Advice for a first time WSM owner


 
K

Kevin French

TVWBB Member
Today I am a year older, "wiser" and better off in the work of cooking. I received a WSM 22.5 and a Weber Silver Kettle Grill. I was hoping for one or the other, but to get both blows me away.

This post is several things for me. I have been reading this forum for some time now and finally joined when I had the "tools" necessary to be part of the crowd. So, first and foremost, I wanted to say Hello!

Secondly, this is a huge upgrade for me in smoking. Having owned several Brinkman water smokers, I am glad to be able to finally smoke correctly. Being able to control temps properly and being able to smoke longer than 5 hours without adding fuel (the minion method only works so well on the Brinkman, are just some of the things I am looking forward to with my new "life".

Finally, I wanted to ask for some advice from seasoned owners of WSMs. When I take the baby out of the box for the first time, what is the advice you would give to a new owner?

Thanks for your time on this post and all the others. I have learned so much from reading, with the most important being that this is the smoker for me.
 
First off, welcome. As you know, this site offers an incredible amount of great information and friendly faces.

Advice out of the box? Hmm, I'd say just get that baby fired up. A beer can chicken cook is fast, simple and will help you to "get to know" your new cooking partner. Another piece of advice I'll give is always wrap the water pan (if you're using it) in foil. I didn't wrap on my first cook and must have spent 30 minutes cleaning the thing when it was done.

Again, welcome aboard. And don't forget to post pics of your cooks. We love that stuff!
 
Kevin, welcome. You must be a good cook with a name like Kevin. My advice, fire her up, get her dirty and enjoy. She will burn a little hot at first so watch your temps. We all love BBQ pics and dogs, so send us some.
Mark.
 
Mark,

Thanks for the welcome. I will certainly upload pics. I began taking them when I smoked my first pastrami, but now I can't wait to really get into it.
 
Kevin-
Happy b-day and congrats on some of the best gift's you'll ever receive! My suggestions... GET STARTED! As everyone said above, foil the water pan and it will run hot for a couple of initial cooks. Many people will close all vents and smother out the charcoal if doing a shorter cook so that you have some left-over for the next cook. On my maiden voyage, I wanted to see just how long this thing would last so I let it go and was very happy. Simply put, I wanted to make sure I could do an overnight cook before doing an over night cook. This will also get a good build up of "gunk" which will make the seal much better. Most importantly, put something on the smoker, crack a beer, watch some basketball today and don't worry about it! Have fun and happy smoking!
 
Thanks Eric. #5 really rang true. Never having the ability to control temp on my past Brinkmann's, I have thought a lot about this. The advice seems to match what I was expecting...the ocean liner analogy is great.

Thanks for the advice and the welcome!
 
Run some chickens through until you get the hang of it.

Baby back ribs seemed to be easier to cook than spares and didn't take forever like Butts.

Use the minion method without the can.
Use wood chunks not chips. Try apple (chix/fish) and hickory or pecan for rest.
Leave top vent wide open and work the temp by adjusting the lower vents. Easy to raise the temp, harder to lower it so catch it on the way up.

Last and most important--get a cheap spiral pad and keep a log.
Note temps, wind, sun/rain etc. Weight of meat, rub, prep etc.
Record time, temp, low vent%, top vent%, comments with meat temp, mop, etc.
At the end write how it tasted and what you might try next time.

Good luck!!
 
Great advice Chris. I have a log that I will be using for this smoker. Thanks for the advice on the vents. The set up you described answered some questions I had about what to do with the top vent.
 
The best advice given to me when I started was to not over think temperatures. You can make great BBQ by cooking anywere between 220 and 375 degrees. Meat does NOT become dry from cooking at high temperatures. It drys out from being over cooked. Understand what tender feels like instead of aiming for specific times or temperatures. Welcome to the board!
 
Originally posted by Jerry P.:
The best advice given to me when I started was to not over think temperatures. You can make great BBQ by cooking anywere between 220 and 375 degrees. Meat does NOT become dry from cooking at high temperatures. It drys out from being over cooked. Understand what tender feels like instead of aiming for specific times or temperatures. Welcome to the board!
Click to expand...

Good advice, Jerry.
 
Originally posted by Stefan B:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by mk evensong:
We all love BBQ pics and dogs, so send us some.
Mark.
Click to expand...

Like this you mean??



Oh, and happy b'day Kevin and welcome aboard! Great presents! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

HOT FEET!!!!!!! Oh, the fires out, whooo!
Great award winnng pic!
 
Welcome.
About temps- don't chase them. It takes the WSM up to half an hour to react to adjustments.

Just a bit of wind changes everything, more than you would expect.
Protect the WSM from the wind.

And use water in the pan, at least for the first cooks. As long as you are not aiming for 300 degrees, its safe and easy.

Good luck!
 
Originally posted by K Kruger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">You must be a good cook with a name like Kevin
Click to expand...
Well, um, of course!

Greetings Kevin. Today I am a year older too.Happy birthday to us! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hold on, it is your birthday too? Happy Birthday. That is crazy.
 
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