First smoke on the WSM - disappointed. Help!


 
James Mundy said:
If I'm cooking chicken then I start with a whole chimney full of lit and leave all the vents open 100%, you'll get your high temps in no time. If you use the coffee can/minion method with only a few coals lit it'll take an age to reach 300+.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Next time for high heat I'll use a full chimney! Makes perfect sense. Do you only leave them at 100% until you reach your desired temp? Then what do you set each of them to in order to maintain?
 
Christopher H said:
Awesome. Next time for high heat I'll use a full chimney! Makes perfect sense. Do you only leave them at 100% until you reach your desired temp? Then what do you set each of them to in order to maintain?
Click to expand...
If you wait until desired temp you waited too long.....temps will shoot past your desired temp.
Start closing off air when you are 20-30 degrees from desired temp.
Typically you will close two bottom vents at this point and then use one bottom vent as the master control.
The temp behavior will tell you what to do with that one vent.
 
Christopher H said:
Awesome. Next time for high heat I'll use a full chimney! Makes perfect sense. Do you only leave them at 100% until you reach your desired temp? Then what do you set each of them to in order to maintain?
Click to expand...

With chicken as I'm looking for good skin and the wsm is designed for low n slow I just leave the vents open 100% for the whole duration of the cook, this method also helps to recover temp quickly after opening up to add meat. So I don't really aim for a temp per say and just let the wsm run as hot as it can go, anywhere above 300 and I'm happy, highest I've seen it go is around 375 after around an hour and a half.
 
James Mundy said:
With chicken as I'm looking for good skin and the wsm is designed for low n slow I just leave the vents open 100% for the whole duration of the cook, this method also helps to recover temp quickly after opening up to add meat. So I don't really aim for a temp per say and just let the wsm run as hot as it can go, anywhere above 300 and I'm happy, highest I've seen it go is around 375 after around an hour and a half.
Click to expand...

How much fuel do you use?
 
I'm new to the WSM as well. I have about 7 cooks in it now, I always fill the charcoal ring up and leave a small hole in the middle of the charcoal... Then use the chimney to fill the void.. I use what's needed for a cook and shut her down when the meats done.... That way I can reuse what's left... It works great.. It's not like your wasting anything...
 
Christopher H said:
How much fuel do you use?
Click to expand...

For chicken I'll usually just use a full chimney of lit added to maybe half a chimney of unlit. You can just go with the single chimney of lit but I add a little extra just to be on the safe side, when you're done just close all the vents and re use whatever is left, so you're not wasting anything.
 
If you really want to get it hot fast, I light 2 full chimneys and dump them in at the same time. I do the same for turkeys except I put a layer or two of unlit in before dumping the hot coals in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top