Newbie Questions


 
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Garrett Rowe

TVWBB Member
As a bona fide WSM rookie (I'm 1 and 1 after 2 smokes). I have a couple of questions. First, what have you guys found is the best way at getting at the meat on the bottom rack to baste/ turn. I know this seems like an obvious question but I just found it rather awkward removing the hot top grate and setting it on my card table or the concrete deck.

Second the first time out I used Kingsford charcoal lit MM to do a rack of spares and a brisket. Everything came out perfect. Second time around I got cocky and tried to do 2 racks of spares using Royal Oak lump (I really do prefer using the lump) but my meat tasted a little sooty to me (no one else complained though). I filled the ring with the lump charcoal and fired up 20-25 briqs of kingsford And added to the top. Temp control was no a problem but I didn't get that nice smoke ring and like I said before I think the meat tasted sooty.

Third (and Lastly) I read numerous places in this site that I should be looking to refill my water pan every 1.5- 2 hours. However during both of my cooks I never really ran low on water, even during the 18 hour brisket smoke. Is this indicative of some flaw in my technique that I should be concerned about?

This weekend I think I'll try for some pork butt, smoked sausages or maybe even some ABT's. Wish me luck.
 
Sounds like you were not cooking hot enough.
1. Bad taste = too cool of a fire. (did you add wood?)
2. Water in the pan did not boil away. (low heat)
I never get a smoke ring using just lump. I get a small ring using Kingsford. Lump produces almost no smoke. You need to add some wood if you want a deeper smoke ring.
 
1.When I want to rotate my bottom rack meat I have a gas grill next to my smoker and I put the top rack in my grill and close the lid while I work on the bottom rack.

2.What kind of wood did you use to smoke? It could have given an off flavor.

3.As for the water lasting maybe your temp was to low to boil it away.

What ever you're doing keep on trying. You can't beat experience.
 
I did add about 5-6 chunks of hickory. My fire may have been too low though. I'm always worried about my fire being too hot. I don't want to try to spend all that time and come out with a roasted piece of meat. I guess I may have overcompensated and kept my fire too cool. You're right though, experience is the best teacher. Maybe I'll have to try again this afternoon. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
 
Hi Garrett, I am new at this too but one thing that is helpfull is to know your temps. There was no mention of them. You have a lot of options; I have had a good experience with a two probe ET-73. You may not want to go to the trouble to keep a log with time and temps but it has helped me. Good luck.
 
Hey Garrett. How's Dayton these days?

I'll agree with the others. You fire sounds cold which probably accounts for the deposits of soot. Would that be akin to creosote deposits from a lazy fire in the fireplace? Anyway, my personal opinion is steer clear of the consumer-grade electronic probe thermometers. Years of experience with them in my brewery and now my grills/WSM shows they are more trouble than they are worth. Get a high-quality industrial-grade dial thermometer with a calibration screw. I'd recommend a 2" dial with a 3/8" pipe thread on the back. I have the 3" dials with 1/2" pipe thread for the brewery. They are more expensive than warranted for the WSM. Check them out at Grainger. The adjustment screw on the back of the case is key.

Good luck!
 
Garrett,

I rarely remove the top grate to baste. For BB's I just spray with apple juice, etc, right through the top grate. Same if I'm doing chicken. Sometimes I do not even baste.

Can't say I've ever experienced sooty. Maybe you're stirring up the coals a bit to much and creating lofting ash inside the WSM. I've used lump a couple times in the WSM but now reserve it just for the kettle. I find Kingsford offers more consistent heat however that is not to say that lump doesn't work well in a WSM.

I rarely need to refill the water pan for chicken and with BB's may only need a top off. For butts I usually need to re-add half the original volume of the pan. Like the previous responses, it really is a matter of the WSM temp.

Sounds like you're doing fine. Keep it up.
 
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