1st cook on 22" WSM this Saturday , HELP lol


 
C

Carlos

New member
Ok so let me start by saying this is my first go on my 22" WSM , between work and the family I haven't had a chance to do a dry run of any kind , so I'm going in blind as far as how she's gonna behave for me lol . On the menu 1 , 10-12 pound packer Brisket , 1 , 10 pound pork butt or .. 2 , 5 pounders ( hopefully butcher can get the 10 pounder for me ) 5 spareribs st Louis cut , and 5 beer can chickens . I'm also making appetizers of about 30 ABT's and 20 Moink balls . Think I've bitten off more than I can chew lol :p .

I did a similar cook last year without the beer can chicken or appetizers on my chargriller , was an 18 hour cook and I had to babysit that thing all 18 hours . I'm thinking of using the char-griller for the beer can chickens and appetizers ? I'm also thinking the brisket on top rack and the one large butt or 2 small ones on bottom , then when the time comes place the rib rack with the 5 spares on buttom rack with the butt ... Would a rib rack with 5 spares fit next a large butt or 2 smaller ones ????

I'd prefer to go at it with an empty water pan , but seeing as there's a good chance it'll burn hot on the first go I'll just go and add some water to it for this cook until I learn how's she gonna treat me ;). So I need a plan of attack ?? is there any way I can do this entire cook on my WSM ?? I'm guessing no lol ... Im hoping to start the cook at 10pm friday ( maybe even earlier if i can ) and be done by 4-5-ish on Saturday with all the cooking , I'm guessing guests will start to arrive at 3 . Forgot im also making Spanish yellow rice with plenty of bacon in it ;) and of course some sort of baked beans is a must :p .

Any tips , help or comments are more than welcome , looking forward to this weekends cook :D
 
WOW ! All of that meat and first time using the WSM ? Dude you got to be a real Pitmaster...........
Anyways I do wish you best of luck with that.

Peter
 
Lol thanks Peter , I just love good que :p .... I had my chargriller for about 4-5 years and even though she leaked more smoke and heat than a cracked radiator lol , she put out some good que . I read such great things about the WSM i just had to get it , I'm just hoping I can replicate what I've seen from all you guys on here ;) . Need me an atc next , put in a request for a BBQ guru for fathers day with the wife , well see what happens lol .
 
Awfully ambitious for a first time out.

With all that mass I don't think you'll need water. True it will run hotter until seasoned but a little vent control will solve that. Don't be afraid to use the top vent after using the bottoms. It's not taboo.

Can you get all that on in one cook? I dunno but if you still have the other cooker you can use it as overflow.
 
Excellent choice, have fun. I have not added Chicken to the mix, but I just did a 8lb Brisket flat, an 8lb pork butt and 4 racks of BB ribs on my 18.5. Timing was my biggest challenge, put them on earlier than you think. I put the large cuts on early and estimated 4 hours until they would be done before putting the ribs on, the brisket and PB were pulled at 205 about 40 mins before the ribs were done. I would use a full load of fuel. Btw, I recently added a 22.5 WSM and I found it's holding 250 very steady even on the first cooks and compared very well to my 2 year old (50+ cooks) 18.5 WSM. Just have an ice chest ready to hold the Brisket and Pork butt.

good luck and have fun. I am doing the trifecta again this weekend also (Brisket, Pork butt, Spares)
 
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Thanks Dwain for the advice on the top vent , even on the chargriller I was always hesitant to mess with the top vent for fear of over smoking the meat , don't know why , must of read it somewhere and it was always stuck in the back of my mind , thanks ;)

Byron , I do plan on packing the charcoal ring as much as I can , do you dump your lit coals right on top or do you put something in the middle to make a small area for your lit ??? Did you use water in your cook ?

Last big cook I did I put the meat in a cooler with some towels , but only for about an 1/2 hour being as there were about 15 hungry people waiting for something to eat , how long can I keep the meat in the cooler and it still be hot to serve ???

Wife did some shopping so I'll be making my rub and BBQ sauce tonight . Using big bob gibsons recipe for the pork butts and myron mixon's for the brisket . Making a general run of the mill BBQ sauce , a spicy one and a 4 alarm fire BBQ sauce , just recently went to a hot sauce expo got some goodies I want to experiment with lol . Bought some BBQ rub from heart breaking dawns I think I'll use that on my ribs and chicken ....
 
I use the minion method 3/4 chimney of lit in the middle of the unlit coals. I always use water, I have never refilled the pan but its got at the end of the cook. For ice chests I use 2 Coleman stacker coolers. Check they out, they are perfect for BBQ. I have s couple towels in them and they have held butts for 3+ hours, temp was 160. I have had better luck letting butts and briskets rest for at least 1 hour before serving.
 
I'm thinking with your timing you'll be OK. Big meats should be coming off around 10AM which would give you plenty of time to do the ribs on the top rack and chickens on the bottom. The kink may be the appetizers but you have the Char-griller. OR, you could use this as an excuse to pick up a 22" kettle and cook the appetizers on it :wsm:
Good luck!
 
Mother nature is throwing a huge monkey wrench in my plans , forecast is saying rain all day and night tomorrow .... Got no ladders or tarp and last time I moved my other smoker under my awning my neighbors asked if I could move it back because it was getting to smokey in thier home ....... don't know what to do , any suggestions ???
 
How about going to Home Depot or Lowe's and get one of the pop up covers? Not the best solution but it could work.
 
I just leave my in the rain if its pouring while cooking, can make temp control a little harder but if it is somewhat consistent I haven't had any issues.
 
Just wanted to say thank to everyone for their comments and tips !! Got her going nice and steady , couple of temp spikes here and there because were having 20+ mph wind gusts here in NYC , but nothing over 270 though .

Been able to control temps fairly easy using bottom grates , gotta say im really impressed with the WSM , everything ive read has been true to word so far ;) . Went with water in the pan because of the wind just to be safe . Only thing I forgot to do was foil the bottom of the pan , Im guessing its no big deal for the first time . ive posted some pics on the smoke day 9 thread , heres the link ... once again thanks guys !!

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?41516-Smoke-Day-9-From-Bronx-NY-)&p=427247#post427247
 
I know I said I've left mine in the rain before. However this time we ended up getting torrential rain for a while which got me worried. Ended up building this little contraption:

pCn6RHY.jpg


Glad yours went well!

Daum
 
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