Newbie - just bought a WSM!


 
Mickey Rye said:
Awesome! Thanks for the great feedback, im pumped to know I can smoke all year round!

The chicken turned out good, it was a little dry, but I pulled it and added some homemade KC BBQ sauce and it tasted great. I didnt have a thermometer so I think I left it on too long, all part of the learning curve!

Next week I am having the guys over, im planning a big smoke, Brisket, Ribs and some Wings are all on the menu.

My next question; I'm trying to figure out the best place to put my WSM in the backyard, are there any issues on putting it on my deck, if so, should I put something underneath it? My other option is putting it underneath my deck (the deck is off the 2nd floor), would the smoke damage the wood? Any issues on putting it to close to the house?

Thanks Guys!
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Hi & welcome Mickey. Just looking at your menu for next week. The brisket can be pretty challenging especially if in combination with other meats unless you are doing a pork butt. Good luck with your next cook.:wsm:
 
Gary S said:
Hi & welcome Mickey. Just looking at your menu for next week. The brisket can be pretty challenging especially if in combination with other meats unless you are doing a pork butt. Good luck with your next cook.:wsm:
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I think you are right!

I decided to move the wings to the grill, just going to do the brisket and ribs on the WSM... I just fired up the smoker! Ill take pictures as the day progresses, this should be fun!

Question: what should I be keeping an eye out for? I'm worried that I might start losing heat before the meat is cooked...

MR
 
Hi Mickey. Heat dropping (or temp fluctuations in general) are probably the most common problems you will have. I assume you got that rig chock a block full of charcoal?
If the cooker gets too hot , close the vents as needed. If it starts to get cool , open vents as needed. You can add charcoal if you need it and if you feel like you need to stir the coals , just make sure you close ALL the vents first....top one too.
 
Frank H said:
Hi Mickey. Heat dropping (or temp fluctuations in general) are probably the most common problems you will have. I assume you got that rig chock a block full of charcoal?
If the cooker gets too hot , close the vents as needed. If it starts to get cool , open vents as needed. You can add charcoal if you need it and if you feel like you need to stir the coals , just make sure you close ALL the vents first....top one too.
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Thanks Frank!

Yep, the block ring was full, Ill have some charcoal on standby!

MR
 
Hey mick. I was looking for a thread that would address some of you concerns. This was an answer posted by dave Alvarado that I found very instructive....


Originally Posted by Dave Alvarado
How to succeed at brisket:


1. Keep your pit temps stable.
2. KEEP YOUR PIT TEMPS STABLE!!!
3. When your brisket stalls, foil it. Ignore anybody who makes fun of foiling, this will break the stall and help your brisket get done before it dries out too much.
4. When your brisket hits about 190F internal, remove your temp probe and start poking it to see if it's done. Poke with a kebab skewer or something, don't even bother with something that tells you a temperature. When it goes in like warm butter, it's done. If you like a firm bark, remove the foil at 190F. If you don't care, leave the foil on, it'll get done faster.
5. When you pull the brisket off the pit, LET IT REST.


I ran into a lot of the same issues as you. Don't sweat it, brisket just isn't as forgiving as butts. You have to keep your pit stable. If you can't, pull the brisket out of the smoke after 5-6 hours--it won't absorb much more smoke after that anyway, so your smoker is just a hard-to-use oven at that point. Use your easy-to-use oven instead to finish the cook. I started turning out really good briskets when I stopped listening to what anybody called "real" BBQ and started focusing on getting consistent heat into the meat.


Oh, and pepper doesn't dissolve. You can always see it on the brisket when it's done, that's normal. If you're making TX-style BBQ, you won't have a rub turning into bark anyway--that's for the folks that coat their meat in sugar and stuff. Salt, pepper, a little garlic powder if you want. A light coating of each, just enough for a bit of flavor. That's all the rub you need for TX-style. Focus on cooking the meat right first, then play with rubs and stuff.
 
Mickey Rye said:
Thanks Frank!

Yep, the block ring was full, Ill have some charcoal on standby!

