First Run


 
Dewey Dewlaney

Dewey Dewlaney

New member
Goodmorning all,

FTP Ive been reading so much all over this site now that I bought my first smoker. Thank you to all the people who have shared their ways so I have an idea of how to get started!

I picked up this 18 inch used on marketplace locally. Looks like it may have been used twice or less but it’s my first attempt so I’m thinking to do a dry run to figure out holding temp.

Do I fill her up this way and pour lit briqs in the center? All I have currently is KBB and a bit of lump charcoal from the owner

Would it be so bad to lay some thick cut bacon after I figure out holding temps for my “first cook”?
 

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Dewey,
Welcome and congrats on the used WSM 18.
There are a lot of ways to fire up the WSM but the most popular is probably the minion method and even with that everyone has slight variations. Check out this link from our home page. But the short version is fill up the charcoal ring, light some and place them on top. Read the details from our fearless leader Chris. Good luck and enjoy!
www.virtualweberbullet.com

Firing Up Your Weber Bullet 2/2 - The Virtual Weber Bullet

How to fire-up the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker using the Minion Method and several variations, including waterless cooking, using lump charcoal, and more.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
 
Cool thank you. I was mostly referring to the "dry run" to figure out temps and holding the temp as a total newb. I should need to do a whole 8 hour dry run full of charcoal... a halfsized minion method should at least get me the hang of the process right?

And thinking that I could probably use the tail end of the "dry run" as a way to smoke some thick cut bacon... any thoughts on that?
 
Welcome to the family, Dewey !

I would probably wait for another time for the bacon. End of a dry run probably isn't the most ideal since the heat source will not be consistant at that time. Although, you wouldn't hurt it, if you wanted to try...

Bob (from the other side of the IE)
 
Dewey Dewlaney said:
Cool thank you. I was mostly referring to the "dry run" to figure out temps and holding the temp as a total newb. I should need to do a whole 8 hour dry run full of charcoal... a halfsized minion method should at least get me the hang of the process right?
Click to expand...
First of all, welcome and congrats on your new to you WSM!
If you really want to get the " hang of the process", load up some meat and let the WSM settle in. ( adjust vents as you need, to get to target temp)
Trying to do the same on an empty smoker is not the same.
 
Dewey Dewlaney said:
Cool thank you. I was mostly referring to the "dry run" to figure out temps and holding the temp as a total newb. I should need to do a whole 8 hour dry run full of charcoal... a halfsized minion method should at least get me the hang of the process right?

And thinking that I could probably use the tail end of the "dry run" as a way to smoke some thick cut bacon... any thoughts on that?
Click to expand...
I honestly don't think you need an 8 hr. dry run to get a feel for it. If you do the dry run with water in the pan, which helps you a lot to keep temps down, I wouldn't try the bacon then. I cook Bacon at 400° and you won't get that with water in the pan.
 
Dewey,
I have really been thinking about this. If I was you I would start with the minion method, water in the water pan and work to get it into the 225 to 275 range. I would also prep and do this recipe.
www.virtualweberbullet.com

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Boneless skinless chicken breasts are super-simple, healthy, versatile, and easy when cooked in bulk using the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Brine them for 30-60 minutes for better moisture and flavor.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
There are many people here who do not like BSCB, but this is a staple in my house and we love it. The reason I recommend this is it is a simple shorter cook that is supposed to be done at lower them 225 to 275 (where all my other poultry I cook over 300). This would allow you to see what happens when you throw some meat on there without having to do an expensive piece of meat or a piece that would take al long time. At 225 it always takes me over two hours.
 
Wow I love all these ideas and I knew there would be such great support here.

Bob Bass said:
Welcome to the family, Dewey !

I would probably wait for another time for the bacon. End of a dry run probably isn't the most ideal since the heat source will not be consistant at that time. Although, you wouldn't hurt it, if you wanted to try...

Bob (from the other side of the IE)
Click to expand...
Good to Meet you Bob. Good to meet another SoCal pit boss.

timothy said:
First of all, welcome and congrats on your new to you WSM!
If you really want to get the " hang of the process", load up some meat and let the WSM settle in. ( adjust vents as you need, to get to target temp)
Trying to do the same on an empty smoker is not the same.
Click to expand...
I get what you’re saying so I loaded up the smoker with a 7lb pork butt. Cruising at 255 in the chamber seeing if I can drop the temperature a little more

Thank you to Lew and Steve also for your input. That’s just what I was looking for.

