New to WSM - question about the amount of charcoal to use?


 

BenM

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When using my 18" WSM, how much coal do I put in the ring and my chimney when I am making ribs, brisket, and pork butt?

Do I put in the same amount for each type of meat different need different amounts?

And what about cold smoking something like a 2-pound chunk of cheese?

Thank you
 
Just a few questions for you:

Are you using the large chimney or a compact? Also, are you using briquettes or lump charcoal?
 
Ben, Normally I always suggest filling the basket to the very top, and then a little more. Then pull however many briquettes from the basket to use in the chimney. It's always better to have too much !!! UNLESS you're cold smoking cheese.....
USE the SNAKE method when cold smoking cheese... due to its ability to stay at a very low temperature. ( True for both a Kettle and a WSM )
 
Briquettes and a standard chiney
Alrighty. Bob makes an excellent point about filling the bowl and then taking the charcoal from there to fill your chimney.

I use the 18.5 as well but use the compact chimney. I fill it to full, which is about half of a chimney for yourself. As far as how much briquettes to use for ribs and such - I fill the charcoal bowl about 3/4’s of the way (just my method.)

I use the minion method for 100% of my cooks. I have never cold smoked cheese, so I would have to say try the snake method Bob suggested.
 
I start with a full chimney I will burn 1/3 of a chimney to leave on top with a chunk of hickory and a chunk of cherry that will give you a 4 to 5 hour cook easy 😎
 
You can look at any of my cooking topics, all of them describe how much charcoal I used and how I lit the charcoal. I usually use somewhat more charcoal that I need, just in case. You can extinguish leftover charcoal and use later.



 
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Fil it to overflowing for a brisket and a pork butt. Ribbs only take about 6 hours so you can fill it a little under full. Better to have too much than too little , always. For temps of about 250-275 I use about 3/4 of a chimney of charcoal. For 350 plus for chicken and turkey, I use full overflowing chimney. For lower temp so 225 or so you can get by with half a chimney or less. If you light too much all you got to do is let it die down.... It won't burn any more than your air settings allow if you don't have leaks..
 
Ben, you will find what works for you in time.
I do things a little bit differently, I lay my smoke wood on the bottom and then fill the ring until it overflows, pick the briquettes out of the space between ring and bowl and try to get them to stay put on the towering Jenga game of charcoal then, I put the barrel on and remove the door. I them light my propane torch and light the side near the door in one spot (about 2 minutes torch time) and close the door. Add the rack with protein and close it up. The hard part begins now…the waiting!
This is an adaptation of past member Enrico Brandizzi’s sidewinder Minion method and Harry Soo’s smoke media on the bottom, I have had very consistent results with this method but, it did take a little time to get the balancing act together. For a big brisket, I’ll fore it off the night before say 18:00 and I’ve found I might need to add a few fireplace shovels of charcoal about 06:00 for things to finish off.
I don’t wrap, spritz, poke or prod until temperature is getting close to desired finished range.
Resisting the urge to look and poke is a hard thing to get comfortable with but, the patience is it’s own reward. If you have questions, you can PM me and I’d be happy to get more specific about why I do what I do. I am a dyed in the wool lazy guy and try to get maximum result with least strain possible. The WSM does it’s job so, I can take credit for simply using the best equipment! Have fun.
 
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For cheese I use no charcoal at all. I simply put a half full 12” pellet smoker tube in the bottom of then WSM. You don’t want temps to exceed 90f. I never smoke more than 2 hours. Place the chunks in a large ziplock in the fridge for 48 hours, then remove, pat dry, and vacuum seal for a minimum of 2 weeks.

You might think you blew it if you taste it before it fully cures, so don’t!
 
For cheese I use no charcoal at all. I simply put a half full 12” pellet smoker tube in the bottom of then WSM. You don’t want temps to exceed 90f. I never smoke more than 2 hours. Place the chunks in a large ziplock in the fridge for 48 hours, then remove, pat dry, and vacuum seal for a minimum of 2 weeks.

You might think you blew it if you taste it before it fully cures, so don’t!
I’m in!
 
Just a quick comment...I am learning how to work my WSM so I decided to smoke some 1" thick pork chops. I used the remnants from my previous chicken cook and just added about a dozen briquettes in the chimney and used the minion method to light the old coals. It took 20 minutes or so to get the smoker up to 350-375 degrees. I placed the chops on the top grill and did not use the water pan.

It took 30 minutes to cook the chops to the perfect tenderness. I let them rest and served them after about 6 minutes. I'm sorry I didn't take any pics, but take my word for it, they came out great. This WSM really is extremely versatile.
 
Re: your question about cold smoking in WSM, @Chris Allingham describes a conversion using cardboard box, dryer tube and ingenuity: https://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cold-smoker-conversion/#operating
Yes, the cardboard box method was fun and inspired by a smoker made by Alton Brown, but my smoked cheese article featuring a smoke pellet tube was much easier!

 

 

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