First Smoke - mild success

[Marc L]

Hey all,

Thanks for all the great information and posts on this site! I got my 18" WSM 2 weeks ago and did my first smoke this Sunday - a chicken. Not sure I'd consider it an absolute total success. The chicken weighed 8.3 lbs. From what I've read a 5 lbs chicken takes about 2.5 hours, so I figured this chicken would smoke no more than 4.5 hours. I was wrong. I started too late (2 PM) and took the chicken out at 6:30 and finished it up for 30 minutes in a 350 oven. Not what I wanted. But, it turned out excellent anyway - skin was golden brown when I removed from the smoker and a great smokey flavor. I used 2 chunks of applewood. Lesson learned - start early! Anyway, here are 2 questions I could use some help with.

1. Temperature. The good news is that I easily kept the WSM in the 210-245 range according to the dome thermometer. But, I also used a brand new $10 12" Brinkmann cooking thermometer inserted through the top vent. The Brinkmann ALWAYS measured 25 degrees HOTTER than the dome (235-270). This was VERY confusing to me as my reading on this site indicated the temperature at the grate should be 10-12 degrees LOWER than the dome. I also have an old thermopen with a 4.5" probe and when also inserted into the top vent read about 15 degrees hotter than the Brinkmann which made me believe the Brinkmann was pretty accurate. I also tested both the Brinkmann and Thermopen in boiling water. The Brinkmann read 210 and the Thermopen read 208. So, do you think the dome thermometer is off OR does everything seem normal?

2. Charcoal. I used Stubbs briquets. I started with one full lit chimney. When the temperature started to drop a bit after 2.5 hours, I checked the charcoal. I was shocked to find most of it was gone! I quickly used tongs to insert many unlit briquets onto the few remaining tiny coals. That did the trick and I was able to keep the temperature good until I removed the chicken. I've read people are smoking for 12+ hours. I guess to do this, I would use the minion method - filling the charcoal ring with a layer of unlit charcoal and then put maybe 1/2 lit chimney on top? Advice? What's the recommendation for those using briquets on how much unlit and lit charcoal to use to keep the WMS burning for 5+ hours. I guess one lit chimney didn't go as far as I thought it would!! From what I read, Stubbs shouldn't burn much shorter than K.

Appreciate any and all comments!
Marc

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Hi Marc,
Total noob here so take what i say with a grain of salt. Now that being said iI do believe that the dome themometers are off a bit and actually i found my dome to real about 15 degrees cooler than my poulder that i used to monitor the cooking temp. I use a dual probe one for the cooker and one for the food. I also have a 2nd digital for more food. ( i like more food) As far as burn timeafter everything i studied on this site the minion method (sic) would be the way to get better burn time from your charcoal. A quick search will take you to several links on the subject. But basicly you put the amount of charcoal in the chamber you want to use and in a chimney you start 20 to 25 pieces of charcoal and drop them on top of the unlit charcoal build you smoker with all the vents open and adjust the vents as needed till you get your desired cook temp giving atleast 15 min inbetween vent adjustments. Doing this i was able to maintain a constant tep of approx 245 on my smoker first time use for 5 hours before i needed to play with it again. Well like i said i am a noob and someone with ALOT more expierence than i have will be along to hopefully correct an misinformation i have given ya. Remember just have fun as long as it's tasty it was done right.
-Bill

 

[Jeff R]

Sounds like the chicken was good, so the first cook was a success.

Yes, your weber thermometer is not accurate.

The minon method is the reverse of what you did. Fill the ring with unlit, add your half chimney of lit, and away you go. You can snuffout when finished and reuse what is left.

Welcome aboard

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Found the article i was looking for just added it to favs here it is

 

[Mike Freel]

I use the minon method and get about eight hours with virtually no adjusting of the vents. I sometimes have to add a little more fuel after ten to twelve hours. I am using Kingsford Blue.
Enjoy your smoker as you learn by the wonderful experience of producing great food.

Mike

 

[Monty House]

My grate is always 20-30 higher than dome (at least according to my Maverick ET-73.... which I happily get to retire due to the arrival of the ET-732. Let's hope Maverick did me right this time!)