first cook on 22" WSM


 
B

Bryan Elkins

New member
well into my first cook on the WSM 22....

first thing this morning, fired it up, minion method style, and did the temperature sure soar! glad this was the trial run. maybe a chimney of un-lit under a lit chimney full was too hot. at one point it was at 400 degree's.

i opened it wide up and let it burn out, re did it with 1 chimney, and it was holding steady at around 260. about 2 hours later, dropped below 240, added another chimney, and holding good. i have the aubrens atc for this and i think it is too small a fan for the WSM 22. might have to look into a bigger fan. i was trying to keep it at 275...

thoughts?
 
I have spent a few cooking days figuring out my digiq dx with the 10 cfm fan. The best advice I can give is make a note of how much charcoal you put in the chimney. That has made a huge difference in my temps. If I want a 350 degree cook, I used about 3/4 of a chimney to light it up. If I want a 275 cook, 30-40 bricks max. Just keep a written log of what you do and how it worked.

I am also noting how much charcoal I need to cook with. If I'm cooking chicken for 2 hours, maybe just 1 to 1.5 chimneys of unlit in the base. For four hours, 2-3 chimneys? For a 8 hour smoke, right now I just fill it up with a 16.6 or 20 lb. bag. (I'm still working on that one) If I can get that set, I can then concentrate on the meat itself.

BTW, if you have a 6.5 cfm fan, it should be fine for the 22. I have the 10 cfm and most of the time, it's choked back to 50% or less during the cook. The biggest thing I need to work on is to be ready with whatever I'm doing when the lid is open so I can get it shut and keep the temps steady. Don't take the lid off and then remember to go back inside for the foil or a basting brush or something. Have it all ready, open the lid and then get in and get out.

If you find some more tips, please share!
 
with just 30-40 briquettes, how long will that keep your WSM at 275? seems like it wouldn't be very long....

And i totally agree about the minimal amount of time having the cover off.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Bryan Elkins:
with just 30-40 briquettes, how long will that keep your WSM at 275? seems like it wouldn't be very long....
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The 30-40 is the amount I light in the chimney, not on the grate. My other point was noting how much charcoal I need to cook with, that's what is on the grate. I need a few more cooks to get that dialed in so right now I am in error by adding too much, rather than too little.

I use the chimney amount to initially set the temp and the amount on the grate to determine the length of burn time.
 
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