MR
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sorry to keep peppering you with replies , I'm just curious. How big of a brisket are you cooking?
I also wanted to suggest to you that you use the search function to bring up threads about your questions....usually the replies are full of great tips , but it can be time consuming to sift thru all the info. Hey , good luck , brother. Post some pics of your cook. Love to see it.
 
Don't apologize! your advice is what I am looking for... I have been searching the site and the interwebz, I think I have data overload at this point. The Brisket is about 11 pounds...
 
What temps are you aiming for? Low & slow or high heat? You can easily cook that brisket in 6 hours if you are cooking at 300 or above.
 
Hey Gary,

I was aiming to cook it around 225-250... I am about 5 hours in and so far so good, the brisket is at about 170 degrees, Ive started to sop it every 2 hours... I just added 4 racks of ribs and the temp dropped to 200, I opened all the vents so I'll see what it settles down to... if need be I'll be ready to add more charcoal to bring the heat up.

Any other advice?

MR
 
sorry I'm late in the response but actually your temps probably did not drop other than opening the lid for a few minutes. The ribs would have a cooling effect on your thermometer. Remember thermal mass works both ways and they were in the fridge. Your brisket is likely stalled are you foiling?
 
I was not planning on foiling, will I need to? What exactly is stalling? The temp is up to 176 and still seems to be climbing...
 
Okay then keep going. Depending on the temp of your cook a brisket reaches the point where it begins to sweat, give off moisture. As it does that it also shed heat so it sits for sometimes a couple of hours and the temps barely move. In High heat situation the brisket usually does not stall or of it does it does not do it for long. Foiling avoids the stall as the foil holds the temps in but does soften the bark. Remember one thing, the brisket will not be done by temp but rather by feel. Jiggly, like butter when you put a probe into it. Are you taking your temps from the flat?
 
Cool. By the flat, do you mean the little door (sorry, still learning the lingo!), I have been lifting the lid... Im guessing its better to use the door and conserve the heat?

You were dead on with the temp, after some time it got back up to 250... I think its starting to slow down now though... I think Im going to add some charcoal, can I just light some on the side and stick them through the door or should remove the whole top and dump it in?

By the way, this site is awesome!

Also, thanks for the advice on when it is done... besides the the feel, anything else I should know about when to pull it off?
 
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If you are using charcoal and you just dump it in you will create all kinds of floating ash. I would take out the food grates and just add charcoal. It will light on its own. If you are using Kingsford I would add lit to avoid the off gas of the coal and whatever else is in that stuff.
 
Mickey Rye said:
Cool. By the flat, do you mean the little door (sorry, still learning the lingo!), I have been lifting the lid... Im guessing its better to use the door and conserve the heat?mick , the flat is part of the brisket. If it's a whole packer it's made up of the flat and the point. He means where you have your meat therm stuck in the brisket.....you can find a diagram online to show you which is which , but basically the flat is the biggest part and thickest.

You were dead on with the temp, after some time it got back up to 250... I think its starting to slow down now though... I think Im going to add some charcoal, can I just light some on the side and stick them through the door or should remove the whole top and dump it in......you can open the door and just pop unlit right in there or you can lift the center section off and add either lit or unlit...just be careful you don't spill the meat....do you have water in the pan?

By the way, this site is awesome!

Also, thanks for the advice on when it is done... besides the the feel, anything else I should know about when to pull it off?
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. ​you got good advice about that....just let it rest before you cut into it...
 
Great, I am using Kingsford, I added it lit... temp is back up to 200 and still slowly climbing...

As for the ribs, someone mentioned putting them on a hot grill to for a minutes before I serve, I'm thinking its not a good idea... thoughts? I hope Ill be able to tell when to pull the brisket, any advice is great!... Im also going to put some wings on the grill soon... going to to watch the hockey game followed by a little UFC... best day ever!

you guys are awesome!
 
Hi mick. Well it's Sunday and I guess it's all in the rear view now...:cool:
So , how was the brisket? I don't usually put the ribs on the grill...I like them just as they are from the smoker. But I can see where some folks might want to crisp up the outside a bit. To each his own , that's my motto.

let us know how it went , brother! And where's them pictures?
 
Welcome to the site.I don't get on as much as I would like but when I do its a learning lesson!
Be patient each smoke is a little different.......
 
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