1st time with WSM


 
R

Richard Litt

New member
yesterday was first use of my new 18.5" WSM. I smoked 8lbs of pork Spare Ribs (weight before i trimmed the pork according to St. Louis style). I used Trader Joes charcoal bricks and the Minion (spelling?) method of light the bricks. I used 2 gallons of hot water in the water pan. Easy to use but i could not hold the temperature to 225F - the WSM stayed at 250F-260F for the 4 hours i cooked the pork (using built-in cover thermometer).
Question - What do i need to do to hold 225F cooking temperature? I thought 225F is better to cook pork than 250F.
Thanks in advance. This forum is a great source of information.
 
Anywhere in that 225-250 range is fine. But to answer your question, you would close your bottom vents down some. Possibly quite a bit - with water it's not going to get above 260 no matter what you do - you're probably dumping a lot of extra energy into the water.

I usually let it get to 200 degrees and then close the vents to 25% and adjust as necessary (give it 20 minutes between adjustments and don't feel like you have to adjust it unless the temp really goes bad on you).
 
You might want to try a foiled clay saucer in the water bowl instead of water. I tried ribs for the first time yesterday on my WSM 18 and had no problem keeping the temp between 225 and 250 with minor vent adjustments.
 
It's not like the saucer's going to help him go *lower*. I don't particularly have religion about water or no water or whatever but in his case all it's doing is keeping the temps from skyrocketing. He'll want to learn a bit of vent control either way...
 
I thought 225F is better to cook pork than 250F.
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If you wish, fine, but better...?

I cook spares and backs at 325-350. Butts I cook at 250-275.

If your cooker is settling in at 250-260 you're just fine. 225 isn't going to get you anything but a longer cook.
 
Having just done my first overnighter on 2 butts, I agree with Kevin. Took almost 18 hours for 2 6.5 lbs buts to come up to 195 smoking around 225-235.
 
225 isn't going to get you anything but a longer cook.
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Agreed! Been doing butts and briskets at 250-275 with great results. Done the last couple of rib cooks at 275-300. Better bark and meat just as good!
 
All who replyed - thanks. I will spend more time performing vent control and wait some time between vent adjustments.
I can't wait for my next time cooking.
 
Richard, you should also bear in mind that the general consensus around these parts is that new WSMs run a little hot, due to the reflective qualities of the shiny new interior surface. That goes away after 2-3 smokes.
 
I cook spares and backs at 325-350.
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Kevin,
Mind detailing that method?
You realize, of course, that you are going against the grain of low-and-slow, traditional, Southern, old-timey, BBQ?
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Originally posted by Bob Swaskoski:
You might want to try a foiled clay saucer in the water bowl instead of water. I tried ribs for the first time yesterday on my WSM 18 and had no problem keeping the temp between 225 and 250 with minor vent adjustments.
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Slight threadjack: I did ribs this weekend and tried the foiled clay saucer for the first time (14" saucer) using 3-1-1 on pork ribs. During the last hour I wasn't paying attention to the temperature and it shot up to 300degF so the ribs turned out a bit drier than I wanted.

My lesson learned is to watch the temp a bit closer till I get the hang of using the saucer method.
 
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