Curious here... how many of you use the lower level on your WSMs?


 
Butts come two to a package and two fit on the top rack. Ribs come three to a package and with a rib rack or rolling, three fit on the top rack. It's very unusual for me to cook more than two butts or three racks of rib so I have hardly ever used the lower rack.
 
Im in the camp of not maximizing the spent fuel/smoke. So I would say I use the bottom rack maybe 75% of the time, its usually 2 butts on the bottom, and a brisket on top. They freeze and reheat really well.
 
Griff said:
I use both levels almost every time. My theory is that you might as well get twice the pop out of a load of Kingsford. The second layer is not that much extra work. And I have a lot of freezer space.
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Us too, Griff. We smoke some kosher or sea salt on the other rack if that's all we've got, or we smoke some tomatoes or red bell peppers if we don't have meat to smoke. When we have a neighbor who grills yet doesn't have a smoker, we often tell them we're going to have a rack free in the smoker if they want to smoke something on it (they prepare it and we smoke it appropriately for them). You should see the smiles it elicits, as I know we often drive the neighbors crazy with the grilling and smoking smells coming from our backyard!

To smoke some tomatoes, we core them and then cut them into quarters, but only go about a half-inch deep with the cuts (i.e., don't cut through the tomato). Season the tomatoes as per your taste, such as with oregano or fresh basil and perhaps some garlic powder (or fresh garlic minced or pressed into a paste with your knife). And of course, some freshly ground black pepper. Clean one or two green onions and put them across the tomatoes, using two green onions made into an "X" across each tomato. We smoke them about an hour or more, but remove them before they get too soft and "collapse." Sometimes we add some Parmesan, Romano or Manchego cheese to the tomato -- use anything you like that goes well with tomatoes. Like them spicy? Add some minced tasso, too!

Griff said:
I currently have 6 racks of BB ribs on my 22 inches right now. 3 on the top, 3 on the bottom. I could have easily put them in a rack on the top shelf, but I like to cook them horizontally when possible. I have a close friend whose wife's mother is in hospice now. I told him I was bringing over ribs, potato salad, blueberry cobbler and homemade ice cream this afternoon.
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What a kind and thoughtful friend you are! And what a spread you're bringing them, too. We, too, are making homemade ice cream today -- mocha ice cream with Pepperidge Farm White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies and some Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies broken up and added in at the end! Mmmmmm!
 
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Michelle in New Orleans said:
We, too, are making homemade ice cream today -- mocha ice cream with Pepperidge Farm White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies and some Milk Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies broken up and added in at the end! Mmmmmm!
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Michelle,
Don't go away mad, just go away! :p
I'm going to start looking for a vacation home in NOLA if you keep that up!
 
Bob Correll said:
Michelle,
Don't go away mad, just go away! :p
I'm going to start looking for a vacation home in NOLA if you keep that up!
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You cracked me up, Bob! I haven't been here in a while (my mistake, trust me. I've had some health problems) and at first I did a double-take. But as usual, you made me laugh. Ice cream came out super BTW.
 
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