Kettle vs WSM

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G'day!

I've been eyeing off a WSM for some time now - just seems like something a bloke should have
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. However, I already have a Weber kettle, and She Who Must Be Obeyed will insist on knowing what the WSM can do that the kettle can't before she even considers letting me get one.

Most of the stuff on the site shows folks doing stuff I already do on my kettle - ribs, mostly
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. So, what can a WSM do that a kettle can't?

I'd like to get into smoking my own hams and bacon, making my own jerky, smoking malt for brewing etc - is the WSM the right gear for the job?

Cheers!
...Matt...
 
Hey Matt:

What the WSM can do that the Kettle can't is summed up in 3 words, Low and Slow. This is the key to smoking & barbecuing because it allows the meat to self-baste and cook through-out before the outside burns. So Low heat for a long time (slow) is the key. The WSM has a water pan to help moderate the heat, and also allows you to keep the meat far enough from the coals to allow for good long "cooks".

Also, if you remove the top grate you can place a very large turkey on a vertical roaster on the lower grate.

I'm sure many others will have something to say on this.

Best to you,

Weber Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave Estrem (edited 07-26-2001).]
 
Matt,
You could always do what I did -- go out and buy the darn thing and suffer the wrath later. I think I slept on the couch for two nights after I rec'd my WSM. My version of SWMBO did exactly what you are saying. She questioned the need for two "grills" (shows how much they know, huh), waste of money -- you know the routine. The ranting lasted only until I made my first batch of ribs on the WSM. She loved 'em!! I even got an apology for the harsh treatment. Now, I get asked to make ribs and butts for her family, and, if I haven't fired up the smoker for a few weeks, just for the heck of it.

Peace. Out.

Alan
 
Hi Matt, and welcome to the bulletin board!

As you know, you can make some good BBQ using the kettle. It's just that the WSM is better suited to the task. Using the methods described on the Firing Up Your Weber Bullet page, you can cook for 10-12 hours or longer at 225-250*F without having to add fuel, and because of the indirect design of the cooker, you can use the entire surface of both cooking grates, which greatly increases your cooking capacity.

I should warn you, though, that the WSM likes to run over 200*F. The lower temps needed to make jerky or smoked bacon are not easy to maintain and require a lot of attention on your part.

Regards,
Chris
 
Thanks!

Barbecue US style seems to be a very different animal to 'barbies' down under. We barbecue on a crud encrusted hot plate (just splash a bit of beer on there, she'll be right), usually over a roaring flame.

Ribs are something you get from a restaurant - it's snags (sausages), lamb chops and 'barbecue steak' (cheap steak that's had the crap hammered out of it), with a mountain of fried onions. We wouldn't know what a 'pork butt' was if we were hit in the head with one, and we only have one kind of sauce - tomato
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.

Cheers
...Matt...
 
Matt,

There are several members of this bulletin board from Australia. Perhaps they'll post and let you know where they bought their WSM and share their experiences and challenges in trying to make American-style barbecue "down under".

Best regards,
Chris
 
Chris,
I'm a fellow Canberran (carna Brumbies!) & have used a WSM for over a year now.
By the way DJ's in Woden Plaza have a WSM on sale for $320 ... I've been tempted to get it as a second one (I've also got a kettle - Weber don't make other than good kit).
Pork butt (or forequarter as sold in supermarkets) is fan-bloody-tastic done for 8 - 12 hours in the WSM at low temps, as is just about every recipe Chris has on the site. Tonight I'm doing Tasmanian salmon with the brown sugar rub.
You can get brisket at a good butcher (City meats in Civic, Red Hill butcher have been good - especially the Red Hill bloke).
Theoretically, you can do a lot of US-style Q on the kettle, but the WSM is Jock-proof!
biggrin.gif

I gave up sacrificing meat to the gods 20 odd years ago when I got my first Weber kettle (first wife got the kettle in settlement, I got the house - she had a better lawyer). You'll find the WSM supplements the kettle.
WSM is not meant to be like a smokehouse for cold smoking - bacon, kippers or malt (a drop of the pure of poteen there boyo?), but you can do jerky & cheese.
Gotta go - our 2 week old baby needs some down under maintenance!

Hope this helps you a bit.

regards

Jock
 
It is indeed a small world after all! The WSM at DJ's in Woden Plaza is the very one I've been eyeing off - it dropped in price during the mid-year sales, and seems to have stayed there. Now that I know others are checking it out, perhaps I'd better make my move
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Thanks again!
...Matt...
 
Go for it! It's good value at RRP let alone the sale price (but given it hasn't been sold for over a year, they might accept a lower offer?). Just make sure it has all its pieces, I've noticed it has been dismantled and reassembled a few times: occasionally I'd retrieve bits (over the pre-Xmas period I'd show the "in-store" Weber rep how it worked! She was a temp put on for the rush period). You'll find the list of what it should have here on Chris's site.
Enjoy the wonderful world of low & slow cooking!

regards

Jock
 
There are methods to get a WSM to smoke at lower temps using a smaller fire ring and smaller amounts of charcoal. You can also hang meat from the top rack (becon or jerky).
Jim
 
Matt,
I notice that the WSM isn't at DJ's anymore. So congratulations on your purchase ... or is it commiserations on missing out??
eek.gif

regards
Jock

PS: if the latter, try Barbecue Megastore in Fyshwick (got mine there.
 
Jim Minion --

Your remark about the smaller fire ring and less charcoal has intrigued me. How/where do you get a smaller fire ring?

That would be quite nice for jerky, etc.

Thanks in advance for any input.


------------------
Sespe Pete
 
Sespe Pete,

The topic Smoked Cheese shows how to make a low temp fire using just a couple of briquettes and a piece of smoke wood right on the charcoal grate. You can craft a "mini fire ring" using a tin can with the bottom cut out or by using wire mesh to form a cylinder. Not all wire mesh is food safe; galvanized metals containing zinc should be avoided.

Regards,
Chris
 
*sigh*

Pay day on Thursday. Finally convinced SWMBO that a WSM would be just the thing for when the Screaming Hordes visit at Christmas. Wandered into DJs on Sunday, and the WSM that's been sitting there for God knows how long was GONE.

No worries, says I - we'll just duck over to Fyshwick. 'But are they on special over at Fyshwick?' says SWMBO. 'Erm...I don't think so' I said. Then she gave me The Look, and I knew it was all over.

I had to settle for a Weber Chimney for now. Made Old McGregor's Lemon Chicken and some ribs when the weather cleared up that afternoon. It wasn't the same
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