1st real cook on 14.5" WSM

Well this is the 1st true cook on the little guy. Last week I seasoned it and did some steaks later by putting a grate on top of the coal ring which really chars steaks up nicely and quickly.

AnyHoo, I digress as I often do.

Pretty chilly, temp is reading 3 degrees right now but there is no wind. Got 3/4 chimney of KBB blazing and dumped into coal ring. Will cook 2 pork tenderloins with direct heat, no pan. Within 3 min. of buttoning up dome temp is reading 290.

Kade the Drahthaar is unphased and has been throwing every time I check on the cook. He could double as a Labrador with his fascination with balls. (from the Summer when I was on an orchard ladder)

Well 18 min. in and I flipped the two pork tenderloins, nice grill marks, temp in the dome is now @ 320, Temp outside is 3.2 degrees.

These cook pretty quick and estimate they will have internal temp of 150 in about 20 min.

Well good and bad.

Meat temp was 145, and I thought I'd throw the ball a few more times for the dog and flip the meat twice to brown. Well Mr. Dumbass did not realize the grates are different sized and the grate and tenderloins fell into the coals but stayed on the grate. Put back on top rack a few minutes and took off, while resting temps shot up to 180 degrees. The wife likes them like that, me not so much.







Observations:

The 14.5" runs much hotter than the bigger bretheren considering the temp outside. (No water pan)
Recovers almost instantly when the top is removed, the bigger ones are much slower when opened
The 3/4 chimney was plenty of coal, it is still blazing well 2 hours later and the top is not on
I think this is much more practical for cooking for two.

When I started using the 14.5 I had to get accustomed to using fewer lit coals. It does warm up quickly and recovers quickly and I like that. It's great when cooking for just the 2 of us. It works equally well for hot and fast and low and slow. Enjoy.

It recovers quickly because of the smaller volume to reheat.

Bill Elwell said:

It recovers quickly because of the smaller volume to reheat.

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Yes it sure does.

Since the original post, I made a beef roast medium rare. The temp outside was about zero and again maintaining high temps without the water pan was very easy. I like to often use direct heat on the top grate.

Getting used to the small WSM, I am learning half a chimney of coal is way too much for a one hour cook. It is a miser on coal compared with the two big brothers.

RParker said:

Kade the Drahthaar

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I had a GSP for only 10 years, she died on a pheasant hunt, she had pancreatic cancer unbeknownst to me. I loved that dog like a child, maybe even more. I miss her to this day, it's been 20+ years. Kade the Drahtharr is most cool dog!

Congrats on your first 14" WSM cook. Bummer about the grate give, but it sounds like you recovered nicely and if the wife was happy then it was a most successful cook!