Buying a WSM soon

[Jose Suro]

Hi all,

I am on deck for the family Thanksgiving cook and most definitely on for Christmas dinner. For the last 10 years I used a big four burner gasser to handle these cooks (I smoked a ~20lb whole fresh ham every year for Christmas since I bought it). I usually feed about 12-18 people for those cooks. But since the gasser died I recently went for a Performer Platinum. It has worked beyond my expectations. I am so glad I'm back to Weber and charcoal.

That said I bought the Performer with thoughts of buying a WSM for the Holiday cooks. There is no way I can fit a 20lb fresh ham on the Performer without getting it too close to the coals. The Performer is perfect for cooking smaller meals for just my wife and I and company but I now need a dedicated smoker for the holidays.

So, I'm pulling the trigger soon so that I can get some smoke time on a WSM before I get to the holidays. I know that the 22.5 vs. 18.5 has been discussed to death but that is not my question.

My question is: Can I cook smaller meals on the 22.5 for just a couple/four people on a weekly basis without using a ton of charcoal? I had decided on the 18.5 already for those weekly cooks, but now I am not certain it might be big enough for those 12+ people cooks.

 

[ChuckO]

Yes you can. The ideal thing would be to get the charcoal ring for the 14.5" or maybe the 18.5" in addition to the ring that comes with the 22"
Of course, you could make your own charcoal ring, probably for a lot less than you could buy a 14.5 or 18.5

 

[Robert McGee]

I suspect that the 18.5" WSM will be more than big enough for your 12+ cooks. I have seen people on here who have done six Boston Butts at once (three on each grate). Using rib racks (one for each grate will cost you $9.95 each if you get Brinkmans which I have) you can do eight half racks of ribs without issue.

Another thing you might consider. If you have a freezer, you can prepare food ahead. I typically smoke one or two Boston Butts, a three pack of ribs, etc., which is entirely too much to consume at once (there is just the wife and I on a daily basis). We just vacuum pack it and freeze for later. The food is absolutely as good later on. When I am going to have group in, I do the work ahead of time (smoke everything that I need to smoke, freeze it and all that remains on "game day" is to heat the meat up). That way I get to visit with my guests instead of working myself to death. It has made things SO-O-O much more pleasant.

If you use that method, an 18.5 will be plenty big enough for most any reasonable crowd. Then, on a weekly basis though out the year you won't be trying to drive that big smoker just for the two of you.

Just a thought or two...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53

 

[Jose Suro]

I suspect that the 18.5" WSM will be more than big enough for your 12+ cooks. I have seen people on here who have done six Boston Butts at once (three on each grate). Using rib racks (one for each grate will cost you $9.95 each if you get Brinkmans which I have) you can do eight half racks of ribs without issue.

Another thing you might consider. If you have a freezer, you can prepare food ahead. I typically smoke one or two Boston Butts, a three pack of ribs, etc., which is entirely too much to consume at once (there is just the wife and I on a daily basis). We just vacuum pack it and freeze for later. The food is absolutely as good later on. When I am going to have group in, I do the work ahead of time (smoke everything that I need to smoke, freeze it and all that remains on "game day" is to heat the meat up). That way I get to visit with my guests instead of working myself to death. It has made things SO-O-O much more pleasant.

If you use that method, an 18.5 will be plenty big enough for most any reasonable crowd. Then, on a weekly basis though out the year you won't be trying to drive that big smoker just for the two of you.

Just a thought or two...

Keep on smokin',
Dale53

Thanks for the tips. Driving the big smoker on a weekly basis is the biggest concern. Same thing happened with the big gasser. Depending on how hard I drove it that thing ate a tank of propane about every 4-6 hours for grilling and about 12 hours for smoking. With warmup and cleaning cycles it made little sense for two/four people.

One thing that is a tradition here for the Holidays is leftovers. Every year everyone knows they get a lot of leftovers to take home so I count on feeding 12+ people - Twice. Sticking with the 18.5 was the original plan but I got concerned about the size. The 22.5 is definitely two big for two people. The question of fuel usage being the major concern.

 

[Jose Suro]

Yes you can. The ideal thing would be to get the charcoal ring for the 14.5" or maybe the 18.5" in addition to the ring that comes with the 22"
Of course, you could make your own charcoal ring, probably for a lot less than you could buy a 14.5 or 18.5

Thanks! That sounds like the solution.