Howdy from a 1st Time Smoker in West TX


 
R

Ryan Howren

New member
Hey folks,

this is my 1st post here and i can't wait to jump in the deep end and learn from y'all!

i just recently purchased a WSM 22.5" as my 1st smoker. i'm new to BBQing by myself, but grew up helping my dad around the pit. my other grill is a Weber Genesis S-330 which i use about 3-4 times per week since i got it 6 months ago, but i wanted to get into the low-n-slow side of cooking, so i got the WSM!

my first impressions.... this thing is HUGE; pictures don't do it justice! i almost traded it in for the 18.5" before i had it assembled. but bigger is better, right? so i'm keeping the big one!

anyways.... i plan on making my first meal on the WSM this weekend. i'm in a 1 month weight loss competition with friends so red meat and pork are out of the picture til February. I've got a whole chicken and was thinking of doing it either beer can or butterfly style. reading some other threads, keeping the temp below 250 might dry it out? so if i keep the bottom vents fully opened and water/beer in the pan how high will the temps get to? or would it be better to leave the pan empty and do the chicken beer can style? i'm thinking 250-300 is the ideal temp; correct me if i'm wrong!

y'all got any tips for a first timer?
 
Hi Ryan and welcome aboard.

Congrats on the new WSM. I originally got a 18 1/2" WSM. This year, I got a 22 1/2" model, the extra room is a good thing. You will love it!

You can get a WSM up to about 350F. To get it that high, it's better not to use water in the water pan.
I put a foiled clay flower pot base in the foiled water pan. Some people fill the water pan with sand or gravel. You can just foil the empty pan, that works well too.

I like to cook chicken at around 325-350F. I cook it to 180F internal at the thigh and 160F at the breast. A butterflied or spatchcocked chicken will take about 1 1/2 hour to cook, a whole chicken a little longer.
I've taken a liking to brining my chicken. I also like to rub herb butter under the skin.

Good luck.

Bob
 
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Hi Ryan. Welcome. I have the 18.5 WSM and its a great cooker .
like bob says, Chicken likes the high temps just like in your oven in the house. Skip the water in the pan and go 325 -350
And that chicken will come out super moist and smoky good!
Later , when you can cook ribs and pulled pork , that is when you want to be in the 225-250 range. Forget water in the pan , though , and use the clay saucer or some such. Much more reliable and it doesn't evaporate!
Good luck , man and take a few pictures of your first bird in the WSM. We love pitchas!
 
Welcome aboard Ryan and like the others said, Bob gave some good info. I used the water pan first cook an then after that just foiled it and added a clay saucer and still have easily dialed in temps. Yeah the 22 is BIG but you will love the extra room when you need it. After you do a few smokes you will flipping through the forums looking for new recipes to try:)
 
thanks for the tips! right after i posted, i read the sticky in this section and saw the link to Basic Barbecued Chicken. i'm going to do what you guys suggested along with the techniques in that topic.

now that i think about it, anyone attempt a beer brine on chicken? or should i just stick to water/apple juice and salt?

BTW, i'll be using pecan
 
well, i broke in the new WSM today with chickens! they came out great! i followed the basic barbecued chicken guide and sure glad i did! i bought 2x 7 lb birds and brined one of them. rubbed them down with some Gordon's Grub Rub before throwing them on the pit, and 45 minutes in, basted them with some Salt Lick BBQ sauce. the smoker temp stayed between 275-300 with all the vents open and the water pan empty, and the bird took 2 hours to reach 160 in the breast. we ended up feeding 7 people and ended up with an entire chicken leftover! we tried both the brined chicken and the unbrined one and couldn't tell a difference. both were very juicy and tender!

next up, ribs!
 
Ryan Howren said:
thanks, i'm well aware of how to use Google and how to make a brine solution.... i'm more interested if people here have attempted one and how it came out on the WSM.

next time you want to tell someone to "Google it" try this website instead ;) www.lmgtfy.com
Click to expand...

Sorry pal, I wasn't trying to tell you anything about google , I was just trying to be helpful. I was honestly surprised that there WAS a beer brine for chicken. I had never heard of that.
 
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