First Time Smoke


 
D

Dave D2

New member
I am going to fire up my new 22.5 this weekend and try to cook some ribs. I debated ribs or a butt. The ribs won because I don't want to get up really early to do a butt this weekend.

I plan to cook baby back ribs at 275 for 2 hours, wrap and cook another 1 1/2 hours and then start checking for tenderness. When tender, unwrap, add sauce and cook another 10 min or so.

I plan to use 4 fist size chunks of apple wood. Is this the proper amount?

Also, instead of using an entire basket of charcoal minion method, can I just add one lit chimney on top of one unlit chimney? Or should I just do a full minion for the first time to get used to it and shut the cooker down when the cook is finished and save the rest of the coals for the next cook? The outside temp should be in the mid 60's...California.

Final question. After I add the hot coals to the basket, should I add the wood right away, assemble the cooker, get it to temp and then add ribs or should I assemble, get the cooker to temp, add wood and ribs at the same time?

Thanks for the help.
 
Dave D2 said:
Final question. After I add the hot coals to the basket, should I add the wood right away, assemble the cooker, get it to temp and then add ribs or should I assemble, get the cooker to temp, add wood and ribs at the same time?

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
I'm new to smoking and this something I'm still struggling with. But, this is how I have been doing it. Once the coals are lit and the WSM assembled. I try to give it time for the thicker smoke to clear. I've been allowing about 20 min. I have a hard time burning through charcoal without cooking. But, I'm going to have to allow more than that, I believe. After I've allowed as much smoke to clear as possible, I put the food on and then the wood. That way I don't get a face full of smoke while I'm loading food.
 
You should go ahead and use the full ring with the minion method. 4 chunks of smoke wood added right when you put your meat on should be sufficient depending on your taste.

When I first got my WSM it took a few cooks before it sealed up tight. Don't be surprised if it doesn't shut down right away. Mine did not until after the first few cooks even with the vents closed. Now that its well seasoned it shuts down very quickly when I close the vents.
 
I would do what Matt said and would add that I would put my wood in before I put my coals in, I want it under the coals not sitting on top. For me at least I found I get temp spikes when the wood sits on top and basically gets burned off fast. When under the coals instead of on top I get a nicer smoke longer and since there is not so much air hitting the wood chunks they tend to smolder and not burn up in a blaze.
Also (especially with a new smoker) you are going to have to watch the temp closely. never put your meats on when you still have billowing white smoke coming out. Wait for 20-30 minutes for it to come to temp range and the smoke to diminish.
Remember that the temp your seeing on the dome gauge will be higher than the grate for the first 30-60 minutes then the grate will be higher than the dome for anywhere from and hour to two hours or more. If you do not open the smoker dome they will eventually even out pretty close.
You are going to have to watch that temp coming up, when it starts getting say 25-30 degrees from where you want to cook start shutting down the lower vents to about 1/8 of open on all three. Wait fifteen minutes and see what it is doing and adjust more or less from there. I usually shut down the lower vent that faces the oncoming breeze completely and go from there. If you wait to long to start shutting it down after it has passed your target temp you are dealing with a runaway train and it will take a long time.
Once you get your WSM seasoned it is a lot easier to control temps as you will see, basically becoming a set it and forget it wonder.
Oh, another tip, make sure your side door and your dome vent are facing away from any breeze coming in, helps a lot when controling the smoker especially if its a windy day, good luck and post pics.
Bill
 
Matt and Bill,

Your posts help me a lot. This explains a lot of my confusion, especially this comment...

Also (especially with a new smoker) you are going to have to watch the temp closely. never put your meats on when you still have billowing white smoke coming out. Wait for 20-30 minutes for it to come to temp range and the smoke to diminish.
Remember that the temp your seeing on the dome gauge will be higher than the grate for the first 30-60 minutes then the grate will be higher than the dome for anywhere from and hour to two hours or more. If you do not open the smoker dome they will eventually even out pretty close.
Click to expand...

Not to hijack Dave's thread or anything, but another thing that has left me wondering was the length of time it takes my 18" to cool down. With all of the vents closed, it will hold 180 or so (according to the dome thermometer) for hours. I already have some Nomex from a different project that I was going to put around the seems. Do you think that's a good idea? I don't have too many cooks on my WSM at this point, maybe 6 or 8. Would it be better to allow more time for it to seal on its own?

Also, I like your reasoning for putting the wood under the charcoal. If I wait 30 minutes from the time I light my smoker, I can pretty much assume most of the smoke I'm seeing is either from the wood or it's light enough that I'd not be afraid to put my food on anyway.
 
Thank you for the replies. I will...
-Do the Minion Method
-Bury 4 fist size chunks of apple into the charcoal
-Wait 20-30 min after I add the hot coals to let temp stabilize and white billowing smoke to diminish (will adjust bottom vents as needed to get to desired temp during this time)
-Add the meat
-Drink a beer!
 
Too hot for my taste was always told anything over 250 wasn't smoking it's bbq so I try to always cook between 225 and 250
 
I think Matt and Bill have you well covered, but FWIW, I always put my meat on right away. I've never waited for the smoker to come to temp first and I've never had any issues with off flavors or anything.
 
I agree with Cullen on one thing, and I may have not said it right but you do not have to wait for your smoker to come to full temp. But i disagree with Cullen based on what i have read and seen personally. The initial heavy white smoke you get the first twenty plus minutes is a bitter acrid smoke and may have things in it that are not good for you. I make use of that time doing some things that need to be done, with ribs often applying my rub. When a smoker is running and smoking well the smoke is a bluish looking smoke. You do not have to wait for that smoke but I believe you should wait for the heavy white start up smoke to dissipate.
Another thing I do when i have the time is let the meat sit to let it come to room temp or at least not be 37 degrees. Cold meat can affect your smoker temps quite a bit as it will retard the heat rise enough to sometimes fool you when you walk away thinking you are set and find out all of a sudden it is now 50 degrees hotter in there when you return.
Everyone has their own way of doing things and Dave you will find what works best for you, these are some of the things that I have found out for myself.
 
I'm in the middle of my first smoke. I am using the Best Ribs in the Universe recipe from this site. I started the smoker with the minion method. Since this is the first time using it, I shut all 3 vents all the way at 200. It stayed at 208. I opened one vent 1/3 till it hit 225 then closed it again. It kept 225 for about 30-40 min. Then started dropping slowly so I opened one vent 1/3. It has been holding 225 for 1 1/2 hours now. Everything is going great! Will turn over ribs in another 1 1/2 hours as per the recipe and raise temp to 250-275 for 1-2 hours. Can't wait to eat!
 
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