New WSM

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date

 
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

Guest

Guest
Greetings all. Let me just say that I am happy to be in the presence of all you fans of BBQ. So heres my story. I fell in love with a brinkmann pitmaster deluxe. My gf bought it for me for our anniversary (thats love). Upon taking it home I had to return it on account of being all rusted inside. When I took it back all the ones they had there were rusted. I went to another store and bought one. When I went to pick it up the firebox door had a 3/4" gap all the way around. I told the guy, 'how do i regulate heat with all this leakage'. To make a long story short I did some research and have heard nothing but great things about the WSM. So when I went back to pick up the Crapmaster Deluxe, I asked for my money back. Turns out the guy said they had to return 4 other brinkmanns on account of all the fireboxes being dented in. I took my money and went and bought a WSM. Assembled it in about 15 mins (it was dark outside). I also bought a weber chimney and some lump wood. Heres my 2 questions. 1. Do i need to season this thing? Should I atleast run it for awhile to get the smells are whatever out? 2. I was planning on using lump charcoal, but after reading around on this I guess Kingsford charcoal is the way to go huh? Thank you all for any answers you may give me. Also, I hear the WSM might go up by 50 degrees the first time. I am planning on making a brisket this weekend and wonder what I should do? P.S. I have a maverick ET-73 on the way /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Hey Steve,

word11.gif
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>The short answer: No. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>True. But what better excuse to play with ... er... conduct evaluaton testing? /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Being more familiar with off-sets, I "seasoned" my WSM when I first got it but that was more just to see how this it worked without having to worry about actually cooking something. [kind of a process-vs-results thing]

Since lump charcoal typically burns hotter than briquettes, it may be harder to maintain low temps for long periods.
 
Welcome Steve!!

No need to season!

Don't worry about it running any hotter. Simply choke the vents down more. I bought a new one last year and didn't notice it running any hotter than my 6 year old unit. All a matter of fire control.

Have fun!
 
My WSM ran a little hot on the first few cooks. The temp at the top grate stayed around 260 with all three vents closed. Measured with polder in wood block. The food was still great. I have started using the famous Minion method, and really like the ease of temp control with it.

Like Stogie says, don't worry about it. The WSM is a amazing smoker, be prepared for compliments like, greatest ribs I ever ate!

Ed
 
Welcome and congrats on making the best bbq purchase decision you'll ever make, that is, short of ordering some bbq sauce from Dreamland on-line /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif . Well, I didn't season my WSM. I just threw on 3 slabs of babybacks and went to town. They were great. I was so worried about maintaining temp that I just about stood over it the whole time. In the end, the temps ran between 230 and 250 for the entire cook with virtually no change in vents from me. I had so much fuel left over at the end that I shut down all the vents and the next morning I was able to salvage 2/3rds of the charcoal. The last ribs I did were with just one chimney of charcoal. I'm starting to learn that you don't need as much fuel in the WSM as you may be acustom to using.

Also, consider doing the grate modification in the tip/mods section. Here is the picture;

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/charcoalgrate_photos/expandgrate.jpg

I did this mod, it's easy and it really make your charcoal go allot further.
 
I've used my WSM twice now. The first cook did run much hotter then the first. With the outside temp pretty well the same. But the second cook got no hotter then 250f at top grate even with bottom vents half open. The first cook after taking the ribs off and foiling got as high as 275f. I was forced to close the top vent for a while to choke the fire. And this was with the bottom vents all the way closed the whole cook.

So I did notice a difference. Although it could have been anything I guess. I'm just assuming it had something to do with being new. After the first cook there was a layer of grime over the whole inside. So it was'nt shiny anymore.

You'll love this thing. It's a machine. You can keep it pegged at 240f or so for a LONG time! I'd imagine all night cooks would even be easier do to the milder temps at night.

Congrats on your purchase and enjoy!
 
Message for Jim Clay.....

I have a clone recipe for Dreamland BBQ sauce that several of us have been working on. Would you be interested in testing and helping out?

If so, drop me a private mail through this site. I will give you what we have and where we stand. I think we have it pretty close...only need 2 minor adjustments.

Let me know!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

 

Back
Top