New WSM Owner

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Guest

Guest
Just a quick introduction to the group. I've been following along for awhile now and doing lots of research. I recently won a $200 gift certificate to a grill dealer and I got a WSM with it. After reading all about it, I decided to fire it up the other night with just some cheap meat that I didn't care about. I've never done anything low & slow in my life so I started with some brats. I used lump charcoal with an extra charcoal grate at a 90 degree angle to the first one. I fired it using the Minion method with about a third of a chimney full of lump.

After about 30 minutes I was up to 200 degrees so I threw the brats on and let it get up to 225 before starting to shut down the vents. I kept it between 225-250 for two hours. I had one spike to 260 after I opened to check on them after the first hour, but it quickly came back down to temp. After I was done cooking, I just practiced keeping the temp in that range for another 2 hours. In the end, I accidently let it spike to 289, but I shut it down completely at that point. The next morning I check out my lump situation and I'd only used about 1/3 of it.

This was way easier than I thought it'd be. I'm going to try two butts on Sunday night for Monday's dinner and I'm going to throw some ribs on Monday afternoon as well. Wish me luck!

Cheers,
Wes
 
You get everyone's vote for best use of a $200 gift certificate. Time well spent learning the ways of the vents. Don't be afraid to buy a chunk of whatever and have at it. The WSM is your friend. It will not disappoint you. Read the cooking articles here and use them as a guide. You'll be glad you got the WSM.
 
Good luck Wes...you'll probably get a little spike every time you let air in the WSM, either by looking, basting, or adding fuel. No biggie...a pike to 260 won't kill anyone, and neither will a spike to 290. Sounds like you got
some real good experience in temp control...just remember, the wsm is very forgiving, and butts in particular are as well.

Tell us how it went..
 
Well I've got 2 8lb butts rubbed and ready for tonight. My question is this: Will 2 butts take longer to cook than one? And, since they are roughly the same size, can I expect that they'll be done at nearly the same time?

I'm figuring the 8lb butt will take around 12 hours give or take, but if I'm cooking 2, will the time need to be increased?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Wes,

You may have some increase in time, but that is more related to the early stage of the cooking process in bringing the meat temp up to the cooking process. I'm guessing an hour or so. I would strongly recommend not peeking at all during the first few hours to prevent heat loss.

It is always easier to hold cooked meat to serve than try to pacify a hungry crowd. Start early. If you need to hold the meat for awhile, double wrap in foil, wrap with a towel, and place in an ice chest.
 
Hey Gang,

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to posting a follow up, but the butts were a HUGE success. The ribs were decent, but I need work on that. More rub and better temp control will help me there I think. To see some photos I took of my first Q'ing experience visit here.

Thanks for all your help,
Wes
 
Wes,

Congrads! I looked at all your great pics, now I'm hungry...
My WSM was shipped out yesterday...can't wait.
What do you think was the problem with the ribs, not tender enough?
 
Food looks great!!! And you didnt even invite us.

I like the green WSM. Where can I get one? /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif
Too bad its only a reflection of the outdoor carpet.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Doug D:
[qb] Just curious-- doesn't the carpet melt with the lit chimney sitting on the pan? [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I'll bet that metal pan becomes a permanent fixture on the patio! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Regards,
Chris
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Randy Parr:
[qb] Wes,

Congrads! I looked at all your great pics, now I'm hungry...
My WSM was shipped out yesterday...can't wait.
What do you think was the problem with the ribs, not tender enough? [/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>The ribs were pretty tender, but I tried to stretch too little rub over too much rib. I had been given a sample of Ken Stone's Gilded Splinters rub w/Splenda and I should have just used it on one rack instead of both (with their tips). The rub was tasty but not strong enough in the amount I used.

On the butt with the cross cut pattern, I used both Southern Succor rub and cheap yellow mustard. We greatly preferred the taste of this butt because the crust was more "established" and provided a nice sweetness to the pork. The other butt was great, don't get me wrong. But the one with the mustard was superb. I've got my friends and my dad going around telling people I make better barbecue that the restaurants around here now.

As for the green carpet, I haven't checked yet. I hope I didn't do too much damage, but if I did, I'm sure my landlord will forgive me if I give him some Q.

Cheers,
Wes
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top