Never smoked anything in my life...

[Allen Speck]

...but I've always wanted to.
Today I bought a WSM 18.5, two slabs of babybacks, pecan, hickory and apple wood chunks, and 2 large bags of original Kingsford charcoal. I thought I'd cover the water pan with 2 layers of foil, as some have recommended. I can't decide whether to use water and/or a clay dish. And I need a rub, preferably one without MSG. For the sauce I plan to use mild Gates (I've lived in KC most of my life).
I've read so many different methods (Minion, etc.) on this forum, different recommended cooking temperatures and so forth. It's sorta overwhelming.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Dwain Pannell]

No better time to start. Today is Nat’l BBQ Day!

read the Virtual Weber Bullet website. It covers everything you need to start.

 

[timothy]

Cooking Topics - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Articles and recipes explaining how to cook barbecue on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, plus a variety of reference topics and instructional videos.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Start here and work your way up. It's all steps and the only way you find out what works is with practice. Good luck and Welcome to the forum!

Tim

 

[Allen Speck]

No kidding?! How serendipidous is that?

 

[timothy]

No kidding?! How serendipidous is that?

Your using big words, I would say what are the odds

Tim

 

[Allen Speck]

Cooking Topics - The Virtual Weber Bullet

Articles and recipes explaining how to cook barbecue on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, plus a variety of reference topics and instructional videos.

www.virtualweberbullet.com

Start here and work your way up. It's all steps and the only way you find out what works is with practice. Good luck and Welcome to the forum!

Tim

Thank you! I found the "basic" babyback rib recipe in the link you provided. Guess I'll start with that.

 

[Allen Speck]

Your using big words, I would say what are the odds

Tim

So, what are the odds that I can cook some decent tasting ribs?
I have a Thermapro two probe thermometer. I'm guessing it would be stupid to stick a probe in the ribs. What cooking temperature should I try to maintain?

 

[Rich G]

The odds are very good, Allen! You have a killer smoker, you have come to the best site full of people who know your smoker inside and out, and you get to have the famous Chris Allingham as your guide on VWB!

You'll get a lot of answers about cook temp. I'd pick one of Chris' rib write-ups, and just follow it to the letter. He does a great job in those of giving you all of his damper settings, etc., so it'll make your maiden voyage a bit easier.

Me, personally, I cook ribs at 240-260. I don't temp them for doneness, rather I do the "tear"test. Take the ends of two adjacent ribs, and pull in opposite directions. If they tear easily.....done! I do almost exclusively spares, and those take me about 6.5 hours. You've got baby backs, so they will be done a bit sooner.

Good luck, and check back here with questions, and ESPECIALLY pictures! We love to see everyone's tasty food!

Rich

PS: Welcome to TVWBB.

 

[Allen Speck]

The odds are very good, Allen! You have a killer smoker, you have come to the best site full of people who know your smoker inside and out, and you get to have the famous Chris Allingham as your guide on VWB!

You'll get a lot of answers about cook temp. I'd pick one of Chris' rib write-ups, and just follow it to the letter. He does a great job in those of giving you all of his damper settings, etc., so it'll make your maiden voyage a bit easier.

Me, personally, I cook ribs at 240-260. I don't temp them for doneness, rather I do the "tear"test. Take the ends of two adjacent ribs, and pull in opposite directions. If they tear easily.....done! I do almost exclusively spares, and those take me about 6.5 hours. You've got baby backs, so they will be done a bit sooner.

Good luck, and check back here with questions, and ESPECIALLY pictures! We love to see everyone's tasty food!

Rich

PS: Welcome to TVWBB.

Thanks very much! I admit to being a little gun shy about this.
I'll do the tear test for sure. Is Chris the author of the "basic" babyback recipe?
BTW, there were no spare ribs available at Sam's Club, if you can imagine that.

 

[Michael Richards]

I had a little smoking experience before I got my WSM about 2 months ago, but here is what I have learned in the last two months and will pass on.
1. Use this site and the main TVWBB site. There is everything here.
2. Start with water in the water pan and learn how your smoker works with water, then play around with other options.
3. Just go for it, don't stress to much, and enjoy it.
4. Hot and fast chicken is a great first run, but don't be afraid of the ribs you can do it.

Good luck, have fun, and I hope you love you WSM as much as I do.
Michael

 

[Rich G]

Thanks very much! I admit to being a little gun shy about this.
I'll do the tear test for sure. Is Chris the author of the "basic" babyback recipe?
BTW, there were no spare ribs available at Sam's Club, if you can imagine that.

Yep. So, Chris started the Virtual Weber Bullet in 1998 since he was such a big fan of the smoker. He has been creating, adding, and updating all of the articles in the "Cooking Topics" section of VWB for a couple of decades now. He also created The Virtual Weber Bullet Board (TVWBB), which is the forum that we are on now to connect other WSM (and Weber fans) from all over the world. We are all connected by our love for the WSM, Weber products, BBQ & Grilling, etc. Easily one of the most helpful and friendly forums that I have ever been a part of.

