First smoke - Mojo Wings - Pics and some questions


 
Sam Anthony

Sam Anthony

New member
Fired up my new (used) WSM 18.5 for the first time today. The cook went pretty well and here are some pics. Questions follow at the end. :confused:

Running at 275-285 for most of the cook. Nice sunny day here in Georgia!
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About halfway or so through I lifted the lid to baste on some more Mojo Sauce. Took just over two hours and about 3 beers to get the meat to about 165F. ;)
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Plated and ready to chow! Great smoke flavor but almost overwhelming. Some Mojo flavor but the Hickory was a bit much.
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Notice in the second pic the wings toward the front were cooking much faster than the ones in the back. My guess is the door is not sealing as there was a bunch of smoke coming through the door?

I used two chunks of hickory (about fist sized) for the cook and the smoke died down about an 1.5 hrs in the cook. The smoke flavor was nice but overwhelmed all the other flavors. Maybe I should have marinated a bit longer than the 3 hours I let it sit in the Mojo? Use only one chunk next time?

I crisped the skin on the grill for a couple minutes before serving. The skin bit through and had a nice crunch to it. The meat was juicy on most of the pieces except the ones toward the front on the top rack. Meat temps on the top rack was 165-168 with a few toward the front being 170. The bottom rack didn't have the same color (lighter) and was a bit lower temp at 163-166. I let the bottom rack go for about 15 more minutes while I crisped the wings on the grill from the top rack.

Pretty pleased overall with the meal. The family enjoyed it and I had a blast just sitting outside, jamming with some tunes, drinking a few Stella Artois Belgian Lagers and watching the smoke swirl in the breeze. :cool:
 
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We , the cook, are usually our own harshest critics.... Ur last paragraph says it all... And if that is what "it is all about!"... I am a newbie as well so u will probly get better advices from others...

Maybe try less wood or a milder wood (fruit version)... I think I rtemember somewhere that the part of grill closest to access door is hotter than others cuz of airflow...

All in all , a nice lookin plate !
 
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Nice! I'd cut back to one chunk if you want to decrease the smoke flavor. Chicken absorbs smoke pretty easy.

Also, the meat towards the rim will cook faster because the heat is coming up the side of the water pan. So adjust accordingly.

Great looking cook, and welcome to smoking!
 
I usually use apple or cherry wood for chicken, hickory is a bit much for something small like wings, but that is just my preference, great looking meal though.
 
Nice cook, your wings look great! Try apple or pecan on chicken sometime, really works well.
 
Sam, you should be able to shape that door so that it fits fairly tight. Check the latch also, the catch may need to be bent but go easy with it. Your smoker looked pretty clean inside from the original pictures especially the grill straps so maybe it just needs to get gunked up a bit.

As others have said apple is great for chicken, poultry generally seems to not need as much smoke as pork or beef. Combinations of wood work too like apple and cherry. Did you use your water pan? If so next time try foiling it and go dry to get the temps up for the skin. You may not need to use the grill. Set a foil pie plate inside the water pan with an airspace. That should help keep the drippings from burning.

Watcha cookin next?
 
Nice looking meal Sam, If only using the top grate to cook wings next time try without the water pan, much more even cooking and a lot less fuel usage. Also i would bump the cooking temp past 300, i like to cook chicken pieces at least 325+. Also chicken absorbs smoke very well so not much wood needed to get great smoke flavor. Good thing about cooking there is plenty of different ways to cook something. Good luck!
 
Thanks again to all for the kind words. Learning from all the comments and it is very much appreciated.

For the water pan, I wrapped it in HD aluminum foil (no water) and placed a foil wrapped clay saucer in the pan for a bit of a heat sink. This worked pretty well and I had read enough on the forum here to know that I really didn't want to mess with water. No liquids were harmed during this cook...well there was about 3 beers that bit the dust.

I used a Charcoal Champion dial thermometer I picked up at Bass Pro Shop for gauging the temps. Not certain on the accuracy. My Maverick is not here yet so hopefully next weekends cook (if I can wait that long) will be with the Maverick.

Gary S. - The wife has requested some ribs. Who am I to argue? :cool:
 
Sam if you are doing ribs for the first time I would suggest you do use the water pan. Thats about the only thing I do use it for. If you are foilng the ribs maybe not so important but otherwise I really like to use the water pan with ribs.
 
Gary S - Thanks for the tip on the water pan for the ribs. What does that do for ya? Better temp control? Moisture?
 
I like the moisture in the air water provides. I'm a dry rub fan so I find the humidity helps with the cook. If you do the foil method then I don't think it matters as much because the foil helps even out the cook and aids in retaining the moisture. Others may not agree, some here do not use water at all.
Check out this link and you will not go wrong. http://virtualweberbullet.com/rib1.html
You can always venture off your own way later but this method is excellent and we love ribs done this way except I just do the initial rub at the beginning, no sauce.
 
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