Justin Hembree
New member
Hello all. I am new to the forum. So, please excuse me if this has been covered before.
We have been competing in barbeque comps for about two years now. We have a custom pull behind that we use for all categories except brisket. For brisket, we use Old Faithful, a 22.5 inch WSM. I have finally moved into the 21st century and purchased a Guru (DigQ DX, Pit Viper 10 cfm fan, mount kit) and have a few questions. The Guru should be delivered by the end of this week and our next comp is the weekend of August 12th. I hope to get one or two practice runs with the new toy.
Anyway, …
How should I load the WSM in terms of charcoal/wood? How should I start the fire? We normally load it to the max with charcoal, place wood chips on top, and use the Minion method with a coffee can. Can this same method be used with the Guru? Or should I do something different?
In terms of the vents, should all the vents, except for the one the Guru is using be closed? Should the top vent remain all the way open?
Any other advice or suggestions you can think of?
Also, off the topic, our last cook was the first time we used sand in the water pan. Up until then, we had used water. The WSM seem to cook 25 to 30 degrees hotter with the sand. Has anyone else experienced this? I must also note that we were in Greenwood, SC and it was hot as blue blazes!
Thanks, Justin
We have been competing in barbeque comps for about two years now. We have a custom pull behind that we use for all categories except brisket. For brisket, we use Old Faithful, a 22.5 inch WSM. I have finally moved into the 21st century and purchased a Guru (DigQ DX, Pit Viper 10 cfm fan, mount kit) and have a few questions. The Guru should be delivered by the end of this week and our next comp is the weekend of August 12th. I hope to get one or two practice runs with the new toy.
Anyway, …
How should I load the WSM in terms of charcoal/wood? How should I start the fire? We normally load it to the max with charcoal, place wood chips on top, and use the Minion method with a coffee can. Can this same method be used with the Guru? Or should I do something different?
In terms of the vents, should all the vents, except for the one the Guru is using be closed? Should the top vent remain all the way open?
Any other advice or suggestions you can think of?
Also, off the topic, our last cook was the first time we used sand in the water pan. Up until then, we had used water. The WSM seem to cook 25 to 30 degrees hotter with the sand. Has anyone else experienced this? I must also note that we were in Greenwood, SC and it was hot as blue blazes!
Thanks, Justin