Check out History of the Virtual Weber Bullet for way more details from the man himself.

....oh, and you'll do fine, you'll learn a lot, etc. If I can suggest.....take notes! How did you light the fire, how did you season the meat, how did your temps settle in with what damper settings, etc. It will become second nature at some point, but those notes have been invaluable for me along my journey.

R

 

[Michael Richards]

Yep. So, Chris started the Virtual Weber Bullet in 1998 since he was such a big fan of the smoker. He has been creating, adding, and updating all of the articles in the "Cooking Topics" section of VWB for a couple of decades now. He also created The Virtual Weber Bullet Board (TVWBB), which is the forum that we are on now to connect other WSM (and Weber fans) from all over the world. We are all connected by our love for the WSM, Weber products, BBQ & Grilling, etc. Easily one of the most helpful and friendly forums that I have ever been a part of.

Check out History of the Virtual Weber Bullet for way more details from the man himself.

....oh, and you'll do fine, you'll learn a lot, etc. If I can suggest.....take notes! How did you light the fire, how did you season the meat, how did your temps settle in with what damper settings, etc. It will become second nature at some point, but those notes have been invaluable for me along my journey.

R

I have been using the cave tools app to take notes on all my cooks, it is helping me really know, what I am doing, why I am doing it, and the effect. I recommend doing some form of notes whether it's an app like I use or Chris's worksheet.

 

[Allen Speck]

I had a little smoking experience before I got my WSM about 2 months ago, but here is what I have learned in the last two months and will pass on.
1. Use this site and the main TVWBB site. There is everything here.
2. Start with water in the water pan and learn how your smoker works with water, then play around with other options.
3. Just go for it, don't stress to much, and enjoy it.
4. Hot and fast chicken is a great first run, but don't be afraid of the ribs you can do it.

Good luck, have fun, and I hope you love you WSM as much as I do.
Michael

Thanks, Michael. I'll start with water, ribs, cross my fingers and post some pics. I've had good results with cut-up chicken in the Weber kettle grill--just using wood chips in foil, spraying chicken with Pam and banking the coals. I'm ready to try real BBQ.

 

[Allen Speck]

I have been using the cave tools app to take notes on all my cooks, it is helping me really know, what I am doing, why I am doing it, and the effect. I recommend doing some form of notes whether it's an app like I use or Chris's worksheet.

Thanks! At my age I gotta take notes.

 

[Allen Speck]

Yep. So, Chris started the Virtual Weber Bullet in 1998 since he was such a big fan of the smoker. He has been creating, adding, and updating all of the articles in the "Cooking Topics" section of VWB for a couple of decades now. He also created The Virtual Weber Bullet Board (TVWBB), which is the forum that we are on now to connect other WSM (and Weber fans) from all over the world. We are all connected by our love for the WSM, Weber products, BBQ & Grilling, etc. Easily one of the most helpful and friendly forums that I have ever been a part of.

Check out History of the Virtual Weber Bullet for way more details from the man himself.

....oh, and you'll do fine, you'll learn a lot, etc. If I can suggest.....take notes! How did you light the fire, how did you season the meat, how did your temps settle in with what damper settings, etc. It will become second nature at some point, but those notes have been invaluable for me along my journey.

R

Very informative. Thank you! I printed out the cooking log.

 

[Michael Richards]

Thanks, Michael. I'll start with water, ribs, cross my fingers and post some pics. I've had good results with cut-up chicken in the Weber kettle grill--just using wood chips in foil, spraying chicken with Pam and banking the coals. I'm ready to try real BBQ.

Yeah go for it ribs was my first cook also and they were great, take some pictures, can't wait to see them.

 

[Chris Allingham]

Welcome, Allen, and good luck. We look forward to hearing and seeing how things turn out. Remember, perfection is not the goal and cannot be achieved, fun and good food is the goal. Relax, learn, and enjoy the process.

Best,
Chris

 

[Allen Speck]

Welcome, Allen, and good luck. We look forward to hearing and seeing how things turn out. Remember, perfection is not the goal and cannot be achieved, fun and good food is the goal. Relax, learn, and enjoy the process.

Best,
Chris

Thanks Chris. I've been watching some of your videos--great stuff!

 

[Chris Allingham]

Thanks Chris. I've been watching some of your videos--great stuff!

Yeah, I actually have a head of brown hair in some of the old ones.

 

[Allen Speck]

Yeah, I actually have a head of brown hair in some of the old ones.

I know what you mean. In fact, my hair is much grayer now since I started worrying about whether to wrap the ribs.