Increase WSM 14 Temp from 225 to 325 on the Fly?


 
OliverLeveritt

OliverLeveritt

TVWBB Member
If I have the WSM 14 running lo & slo at 225-250 with about a half chimney of unlit charcoal left, what's the best way to run it up to 325 to get the chicken skin all crispy & finished?
Open all the vents, and then what? Run a blow dryer on low speed over the vents from a distance to prevent ash blow? LOL!

I'm doing an upright chicken on the bottom rack of the WSM 14 tomorrow. There's not enough head space to stand it up on the top rack, so it will be on the bottom rack with a probe in the breast and an ambient probe clipped to the grate. Wrapped, dry water pan. I thought about letting it drip to the charcoal, but since it's on the bottom rack, I'm passing on that.
I prepped a young organic 4 lb. 4 oz. chicken this morning. It will sit in the refrigerator till tomorrow morning and come out for a 1 hour "breather" before it goes on the smoker. It's gonna cook on the same rack that it's on now. The goal is to get some lo & slow smoke time up to about 145 degrees IT, then ramp to finish and crisp.
 

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Hi Oliver. I would be inclined to light a chimney (or part of one) approximately 20-30 minutes before you want 325. If there's not enough room, I'd carefully remove the unlit and place it in a safe container before adding the lit to the smoker.

This is just a guess; I don't practice that method since I do an entire cook with high heat on poultry.

Good luck!
 
Might you have a kettle or a gas grill? If so thats the direction I woud go.

Of not, I'd pull the chicken, tent it crank up the temp with more lit coal and then put it back on.

I also cook at high heat the entire cook.

Let us know how it works out
 
BFletcher said:
Hi Oliver. I would be inclined to light a chimney (or part of one) approximately 20-30 minutes before you want 325. If there's not enough room, I'd carefully remove the unlit and place it in a safe container before adding the lit to the smoker.

This is just a guess; I don't practice that method since I do an entire cook with high heat on poultry.

Good luck!
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Thanks. The idea of adding charcoal occurred to me a couple of minutes ago, and then I saw your reply. I'll have to decide if I want to get that "complicated" or not. LOL! I may also read up on my Signals+Billows. That would be a game changer. I just didn't want to fool with that this time around since I haven't used the rig before.
 
DanHoo said:
Might you have a kettle or a gas grill? If so thats the direction I woud go.

Of not, I'd pull the chicken, tent it crank up the temp with more lit coal and then put it back on.

I also cook at high heat the entire cook.

Let us know how it works out
Click to expand...
Are you saying to cook the chicken in a kettle or grill -- or to move it to a kettle or grill to finish/crisp it?
 
OliverLeveritt said:
Are you saying to cook the chicken in a kettle or grill -- or to move it to a kettle or grill to finish/crisp it?
Click to expand...

I was suggesting finish the higher heat on a kettle or gas grill.

However I'm not sure if that will or will not crisp the skin.

I usually I cook chicken with high heat the entire cook or sometimes start hot like 425 and the let the grill cool down over time to 350 or 325.
 
OliverLeveritt said:
I may also read up on my Signals+Billows. That would be a game changer. I just didn't want to fool with that this time around since I haven't used the rig before.
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The billows might work, yet it may not bring the temp up fast enough to crisp the skin before the bird is overcooked.
 
Anne M. said:
I take the middle & top section off.
Doable with a 14. Just be careful.
And then you have a grill ;) (use top rack on the charcoal ring)
When hot enough, put your chicken on it
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That would be a lot simpler on my gas grill if I wanted a grilled chicken.
 
OliverLeveritt said:
That would be a lot simpler on my gas grill if I wanted a grilled chicken.
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Huh?
You smoke it first in the WSM, then move top and middle part to the side and put chicken on the grid direct on fire to finish off.
What does that have to do with gas grilling?
 
@Anne M. , are you able to smoke chicken and then get crispy chicken skin with high heat after it has smoked? Please share more details if you have been successful.

I've tried and not been able to get the skin crispy after smoking without overcooking the chicken.
 
