1st "Long Cook" on the 18.5 WSM

[Robert McGee]

We had a serious warming spell (up to 65 degrees). I had a nice 3 pack of baby back ribs from Costco. When I opened the cryopac I was surprised at how much meat was on these ribs. The three racks were nicely matched but as much as 2" thick. The membrane had already been removed (these were NOT enhanced ribs but had NO additives). I rinsed them carefully under running water removing any bone chips. I trimmed the ends to end up with 12 bone racks. I then cut the racks in twos, so I had six half racks that fit nicely on the rib rack keeping the ribs in the center of the WSM. I did a moderate application of BRITU rub and followed the recipe to the letter.

I poured on chimney of Kingsford Original unlit and added a half chimney of lit. I filled the water pan with hot tap water. The cooker got hot a bit too quick and peaked at 300+ degrees. It took over a half hour getting it down to my target of 225 degrees (grate temperature as per my Maverick). I left the ribs in for three hours without peeking. The cooker held steadily at 225-230 degrees. At three hours, I opened the cooker, flipped and swapped the half racks to even out the cooking. At the four hour mark I lost heat. I had the neighbors coming for supper so I put the half racks in a pan, covered tightly with foil and put in the oven at 325 degrees to finish. Another hour and they were ready just fifteen minutes early from supper time.

I had meatballs wrapped with bacon and a moderate application of BRITU rub. I also did some ABT's for appetizers.

This was my first attempt at the BRITU recipe (Best Ribs In The Universe). The ribs turned out to be the best ribs that I have ever done. Previously, my ribs had been done, indirect, on my Weber OTG 22.5". I had used various recipes with varying success. I have definitely found MY recipe for ribs in the forseeable future. The guests raved over the ribs (as did my major critic, my formally trained wife who is a great cook). The ribs had a nice smoke ring (I used four chunks of apple wood), were luciously moist, and had a perfect bite. Tender and came cleanly off the bone. With all modesty, they were near perfect.

I have not yet done a post mortem on the cooker to try to determine why I ran out of heat. I should have probably put more unlit and less lit for better results. However, in my mind, getting a five or six hour cook out of one load of charcoal should NOT be a problem. I got caught by darkness and the demands of the supper last night. It is supposed to rain today, so I may not get a chance to pull the cooker apart, today. I will follow up.

I do know that there is a bit of a learning curve for new equipment and I WILL learn.

We were definitely happy with the final product, so it is just a matter of a little more experience with the new WSM

I took no pictures so cannot help you there.

Until next time...

Dale53

 

[Tom_M]

One chimney isn't enough. I almost always fill the charcoal ring completely full, then shut all the vents went I'm done cooking so that the fire goes out. A few days later I recover all of the usable coals and reuse them next time.

 

[Robert McGee]

Tom;
This morning I disassembled the WSM and, sure enough, there were virtually no coals left. Not enough unlit to start and too many lit - in combination it just ran out.

I'll just chalk this up to the learning curve. I am not unhappy at all. In fact, I am really looking forward to the next long cook.

I am seriously considering doing a Pepper Stout Beef (ala Larry Wolfe) as my next cook. I see nothing but rave reviews about this recipe and it just flat looks GOOD!

Dale53

 

[Mike Leiter]

One chimney isn't enough. I almost always fill the charcoal ring completely full, then shut all the vents went I'm done cooking so that the fire goes out. A few days later I recover all of the usable coals and reuse them next time.

This is how I do mine also and just close the vents at the end to choke flames and it leaves some for the next smoke which I just add fresh charcoal too. Only time I ever ran out of charcoal and had to add some was when I did a very large shoulder and went in to the 14hr range..
Fill the ring full and then add 1/2 chimney or so of lit to it in the middle and its worked out fine so far. I do also have a 18" ring I use for much smaller smokes and times but it works using the same principal.I just don't use as much charcoal at a time using it.

 

[D Cox]

I've found that filling the water bowl up completely also causes you to use more fuel. So, I use less water and just add more as needed throughout the cook.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

Do yourself a favor and document your cook with a smoke log. That way, you won't forget what you did right and what you need to fix for the next time. After a few smoke logs, you'll learn enough to make this a walk in the park. Sounds like you've learned a ton already.

 

[Robert McGee]

Dwain;
" Sounds like you've learned a ton already."

Thanks for the kind words. I have indeed learned. What is interesting, is that even tho' I made a serious error, the end result was only wonderful! We had leftovers for supper tonight and "Man oh man, how good it was!"

Dale53

 

[Gary S]

One chimney isn't enough. I almost always fill the charcoal ring completely full, then shut all the vents went I'm done cooking so that the fire goes out. A few days later I recover all of the usable coals and reuse them next time.

I use the remaining coals either in my chimney or my grill. As long as your cooker has no significant gaps for air you can snuff out the coals in about an hour.