22.5 WSM First Cook Observations

[Mike Newhouse]

What I'm doing today is actually not the first cook, but rather the first smoke. I make the distinction because of a very surprising (at least for me) observation.

Last night I dumped half a bag of blue-bag K in the ring and a chimney of lit mesquite lump on top. I set the cooking grate on top of that and when there was white ash on the top I grilled some beef fajitas.

When the grilling was done, I put the WSM back together and closed all the vents expecting it to suffocate the coals. I noticed the temp was up over 300F when I did this.

After we ate I went out to give the dogs the scraps and checked the temp ... 170. Seemed to make sense.

I went out and got some baby-backs today for the "First Cook", came home and rubbed 'em up. I went out to start the WSM. I took off the lid and cook chamber and saw there was a good amount of viable charcoal still in the ring. I reached down to grab the cooking grate I had left from last night and pulled back as it was VERY hot. My initial thought was the heat was due to direct exposure to the South Texas sun but I was wrong. I went into the garage to get some more K and when I got back the **** thing was smoking. This I did not expect.

So I added a chimney of unlit K and a good amount of mesquite (I am from Texas after all), let it come up to 250, put the ribs on and closed the lower dampers to about 1/4 - 1/3. Temps holding at 235 - 240. We'll let it go for about 4 hours and see what happens.

Stay tuned.

-Mike

 

[Mike Newhouse]

Four hours later ... temp danced slowly between 200 and 250. I closed the vents a bit and opened the door to add wood chunks to cool it off a bit. So far so well. Its all a matter of finding the right air intake.

I like a lot of smoke so I need to cut back on the charcoal and add more wood.

I think another hour and check for pull back.

 

[Wolgast]

If it leaks abit(and it does from start) the coals wont go out. But then again who doesent use there grills/smoker 24/7

This will change after a few cooks. Mine dident kill the fire after vents was closed. But now it does. First 5 cooks the temp was rising with all bottom vents closed

How mutch wood do you add? Fist size wise?

 

[Mike Newhouse]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Wolgast:
If it leaks abit(and it does from start) the coals wont go out. But then again who doesent use there grills/smoker 24/7

This will change after a few cooks. Mine dident kill the fire after vents was closed. But now it does. First 5 cooks the temp was rising with all bottom vents closed

How mutch wood do you add? Fist size wise? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

About 5 - 6 for the ribs.

 

[Mike Newhouse]

Well the first cook was not as successful as I hoped it would be. The ribs were slightly over cooked. I suspect the WSM was running a bit hotter then what the thermometer was indicating (235-240).

Live and learn ...

 

[Mike Newhouse]

FOLLOW UP:
I was in the mood for chicken wings yesterday and opted to do them on the WSM rather than the OTS. I lit a chimney of K and filled the ring with lump. I filled the pan with water, dumped the fully lit K on the lump and assembled the WSM. I know this is a HUGE amount of coal for wings, but I wanted to see how hot I could get it. So I opened all vents to 100% and let her rip.

After about 10 minutes the lid thermometer was pegged. I put a probe thermometer on the grill and closed the lid; it hit 399 and then -HI-. So this puppy can get really hot.

I then shut all the bottom vents completely and watched as the temp dropped (rather quickly) to 225 by the lid thermo. The probe thermo read 245. My suspicion was confirmed. I should not rely on the lid thermo. My 'first smoke' ribs were likely over-cooked because I based cook time on bad temp information.

Obviously I need a probe at meat level. I don't know ho much physical contact with the grill influences the reading but think its best to elevate the probe above the grill slightly (.5"). I don't like pinching the probe cable under the lid so a hole (or two) will be required. I sense a BBQ Guru grommet mod is in my future.

Oh by the way, the wings came out quite yummy. I will detail that in another post.

-mike