I am vegan. I live by myself. Debating about 14” or 18”, for my specific needs. Traditionally chicos are smoked in a pit buried in the ground or in an adobe horno/clay smoker outside over night, then hung to dry. You then have sweet corn that is smoked and dehydrated for soups. Very different than just dehydrated corn. I will of course use it for vegan cheese, burgers, veggies, sausages, etc. The debate on size comes from how many corn on the cobs will it hold, and wondering about length and temp to smoke. Since traditionally it is a long slow smoke, I don’t want to over cook and destroy them. The silks are removed and husks left on. Any thoughts or help is appreciated.... thx!
Anyone smoke corn to prepare for Chico’s?
- Thread starter Choan W
- Start date
Tony-Chicago
TVWBB Wizard
As a former vegan i wish i knew more. Probably at least two dozen can fit or use a rack to stand them up and fit 150?
What rack should I look at to stand them up? What size smoker are you thinking?
I've been at this WSM thing for 20+ year, I've never heard of anyone wanting to do what you want to do in bulk. So you'll have to be a trailblazer on this one. 
The 22" WSM has 50% greater cooking surface area than the 18" model, which is not to say you'll be able to fit exactly 50% more corn in there, but it will be quite a bit more. The 18" cooker is more fuel efficient and tends to offer easier temp control than the 22" model. Either one comes with two grates; you can rig additional grates between and above the two stock grates to increase capacity. You'll find examples of how people add more grates here: https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/increasing-cooking-capacity
You can run the WSM at very low temps for a long time using the snake method of setting up your charcoal. Adjusting the amount of charcoal in the snake will increase or reduce the cooking temp.
I would steer you away from the idea of standing up corn in the cooker. I don't know of any rack that will stand up the volume of corn you probably want to smoke/dry and allow heat/smoke to circulate around the ears.
Very interesting question...would be interested in photos of your setup and results if your move forward with this, including examples of recipes you make with chicos w/pics.
Good luck!
The 22" WSM has 50% greater cooking surface area than the 18" model, which is not to say you'll be able to fit exactly 50% more corn in there, but it will be quite a bit more. The 18" cooker is more fuel efficient and tends to offer easier temp control than the 22" model. Either one comes with two grates; you can rig additional grates between and above the two stock grates to increase capacity. You'll find examples of how people add more grates here: https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/increasing-cooking-capacity
You can run the WSM at very low temps for a long time using the snake method of setting up your charcoal. Adjusting the amount of charcoal in the snake will increase or reduce the cooking temp.
I would steer you away from the idea of standing up corn in the cooker. I don't know of any rack that will stand up the volume of corn you probably want to smoke/dry and allow heat/smoke to circulate around the ears.
Very interesting question...would be interested in photos of your setup and results if your move forward with this, including examples of recipes you make with chicos w/pics.
Good luck!
Thanks! I saw a 18” advertised last night for $125, used. Possibly will go pick it up today.I've been at this WSM thing for 20+ year, I've never heard of anyone wanting to do what you want to do in bulk. So you'll have to be a trailblazer on this one.
The 22" WSM has 50% greater cooking surface area than the 18" model, which is not to say you'll be able to fit exactly 50% more corn in there, but it will be quite a bit more. The 18" cooker is more fuel efficient and tends to offer easier temp control than the 22" model. Either one comes with two grates; you can rig additional grates between and above the two stock grates to increase capacity. You'll find examples of how people add more grates here: https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/increasing-cooking-capacity
You can run the WSM at very low temps for a long time using the snake method of setting up your charcoal. Adjusting the amount of charcoal in the snake will increase or reduce the cooking temp.
I would steer you away from the idea of standing up corn in the cooker. I don't know of any rack that will stand up the volume of corn you probably want to smoke/dry and allow heat/smoke to circulate around the ears.
Very interesting question...would be interested in photos of your setup and results if your move forward with this, including examples of recipes you make with chicos w/pics.
