First cook - as it happens!


 
C

Chris Tibble

New member
I went to the butchers this morning and got a bit carried away.

I bought a 4 rib beef joint, and a full rack of spare ribs. I also got some sausages to smoke as well. He also very kindly gave me some fatty off cuts to put on the bottom shelf to help with the seasoning.

The pictures I'll link to in the next post.

Got the bowl full of Big K Restaurant Grade Charcoal, and lit the chimney about 1/4 full of lump wood. I didn't have any wood chunks, but I did have some chips, so I put the in little piles in the middle of the charcoal pile. Put the kettle on ready to fill up the water pan.

The chimney was ready, so I scattered the coals around. The kettle I have barely covered the bottom of the pan in water, I got to 4 lots and about 2/3 full before I said 'sod it, that's enough water! I also forgot to foil the water pan... :oops:

It got up to temperature quite quickly, so I hurried up and put the rub on the meat. The beef ribs got salt & pepper, and the pork got salt, pepper, garlic and paprika.

I ran it with the 3 bottom vents at 1/2 to get started, but I've not got them all closed aside from one at 1/4. Temperature is sitting at 243 right now, a rise from 235 when I put the meat on.

Temperature is still rising a touch, so if it gets past 260, I'll close down the last vent, I think.

Any comments or advice would be gratefully received!
 
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Congratulations on your new WSM and good luck with your first cook Chris.
Chris Tibble said:
With all the bottom vents shut, the temperature is at 270 and holding steady...
Click to expand...
That seems high (IMO) with all of the bottom vents closed. But if it's running fine don't worry about it until your cook is done.
When your cook is finished, and the top and bottom vents are all closed, the WSM should snuff itself out and cool in an hour or two. If it doesn't you should probably check to be sure the bottom of the center section is "round".
Once you have gorged yourself on your terrific BBQ, measure the diameter of the bottom of the center section at multiple points to make sure it has the same diameter at the widest point (I would measure at 12 o'clock, 2 o'clock, and 4 o'clock). If it's out of round (all of your measurements aren't within an 1/8" or so), the WSM will leak and cause you to have difficulty keeping temps under control. Give the bottom of the center section a gentle but firm squeeze and re-measure. Repeat until it's round.
Then again, it may not be an issue for you.
 
It's up to 284 now, but hopefully this is just a new WSM running hot. Thank you for the tip, I'll get the tape measure out after I can move again. I have a feeling I'll be feeding my freezer as well as me!

Need to pop to the shops to get a spritz bottle and a squeezy bottle to sauce the spare ribs!
 
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Chris Tibble said:
It's up to 284 now, but hopefully this is just a new WSM running hot.

Need to pop to the shops to get a spritz bottle and a squeezy bottle to sauce the spare ribs!
Click to expand...

Ya, that's pretty warm for having the bottom v's closed. A common problem (not for me but others complain) is the door--leaks around that more so than the top and middle rim. AND once the temps get high(er), it takes a lot longer to cool off than it does to heat up.

AND don't open the lid/door to let the heat escape. That will just increase the air flow to the coals and they'll light up even more. By (making the mistake of) opening the lid to let the heat escape, you'll get an immediate drop in temps on the thermometer (and you'll think phew, it worked) but what you don't see are the coals jumping for joy at getting more air to increase their burn.

Go easy on the sauce (first time anyways). Remember, the star of the show is the meat that you seasoned, not what somebody else made and put in a bottle (or even if you made it, go easy).
 
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I just got in and the temps are down to 279, so a little better. Not sure about my prove placement but my beef ribs are up to 187 already.

The door is particularly bad I think, I reshaped it a bit when I first put it in, but there are still some gaps I can clearly see through. I'll give it another go after everything has cooled. Failing that, is there a heatproof gasket strip I can buy?

Absolutely about the sauce. I'm following the Aaron Franklin YouTube video on ribs, so you water it down and squirt lightly. For what I paid for these ribs, I want maximum meaty taste!
 
So that was my 3 hours up - I opened the lid and saw this!

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The beef ribs have really got narrower and taller!

Post spritz and sauce:

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These are the gaps in my door:

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I'll upload a video of it smoking at the start so you can see.
 
The spare ribs are foiled, they look cooked but look a looooong way from tender yet.

Another 2 hours before my next peek!

The beef ribs are at 194 after 3 hours - do I ignore the temp and take them off when they wobble?
 
Chris
Maybe I can help you using flickr.
1) chose the pic you like
2) click on it to open
3) in the right bottom corner there are some signals. Choose the arrow wich is turned to right
4) click the arrow
5) it opens a box
6) choose BBCode
7) choos the dimension you like
8) then click ctrl+c
9) move to the forum in your post
10) click ctrl+v to copy the lic's link in the post
11) done
 
Well dinner was served!

The sausages were perfect, nice smoke ring and the smoke combined nicely with the flavour.

The ribs were a bit overdone after 5 hours, I did 3 hours unwrapped and 2 hours foiled. The meat was delicious but I could just pull the bone straight out; it wasn't possible to hold the meat by the bone.

The beef ribs had another hour but we're still a bit underdone. Another hour or two were necessary for it to really tenderise. Still tasted good, and came clean off the bone, but, as ever, it needed more time.

The WSM is definitely a bit leaky. I've had all the vents shut for 2 hours and the temperature is still up at 190. I'll have a look at the door and whether the centre section is round.

Thanks for the input, think I'll be doing something similar next weekend!

Pictures to follow.
 
The ribs were overdone because of the higher heat. If you have the same heat issue next time, for spares cut the first time to 2 hours, then foil for 1 1/2 hr then unfoil and put them back in for about 30 minutes to firm up the bark, testing when "you're in the home stretch" (normal time I follow for spares is 3-2-1 and for backs 2-2-1) based on 225-250o.

BUT, (and this is a big but) those hours I showed are not hard and fast times, you have to "test" them as you get near the end of the final segment . They're done when they're done. They don't adhere to a time schedule.
 
Thank you for these tips. I'm doing another cook next weekend, so I'll have a look at those timings next time.

I think I might have also been too generous with the number of coals I put in at the start. I had quite a pile on nice I had them all lit - I wish I'd taken a picture so I could get opinions. Ah well, next time!
 
Chris, on your video there is a lot of smoke escaping from the door and the edge of the lid. That also means air can get in and you will have trouble controlling the temp with the vents.

Check the fit of the lid is tight and not out of shape. The standard door really lets the WSM down. You may need to fit gaskets to get a better seal.

The restaurant grade Big K lumpwood is good. I used it on my first overnight cook last weekend but it does run hot and it was rightly pointed out to me that briquettes (Weber or Aussie Heat Beads) are much more consistent and easy to control.
 
I agree with Gary. I find that using Aussie Heat Beads or Weber 240's will help a lot to maintaining stable temps. BTW, sounds like you had a good cook anyway. Keep at it mate.

:wsm22:
 
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