Anne M. said:
Huh?
You smoke it first in the WSM, then move top and middle part to the side and put chicken on the grid direct on fire to finish off.
What does that have to do with gas grilling?
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I don't see how running it on an open grill right on top of the charcoal with no smoker and no lid constitutes "smoking". That looks/sounds like "grilling", hence my comment about it being simpler to do on my gas grill.
 
Anne M. said:
I take the middle & top section off.
Doable with a 14. Just be careful.
And then you have a grill ;) (use top rack on the charcoal ring)
When hot enough, put your chicken on it
Click to expand...
This is why I said it would be simpler on a gas grill. You have reduced the smoker to a grill. Subsequent responses have confused the issue.
 
I think Anne is suggesting is to first smoke at lower normal smoking temps and then after some target temp is reached, break down the WSM and finish the chicken direct over the coals to crisp the skin. Removing the center and leaving the lid off will get the coals going quickly. Since the coals are already going and the WSM is hot, this doesn't sound like that much work.

It sound reasonable and I'm curious how the results are doing it this way.
 
My pic above, the ghetto sear, is a few smoked tri tips that were then put atop the coals for a hard crisping sear. Just adding flavor. Chicken would work the same way. Smoke it then sear it to crisp the skin.
 
There's no way to get crispy skin while cooking low/slow.

The only way to do it is to cook at a much higher temp. Which most people would call grilling or roasting or broiling. But if you want to call it "very high heat WSM smoking" instead, that works.

Chris' hot n fast chicken is the gold standard method. By using the higher heat for the whole cook, Chris is basically trying to get his WSM to act like a kettle (i.e. a grill).

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Hot & Fast Chicken - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Hot & Fast Chicken: Tender, well-rendered chicken skin worth eating is achieved using a high-temp smoke-roasting method in the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.
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Now if you need to crisp up at the end, you gotta get it over some direct high heat (i.e. grilling) somehow. But it will still be smoked chicken -- the finishing crisp will not undo the prior smoking.

1. WSM used as a grill with the middle section removed works quite well. Very easy and efficient (since you have the coals already going). I do it all the time. Just be careful since the hot coals at very close range can quickly over cook. Never heard it called a ghetto sear before.

2. Cranked up WSM with the middle section still in place -- vents open, door off, top off, blow dryer, more lit coals etc.

3. Gas grill.

4. Use the broiler in the kitchen oven (easiest/best imo).

5. Flambe aka volcano chicken.

#5 is the most fun when doing beer can. Harry Soo demonstrates.

 
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For chicken, I normally just run my WSM 14's as hot as possible as described in Chris' Hot & Fast Chicken linked by @Jim C in Denver

Hot & Fast Chicken is their favorite smoked chicken (done with a variety of rubs, not just Harry's rub described in the recipe), and favorite chicken in general, though Roadside Chicken might sneak away with it.

My family's usually not super into eating chicken skin, so it's worked out just fine for our needs.

If I need some hot flames for texture, I'll just do the ghetto sear described above. Remove the lid and middle section, toss a grate onto the charcoal chamber. Turns the base into a sort of knock-off Smokey Joe. Here's a screenshot from a short video of sausage experiencing the ghetto sear:

IMG_2314.jpg
 
Jim C in Denver said:
ghetto sear
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when using a grill beyond its designed purpose. the term Ghetto refers to using anything in a manner for which it wasn't originally designed.

hers's an example of a ghetto fryer. while it works, its a crazy way of doing something when another device can do it better or safely.

 
DanHoo said:
I think Anne is suggesting is to first smoke at lower normal smoking temps and then after some target temp is reached, break down the WSM and finish the chicken direct over the coals to crisp the skin. Removing the center and leaving the lid off will get the coals going quickly. Since the coals are already going and the WSM is hot, this doesn't sound like that much work.

It sound reasonable and I'm curious how the results are doing it this way.
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Exactly that.
I thought that was pretty clear. It also seems like everyone else understands.

With the 14, because it is light, I can lift middle section, water bowl, chicken and lid off in one go.
I place it on an old 14 inch lid as I don't want it on the ground. Chicken stays inside while the bottom section with the left over charcoal gets lots of air.
Finish of on there.

With chicken pieces I get something resembling an edible skin. Never as good as with grilling or on rotisserie though.
I've not tried with a whole chicken.
 
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