Getting started. What do I need.Best place to buy
- Thread starter Pete Golg
- Start date
Rolf Jacobsen
TVWBB Emerald Member
Welcome to forum Pete. You'll probably get lots of answers but here is the link that should help you out.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html
Personally I would purchase the WSM thorough the link provided here at Amazon. Yes to the Weber chiminey. I like the Maverick 732 for a wireless. Starting out I suggest good ol' Kingsford Blue. As far as a rib rack goes, I'm afraid I can't help you there.
Good Luck!
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html
Personally I would purchase the WSM thorough the link provided here at Amazon. Yes to the Weber chiminey. I like the Maverick 732 for a wireless. Starting out I suggest good ol' Kingsford Blue. As far as a rib rack goes, I'm afraid I can't help you there.
Good Luck!
Chad M. Anders
TVWBB Member
Hi Pete. As Rolf mentioned the best place to buy is through Amazon using the link from TVWBB to help support the site. Amazon prices are as good as you'll find except for a rare sale here and there and shipping is free! Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi...N/B001I8ZTJ0/tvwb-20
You can add a Weber Rapid-Fire chimney on Amazon as well. I prefer a natural hardwood lump charcoal over Kingsford. Not sure where is best for you on that as I don't know your location. There are some free ship to store options available through Do It Best Hardware if you have one near you. Home Depot, Lowe's, or Menard's, or perhaps a local hardware store is another good place to check. My local Wal-Mart usually has Royal Oak hardwood briquettes during the "grilling season" and Royal Oak lump pretty much year round.
I've never used rib racks on a WSM. I have a set I use in my BDS that I'm hoping will fit in the big 22.5" WSM when it arrives. I do know Weber sells rib racks and they could be purchased in the bundle from Amazon. I can't vouch for their quality or usefulness personally, however I would be surprised if being from Weber they weren't up to the task.
Good luck and let us know how the first cook goes.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi...N/B001I8ZTJ0/tvwb-20
You can add a Weber Rapid-Fire chimney on Amazon as well. I prefer a natural hardwood lump charcoal over Kingsford. Not sure where is best for you on that as I don't know your location. There are some free ship to store options available through Do It Best Hardware if you have one near you. Home Depot, Lowe's, or Menard's, or perhaps a local hardware store is another good place to check. My local Wal-Mart usually has Royal Oak hardwood briquettes during the "grilling season" and Royal Oak lump pretty much year round.
I've never used rib racks on a WSM. I have a set I use in my BDS that I'm hoping will fit in the big 22.5" WSM when it arrives. I do know Weber sells rib racks and they could be purchased in the bundle from Amazon. I can't vouch for their quality or usefulness personally, however I would be surprised if being from Weber they weren't up to the task.
Good luck and let us know how the first cook goes.
Gary Hodgin
TVWBB Super Fan
Pete,
Welcome! I have a couple of comments.
1. You just missed a sale on Kingsford Original (Blue) charcoal at Home Depot and Walmart. There will probably be another one on Labor Day weekend. I have been using KB and am pretty satisfied. I plan to give Royal Oak lump (sold at Walmart around here) charcoal a try after I work my KB inventory down. Royal Oak is a hardwood lump charcoal and is more expensive than KB.
2. I use two remote thermometers. A Weber remote (Amazon) for meat and a BBQ Guru digi pit and meat probes. If I didn't have the digi, I'd go with the Maverick ET-732. It has a pit and meat probe. You will have to modify your Weber to get the probes in if you don't go through the top vent. There is some information on this in the Operating Tips and Modifications section on the home page. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html
3. I don't have a recommendation for a rib rack. I got an offset rib/roast combination rack from Amazon. It works well with small roast and boneless, skinless turkey breasts although it's a bear to clean and its not non-sticking. I can reduce the problem by coating with Pam but I always have some cleaning/sticking problems. I normally don't mess with the thing for roasts and breasts.
The rack doesn't work well at all for ribs on my 18.5" WSM. I'd planned on using half racks (BB backs) on the rib rack. The problem is that the gap in the rib rack is too wide for half racks to fit. This makes the rack pretty much useless for me. I mention this to warn you to be sure the rack will hold the type/size ribs you want to cook. I really think some of the other work arounds for ribs on the 18.5" are better than a rack, but that's my personal opinion and lot's of folks use racks. You can do 2 and maybe 3 flat by cutting them in half and using both the top and bottom grates. Here's a rack the rack I bought and would not recommend for half racks of baby backs.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi...7BY/thevirtualweberb
Welcome! I have a couple of comments.
1. You just missed a sale on Kingsford Original (Blue) charcoal at Home Depot and Walmart. There will probably be another one on Labor Day weekend. I have been using KB and am pretty satisfied. I plan to give Royal Oak lump (sold at Walmart around here) charcoal a try after I work my KB inventory down. Royal Oak is a hardwood lump charcoal and is more expensive than KB.
