S J. Gold Mini WSM Smoker


 
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Yeah... You definitely need to make one of these. It is really fun.

One way to control heat is to have a couple different sized ceramic plates. I have a 12 incher that really chokes it down.... and an 8 incher that allows it to cook a little hotter.

Its so much fun to use. The best thing about it is........ This thing is a really great cooker!
 
Originally posted by Ernie D:
One way to control heat is to have a couple different sized ceramic plates. I have a 12 incher that really chokes it down.... and an 8 incher that allows it to cook a little hotter.
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Thanks for that tip. I didn't know the size of the water pan or disk would make a difference.

I was aware that a pinhole leak in the water pan that dripped on the charcoal would slow things down.
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i use the steamer plate with holes in it as a diffuser. then a trivet on top of that and a 12-13 in round aluminum tray on top of the trivet to catch the grease. works perfectly for me. little to no mess with very good heat control.
 
just put on two fatties, plus one turkey fattie for the wife and a lump of spam. the can with holes works perfectly on the silver to keep the lower vent from plugging up with ash. not sure how this is gonna go as the wind is swirling and i can see the smoke coming out actually stop. gonna be interesting.
 
well, this has turned into a cluster. the wind has just done me in. its now over 3 hrs and i'm still only at 136 int temp. can barely get the mini to go over 200. no heat but the coals are burning out. i am now starting my third burn. well, after putting in half a chimney load of lighted briq i finally got some temp. actually was to high for a bit. 45 min later it was done. well, a bit overcooked but still ok. wow, that wind kicked me in the rear. all the other cooks i've done on it up to now have gone with no problems. half a chimney and they were done in less than 1.5 hours. this one took a bit over 4 hours. was fun to watch the smoke stop and almost reverse itself. if not that the smoke would literaly come out and then go down the side of the pot. also as the day went on the wind and gusts got worse. boy, was i glad when that was over !
 
Help!

I received my IMUSA 32 qt steamer today from Amazon/Target. Unfortunately, it does not sit inside the lower bowl of the SJG.
It kind of sits on the lip of the lower bowl and easily tips and slides.
If I leave the grill grate in the SJG and set the pot on top of it, it helps keep the pot from teetering as much, but is not ideal.
Is there something else I am supposed to do so that the pot fits nicely inside the lower bowl?

On a side note, I noticed prevous posters indicated their pot was 12.5" tall, and my measures at 11.5". I am fearful that they have started making the pot slightly shorter and fatter.
 
Originally posted by J Johnson:
Help!

I received my IMUSA 32 qt steamer today from Amazon/Target. Unfortunately, it does not sit inside the lower bowl of the SJG.
It kind of sits on the lip of the lower bowl and easily tips and slides.
If I leave the grill grate in the SJG and set the pot on top of it, it helps keep the pot from teetering as much, but is not ideal.
Is there something else I am supposed to do so that the pot fits nicely inside the lower bowl?

On a side note, I noticed prevous posters indicated their pot was 12.5" tall, and my measures at 11.5". I am fearful that they have started making the pot slightly shorter and fatter.
Click to expand...

It was becoming clear the IMUSA pot was not going to work, so I went to the latin grocery store and bought a "La Mejor Cocina" brand 32 qt pot. Luckily, the bottom fits perfectly, and the lid fits better on the pot than it did on the SJG bottom bowl.
 
Memorial Day is always celebrated at our house. I come from a military family and my birthday is always on Memorial Day weekend. This year, I made myself a present. I cut the bottom out of a tamale pot, drilled some holes, put in a thermometer and made myself a mini-wsm out of my old Smokey Joe - largely following the guidance from this site.

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I gave it a go for the Memorial Day/Smoke Day cook. I spatchcocked a chicken, soaked it in buttermilk with Texas BBQ Rub Grand Champion. Smoked it at 275-300 for about an hour. Here it is ready to sauce.

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I put a glaze of Texas Pepper Jelly and BBQ Sauce (1/2 and 1/2) on and let it set for approximately 15min.

Here's the final product.

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Thanks to all for sharing the information on how to put this together. I got my pot at Target and it fit perfectly.
 
This is NOT good news. I am/was getting ready to order this pot at mid month.

Does anyone know where to buy these in the Fox Valley or Madison Wisconsin areas?

Originally posted by J Johnson:
Help!

I received my IMUSA 32 qt steamer today from Amazon/Target. Unfortunately, it does not sit inside the lower bowl of the SJG.
It kind of sits on the lip of the lower bowl and easily tips and slides.
If I leave the grill grate in the SJG and set the pot on top of it, it helps keep the pot from teetering as much, but is not ideal.
Is there something else I am supposed to do so that the pot fits nicely inside the lower bowl?

On a side note, I noticed prevous posters indicated their pot was 12.5" tall, and my measures at 11.5". I am fearful that they have started making the pot slightly shorter and fatter.
Click to expand...
 
Wow, you guys a clever. What a great idea.

Any Canadian members find an aluminum pot equivalent for this project?

