Poll Idea - How long do you wait between Lighting & Putting the Meat On?


 
Ron G.

Ron G.

TVWBB Wizard
It seems to me that lately, I've seen quite a few descriptions where forum contributors are stating that they wait for up to an hour or more.
This sparked my curiosity

I've always done the following:

  • Pack Charcoal Ring / Prep
  • Open Vents about 100%
  • Light Chimney Starter
  • Wait for starter coals to ignite
  • Dump lit coals on top of unlit / smoke wood
  • Assemble Lower Section of WSM
  • Go into house & bring meat out (takes a few minutes while fire "catches")
  • Fill Water Pan, Oil Grates, & put the meat on
  • After about 15 minutes - throttle the vents to about 1/2 open
  • Double-check again after about an hour

This gives my WSM about 10-15 minutes to come up to temperature, and for the top of the unlit charcoal to start
Gives the cooker a bit, but not too much time to pre-heat
NEVER had problems with "off flavor" / Bitter smoke, etc.

Suggested Poll Items:
-NO Wait - Light it and throw it on
-Short Wait (15 minutes or less)
-15-30 minutes
-30-45 minutes
-45-60 minutes
-Longer than 60-minutes
-I go by the cooker temperature
-I go by the "color change" of the smoke
-Other

Maybe one poll for Lump/All-Wood charcoal users and another (section?) for Regular Briquette users

Might be interesting to see the results
 
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As soon as the briqs in the chimney get ashed over, dump them on the coals on the grate, assemble and wait till it gets to 250 then the meat goes in. Time varies with wind and is somwhat unpredictable.

I usually start about an hour before I want the meat to go in: from the first match to meat in. It's not reallly "waiting". It's just the process. I don't "wait" after it's at temp.
 
I light a few briquets w/ a torch, wait about 15 or 20 mins assemble the smoker and when it is about to target temp I put the meat on. Never timed it but I would say not more than forty mins.
 
Ron,
I tell you my experience.
Always BBQ GURU ON.
Always wood splits buried under briquettes or charcoal.
With BRIQUETTES I always lit the briquettes with the gas thorch in the middle of the ring and I always waited 60 to 90 minutes before to put the meat in.
With CHARCOAL I always lit the charcoal with the gas thorch in the middle of the ring and I started reducing waiting time from 60-90 minutes to 30 minutes before to put the meat in.
I am still sure not to get any off flavour by charcoal but on the other side I like SOME withe smoke in the very first part of smoking process.
After 60-90 minutes the white smoke desappears and the THIN BLUE SMOKE rolls on.
 
If the cook temp is under 300° I'll do minion and then throw the meat right on. If its over 300° say for poultry or a high heat brisket, I'll dump a full chimney on and then wait 30 mins before meat goes on.
 
Meat on without wait. I see no reason to do otherwise. Catch target temp on the way up. Early smoke doesn't bother me or the taste of my food
 
I use the "Tin Can" Minion Method. When my WSM's reach about 200 degrees on the way up I put my meat on. I have NO problems with the quality of the smoke.

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
I look for the blue smoke before I put my food on (Enrico taught me that) What's interesting is that the wood injected Kingsford (Apple & Hickory) produce the blue smoke from the moment you light up (Minion) When I use the original formula, I dump a huge amount of lit charcoal on and my WSM is closed up pretty tight. This produces the blue smoke within 10 minutes, however when you load your cook, you have to be very quick, or the white smoke will spew
 
Yep, fire it up, throw on the meat and catch temps on the rise, if I'm going high heat and no pan I dump 1 chimney of unlit with 1 chimney of lit on top and wait a few minutes for the unlit to heat up
 
I wait for as long as it takes to get TBS before putting the meat on. That wait length depends on the type of charcoal that I am using.
 
I have always waited for the thick white smoke to die down. I use the minion with about 15 lit coals to start. I do waste about an hour of heat I guess. Next batch is going to go on right away. I also run a BBQ Guru DX2 so it comes to temp relatively fast.
 
I light with a couple of weber fire starter cubes, so I wait about 15-20 mins for the fire to "fully catch" and start to spread. Usually it is about the time that the ATC first kicks the fan off.
 
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