2. I use two remote thermometers. A Weber remote (Amazon) for meat and a BBQ Guru digi pit and meat probes. If I didn't have the digi, I'd go with the Maverick ET-732. It has a pit and meat probe. You will have to modify your Weber to get the probes in if you don't go through the top vent. There is some information on this in the Operating Tips and Modifications section on the home page. http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html
3. I don't have a recommendation for a rib rack. I got an offset rib/roast combination rack from Amazon. It works well with small roast and boneless, skinless turkey breasts although it's a bear to clean and its not non-sticking. I can reduce the problem by coating with Pam but I always have some cleaning/sticking problems. I normally don't mess with the thing for roasts and breasts.
The rack doesn't work well at all for ribs on my 18.5" WSM. I'd planned on using half racks (BB backs) on the rib rack. The problem is that the gap in the rib rack is too wide for half racks to fit. This makes the rack pretty much useless for me. I mention this to warn you to be sure the rack will hold the type/size ribs you want to cook. I really think some of the other work arounds for ribs on the 18.5" are better than a rack, but that's my personal opinion and lot's of folks use racks. You can do 2 and maybe 3 flat by cutting them in half and using both the top and bottom grates. Here's a rack the rack I bought and would not recommend for half racks of baby backs.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obi...7BY/thevirtualweberb
First and foremost Thanks for the quick reply and great advice. Put my order in on amazon.
Went with the wsm 18.5 also order the maverick 732, weber quick fire chimmney,And bag of apple wood. I have 3 huge shag bark hickory trees in my yard.Have some limbs cut up that fell last year so I guess imight try some of that.Can't wait. Thanks a bunch
Went with the wsm 18.5 also order the maverick 732, weber quick fire chimmney,And bag of apple wood. I have 3 huge shag bark hickory trees in my yard.Have some limbs cut up that fell last year so I guess imight try some of that.Can't wait. Thanks a bunch
Rolf Jacobsen
TVWBB Emerald Member
That's great news Pete. If you're just starting out, you may find some of these recipes interesting.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html
Also if you explore a little, the videos are also pretty nice.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html
Also if you explore a little, the videos are also pretty nice.
Russ Harris
TVWBB Super Fan
Chimney is a definite - Weber brand would be best. Also it might be good to have at least two of them. I think most guys on this forum have at least two. Maverick ET732 is also a good idea. It comes in handy given the fact that the lid therm on the WSM is not very accurate. Plus you can monitor the temp from a distance which helps a lot when you're trying to multi-task or just chill and watch the game. As far as coals, blue Kingsford is a good place to start. I used it at first. I no longer use it now but I would still recommend it for starting out. From there your charcoal preferences may evolve and you might want to try other brands. Those other brands may not burn the same as Kingsford, so its a good idea to hone your skills on Kingsford to have a good baseline reference. As far as rib racks - that one is kinda tricky. I went though 3 different racks before I settled on a fouth one that I liked. It depends on how you like to cook your ribs. I like to cook mine untrimmed so I had to find one that would support that. Rib racks are all about trial and error, kinda like the charcoal. Good luck and good smokin'.
Jason Smart
TVWBB Member
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pete Golg:
First and foremost Thanks for the quick reply and great advice. Put my order in on amazon.
Went with the wsm 18.5 also order the maverick 732, weber quick fire chimmney,And bag of apple wood. I have 3 huge shag bark hickory trees in my yard.Have some limbs cut up that fell last year so I guess imight try some of that.Can't wait. Thanks a bunch </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Welcome...I just ordered the same things you did two weeks ago except for the applewood...I went with local hickory here. You will enjoy it!
Check out the WSM mod section for some cool cheap convenience upgrades to your 18.5 WSM. I spent a lot of time in there just reading. I won't do them all but there are some cool things fellow members came up with.
Enjoy...
First and foremost Thanks for the quick reply and great advice. Put my order in on amazon.
Went with the wsm 18.5 also order the maverick 732, weber quick fire chimmney,And bag of apple wood. I have 3 huge shag bark hickory trees in my yard.Have some limbs cut up that fell last year so I guess imight try some of that.Can't wait. Thanks a bunch </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Welcome...I just ordered the same things you did two weeks ago except for the applewood...I went with local hickory here. You will enjoy it!
Check out the WSM mod section for some cool cheap convenience upgrades to your 18.5 WSM. I spent a lot of time in there just reading. I won't do them all but there are some cool things fellow members came up with.
Enjoy...
Russ Harris
TVWBB Super Fan
Home Depot has a decent selection of Weber products - thats where I got my chimneys. ET732 can be found online - I got mine here
Home Depot also carrys Kingsforsd Blue and usually has it on sale during the grilling holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July etc...). And of course you can always go to Amazon.com. Usually if you can't find it there, it doesn't exist.
Home Depot also carrys Kingsforsd Blue and usually has it on sale during the grilling holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July etc...). And of course you can always go to Amazon.com. Usually if you can't find it there, it doesn't exist.