David Herzfeld
New member
I got my 18" WSM through a Work promotion. It arrived last week, and we set it up on Saturday morning. I read up lots of tips and experiences on here and felt like I was prepared for a successful experience.
I started with a 6.5# USDA Choice brisket, trimmed of most of the fat, with only a small layer on top. I did minimal trimming. I applied a dry rub on Saturday night, which consisted of brown sugar, paprika, salt, garlic & onion powder, red pepper, black pepper, and chili powder. It stayed in the refrig over night wrapped in foil.
I prepared the WSM by lining the water pan bottom with foil, filling the charcoal pan with Kingsford blue along with several chunks of hickory. I filled my chimney starter with ~20 briquets, and newspaper starter. All this was arranged before going to bed.
I got up at 5:30 Sunday morning. First made coffee. Then, lit the chimney starter and waited about 15 minutes. Once the flames were well over the top of the chimney, I poured the hot coals into a depression I had created in the charcoal ring of the WSM - The Minion Method. I assembled the WSM, and added water to the pan. The brisket went on at 5:55 am.
Almost as soon as I assembled the smoker, the temp in the lid thermometer was already at 200 F and climbing,so I pinched the bottom vents to 50%, and it leveled out about 230 F. For the rest of the day, I monitored the temp, tweaked the vents some, added a little water a couple times, and generally enjoyed the ease of temperature control. I turned the brisket and spritzed it with apple juice beginning at 11:00 am and continued to do this on the "halftimes" for the rest of the afternoon.
Around 4:00 or so, the brisket internal temp was about 175 F, and the vents were wide open with no appreciable effect on the top temperature. I added about 10 briquets and a couple wood chunks and the temp came up a little. The brisket came off at 4:30 or so with an internal temp between 175 and 180 F. I wrapped it in foil, and put it in the oven at 300 F for about an hour. It came out of the oven and rested on the counter for 45 minutes. Then we had fork tender brisket that absolutely melted in our mouths. My normally finicky eating kids went back for more.
All around a great experience, and much of it due to the vast body of knowledge from this site. I don't think following the manual that came with the smoker would have resulted in the success, so a BIG thanks to all the contributors on here!
I started with a 6.5# USDA Choice brisket, trimmed of most of the fat, with only a small layer on top. I did minimal trimming. I applied a dry rub on Saturday night, which consisted of brown sugar, paprika, salt, garlic & onion powder, red pepper, black pepper, and chili powder. It stayed in the refrig over night wrapped in foil.
I prepared the WSM by lining the water pan bottom with foil, filling the charcoal pan with Kingsford blue along with several chunks of hickory. I filled my chimney starter with ~20 briquets, and newspaper starter. All this was arranged before going to bed.
I got up at 5:30 Sunday morning. First made coffee. Then, lit the chimney starter and waited about 15 minutes. Once the flames were well over the top of the chimney, I poured the hot coals into a depression I had created in the charcoal ring of the WSM - The Minion Method. I assembled the WSM, and added water to the pan. The brisket went on at 5:55 am.
Almost as soon as I assembled the smoker, the temp in the lid thermometer was already at 200 F and climbing,so I pinched the bottom vents to 50%, and it leveled out about 230 F. For the rest of the day, I monitored the temp, tweaked the vents some, added a little water a couple times, and generally enjoyed the ease of temperature control. I turned the brisket and spritzed it with apple juice beginning at 11:00 am and continued to do this on the "halftimes" for the rest of the afternoon.
Around 4:00 or so, the brisket internal temp was about 175 F, and the vents were wide open with no appreciable effect on the top temperature. I added about 10 briquets and a couple wood chunks and the temp came up a little. The brisket came off at 4:30 or so with an internal temp between 175 and 180 F. I wrapped it in foil, and put it in the oven at 300 F for about an hour. It came out of the oven and rested on the counter for 45 minutes. Then we had fork tender brisket that absolutely melted in our mouths. My normally finicky eating kids went back for more.
All around a great experience, and much of it due to the vast body of knowledge from this site. I don't think following the manual that came with the smoker would have resulted in the success, so a BIG thanks to all the contributors on here!