I have never been so excited to go to Walmart
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Getting started on building mine and need a little input.
I would like to give myself as much cooking space as possible inside the pot. I was wondering if anyone has tried just drilling several holes in the bottom of the pot around the outer edge and setting the clay saucer on it. That would free up the indented ring for holding a cooking grate, rather than the clay saucer.

I am interested in your thoughts.
 
The 2 problems I see with drilling holes is not enough air flow and you would have to have a short charcoal ring. Plus grease collecting on the bottom and catching fire.
 
I finally got to work this weekend building mine. I ordered the IMUSA tamale steamer from Target through Amazon since my local Walmart didn't have any in stock. It arrived in a few days, but alas, it did not fit as others have commented. It has a 14-1/8" width (at the base), 11-5/8" height (w/o lid), and is made in Columbia. I can return it to Amazon, but I may just keep it around so I can experiment with a modification that should make it work.

There are a number of Mexican groceries not too far from where I live, so I decided to look there. I found another 32-qt steamer at the second place I visited, and got amused looks as I whipped out my tape measure to verify the width. It was 13-3/4" wide and 12-1/2" tall, just about perfect. After measuring my smokey joe silver, I was hoping for something closer to 13-7/8", but this one turned out just fine. It cost $29.99 + tax, the brand name is Alpine Cuisine, and is made in China.

At the same store, I noticed several even larger size steamers, something in the 40 qt and 50 qt range I believe. I later wondered if these would fit any of the larger Weber kettles, like the SJP...

The hardest part of modifying the steamer was getting the darn label off! I didn't want to mar the surface too much so I used some leftover wallpaper remover which allowed the paper label to come off much easier than without it, but the adhesive remained. So I used some paper towels and lamp oil (kerosene) to remove the glue.

A variable speed jig saw with a fine tooth metal cutting blade made cutting out the bottom easy, accurate, and neat. I still have a few things to do before I can test it out, like figuring out where to set the grates, but I should be up and smoking soon.

Thanks everyone for contributing to this interesting and helpful thread. Cheers!
 
Welcome George.

Glad you were able to make it happen. The best thing about the mini-wsm is cooking on it.

It is starting to get hot around here with nasty humidity. I am ready to break out the mini for easy pulled pork with very little monitoring or worry.

ENJOY
 
I am still new to the group here, but I really like this thread. This mini WSM looks like it would be perfect for doing 2-3 slabs of BB's or 2 medium sized boston butt's. Some great creativity here!

Can anyone confirm an online source for the tamale steamer? I have seen the Amazon and Target references, but have also read about some of the steamers being a different size. Has anyone purchased this recently & recieved the proper size?

Do the standard Smokey Joe replacement cooking grates fit inside or is the pot too small?

Thanks -Brad
 
Do the standard Smokey Joe replacement cooking grates fit inside or is the pot too small?
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They fit just fine in mine. I think someone else in this thread mentioned it could be a tight fit over time as grease and smoke residue build up on the inside surface. On mine, there would have to be quite a bit of buildup.

I'm going to start my first pork butt tonight...
 
Can anyone confirm an online source for the tamale steamer? I have seen the Amazon and Target references, but have also read about some of the steamers being a different size. Has anyone purchased this recently & recieved the proper size?
Click to expand...
I bought one some time ago on Amazon (actually sold by Target.) But I don't know if you would get the same one today.
Do the standard Smokey Joe replacement cooking grates fit inside or is the pot too small?
Click to expand...
I've made three minis and had mixed results. On the first, the grates just fit inside the pot. For the next two, I got the pots at a local Wal-mart. They appeared identical but the grates were a bit snug in them. I wanted them to be somewhat loose so I cut a small part out of the outer rim and welded it back together. I probably took about 1/8" out.
 
Originally posted by Brad L:
I am still new to the group here, but I really like this thread. This mini WSM looks like it would be perfect for doing 2-3 slabs of BB's or 2 medium sized boston butt's. Some great creativity here!

Can anyone confirm an online source for the tamale steamer? I have seen the Amazon and Target references, but have also read about some of the steamers being a different size. Has anyone purchased this recently & recieved the proper size?

Do the standard Smokey Joe replacement cooking grates fit inside or is the pot too small?

Thanks -Brad
Click to expand...

I ordered a steamer from Target listed as the original size but got a shorter fatter made in Columbia one instead. The only way I see to use this is to cut the bottom off at the steamer tray lip so it would fit inside of the Smokey Joe. The top was so large that the lid wouldn't fit without cutting the edge completely off so it is sitting on a shelf gathering dust. But I did find one that will work but it took some effort and a little extra dough. This is a 6mil pot that I had to grind/sand off a bit for it to slide into the bottom of the Smokey Joe. Jig saw worked great. I bolted an angle bracket in three places that mimics the WSM bracket bottom and small angle brackets to hold the top rack. I bolted three spacers to center the top for a good fit. It was burned in today. For the bottom charcoal grate, I just added rod perpendicular to the existing grates. I used stove pipe formed to 10" diameter for the charcoal chamber and set the grills based on the original mini-WSM specs. Now for a good butt rub, some dry pecan or oak chunks, and some killer sauce, I will be making my first southern butt.
 
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