overnight so I can check on it more frequently!
 
IMHO, lump is better reserved for high heat cooks. Regular KBB works great and is very consistent with burn times. New smokers tend to run a little hotter until you build a nice "patina" on the inside. Keep at it and learn your individual smoker. Welcome to the Weber family!
 
Agree with JPowers, lump is better for high heat cooks. I only use lump in my Performer kettle and it burns much hotter and faster. When you want consistency, stay with KBB. I know there are other brands of briquets on the market and I am sure they will work also but I like the consistency of KBB. Also agree that a new smoker needs some seasoning for the heat to become consistent. That is also why I do not clean the inside of my WSM. I do check the lid for anything that is flaking so it does not fall on the food. Also don't clean the grates other than brushing the food scraps off. Maybe once or twice a year do the greats get a real cleaning. Over time, you will get your process locked down so everything is stable. It might help to keep notes of every cook so you can analyze what changes might need to be made. You might try a few test burns starting in the early morning and see how they go. Good luck and keep trying.
 
Bob Ivey said:
Agree with JPowers, lump is better for high heat cooks. I only use lump in my Performer kettle and it burns much hotter and faster. When you want consistency, stay with KBB. I know there are other brands of briquets on the market and I am sure they will work also but I like the consistency of KBB. Also agree that a new smoker needs some seasoning for the heat to become consistent. That is also why I do not clean the inside of my WSM. I do check the lid for anything that is flaking so it does not fall on the food. Also don't clean the grates other than brushing the food scraps off. Maybe once or twice a year do the greats get a real cleaning. Over time, you will get your process locked down so everything is stable. It might help to keep notes of every cook so you can analyze what changes might need to be made. You might try a few test burns starting in the early morning and see how they go. Good luck and keep trying.
Click to expand...

KBB stands for Kingsford regular, right?
 
Marcus, I recently had to cook 2 Boston Butts. They were both 9 pounds each, bone in and same brand. I brined one (very basic brine) and the other was plain. Both had the same rub applied (except I omitted salt from the rub that I used for the brined one). At a steady 225 degrees, the brined one took 11 hours and the un-brined one took 15 1/2 hours to reach a temp of 195 degrees. There was absolutely no discernible taste, texture etc. difference between the two (both were excellent). That was with no water in pan, no wrapping, etc. Just a straight cook.
 
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