New to the BBQ world


 
Katie

Katie

New member
Hi everyone!

As I just posted in the "Introduce Yourself" thread, my name is Katie, and I bought my husband an 18.5" WSM a couple weeks ago as a thank you gift. We are both brand new to the world of smoking in general, but I think I may like it more than he does.

So far we've made smoked salmon and a pork butt, and both turned out delicious. We obviously have a lot more to learn but so far are just enjoying the experience.

One question I have is if altitude will affect the performance of the smoker? We live in Denver and have less oxygen up in ye olde Mile High than you do at sea level. How much, if any, difference will that make in smoke times/temperature/etc? Mainly asking because we took forever to cook our pork butt because the temperature really kept falling off towards the end.
 
Welcome to the forum Katie. I'm not experinced about high level cook effects, but I know there are sure effect on thermometer. Please check your ice point and boiling point.
 
Welcome Katie.

You will get a difference up there than we do down here. I think you may have to open your vents a wee bit more to let more oxygen in. FWIW, I did a pork shoulder on Sunday and it took 11 hrs! You will get the "stall" where the IT of the meat just stops. Don't worry, as long as the pit temp stays stable, all is good and just let it ride.

My temps also started to fall off about 7 hrs in. Couldn't figure out why coz there were still unlit briqs in there. Maybe there was a build up of ash. I dunno. If you see your temps steadily dropping, get about a dozen more briqs on the go and put them in. Stir up the fire ring and plonk the lit briqs on top of the remaining unlit briqs, & up she'll come for the rest of the cook.

This is just my 0.02¢. There are many on here who are more knowledgable than me, & I'm sure they'll chip in and help you out. Good luck. :)
 
Well Howdy Katie! Good to see yet another Coloradoite here! I think there is a difference in vent adjustments here. If you read so of Chris' s cooks and how he adjusts his vents it just doesn't work here. I'm at 5000' here and i have my vents open a fair bit more than he does. Enjoy your wsm, bbq is great fun and food!
 
Welcome, you will soon discover that cook times will vary from one day to the next thus the fun of BBQ. What you also mentioned in your post is temp fluctuations or you started losing heat. I would bet that the more you use your smoker the more seasoned it will become and will start holding the temp more steady. There is a ton of resource on this site so don't give up. Over load your fuel and give the smoker sometime to season, and.... Have fun!
 
Hi Katie. Welcome. This is a great site and a great group of people. There is a wealth of information here and people always ready to advise and offer tips. As you and your husband are probably already discovering it is addicting. Learn, have fun, and let's see some pics. Happy cooking.
 
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