First cook (Ribs) with my 18.5 WSM


 

JSMurrell

New member
Well I jumped in with both feet today. Cranked up two racks of St. Louis style ribs. Last night I cleaned them off, pulled the membrane, mustard all over then some Sweet Rub o Mine stuff. Sat over night in the fridge and got them on the smoker this morning. 2.5 hours of smoke with 3 apple chunks at around 255 - 265. I did use the water pan with hot water since I was a little nervous about the temp fluctuating.
1.5 hours of foil time with no added liquid. Pulled them off, opened them up and holy crap those things looked awesome. Did the bend test and of course it broke. I guess it was telling me it was done. Put them back on the grate with no foil, just a little Sweet Baby Ray's sauce for about another 15-20 minutes. I even had a flap strip that my wife and I tested at the 2.5 hour mark. She just grinned and said wow. Ribs had a good smoke ring, nice bark, (my two teenage boys loved the bark). Both racks got eaten up pretty quick. Only issue was once the ribs were done, both boys had baseball games so I had to let the ribs rest with a loose foil cover. We were gone a few hours so threw the ribs in the oven to reheat when we got back. They were still awesome, but I would have loved to jump on them right after they had the little rest.

What do you gents say about maybe not using any water next time? I have a turkey thawing for the next smoke so I'm open to any tasty nuggets of wisdom for the bird.
Thanks!
 
Don't mess with success!
But, I just use a pizza stone that I put foil over in place of water pan.
See others just foil the bowl for easy clean-up, with no water. Some add sand to bowl, etc.
 
Your smoke details sound like you've been doing it for years! Nice :)

For your turkey, I"d go with one of Chris' suggestions for turkey . Nothing fancy. Just advance notice: although the skin will LOOK great, it'll generally be inedible if done at low (ie 225o) temps. Just the way it is. Need 325+ for crispy skin.

I'd still use water for this smoke (don't get too cocky). Even the best of us sometimes get run-a-away temps. Get another smoke or two under your belt and then if you're still willing, get a terra cotta (foiled on the top surface) saucer and put that in your water bowl instead of water.
 
I always used water before I got my Stoker as I felt it controlled the heat better. I always foiled my water pan too thinking it helps with clean-up.
 
my vote is for water, it really evens out the temp.
On my first pork butt cook things were pretty even (although a little high). About 5 hours into the cook it just started going off the rails, went to 280 then 290 then 300 then 320. The smoker ran out of water mid cook.
I added water, let out a little heat and adjusted the vents a little and it was back on track. Point is, the water was doing a good job compensating for me running it a bit hot, until it was gone. It was good training wheels for me at least.
 
My tip is, listen to these guys! ;) I'd say give it a couple more cooks while you learn the WSM a bit. If you are daring, and want to try running without water, just be aware the the temps will go up faster, and you probably want to start cutting your vents down sooner. It's also likely that you'll need to run the vents more closed than if you did have water.

Whatever you do, snap a few pics and post 'em up so we can see your masterpieces!! :)

Oh, and Len's right, just pick from one of Chris' turkey preps. I usually do the basic brine, season, then smoke. My one extra tip is, when you get the bird out of the fridge to come up in temp a bit before cooking, put a gallon bag of ice cubes on top of the breasts. This will keep the breast temps colder, and aid in getting the white and dark meat done at or near the same time.

Have fun!

R
 
Great advice up above. I ran my 18.5 with a foiled empty water pan and it at times I was playing "catch me if you can" with temps. Then I remembered I had a terra cotta plate in my mini, on my next cook I put that in the 18.5s water pan and it made a big difference in the stability of the temps, much easier to control. So now the 18.5 has it's own terra cotta plate.
 
Thanks for the tips and comments fellas. I'd post pics but don't know how to yet. I'm taking the turkey out of the fridge. The thought of a smoked turkey sounds great. Why kind of rub do you guys use for poultry? I only have the one rub that I used for the ribs. I suppose I could use that right?
 
Why kind of rub do you guys use for poultry? I only have the one rub that I used for the ribs. I suppose I could use that right?

You should be good. The major ingredient in most commercial rubs is marketing. They likely have very similar main ingredients: salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and then small amounts of just about any other spice or herb. The best advice I can give you on smoking a whole turkey is not to overcook it. The breast will likely get done before the legs and thighs, so have a plan for that.

