Anyone read this new book on the WSM ?


 

Lynn Dollar

TVWBB Emerald Member

Hot and Fast BBQ on Your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker: Master the Quickest Method to Smoking Mouthwatering Meats Paperback – May 25, 2021


Award-Winning Recipes in Half the Time

Bestselling author Bill Gillespie is the undisputed champion of all things barbecue, and he’s back to help you master the art of hot and fast grilling on your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. He will teach you how to shave off hours of grilling time without sacrificing any of the flavor

I guess whoever wrote the description has no idea the WSM is not a grill.

I've never heard of the author , Bill Gillespie

About Bill Gillespie​

Bill Gillespie is the bestselling author of Secrets to Smoking on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and Other Smokers, which has over 100,000 copies in print. He’s also the pitmaster of Smokin’ Hoggz BBQ, an award-winning barbecue team that has claimed top prize in the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue and the American Royal Invitational, as well as capturing hundreds of other barbecue awards. He lives in Abington, Massachusetts.
 
The several times I have helped cook with KCBS teams I have noted that many meats are cooked hotter and quicker than I would do in my backyard, regardless of smoker set up. Yes, it can be done, obviously. But I maintain that one of the reasons each of us would swear that our own [fill in the smoked meat here] is among the best anywhere is that we cook low and slow. It simply works.

I'm not faulting or dismissing the HH thing, but I am quite content with the way I cook and the results. Others are welcome to find their own path.
 
My copy arrived today. I think I need to add H&F to my routine. Ribs is 2-1/2 hours and a 4-hour brisket sound like a handy way to cook when the situation calls for it.

Jeff
 
My copy arrived today. I think I need to add H&F to my routine. Ribs is 2-1/2 hours and a 4-hour brisket sound like a handy way to cook when the situation calls for it.

Jeff

How is he doing that ?

You feel the book was worth $12 ? I'm thinkin bout ordering . I've been getting reaquainted with my WSM.
 
Really good reviews so far. Let us know when you try something out, and how it comes out and compares to low & slow.
 
5 hour brisket is my norm on my 22, the only way that I cook it now. Running 350-400. I may pick up the book, always interested in HAF methods.
 
How is he doing that ?

You feel the book was worth $12 ? I'm thinkin bout ordering . I've been getting reaquainted with my WSM.
Hot and fast has often been discussed here on tvwbb, but the book organizes all the details from how to build a fire, control temps, check for doneness etc. I've been wanting to try the method and the post about the book just pushed me off the cliff. I haven't used it yet, but plan to do so soon.

Jeff
 
My issue with it is that the WSM doesn't want to run hot and fast that easily. They are designed with low and slow in mind. I'm curious what the author does. You can do some tricks like putting the door on upside down on the 18 or propping the lid slightly with a skewer. People have installed a 2nd top vent in some cases. I know tons of people cook hot and fast on the WSM, it's just not my thing. I at most like to cook medium and medium.
 
My issue with it is that the WSM doesn't want to run hot and fast that easily. They are designed with low and slow in mind. I'm curious what the author does. You can do some tricks like putting the door on upside down on the 18 or propping the lid slightly with a skewer. People have installed a 2nd top vent in some cases. I know tons of people cook hot and fast on the WSM, it's just not my thing. I at most like to cook medium and medium.
I agree. I tried doing my turkey hot and really struggled to get and keep my WSM above 250. I used a dry water pan, a full chimney of hot coals on top of a chimney of unlit coals, vents wide open. It still wanted to stay at around 250 degrees.
 
I've done Chris's Hot and Fast chicken a lot of times on my 18. IIRC, that's a full chimney of lit coals and half a chimney of unlit. Without a water pan and bottom vents wide open. And I never got it over 325*, that I can recall .
 
Agree with the comments on limitations of the 22" WSM to run much hotter than 300F. This was discussed in another thread on the forum a few weeks back, and now I'm looking for some cheap (and temporary) mods to help create a repeatable gap between the lid and middle section to address the need for more venting at the top while still giving me some ability to control. I think maybe I could rig up some aluminum foil "bridges" that would fit between the lid and main barrel but not fall off each time I lift the lid?

I would probably use the hot and fast method mostly for chicken.... I know competition teams to H&F brisket all the time but it takes a lot of courage to do that for the first time when you're happy with your low and slow results.
 
I would probably use the hot and fast method mostly for chicken.... I know competition teams to H&F brisket all the time but it takes a lot of courage to do that for the first time when you're happy with your low and slow results.

Especially with the price of brisket , these days.
 
How about sticking a vortex in a WSM?
Would be interested to try that - Maybe get a little bit of IR heat going by turning the vortex point side down?

I see hot and fast in my WSM as more of an opportunity for a smokey wood fired roast rather than traditional BBQ.
 
Just leave the lid off, and plenty charcoal and it will run hot ;)
No waterpan, just let the fat drip on the coal. Flare up's won't reach the meat due to distance of grid from the fire.
If it gets too hot, put the lid back for a bit.
Works for the 14"
Or take the door off.

Admittedly, we normally have warm weather and I use lump charcoal (mopani)
 
When I did the turkey I did take out the water pan and pie plate covering it up so there was nothing between the turkey and coals. Still had a hard time keeping the temp up. I found this very strange because I remember I goofed once and put a whole lit chimney in and had problems getting the temps below 300°. Maybe the charcoal was different? I will have to play again. I also have an inexpensive temp controller that I never use because the WSM keeps 250° so well. Maybe I will have to press it into action to keep the temps up next time. My son just gave me a Butcherbox.com gift for my birthday and it came with some ribs so that may be a time to try it.
 

 

Back
Top