I think I'm going to get a WSM...but a couple questions first...


 
Definitely, I repeat, definitely, do not light your chimney on the concrete. Hopefully you have another grill you can put the chimney on the grate and light it.
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Yep...I have a gas grill that I can light the chimney on. I was happy to read the warnings about it on this site, because I have a concrete block/paver retaining wall right next to my patio that I definitely would have put the chimney on if I didn't know better.

I just finished seasoning 2 chickens (4.75 and 4.9 lbs...bigger than I wanted but they were the smallest at the store tonight), and a small 4.4lb pork butt (or more likely half of a pork butt?) I got from the grocery store. I'm "guess-timating" 5 hours for the chickens (beer can method) and 6-8 hours for the butt. Hopefully it comes out good!
 
Originally posted by Colin Edwards:
I have a "new" stamped concrete patio (done last august) that I will be cooking on...should I get one of those fiber cement grill pads to put under the WSM and protect the concrete?
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I have a stamped concrete patio as well, and I have done all my cooks on it. My WSM, like the newer ones, has a heat shield on the bottom. I relied on that alone for many cooks, with no problem.

I now have a metal drip pan beneath it, but it is mainly to allow a place to set the lid without risking grease stains.
 
So I started my first smoke about 2 hours ago, and I'm having a hard time with the temperature. I followed the recommendations I've seen to keep all the vents open until it reaches somewhere in the 200-225 range (depending on what recipe or person is writing). Closed my 3 bottom vents down to 25% @ 200* and the temp kept rising and rising. It got up to almost 260 and I closed 2 of the vents completely. I have only 1 bottom vent open not even 25% and it's still staying between 250 and 260 (but I want to get it down to 225).

Not sure what to do...maybe I'll close the top vent a little?

I'm not sure where I went wrong either. Followed the Minion Method...maybe I have too much fuel in there for just the small 4-5lb butt and 2 chickens?
 
Colin, you're doing yard bird and a butt so that temp isn't really an issue that's why we suggested it.You have to keep in mind the first couple/few times you use your cooker it will run hot because it hasn't got funked up inside yet.We all have our own ways of setting the vents and a lot of this is based on the enviroment we live and cook in so your settings may be different than what others use. This is the learning curve.I feel sure the food will come out just fine,maybe a little sooner than you planned.The first time I ran mine it sat close to 300 deg and I had ribs on,almost screwed the pooch on that one.Next time though,start closeing your vents down a little earlier,I do mine around the 180-190 mark for now,I'm sure that will change as the cooker gets broke in.
 
 
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