Brisket in an 18??


 
C

Chrisin Houston

New member
Hi. I've been lurking a while but figured it was time to sign up. For my first post. I am facing the age old question....18 or 22.


I'll mostly be smoking ribs with the occasional brisket, so the 22 seems like a better fit. But since it just me, my wife and 2 young kids I'm just not cooking all that much at one time, so all that extra volume seems like overkill. That makes me think an 18 is the ticket since I can halve the ribs and buy smaller briskets.

Anyone in a similar boat have an 18 and wish they had more space?

Thanks
 
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I have an 18 and sometimes wish it were bigger and those times are typically doing ribs, but there's also cooking a butt and so n so don't like pork and wants chicken, you get the picture. I believe the ideal WSM would be a 22, and it would need at least a 18's charcoal ring and maybe even a 14's charcoal ring. Then you'd have it all in one
 
I would get the 18.5". We've been cooking briskets for years on them with plenty of success prior to the 22.5". I don't think the extra fuel consumption would warrant buying the 22.5" with only three mouths to feed.
 
I've never understood the idea of buying the 18.5" or 14.5" charcoal ring to use in the 22.5" WSM to reduce charcoal use? Why not just use less charcoal? Does the size of the ring help in some way? What would happen if you use the standard 22.5" ring in the 22.5" WSM only with less charcoal?
 
I went for the 22 and I love it. I just shut my vents and reuse coals at least for small cooks and take advantage of kbb sales. It's just me and my wife but I like to have the option of cooking for more. I just use the standard ring.
 
I have cooked 12lb packer briskets on my 18.5 by wedging the ends into the grate handles. After they cook a while they shrink down and have plenty of room. Other people have used various items under the middle of the brisket to fit even larger ones.

It all boils down to the primary use and how important fuel usage is to you. Some people even get one of each size
 
Steve Porter said:
I've never understood the idea of buying the 18.5" or 14.5" charcoal ring to use in the 22.5" WSM to reduce charcoal use? Why not just use less charcoal? Does the size of the ring help in some way? What would happen if you use the standard 22.5" ring in the 22.5" WSM only with less charcoal?
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It makes a difference, especially doing the Minion method. Having the smaller rings gives your "pile" of charcoal better shape and performance
 
I have an 18 and would not ever fill up a 22... I normally cook for 4-5 people and as I understand it the 22 burns some serious fuel.
 
I faced the same question. It's just me n the wife but kids and grand kids come runnin when they find out the cooker is fired up. I went with the 22 for the sole purpose of being able to do packer briskets. Since then I've used it for so much more. I'll never part with it.
 
Basically it come down to this: The difference between the two (18 vs 22) is $100 USD You can cook something "too small" in the 22, you can't cook something "too big" in the 18

For $100, why limit yourself
 
While I love my 18.5, I wish a had a 22.5. I got a good deal on it or I would have gone for the 22.5.
 
I am a new 22" WSM owner, went through the 18 vs 22 thingy myself.
It's just me and my wife (+my brother + her sister +my son/daughter-in-law +my parent-in-laws) but mostly just me and my wife most of the time.
I don't regret getting the 22" at all.
Since I do not have experience with the 18" I don't know how much fuel it uses.
When cooking low/slow (230 degrees measured on the top grate) I can get 18 hours of burn time on a full ring of charcoal.
Regardless of the cooking temperature when I am done I close all the vents and the fire goes out. I reuse the leftover charcoal and it works fine.
I use Kingsford blue charcoal and get excellent results.
It's hard to go wrong with either one and I am confident you will really enjoy either model.
 
I have an 18 and would cut ribs in half and drape packers over foiled firebricks etc. Finally got a Cajun Bandit 22 conversion for the extra room, (can't have too many smokers). I use a smaller charcoal ring in the 22 conversion as it allows me to pack the charcoal tightly since I use lump.
 
Chrisin Houston said:
Hi. I've been lurking a while but figured it was time to sign up. For my first post. I am facing the age old question....18 or 22.


I'll mostly be smoking ribs with the occasional brisket, so the 22 seems like a better fit. But since it just me, my wife and 2 young kids I'm just not cooking all that much at one time, so all that extra volume seems like overkill. That makes me think an 18 is the ticket since I can halve the ribs and buy smaller briskets.

Anyone in a similar boat have an 18 and wish they had more space?

Thanks
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The 18" can be too small but the 22" will never be too big. If i could only have on it would definitely be the 26.75" You can cook one burger on it or 30 burgers on it.
 
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I have the 18.5, I have stuffed a 16lb brisket before trimming in the wsm, as far as ribs go you can roll them and get three racks on the top grate, plus you do have the second grate you can use. What I like is I can transport my cooker for partys in my Honda truck and still have plenty of room to spare.
 
I really like my 18.5, nothing wrong with anybody that really likes the 22.5, but man that thing is huge! I'd never need that much room for smoking meat. I chuckle when I read about people that don't want to cut or roll up their racks of ribs, I can't get it into my mouth without cutting or rolling it up first! :D
 
ChuckO said:
Basically it come down to this: The difference between the two (18 vs 22) is $100 USD You can cook something "too small" in the 22, you can't cook something "too big" in the 18

For $100, why limit yourself
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What Chucko said. If you want the perfect world? Get a 22 and build a mini. Problem solved
 
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