New 22.5 wsm. What to expect


 
L

Lewis B

TVWBB Super Fan
Hi guys. I fired up my new smoker to season it & familiarize myself with it. I loaded her up with charcoal & let it get up to temp while we ate dinner. I had all vents open & it got to 318 on digital thermometer. Closed all three vents almost completely & it came down to a steady 300. Dome thermometer read 255' Are the thermometers adjustable?

Also, I noticed this thing really smoked for awhile. The smoke did not smell like it would be good to cook on. Does cooking over unlit coals (minion method) result in a bitter taste? Unlit coals were briquettes & I lit a chimney of lump & dumped on top.

Any advise is surely appreciated. Thanks.

Lew.

Edit... The smoker has been going for 4 hours now. looks like a good build up of grease is forming. (I put a tub of lard in there to melt) Now temp is 260 on digital and 245 on lid. do you find they get more accurate as they "season"? Smell is much better now too. The smell before seemed like it would have made food bitter. No smoke no that all coals are burning
 
Last edited:
Lewis, I don't think the dome thermometer is adjustable but I could be wrong on that. My dome thermo on my 22 is consistently 25 to 30 degrees higher than the grate thermo I use. Knowing this a lot of times I go off the dome -25. After a few cooks you might find your dome thermo has a similar consistency from your grate thermo.

As for your smoke question I don't know if that excess smoke will make the food biter or not. I also use the minion method. I've always waited until there is little to no white smoke left before I add my food. Main reason I do this is temp fluctuations. Figure if I still have a lot of white smoke the coals are not in harmony yet and I could get strange spikes after I add the meat. Once most that white smoke is gone then you should have enough heat that things are burning well.

Just what I do others might have a different opinion on the smoke. Now that she is seasoned what will your first cook be?
 
Last edited:
My dome temp has no strong correlation with grate temps, or at least no simple one... It seems to vary depending on temp and environmental conditions (Ambient temp, wind, ect)... I almost wish weber would just not put one on, but I imagine too many customers like the idea of the gauge even if it has no real use.

As far as the taste and unlit charcoal... I haven't done much cooking over briquettes, I pretty much went straight with lump and have been there the whole time... But even with those when they first start burning you probably want to give them a minute or two.
I wouldn't worry too much about the unlit coals when doing snake or minion method, as it seems like the initial volatile chemicals that produce the unwanted smoke/taste tend to basically be baked out of the coals when they are in the pit with lit coals, even if they haven't lit yet themselves... People don't seem to have much issue with even adding a few more unlit, I would assume that with a good coal bed going the few more that are added are ignited quickly enough that the effect is minimal.
 
Thanks guys. As for my first cook, Dustin, it will be something very simple and cheap. I have a 2.75 stick of bologna. If I mess it up I'm out 9.00. If it goes well it will make some darn good sandwiches. It turned out very well when I did it on my propane smoker.
I'm very excited about this new adventure in cooking.
 
If you haven't already, check out the operating tips on the home page, wealth of info on what to do and how to do it--
 
Well I fired up the wsm today. It was about 15 degrees out. Fired up a full chimney of RO briquettes & filled ring about halfway. Got temp to 250 & held it for about 4 hours. Cooked a pork loin in about 2 hours & then smoked 4LBS of almonds. Meat was very juicy & tender, but both had very little smoke flavor. I used 3 large apple chunks for pork & a hickory split for nuts.

So far I am very pleased with the wsm. I have a turkey to cook sometime soon for friends. I think I'm comfortable enough to cook for others. Seems quite easy to use.

Lew.
 
You'll learn how much smoke you and your family like after a few cooks. I prefer lightly smoked food so add smoke wood like a strong spice - sparingly - to avoid the ashtray effect. Others like a much more pronounced smoke flavor so add much more smoke wood.

Also, for the first few cooks try cooking something that prefers high heat and that spatters so you'll season your cooker. Chicken, Turkey, and Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf come to mind. You need the high heat for the crisp skin/bacon and the fat splatter will help you out. Before long you won't be able to hit 300°F wide open without applying a few tricks.

As mentioned above, I recommend you read the pages on this website: http://virtualweberbullet.com/ There's a ton of info to be found there.
 
Last edited:
Dwain has given you some very sound advice. Definitely check out Chris's articles on the website Dwain referenced. Chris is very knowledgable and there is a wealth of info to be found there. I know I learned a lot from reading them and I still do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top