Jeff
 
Ah, the sweet TASTE of success!

I use water in a foiled pan (half filled). For clean up I just scoop the ashes into the the remaining water. I fold the foil into a compact "mud pillow" and slide it into the empty charcoal bag. No muss, no fuss.
 
I did a small 12 pound turkey yesterday. Apple wood, a little smokehouse rub, 325 degrees and it was done in a little over two hours. I'm not much of a dark meat fan so I just cut off the breasts and sliced it up for my teenage boys. (Wife is out of town for 4 days). One of the boys, who is very picky, actually went back for seconds. I didn't use any water, just foiled the pan. I closed the vents down to about a third. Temp stayed at 325 the whole time. Seemed like I may have over cooked it just a tad. I have pics on my phone but don't know how to load them on here or I would show you fellas. , Next up is a pork picnic shoulder that is thawing out in the fridge. Man, I'm loving this smoker. I think my wife is excited too.
 
I have pics on my phone but don't know how to load them on here or I would show you fellas.

Create a profile at Photobucket.com (it's working fine for me now--previously there were issues for people). There are other image-hosting sites. Once a pic is uploaded to that site, there is a "share" button to click. Four options, one of which is "posting in a forum" or something similar--it's usually the fourth of 4 options). Copy that link and then paste it in a new post created here.

Easy peasy :)
 
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Well, sounds like you are off and running! Pork butt is easy. Prepare to look like a hero...again.

Butts take quite a bit longer than your previous cooks but they are very forgiving of temperature variation. This might be the time to try your foiled pan with no water. Close down the bottom vents more than for the turkey to get what you want for temperature. I cook butts at 275, but you could do fine anywhere from 225 to 325, maybe even higher.
 
Nice post! Even though you had to re-heat them you would have been daydreaming about laying them on the WSM while at the game if you had waited ;). I've only been smoking for 1.4 years and don't have lots of free time to do it often--so I have limited experience--but for the past few months I have eliminated water and my experience thus far is that my temps are stable. Plus, when I use water on long smokes such as shoulders or briskets I get in trouble once the water evaporates. Not so when I omit water.
 
Thanks for the info Len. I'll see what I can get set up. I've got a 9 lb Pork Picnic Shoulder thawing right now. I was thinking of going with the water on this to keep the temps low and smoke it with hickory and apple. A nice pulled pork burrito sounds pretty tasty. Thanks Carl for your input. 275 is ok for the picnic shoulder?
 
275 is ok for the picnic shoulder?

Yeah, temp is not critical for either picnic or butts. If you looked in a cookbook for an oven recipe it would probably suggest 325.

If you're more comfortable using water though, by all means, go for it. It will take longer but turn out fine either way.
 
Hello JS
Keep up the good work. Until you get a little more used to her my suggestions is stay what's working for you! When you get more comfortable and couple of more smokes under your belt. Try foiling the pan. I alway foil my pan. Never like using water. For me I feel it makes clean up easier and I can control temp much easier. I fill the ring up with unlit coals and then add about 8 red hot coals and some hard wood. Then I adjust the temp as it rises. I found if I keep temps at 225 when I smoke ribs they come out the best. Do to the low temp the fat gets to render better and make the meat much more tender than at 250,,275. And with turkeys . Find yourself a good brine and crank it up. Turkey and chickens do not have any fat to render. And if you go slow all you get is a rubbery skin. There is not really any benefit going low and slow. In the first half an hour to an hour is when the smoke flavor from the hard wood gets into meat. When you do the brining process you can go over the desired temp and it will still be nice and moist. So keep up the good work. and enjoy the food and the hobby!!
 
JS,
I'm coming in on this conversation w-a-y late, but I like to talk about alternative ways to smoke without water. I have not used water for years. I find it to be messy, a lot of messing around with keeping it full, losing heat while it's being checked and filled, the potential for rust and so on. Not worth it. For many years I have just filled the water bowl with clean sand, covered it with foil, then set a foil covered terracotta plate on top of the sand filled water bowl.

The water bowl acts as a "heat sink" giving you a very even predictable heat. Eventually the sand turns to the first stages of glass. Ty it. It's a good way to go.
 
I set a terracotta plate inside a pizza pan on my 18.5 and foil both. Works great for me. That terracotta plate really holds the heat. Don't ask me how I know.:cool:
 

 

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