First cook success!


 
J

JSpradlin

New member
Today I completed my first cook on my WSM 14.5. I did the Hot and Fast Chicken from Chris and it was AWESOME! The chicken came out incredibly moist and the skin was excellent.

A few notes from my cook:
-I used just one chicken instead of two and split the dry rub in half accordingly and only used one chunk of apple wood
-My smoker temperature was measured on the top grate using the Thermoworks Smoke probe. I quickly got to around 360 for the first 30 minutes of the cook but after that my temps quickly fell to 300 with all vents open. I started with one full chimney of lit KBB and added half a chimney of unlit charcoal on top until it all turned ashy before adding the chicken. I felt like my chicken temperature was stalling around 150 degrees in the breast around the one hour mark so I added 3-4 unlit briquettes through the door and my temps returned to the 325-330 mark to finish the cook around 80 minutes total.
-One weird thing that I noticed was that my Thermoworks Smoke probe was in the chicken breast and was stuck around 158 degrees for several minutes. I took off the lid and checked with my instant thermometer at this point and the actual temperature was 163. So I removed the chicken shortly thereafter and it was perfect! Any thoughts or other experiences with the Smoke probes and why I might have gotten that reading? I know that instant thermometers will give me a faster result and that the Smoke is just there to tell me how I am progressing towards target temp.

Next up for me will be ribs! But I can confidently say that I love my WSM and that was some of the best chicken I have ever had.

Jeff
 

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Jeff congrats on a great first cook, I love my little 14 WSM. Got a pork shoulder overnight cook that just went on a few minutes ago. In my experience chicken has a stale around 150, no matter if I am doing low and slow breast like this recipe from Chris
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Or if I am doing whole chickens hot and fast. As for the thermoworks smoke, I do not use that product, but most people who do love them. Keep an eye on it as you keep using it and see if this was a one off issue, if it keeps miss reading you may want to constant the company. Welcome to the WSM club, and I can't wait to hear how the ribs go.
 
That looks awesome Jeff.. I'm sure you enjoyed it.

I'll second the stall. Did a beer can chicken L&S beer can chicken yesterday and stalled at 140-ish for a quite a while. Used an I-Grill thermo for grate temp and a Meater+ in the breast of the chicken. Pulled at 163F internal and it was spot on.
 
Tasty Looking chicken!

I have to tell you one of the best ways to run the 14 is to fill the charcoal basket (i welded the charcoal grate to the ring) full and then light it with a torch from the side.

The Side light method

For short cooks like chicken I'll shut all the vents when done to snuff it. Next time I use it (unless its damp, if its damp I'll dump the used charcoal)I shake the ash add new to the old and start again. For longer cooks I always start with fresh. 1-2 chunks is usually enough smoke.

The longest cook I've got out of one load using the side light method & running 265° was 10 hours.

Anyways just my two cents. I've used this with all my mini-wsm's, my 18" and now the 14. I never stockpile charcaol anymore, no need the 14 just sips it.
 
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