Skillet and wok with WSM

[Skip Felts]

This is an excerpt from my Introduce Yourself posting. Have folks tried these ideas? I find they've really added to my WSM experience. Any other ideas like this would be appreciated. I do all the standards, but it's fun to improvise too.

I bought a 15" Lodge skillet (weighs a ton) and a trivet and press. I put a butterflyed chicken on the trivet in the skillet, and then set it on a rack with its handle out the door hole. You can lean the door on it and it seals okay. Then I smoke it for awhile, then take it all apart, put the rack on the charcoal ring, then move the skillet down and put the chicken directly on it with the pre-heated press on top of it. Just to crisp it up. I also use the skillet like this to cook an entire breakfast at once, then use the remaining life in the coals for some smoking. Also works great for steaks, which you sear, and then move the pan up onto a rack to finish. Also, you can set a wok directly on the ring. The wok will achieve a temperature just short of the sun's surface, and you can stir fry anything just like a pro. By the way, I find cedar chips are the perfect surface for WSM cooking. They can't combust, and they don't stick to parts that are set down on them, so they don't clog things up. As you can see, I'm constantly moving my parts around!

 

[Skip Felts]

Actually I got to thinking I didn't write this correctly. The skillet handle fits through the door hole when the skillet is the lower position. You can slide the middle section on and off. When I do this, I use very few coals and let them burn down a lot, as I don't want the skillet getting too hot. The trivet helps too. Then I take it off, crank it up a bit with new coals, and set the skillet directly on the ring for the crisping part. It also works to set the skillet up higher, and then put the lid over it. There's many configurations. It's just a great way to use cast iron's advantages with the WSM.