1st time firing up the 22.5"wsm!


 
S.Six

S.Six

TVWBB All-Star
Call some friends up and said " going to cook a pork butt, if you would like me to smoke you one just bring your butt and I'll smoke it." Just about everyone took me up on this offer. This will be my first time ever cooking on the 22.5"wsm. I've had the 18.5"wsm for just over a year now. So I may have 9-12 butts to cook tonight. Going to do a overnight cook. Here's my question: do I run with water? I was planning on doing this because I know that the wsm tends to run hot when they're new, but I'll have a lot of meat in there. So ,should I foil the water bowl and run dry? Use a clay saucer, or just run with the water? Or does it really matter that much? I once loaded my 18.5"wsm with 8 pork butts and I ran water with that. It took about 18hrs. I was thinking of filling the bowl half way with boiling hot water si its nice and hot right off the bat. Thoughts.
 
FWIW- I did two butts (~20# total)on my second cook in my 22.5, and I have not put anything in the pan but foil for any of my cooks. I was able to keep my temps 235-265 with little effort. Needed to add some lit coals around 10 hours in. I am a complete novice, and it went so smoothly.
 
I'm smoking a 12 packer tonight and I'm using water just due to the fact I seem to get better temperature control and less chance of too high of temps. The cleanup is a pain but I foil the inside of the bowl and add ash to the left over water then remove the foil and ash in one motion.
 
I think it keeps temp down at beginning when charcoal is really going and by time your late into cook and charcoal is of much less quantity the water is a lot lower and allows charcoal to give more heat somehow it works perfectly cause most times my cooks stay within about ten degrees over 12 hour period
 
Colby R said:
I think it keeps temp down at beginning when charcoal is really going and by time your late into cook and charcoal is of much less quantity the water is a lot lower and allows charcoal to give more heat somehow it works perfectly cause most times my cooks stay within about ten degrees over 12 hour period
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Yes, nothing is more stable than water, and I often use it, especially with ribs. Playing the devil's advocate though, the issue is getting UP to temp when there's a case or more of butts on the big wsm. What I see the water helping with is evening out the cook and the grates so that the butts cook evenly and get done more at the same time. I've done it both ways, and the water definitely helps with that. You use a good bit more charcoal though, and need to anticipate refueling. In any case, I'd think that if the OP has already cooked a case of butts on his 18, he has an idea what he's getting into. Most I ever squeezed onto mine was five, and it took 18 hours (with water).
 
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