New WSM rig, first smoke


 
C

Charlie Kaiser

New member
Been smoking on a GOSM gas smoker for several years. Finally took the plunge and got my WSM 18, along with the BBQ Guru CyberQ. Yesterday, I fired it all up for the first time for a break-in run. Everything worked the first time and it held at 275º +/- 10º for 12 hours on less than a half-load of charcoal.
It has been cold and raining all last night and today. But by 11:30 I couldn't help myself and fired it up again and put in a slab of St. Louis ribs. Set the CyberQ for 250º and let it rip. About 1 hour in, I opened it up because I had forgotten to fill the water pan, so I added almost a gallon of hot tap water. I was stunned to see it return to temp in less than 5 minutes!
Started apple juice spray after about 3 hours once the bark had set. Pulled them to foil after 4 1/2 hours. Foiled for about 1 1/2 hours. Shoulda gone longer, but we wanted to EAT! They were tender enough to eat. Not perfect, but close enough for tonight.
I gotta admit; the combination of the WSM and the CyberQ is unbelievable. The hardest part of everything, including unboxing, setting up the smoker, putting on the nomex seal kit and replacement latch, hooking up and configuring the CyberQ to talk to my network, and getting food out of it? Figuring out how to put on the dang cover when it was all done! LOL...
VERY pleased with the ribs. Not my best, but first cook in a new smoker? Suwheet...
The CyberQ has a very easy-to-use web interface. Don't bother with the one on the unit; get it connected to your computer or phone and control it from there. MUCH easier.

Some photos... not sure if this will work or not...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3GLv0v92j3jdTU5cDFzLTd0S2c/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3GLv0v92j3jTnFEa2owYlJoRGM/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3GLv0v92j3jdmdNVmg4OUI4QVk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3GLv0v92j3jWWtMdnpzMjJUaFE/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3GLv0v92j3jM2NwdHFMUTk2LXc/view?usp=sharing
 
Nice looking ribs.

Question - I thought with the automatic controllers you don't use water. Isn't a heat sink counter productive to a control unit?
 
Jerry; that's an interesting question. I would expect that water would act as a bit of a thermal sink, helping to stabilize temps even more, as well as add moisture. Why would one not use water? My experience over the years (without a controller) have shown that water does seem to keep my meats a bit more moist.
 
Let's see if I can figure out how to get images inline...

UxOzdys-Zzkh9Z_NixASrKxye8GN3z5wqcgaHtc3GvBe2sT4tkgmnu_GYi4rPdPX2ZagzsL4IeQ=w897-h785
 
Ahhh... That's better... I noticed on these ribs that the bark was nice and crispy, but just a tad too hard. Also, the smoke ring is not as thick as I'm used to getting. If you look at the ones on the right, you can see that they are a little dry in the middle (as in undercooked). I'm thinking that the first hour without water may have dried out the outer layer enough to prevent smoke penetration deeper in. I'll probably drop the temp to 230º and make sure the water pan is filled for the next slab.
But on the other hand, keeping the temp at 250 or higher might encourage better cooking internally...
Thoughts?
 
I stopped using water soon after I joined this site. The only reason was that I didn't like dealing with disposal of the greasy left over water. From what I've read on this site, water does not impact the moisture of the cooked meat. I can't say since I never ran a test, but I believe it since is justifies/supports my desire not to deal with the water. (I'm not a scientist :) ) As for having water in with the controller, again, no personal experience but I have read on this site and it make sense to me that you have two things working against each other. The water will keep the temp down and the controller is trying to keep the temp up (stable). My guess is that the controller is blowing more with the water than it would without it and using more fuel.

In the end, it's all good that you do what works for you, I was just wondering. Heck, maybe I should try water. I've cooked enough now that I could probably tell if there's a difference.
 
Looks like you've got it dialed in! Can't comment on the water thing as I have never used water in my mini or 18.5 WSM. Not many on the site use water so I just went with the flow and have been happy so far.
Been raining here in Prescott for three days I know we need it, but enough.
 
Nice job.

But I'm pretty sure that the makers of the Cyber Q recommend using a dry water pan. I have been using a BBQ Guru temp controller for years now and have never used water. Years ago I spoke with Bob @ BBQ guru and he said to take a sheet of heavy duty foil, crumble it into a ball and the open it up and lay it in the water pan. Do this three times and then cover the pan with more foil. He said that it acts like a heat shield, of sorts.
 
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