My Clist 22.5 WSM Maiden Voyage

[Jeff Holmes]

Well, I hadn't planned on smoking these until Friday night, but they were defrosted; and, well, I just couldn't wait!

#1 is a pork butt I froze when they were on sale. I'm fairly confident in this because I've done several on my kettle, now, and they've turned out fabulous. I used Rub Some Butt on it.

#2 we buy a whole or 1/2 beef pretty much every year. Honestly, we never know what to do with a brisket. So, they usually just set in the freezer. My wife followed a Paula Deen recipe for the oven and it was really good, so I'm looking forward to this. However, because this thing is cooking through the night, there doesn't seem to be a good place to put the probe in it, and I have to go to work about 7 tomorrow morning, I'm a littler concerned about it's success. This has Meatheads big bad beef rub.

As another point of discussion, this thing was trimmed, rolled up and had netting over it. Should I have just smoked it like that? It looked a lot like a butt. I was afraid when I pulled off the netting, all the bark would come off- and we couldn't have that!

My first impression of the 22.5 is I'm shocked how consistently it's holding temp very almost no adjustment. The second thing is, do these things really use almost a whole bag of KBB for one smoke? To be cosy effective, a person should load this thing down with meat. I need to finish my mini if I want to conserve charcoal, I guess.

 

[Jeff Holmes]

Another note, does this thing consistent temps render a Pitmaster IQ110 useless? I've one on my Christmas list, so it's got me rethinking it.

 

[ChuckO]

The second thing is, do these things really use almost a whole bag of KBB for one smoke?

One trick is to run the 18" charcoal basket in your 22" WSM. You get the solid pile of the ringed charcoal, but not the huge pile that results from the ring that comes with the 22"

 

[THoey]

Jeff, the nice thing about a WSM is that after you are done smoking, you can close all the vents and it will snuff out the coals. Those leftover coals can then be used the next time you fire her up. I turned my coal ring and grates into a fire basket with handles, so I just shake the ash of the coals, scoop out the ash, top the basket off, and fire her back up. (See my Mods thread HERE.)

As to the brisket, those we normally buy are flat, not rolled up. I am not sure, but I would think that cooking it rolled up would increase the time needed due to the mass. That brisket looks well trimmed, might only be a flat as I don't see the point on top. Stick your therm probe in from the side into the thickest part of the flat. You won't be cooking to a certain temperature, but some where after 185*, you start probing for tenderness. A wooden skewer pushed into the thickest part of the meat should slide in with almost no resistance (like probing room temperature butter). Make sure that once it is cooked, you give it an hour or two to rest. Pull from the pit, wrap with foil, wrap that in a big (old) towel, and let it sit to redistribute the juices and get all happy.

As for the Pitmaster IQ, it is personal preference. I have the IQ 120 and I use it if I am going to be doing a long / overnight cook. Between that and my Maverick, I can take a couple three or four hour naps and feel confident that I am not going to wake up to a cold pit and bad meat.