First attempt at St. Louis Ribs and Keri's famous beans, but I have a question.


 
JeffB

JeffB

TVWBB Pro
My 22 WSM is taking a long time to get up to temp which is targeted for 250*. It's about 184* after 30 minutes. I running Minion Method with 10 lit and a 1/2 full water pan.

Should I go ahead and put the ribs on the smoker or wait for temps to climb higher?

Thanks.
 
If I was doing the cook Jeff, I would wait for target temp to be reached. Remember that when you place cold meat into the smoker, the temp will drop and take some time to come back. That is why I wait for the target temp to be reached. Takes less time for temp to rebound.
 
Wait. My 18 usually takes 40-50 min. No worries. Make sure all vents open. Prop side door open for a bit more draft .
 
I went ahead and put them on at 190*. Temps hit 216* within 10 minutes and out the door I went to run errands.

I had left the ribs on the counter for an hour before going on the smoker so I didn't think they'd affect my temps much.

Pics to come!

Smoke On!
 
I'm using my DigiQ at a target temp of 250*. I think the water is what's slowing the temp from rising quickly. And 10 lit is much fewer than I normally use. I have all vents open.
 
I don't have any experience with a 22, but my 18 needs about 12 lit coals to get to 250. I have found that the number of lit coals determines the cooker temp and the number of unlit determines the length of the cook. Roughly.

Jeff
 
With my 18.5 I usually light 12-15 coals. I wait till it's no more than 50 degrees below target temp and that the heavy white smoke has just about stopped then I add the meat and my smoke wood. This way I know that the smoke I see is coming from the wood. I should also add that on long cooks (more than 3-4 hours) I bury approx half of the wood and add the remaining wood when I add the meat.
 
I got back from barber and temp had spiked to 315*+. Yikes Raggie! I closed both vents all the way and it settled in at 275*. Wrapped in foil after 2 hours and going to check for bend in about 1 hour. Just made some Fat Johnnys Bastardized Piedmont sauce and now I'm resting.
 
Jeff,
When using the DigiQ you should have all bottom vents closed and the top vent open and no water in the pan. The pan should contain three sheets of HD foil that have been balled up and then spread open. Then cover the pan with additional sheet of foil to catch the drippings.
 
Al Silverman said:
Jeff,
When using the DigiQ you should have all bottom vents closed and the top vent open and no water in the pan.
Click to expand...

I've tried this approach and had trouble getting the 22 WSM up to temp which is why I opened the lower vents.


Al Silverman said:
The pan should contain three sheets of HD foil that have been balled up and then spread open. Then cover the pan with additional sheet of foil to catch the drippings.
Click to expand...

What is the purpose of this?

Thanks for the comments!
 
This method of balling up the foil was told to me by Bob Trudnak @ The BBQ Guru Co. He said that it acted like a kind of heat diffuser to moderate the temps from below without it acting as a heat sink.
 
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