Catching up!!

[Dan C. FL]

Smoke Day weekend was just weird. Since moving to WI, my 18” WSM has been moody. I think she’s mad at me for not using her for so long. That and it’s always windy where I live. Temps aren’t holding the way they did in FL. Anyways, before too many words are used for the photo gallery, let’s get to...

First cook of Smoke Day weekend was a tri tip. I didn’t trust the thermometer for some unknown reason and pulled it too early. Oh well, I like rare meat!



The next cook was brisket. We got an 11 pound packer cut. This was the best cook of the weekend. It wasn’t perfect, but man that Brisket turned out great!!!


Finally, that weekend was the worse cook ever. Boston butt. It was such a bad cook the only pic I have of it was the seasoned pre-cook shot.

The first part was ok. Smoker cruised at 225* for a while. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get the temp to go higher. Then, the winds came. The temps sank to 205-210, then would go up to 265. Then, I realized that my Smoke meat probe wasn’t working. That was when the butt was reading -12F. Then I needed to add coals at like 9 hours in. I did something dumb and just dumped a chimney full on top of the lit. It’s, predictably, smoked badly. So, I moved it to the oven until the smoke chilled out. Threw it back in the WSM and it stalled again. When we were supposed to be serving the thing to our friends. Threw it back in the oven where continued to stall...and then went up 20* in less than 10 minutes. Luckily, it still tasted fine. Everyone else said it was good. I was so mad though that I couldn’t tell.

This past week, I did some wings on the Vortex with Weber charcoal. That stuff stayed over 500* for more than an hour. I only can add one more picture now, so I’ll save you from wings on a paper plate.
Last night, I did mahi mahi with lemon juice and blackened seasoning over lump. It turned out awesome. So, I’ll share that.

Ok, that catches y’all up. Now, I gotta figure out some sort of windbreak and why it cooks cooler here than in Florida. It can’t really be mad at me, RIGHT?!?

 

[Tony-Chicago]

Good idea to use the oven. Crank it up and deal with the small flavor difference. Mahi Mahi in Hawaii was some of the best food I ever had. Ribs look good too. Wonder if there is a really good seal on your wsm. Perfect but why no hotter. Can't be the 40 degree difference between Wi and Fl. Or can it. Did you start with the same amount of lit as you would in Florida? Still should have been manageable. Well it all looks good here

 

[Rich Dahl]

I know this is a Weber forum, but what you are experiencing with your 18.5 WSM is the exact reason mine is in the garage getting cleaned up before it goes on CL. With the ban on charcoal every summer now and the constant winds I'm lucky to get two or three cooks a year on it. When I do it's a constant fight with changing temps.
My Camp Chef pellet grill does a much better hassle free job of doing L&S cooks. Plus I can use it in the summer.
I still have my mini 14.5 smoker I built and it is much more stable than the 18.5 if I want to go that route again.

 

[ChuckO]

Looks great

 

[JimK]

It all looks good, but if I had to pick a favorite, it'd be the Mahi.

 

[CaseT]

Looks like tasty meals!

I sold my 18 (which I bought used on CL). It was too big for the cooks that I do anymore. I only bought it because it was a steal, $80 only used once. Didn't even look like it'd been used at all. When I sold it three years later I sold it for $100!

My 14.5" is a rock and really stable. This year I added a Party-Q blower. Even though I didin't really think that I needed it it really has made the WSM a set and forget pit. I have no issues doing a cook and leaving the pit unattended. I check on it just to make sure the temp is correct, and it has never faltered.

If the 18 pit fits your cooks look into BBQ Gurus's pit controllers. Well worth the investment.

 

[Rich G]

Dan, sounds like you dealt with your pork butt adversity well! As with all craftsmen, we see (and taste) our mistakes! Most of the time, nobody else notices. The brisket looks dynamite, my m-i-l wouldn't eat the tri-tip, but I sure would, and you put a great cook on that mahi mahi!

I think you need to get some tips from Jim Lampe on how to use the WSM in WI!!

R

 

[Dan C. FL]

Good idea to use the oven. Crank it up and deal with the small flavor difference. Mahi Mahi in Hawaii was some of the best food I ever had. Ribs look good too. Wonder if there is a really good seal on your wsm. Perfect but why no hotter. Can't be the 40 degree difference between Wi and Fl. Or can it. Did you start with the same amount of lit as you would in Florida? Still should have been manageable. Well it all looks good here

The temps I have been cooking at were within range of what I have cooked at before in Florida. I lived in the North part near Tallahassee and had a lot of days cooking in temps that were about 80*. Same exact methods and everything. Only two things I can count as factors are wind and lack of humidity.

 

[Dan C. FL]

I know this is a Weber forum, but what you are experiencing with your 18.5 WSM is the exact reason mine is in the garage getting cleaned up before it goes on CL. With the ban on charcoal every summer now and the constant winds I'm lucky to get two or three cooks a year on it. When I do it's a constant fight with changing temps.
My Camp Chef pellet grill does a much better hassle free job of doing L&S cooks. Plus I can use it in the summer.
I still have my mini 14.5 smoker I built and it is much more stable than the 18.5 if I want to go that route again.

So, the 14.5 will be more stable with the winds? I’ll have to try it. Have you tried those blower set and forget attachments? If the 14.5 isn’t better, I’ll either have to buy/make a wind screen of some sort or try one of those.

 

[Dan C. FL]

Looks like tasty meals!

I sold my 18 (which I bought used on CL). It was too big for the cooks that I do anymore. I only bought it because it was a steal, $80 only used once. Didn't even look like it'd been used at all. When I sold it three years later I sold it for $100!

My 14.5" is a rock and really stable. This year I added a Party-Q blower. Even though I didin't really think that I needed it it really has made the WSM a set and forget pit. I have no issues doing a cook and leaving the pit unattended. I check on it just to make sure the temp is correct, and it has never faltered.

If the 18 pit fits your cooks look into BBQ Gurus's pit controllers. Well worth the investment.

In FL, both were rock steady. I could get the 18 to 250 and ignore it for up to about 13 hours and it wouldn’t vary more than 10 degrees either side of 250 until I was out of coals. I’ll have to try the 14” up here. Maybe it’ll be more steady? I may also try one of those pit controllers. Thanks!!

 

[Rich Dahl]

So, the 14.5 will be more stable with the winds? I’ll have to try it. Have you tried those blower set and forget attachments? If the 14.5 isn’t better, I’ll either have to buy/make a wind screen of some sort or try one of those.

Dan , mine really isn't a Weber WSM, it's a homemade one using a stock pot for the barrel and a Smoky Joe grill for the base and the top.
The vents are completely different than the 14.5 WSM. It's super reliable but you can't compare it to the Weber version.

 

[CaseT]

I can say that the wind and colder temps did effect my 18" WSM more than it does the 14.5" For the 18 I set up wind blocks using plywood. during the winter one year I used foil faces rigid insulation around the 18 to protect from wind and to radiate heat back. With the 14 and my home built mini-wsm's I never flet that I needed to go to those extremes. Not as volume to be too big of an issue.

Outside ambient temp is going to be a factor too even without wind. There are days where I start a smoke and it is 30°, by mid smoke its 70° and by end of smoke its 40°. The amount of air needed to keep temps will vary with these temp changes.

 

[Brad Olson]

First cook of Smoke Day weekend was a tri tip. I didn’t trust the thermometer for some unknown reason and pulled it too early.

Too early? I think you pulled it at just the right time!

 

[Cliff Bartlett]

Meat lovers dream right there Dan. It all looks delicious!