S.J. Silver/Gold Mini WSM Smoker: Part 2


 
Thanks George. Here is a pic of the lil guy:

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and here is part of the baby back ribs that just came off of it:

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Aloha Jennifer,
Welcome to TVWBB!
Clean build, I like your replacement ash catcher & added damper handle

One question- how far down from under the pot rim did you drill the hole for your thermometer?
I am finished with mine, with the exception of the permanent Thermometer.

Mahalo,
ChadRex
 
ChadRex said:
Aloha Jennifer,
Welcome to TVWBB!
Clean build, I like your replacement ash catcher & added damper handle

One question- how far down from under the pot rim did you drill the hole for your thermometer?
I am finished with mine, with the exception of the permanent Thermometer.

Mahalo,
ChadRex
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Thanks! The thermometer's sensor bar is about 1/2 to 3/4 inch below the top cooking grate (as you can tell by looking at the position of the thermometer relative to the exterior grate acorn nuts).
 
ChadRex said:
Wow look at the smoke ring on those babies! excellent cook!

What were the Temps?
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My boyfriend had to go to work today so I kinda rushed these last set of baby back ribs (the ones pictured above). I kept them around 240-250F the entire time. At the end threw them on a hot 550F grill for couple mins to glaze them. I pulled them off the mini wsm at an internal temp of around 170F--I figured the grill would get them to 180F. I might of gotten them above 180F inside on the grill--I'm not too sure; but they tasted great! :)
 
Jennifer said:
My boyfriend had to go to work today so I kinda rushed these last set of baby back ribs (the ones pictured above). I kept them around 240-250F the entire time. At the end threw them on a hot 550F grill for couple mins to glaze them. I pulled them off the mini wsm at an internal temp of around 170F--I figured the grill would get them to 180F. I might of gotten them above 180F inside on the grill--I'm not too sure; but they tasted great! :)
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Congratulations on a great first cook. Have a feeling there will be many more to follow.
 
Thanks Don. I am going to take my Lil' Mini WSM to my brother's in a couple weeks and make them some smoked baby back ribs. They love smoked ribs, but can't make them right now as all they have is a propane grill. I just know I'll be making up another one of these Mini WSM for him soon! :) You can smoke 3 racks of baby back ribs in this thing easily, which should just be large enough for him and his family.
 
Jennifer, what are you using to hold the thermometer in there? I am going to use the same one, did you just drill a small hole? Thanks
 
BobbyTuck said:
I mentioned this in another thread, but another reason to go with the Smokey Joe Gold (as opposed to the Silver) is that the Gold has the side vents, and it's simple to hook up a temp controller like a BBQ Guru. Not necessary, perhaps, given the temp stability of the minis, but I do like the ability to monitor the pit and food temps via wifi. The Guru Weber adapter screws right into the side hole (while blocking the other side hole with the tape). The other set of vents can be closed entirely or (what I've been doing) leaving open slightly to get increased airflow for higher temps.

I don't have a SJ silver, but my understanding is that silver has only the bottom vents, so you'd need to drill a side vent to mount the Weber adapter (or any other adapter).
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Does anyone know how big the holes are on the side of the Gold? I am stationed overseas and only have Silvers here. I already have a CyberQ and would love to use it if I can get the right size hole drilled. Or does anyone else even use on (due to ease of setting temp)?
 
Kevin, I just built my CL-found SJG (2012 model). The vent holes are 1 inch in diameter, two per side. I have been amazed at how steady the temp holds in my set up. For my initial burn-in (no food), my smoker held 265+/- deg for 8-1/2 hours without any additional briquets or vent adjustments before I shut it down. I estimate I still had 35-40% of the briqets remaining. I don't think you will a CyberQ to hold your temps if my experience is indicative.
 
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JThomas said:
Kevin, I just built my CL-found SJG (2012 model). The vent holes are 1 inch in diameter, two per side. I have been amazed at how steady the temp holds in my set up. For my initial burn-in (no food), my smoker held 265+/- deg for 8-1/2 hours without any additional briquets or vent adjustments before I shut it down. I estimate I still had 35-40% of the briqets remaining. I don't think you will a CyberQ to hold your temps if my experience is indicative.
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Thanks JT. I don't have a power outlet on my porch anyway so it will make it easier. Just figured since I have it why not use it. Some things suck over here in Japan such as getting what you really want. I have a new 22.5 WSM sitting in my storage unit back in the US that I can't ship here due to USPS sizes. Oh well it will be there when I get back whenever that is. Thanks again for the response.
 
Kevin, while I have a slight prefence for the SJG kettle for a mini-WSM conversion, I am going to make three SJS-based minis for Christmas presents (a son and two sons-in-law). Just used the inverted large tuna can mod as an ash blocker on a SJS conversion.

Your challenge will be finding an IMUSA pot that exactly fits your SJS. You can probably buy online from Amazon a Visconia pot instead. It seems from others' experience that this pot fits better out of the box even though it is more expensive. Good luck!
 
Kevin Buchanan said:
Some things suck over here in Japan such as getting what you really want.
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Kevin,
I remember those days. I was stationed on Okinawa for 2 years then in Kyushu for another 18 months... A great experience but i did miss the accessibility things I had at home.
Enjoy the opportunity there, I made friends with some older Japanese neighbors by simply bringing them sixer of Budweiser and steaks from the BX.......
 
Hi Andy, and welcome!

I'm not sure if anyone has used that specific pot, but there may be a chance that someone has, and hopefully they'll post a reply. As you know, it's all about the fit between the pot and the SJ bowl and lid, so that might be a gamble if you ordered one sight unseen.

Good luck!
 
Today I used the SJ Gold (used the SJ Silver last time) for my mini, I decided to swap them out to see which I like best.

I am doing turkey and chicken drumsticks, I put in 12 lit KBB coals and it went right to 280 and stayed there for the first hour and a half, when I put the chicken it at that point I took the middle and top off and put a piece of wood on the coals they were about half ashed over and half just starting to turn grey, I had a full load in my charcoal ring.
After putting the turkey on the lower grate and chicken on the top it put it back together, the temp climbed to about 235 and stayed there so I knocked some ash off and opened the bottom vents full and top 2/3's it has climbed to 270 and is holding there. I wanted 290 or 300 but without adding lit coals can't seem to get it any higher, although it should be ok I guess.
Tomorrow I am doing a 6 pound chicken and 3 Turkey Legs and will use the SJ Silver.
 
Thanks to this forum, my son and I built a mini for my SJG a couple weeks ago- total out of pocket is about $25 for the pot and new grate. We had the SJG, extra thermo, pie tin for water pan, and assorted hardware on hand.

Only a couple cooks so far- they were both “reverse sear”, first two tri-tips and then a pork loin roast. Both phenomenal- I really like this setup. Start with the meat up top to slowly bring up to temp, then take the lightweight aluminum pot off, hot up the coals, and sear to finish.

That said, I would like to do a similar setup with my new Jumbo Joe. Has anyone tried to find an aluminum pot to fit the 18” form factor? It doesn’t need to be super tall- about 12” would work. That would also make for good storage as the Jumbo Joe’s feet are narrower than the kettle so it could sit inside the pot for transport. I may just go with heavy aluminum sheet but a nice round pot would support the upper grill a lot better.

(The idea isn’t to replace my 18.5” WSM, rather as a portable that would do roasts and whole poultry better than the Joe alone.)
 
Is the Vasconia 32-Quart Aluminum Steamer still the GO TO Pot? I only see it at walmart and it is a SITE TO STORE item... that means TIME.... lol Thanks for all the great info.
 
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