Michael I appreciate that chicken recipe and will give that a go for another try at those temps.
 
Last edited:
Dewey,
Way to go for it with a 7 lb pork shoulder! I am not sure if you have read about this, but that shoulder is going to cruise until about 160 then hit the stale. It will take a good bit of time to go from that temp until 170 ish and then it will climb nicely until it hits probe tender at somewhere 190 to 200.
 
Michael Richards said:
Dewey,
Way to go for it with a 7 lb pork shoulder! I am not sure if you have read about this, but that shoulder is going to cruise until about 160 then hit the stale. It will take a good bit of time to go from that temp until 170 ish and then it will climb nicely until it hits probe tender at somewhere 190 to 200.
Click to expand...
Oh right well that will be fun. It’s a great day outdoors. Thank you! Looks like I should have loaded the charcoal a little more but it’s fun to be doing this
 
Dewey Dewlaney said:
Oh right well that will be fun. It’s a great day outdoors. Thank you! Looks like I should have loaded the charcoal a little more but it’s fun to be doing this
Click to expand...
If you hit that stale and start to run low on fuel, you can do one of two things, option one, take the pork off the smoker, wrap in two layers of foil and put it in the over at the same temp as you were going on the smoker and finish it in there. Once it hits 160s you are not going to get much more smoke flavor after that point.
Option 2, keep this crash course of learning going and add charcoal mid cook. Go down to the videos and check out adding fuel mid cook.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Operating Tips & Modifications - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Usage tips, modifications, frequently asked questions, and informational videos about the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com

Again options are lit coals, unlit coal right through the access door. Or do the hot swat were you move the middle section and refill the bottom section.
 
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Had to finish this giant rump in the oven at 275 to get internal temp to 190 and it is a tasty mf. Thank you Michael for that finisher idea... made me happy to have it finish rather than keep loading up charcoal all night.

Next cook will be under ~4 lbs so I can get it done in fewer than 15 hours but what a journey it was. Gonna clean off the grates and ash so I can plan out a cook for next weekend. Thank you for all the tips!
53D834A4-1132-4AA7-8C61-6B64147FD5FB.jpeg
 
Nice work, the pork looks great! Now that you have your first WSM cook under your belt, the sky's the limit!

Those long cooks take a bit of planning, but the results are spectacular. You can run pulled pork a bit hotter if you want, 275F isn't unreasonable, and should speed things up a bit.

Nice work!

R
 
Dewey,
Great first run with the WSM 18, how was the ability to hold temps?
I agree with Rich, when I do a pork shoulder they are either a late night start at 235 to 245 through the night and usually done early afternoon and in the cooler with towels to rest until dinner. Or I do an early (by 5 am) start and run at 275 and try to get it done an hour before dinner to get a little rest, but that is more stressful with all that pressure so I do mostly overnight cooks. Welcome to the club and like Rich said after doing a longer cook like this, you are ready to do so much!
 
Michael Richards said:
Dewey,
I have really been thinking about this. If I was you I would start with the minion method, water in the water pan and work to get it into the 225 to 275 range. I would also prep and do this recipe.
www.virtualweberbullet.com

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Boneless skinless chicken breasts are super-simple, healthy, versatile, and easy when cooked in bulk using the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. Brine them for 30-60 minutes for better moisture and flavor.
www.virtualweberbullet.com www.virtualweberbullet.com
There are many people here who do not like BSCB, but this is a staple in my house and we love it. The reason I recommend this is it is a simple shorter cook that is supposed to be done at lower them 225 to 275 (where all my other poultry I cook over 300). This would allow you to see what happens when you throw some meat on there without having to do an expensive piece of meat or a piece that would take al long time. At 225 it always takes me over two hours.
Click to expand...
I have to agree with this. I know the sound of boneless skinless chicken doesn't sound all that "whoopie". But I still do it every soo often. I don't get cheep frozen chicken though. But it is mighty tastey.
I vacuum bag it and freeze it. makes good burritos. or it's just plain old good with BBQ sauce and tater chips!
 
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