Time between tending to WSM

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New guy here making first post. I don't have a WSM (yet) and have heard a number of good things about this smoker/cooker including that it doesn't have to be checked on all the time. I wanted to find out how long most of you can go between tending to the fire or coals in your WSM and still be able to keep the temp up. I've heard 5+ hrs in some cases and wonder if this is consistent and if there is some magic to it or if mods are needed to do this. Ideally I'd like to get a WSM and be able to fire it up at 6pm and get smoke on the meat till midnight then load it up and sleep for 7hrs without having to check on it. Is this possible?
 
Brian,

I have done many overnight cooks where I fill the charcoal chamber, get the temps stabilized (usually takes about an hour) then it will hum along all night. Not unusual to go to bed with it sitting at 230 and wake up some 6 or 7 hours later with it a 228.
 
My first WSM cook was a 16-hour overnight cook of a butt over a brisket. I pretty much stayed up all night with it, catching a short cat-nap here and there in the sky-chair by the smoker on the patio. After that initial fiddling with the vents to get stabilized, there really wasn't much for me to do other than record temperatures every 15 minutes. Now I get the smoker fired up, meat loaded, and temps stable by around 9:00 pm, watch temps on the remote ET-73 until I got to bed, and then just let 'er chug along on her own. I'll usually check on things around 2:30 or 3 am, simply because that's when the senior citizen cocker spaniel usually wants to go outside.

Now when you say this, I'm a bit confused: <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I'd like to get a WSM and be able to fire it up at 6pm and get smoke on the meat till midnight then load it up and sleep for 7hrs without having to check on it. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>If you fire up the smoker initially using Jim Minion's method (a full charcoal ring of unlit charcoal, topped by 15-30 lit briquettes depending on the temp) you can get those extended cooking times on that initial load beginning at 6:00 pm and NOT have to load it up again at midnight. My longest cook to date on a single load of charcoal using the "Minion Method" is 17 hours running all night, no wind, mid-60's temp.

The WSM will be able to give you your ideal cook with no problems, right out of the box with no mods. Some folks DO like to buy a Brinkman replacement charcoal pan to use as a waterpan on the longer cooks simply because it will hold twice the water of the supplied WSM waterpan, saving you the trouble of having to refill the waterpan halfway through the cook. Academy Sports and Outdoors stores carry these Brinkman replacement charcoal pans for about $5. I've bought 'em here in Tulsa for several people and shipped them, so if you decide you want one and can't find one, let me know.

Keri C
Still Smokin (and flappin' her jaws again) on Tulsa Time
 
PS - when you get your WSM, be sure to also buy a Weber charcoal chimney, $14.99 at Amazon.com. You'll see the term of measurement "1 full chimney of charcoal", "half a chimney of lit briquettes", and the like bandied about on a regular basis. NOTE that this is usually referring to the WEBER brand chimney, which holds more than the lesser brands. I think the Weber chimney holds about 7 lb of charcoal. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.


I think I've had too much coffee this morning - all that caffeine has me feeling way too chatty. Ah well - I've been called "Chatty Cathey" before. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Keri C
Still Smokin (and promising to work on her verbosity problem as a New Year's resolution) on Tulsa Time
 
I guess that I would start it up early to make sure that I am there to put wood chunks on the coals every so often to get that smoke flavor. When I go to bed I won't be there to put any chunks on the coals. Of course I'm not real familiar with this whole WSM thing and what it takes to impart the smoke flavor vs an offset. I do know that the more time that meat spends in the cooker and the less time is spends in the oven the better the flavor. I would love to put a big old brisket on there in the late evening and have that thing chug all night and the brisket ready late afternoon the next day and only have to tend to the smoker a hand full of times.
 
Just read the tips especially the section of lighting with the Minion method. Also read the cooking section, describing what Chris did with wood for each recipe. No need to keep adding wood chunks. Just add it at the beginning as stated in the recipe's and let her go. There is such a thing as too much wood/smoke. You will be amazed at how steady the temp can be..
 
Brian, you are aware, I hope, that there is a "Cooking" section to this website where Chris has documented step by step with photos how to cook a variety of meats on the WSM. (I ask that because sometimes folks only find the "Forums" section of this website and never realize there is SO much more to it.) Use the tabs at the top of the forum page to navigate the wealth of info on this site. The "Tips & Mods" section will also answer a lot of your questions about the Standard method and Minion method of firing up the WSM.

For your first cooks, follow those steps and it will answer a lot of your questions about tending, how much wood to add, etc, and you will have the first of many successful cooks. I learned to use my WSM by following Chris's instructions and I still refer to them a lot.
 
Brian,

I do atleast 1 overnight cook per week and usually it is during the work week. I sleep around 7 hours uninterrupted and it isn't because the Smoker woke me up.

Here is what you need...

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Weber Smokey Mountain
<LI>Weber Chimeny
<LI>Brinkman Charcoal Pan
<LI>A Dual Probe Remote Thermometer for meat temp and smoker temp
<LI>Medium Coffee can w/ both lids removed
<LI>Pair of Pliers
<LI>Learn the Minion Method
[/list]

Here is what I would recommend...
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Pair of thick leather gloves
<LI>Rib Racks (made by Charbroil)
<LI>Spray Bottle
<LI>Adding handles to the bottom grate
<LI>Modifying the Charcoal Grate
[/list]
 
I am a new convert Figure out how to do the Minion Method,(It's explained on the web-site) and you have made a very economical, sweet purchase.
 
...how long most of you can go between tending to the fire or coals in your WSM and still be able to keep the temp up...

About 10 to 14 hours before the temperature changes becuase you less fuel. /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif


Depends on the wind. I do throw in more wood when I notice that it ain't producing smoke.
 
Steve, I have a Maverick model ET-73 that I really like for overnight cooks, and it's great. It's a remote thermometer that has a probe for the smoker temp and a probe for the food temp. I set the probes up in the smoker and set the remote receiver up on my bedside table. That way I can roll over in the middle of the night and see how temps are doing at a glance. I don't use the hi-low alarm on the ET-73, though, because the loud beeps drive my schnauzer Cassie nuts. So, yes, a probe thermometer is an excellent investment. Polders and Taylors are good, thought not remote lke the ET-73. DON'T get the Polder that has the two temp gauges for meat AND smoker on the same probe, though. Folks have had lots of problems with that model.

Keri C
 
No - assuming you're not using the BBQ Guru, leave that top vent completely open all the time, and make your airflow adjustments from the bottom vents only. The only time that you want to close that top vent is when you're through cooking and you want to choke the fire out completely. The BBQ Guru may have varying requirements - I really don't know about that wee beastie. If no Guru, then leave the top vent fully open. If you run the wire under the edge of the lid, run it kind of sideways and just set the lid down on it gently. The amount of smoke or heat you lose because of that wire won't hurt you.

To watch the smoker temp, I usually just dangle a probe down through one of the holes in the top vent, and put the unit on a table next to the smoker. When I put the probe into the meat to watch its temp, I usually run the wire under edge of the lid.

Keri C
 
Steve,
Keri is right. You can not go wrong by listening to her. For grins though, When I am doing a long and slow using the Minion Method, I keep the top vent open and periodically check my temp (after I have pulled my meat) just to see how long the amazing WSM will hold a burn. Try to keep this in mind for future smokes.
 
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