Starting WSM with Guru DX


 
M

Morrey Thomas

TVWBB Super Fan
Any advice for starting a new system with a 22.5 wsm and a 10cfm fan? Want a long slow 12 hour cook for butts at 225 degrees. Utilizing the minion method, how many lit coals should be used and what areas should they be placed on the unlit mound?
 
Morrey-

Funny you should ask, I received my new DigiQ DX with 10 CFM fan just yesterday, and fired up a test fire. Here's what I did:

- Empty water pan (would have foil lined it if I was cooking something)

- Fully loaded WSM charcoal ring with unlit Kingsford briquettes.

- Using MAPP gas, fired up four spots in the center top of the briquettes -- 15 secs each.

- Assembled the cooker, shut the top draft to 1/4 open.

- Set my Pit Temp on DigiQ to my target of 240.

- Closed fan damper to 1/2.

- Sat back and watched the temp climb, taper off, then stabilize.

It ran like clockwork for 5 hours until I shut it down to go to bed and keep my new toy out of the rain.

Give it a run, and let us know how it goes.....and remember, if you don't take pics, it didn't happen!!
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Rich
 
Took your advice Rich, with a few simple modifications and observations along the way.

Decided to do a couple of large chickens so if I botched things up, it would be a less expensive mistake.

Bought a 16 inch terra cotta saucer and foiled it. Placed it in the foiled water pan to run dry. Clay saucer acted perfectly as a heat sink for stability.

Put in scant half ring of Stubbs briquettes plus several small chunks of hickory spaced thru unlit coals. Started 15 briquettes in chimney. Placed the lit coals evenly on unlit mound.

Probed one chicken with DigiQ meat probe, other chicken with Maverick ET-73 probe. I had installed Guru probe eyelets and they allow two probe leads to pass in one eyelet.

Set Guru pit temp to 250. Had 10 cfm fan damper set half open. Top cooker vent set to half open.

Fan blew at 40% puffs, then throttled down to 30% puffs as it got closer to 230. Settled in on target temp perfectly.

Odd note is that it took almost 1.5 hours for the Maverick and the Guru pit probes to agree. Maverick ran 20 degrees behind even tho probes were set in same appx location. Finally caught up and ran about same rest of cook.

Ran perfectly for the short 3.5 hour cook. Chicken was tender and perfectly moist considering there wasn't any water in pan. Had almost half of coals left unburned after fire killed out.
 
Morrey-

Thanks for posting back your results. I did a rib cook with the Guru yesterday, and determined that the only thing I needed to change is to trust it more.
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5.5 hours for two racks of spares at 230, and they were delicious. I didn't use a clay saucer, just an empty pan, but didn't see any temp swings.

R
 
Ribs sounded good Rich. Did you foil your ribs during the cook? Lots of topics result from foiling, however I dont prefer to foil for various reasons.
I noticed when I take the WSM lid off to spritz meats or check with a Thermapen, the pit temps get high pretty quickly. Guess that shot of fresh oxygen makes the coals take off. The guru kept quiet until the coals settled down.
Did you notice that on your equipment?
 
Morrey-

I don't foil ribs. I've been cooking them the same way for years, and they always come out great, so I don't really tinker with the method much. Here's what I do:

- I get two-packs of spares at Costco, usually 4-4.5 lbs per rack
- I trim the ribs to St Louis cut, remove membrane, etc.
- I put a light mustard slather on each side, and apply the amount of rub I'm in the mood for
- If there's room, I'll cook flat at 230 top grate temp (240 lid for me) for about 6 hours, if not enough room, I use a rib rack
- I'll check for tenderness starting at about 5.5 hours, but it almost always takes 6 to 6.5 hours
- I don't spritz at all, and I save saucing for each person to do to their taste on the plate

I definitely notice a spike in temp as you do when I remove the lid, and, as you surmised, that's due to the increase in airflow with the lid off. I find that things settle down pretty quickly. With my first Guru run, I wasn't using a clay saucer for a heat sink (just ran an empty foiled pan), so the temps spiked up longer for me than I think they would have when I removed the lid to check for tenderness.

Sorry for being long winded!
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R
 
Rich...sounds like the east coast does it like our friends on the west coast! I love a mustard slather to hold on the rub. It is a wonderful way to hold the rub forming a great bark, plus it supposedly adds to tenderizing the ribs. Like you, I prefer to cook the slabs flat if possible.
I love Costco! I buy their spares and trim out the St Louis ribs from there. I actually like the St Louis cut better than than the back loin ribs. Seems more flavorful plus lots cheaper.
If you try the clay pot heat sink, I do believe you will be impressed.
Morrey
 
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