My first cook on my mini WSM..


 
Tony R

Tony R

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Today I built my mini WSM and did my first cook on it.
Here's is what I did..
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?40645-My-Mini-WSM-with-my-poor-skills

I did ribs for my first cook. Seasoned with webers chicken and rib seasoning.




Loaded the charcoal but I think I needed to have more charcoal fully lit. Had trouble getting up to temp. I had to remove clay saucer. Per Gorge Curtis I needed to have it elevated about my tamale plate.





Almost done after 3.5 hours.

Not much of a smoke ring since I didn't have much hickory or oak.

Used some bbq sauce from North Carolina a friend of ours sent us.


This was the left over charcoal I had after the cook.


Any tips or suggestions are welcomed since I got frustrated building the mini and managing the fire. Thanks for looking.
 
Looks great. Took me a couple of cooks under my belt to get confortable with the mini.
After it gets seasoned, I find it much easier to control and maintain the temp.

Frank
 
Looks nice Tony. I would only suggest you make a wire basket for the charcoal, as it will get better air flow for the charcoal. I also elevate the 12"-terra cotta dish above the tamale steamer plate using the ash catcher, as it's only about 5 or 6" diameter so more heat comes through

I then used an alum pie plate as my ash catcher.
Great looking ribs.
 
Everything looks good to me, Tony. 'specially them ribs. I imagine a few more cooks will ease the frustration...
 
Jeff Andersen said:
Looks nice Tony. I would only suggest you make a wire basket for the charcoal, as it will get better air flow for the charcoal. I also elevate the 12"-terra cotta dish above the tamale steamer plate using the ash catcher, as it's only about 5 or 6" diameter so more heat comes through

I then used an alum pie plate as my ash catcher.
Great looking ribs.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff.
How did you make the charcoal basket? Did you have to weld?
 
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Tony I'd say you nailed those ribs on the first mini cook!!

One great thing about the mini is that anyone can mod it and experiment. I don't even use the tamale plate in mine. Instead I've drilled three large holes into a 12" terra cotta dish and then I flip it upside-down (no foil, it's seasoned). The holes allow more smoke and heat to pass directly over the meat. I also get some great vaporization when drippings make it through the holes and onto the hot coals.
 
Looking pretty good for the first cook on the mini Tony.

As you can see there are several different ways to set up the diffuser plate and they all seem to work well. I personally feel that the combination of the drilled out diffuser plate and the clay plate together restrict heat flow and you end up using more fuel. I would experiment using just one or the other just so you can see the difference. Like with the 18.5 and the 22.5 WSM the only thing between the coals and the meat is the diffuser bowl or terra cotta plate, and nothing else.
 
Tony R said:
How did you make the charcoal basket? Did you have weld?
Click to expand...

Tony, if you go back to my mini-WEBER build (in the mini section) I kinda explained how i made my charcoal ring. All I used was a piece of 12X24 extruded steel from Home Depot, pair of tin snips, pliers, hammer, and wire ties to attach it to the charcoal grate. I made my ring 3.5" high and since I had enough left over, I made an additional ring to use on my Performer and the little ash blocker.

I think the steamer plate & clay disc are more of a heat blocker than a heat sink. My steamer plate is still in the plastic and I went with a 9" pie plate as the diffuser/sink and the temps work perfectly. Let us know what changes you make and how they work out.
 
Chad Bman said:
Tony, if you go back to my mini-WEBER build (in the mini section) I kinda explained how i made my charcoal ring. All I used was a piece of 12X24 extruded steel from Home Depot, pair of tin snips, pliers, hammer, and wire ties to attach it to the charcoal grate. I made my ring 3.5" high and since I had enough left over, I made an additional ring to use on my Performer and the little ash blocker.

I think the steamer plate & clay disc are more of a heat blocker than a heat sink. My steamer plate is still in the plastic and I went with a 9" pie plate as the diffuser/sink and the temps work perfectly. Let us know what changes you make and how they work out.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I will read your post again I must of forgotten.
 
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