Good luck!
Michael Richards
TVWBB Emerald Member
For what you want to do I think the 14 would be to small, so yeah go get that 18 use it and if you decide you want to go up to a 22 WSM you can easily sell the 18 for what you are going to pay tonight for it and then put that toward the monster 22. Welcome and please post your cooks here, my 14 year old is moving more and more vegan and I am completely on board with it, but I don't not always know how and what to cook for her.
Michael Richards
TVWBB Emerald Member
Choan,
Check on the below link, it is for the kettles, but think about it also for the WSM expect you starting out with two racks not one with the ability to add more racks. Look at the 14inch smoky joe, verses the 18 inch kettle, verses the 22 in kettle to see the difference in size.
tvwbb.com
Check on the below link, it is for the kettles, but think about it also for the WSM expect you starting out with two racks not one with the ability to add more racks. Look at the 14inch smoky joe, verses the 18 inch kettle, verses the 22 in kettle to see the difference in size.
Charcoal grill size comparison chart
While trying to convince myself I needed a Ranch I searched for a size comparison chart to see how much real estate I’d be gaining from my other grills. I never found what I was looking for so decided to make this chart. I thought someone else might be able to use it also. Darvin
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Great feedback! Thanks so much! So glad to hear about your 14 yo! Being vegan is so much easier than it used to be! There are a bazillion cookbooks and websites now. I’m really looking forward to smoking vegan cheeses, the vegetables, and the obvious the hamburgers and sausages
Michael Richards
TVWBB Emerald Member
Choan,
With the 18 there are so many options to increase the space, check out the two below post.
tvwbb.com
tvwbb.com
With the 18 there are so many options to increase the space, check out the two below post.
New Cajun Bandit Stacker
Finally pulled the trigger. The 18" is a little to short when hanging Ribs. This is a game changer.
tvwbb.com
The Warhead
Hey all, I wanted to post up a rack system I built last summer to take advantage of the extra space provided by the Cajun Bandit extension ring. Looking at TVWB modifications page, it looks like some similar things have been done previously. First, the inspiration for the build: So three...
tvwbb.com
Will do! Thx!Choan,
With the 18 there are so many options to increase the space, check out the two below post.
New Cajun Bandit Stacker
Finally pulled the trigger. The 18" is a little to short when hanging Ribs. This is a game changer.The Warhead
Hey all, I wanted to post up a rack system I built last summer to take advantage of the extra space provided by the Cajun Bandit extension ring. Looking at TVWB modifications page, it looks like some similar things have been done previously. First, the inspiration for the build: So three...
Sorry for my brain fart, I saw 14" and 18" and read 18" and 22"! I shouldn't be allowed to post after midnight. 
Michael Richards
TVWBB Emerald Member
Choan,
The information in both those post is all in Chris's link about increasing cooking capacity. Chris is our trusted leader here and his guidance has been golden to the gaining of knowledge!
CaseT
TVWBB Platinum Member
So I saw that you bought the 18, propably a good choice if you plan opn bulk cooking a lot. I sold my 18's when I bought the 14. I cook corn all the time in ours, but you aren't going to get a lot in a 14" This is the Smokey Joe, which has the same grate size as the 14. AS you can see most of the real estate is taken up by these few ears.
Thx! I think since there are 2 grates, and mine is a 18, maybe 6 each rack then, a dozen at a time. I hear I will get 1/4 cup off each cob. So maybe 3 cups per smoke. Glad I bought it before corn season. I think corn will be out at stands starting this or next week.So I saw that you bought the 18, propably a good choice if you plan opn bulk cooking a lot. I sold my 18's when I bought the 14. I cook corn all the time in ours, but you aren't going to get a lot in a 14" This is the Smokey Joe, which has the same grate size as the 14. AS you can see most of the real estate is taken up by these few ears.
I was thinking if they were stood up, they also may smoke more evenly.