Tips/Advice on competing on two '22 WSM's

[Ryan Taylor]

My father and I are competing in a small KCBS contest next month and in years past we've always had a pretty good sized team with at least 4 smokers to handle everything.

I'm just wondering if anybody can give some advice on doing the four major categories on just two cookers. I'm tempted to put the brisket and shoulders in the same unit but then the ribs and chicken require more fussing and getting to things on the lower grates could be a pain.

Anything else I should be considering or advice here would be awesome. Thanks!

 

[Bob Bass]

Ryan,

I'm not a competitor, but I think one of the first questions you may get asked is your cooking methods, ie foiled or non-foiled, as that would make a difference in what to put where...

Bob

 

[SteveA]

Two 22.5 WSMs is plenty for a KCBS comp. I just used two 18.5 WSMs in Fillmore and had no problems at all. A lot of teams that use WSMs, use only a couple. Some even use a single 18.5 WSM!

I start off 2 butts & 2 briskets in both smokers. I get them all foiled and consolidated into a single smoker, so I can use the other smoker to start my ribs in the morning. By the time the chicken goes on, I have the briskets & butts holding in the Cambro. It's not as difficult as it sounds. You'll do fine.

 

[Ryan Taylor]

Ryan,

I'm not a competitor, but I think one of the first questions you may get asked is your cooking methods, ie folded or non-folded, as that would make a difference in what to put where...

Bob

We cook everything up around 275 and foil midway for pork, brisket and ribs. Shoulders and brisket each for 8 hours and ribs for 4 hours. We do the butter bath method for the chicken and then sauce and back on (about 2 hours total).

 

[J Hoke]

Steve's method should work fine. The only issue I see is checking temps or doneness on the lower grate of the rib/chicken cooker.

 

[Ryan Taylor]

Steve's method should work fine. The only issue I see is checking temps or doneness on the lower grate of the rib/chicken cooker.

The way he made it sound, he's only got a very brief (if any) period of time when he's got all four proteins on his cookers and his brisket and shoulder spend several hours in his cambro so he can work off the top grates of both cookers for the ribs and chicken. I don't own a cambro and usually use a cooler which does an okay job of keeping the temps but I've never tried holding meat for more than an hour to two hours tops.

 

[Bob Bass]

Some even use a single 18.5 WSM!

I wonder if Bee Shoes also help ...

Ryan, Might I add that Steve did very well with his 2 - 18.5" WSMs this weekend. Timing aside, you're overall workload (WSM tending wise) must be less when using less cookers. I wonder if less workload equates to less stress as I know less stress equates to more enjoyment.

 

[SteveA]

The way he made it sound, he's only got a very brief (if any) period of time when he's got all four proteins on his cookers and his brisket and shoulder spend several hours in his cambro so he can work off the top grates of both cookers for the ribs and chicken. I don't own a cambro and usually use a cooler which does an okay job of keeping the temps but I've never tried holding meat for more than an hour to two hours tops.

All four proteins are never on at the same time. Only 3 at once. In the morning, once I feel I've achieved a good bark on the long haul meats, I foil them. I don't check the IT. I go by look and feel. The IT should be ~160º, but I'm never at all certain. I need to have all four pieces foiled and consolidated onto a single WSM in order to get my ribs started. I turn up the heat to 275º for ribs. I use both grates for ribs: 3 below & 3 above.

The butts and briskets are usually done by ~9:45am, which gives me enough time to ramp up the temp to 275º for my chicken which goes into the now vacant WSM. I smoke 8 chicken pieces below and 8 above. My chicken is done in 90 min. then a quick dip into the glaze and a 5 min. finish on the WSM to set it.

Now imagine trying to do this on a single WSM...an 18.5 WSM. Slap Yo' Daddy & Butcher's Daughter do this out on the west coast with their hands tied behind their backs. I was thinking of trying it at Fillmore, but decided against it. They do it out of necessity and because they are extremely talented. I'd screw it up. LOL

 

[SteveA]

I wonder if less workload equates to less stress as I know less stress equates to more enjoyment.

Yes, it does. I discovered this the last couple of times out. I've used 3 WSMs before (the third being a 22.5). I end up using more charcoal, taking up another outlet on my power strip for a third ATC, taking up more space in the truck, and not delivering an overall more successful nor satisfactory cook. Two is perfect for me.

 

[Ryan Kcmo]

I'm about to do my first comp in September on a 22 and an 18. Do you guys normally do 2 briskest and 2 pork butts? I would like to combine all 4 into the 18 when wrapped, like stated above. But I have a hard time picturing how all that will fit on an 18. I would like to use the 22 for ribs so I can lay them out flat. Btw I use pans when I wrap my brisket/bb. Could I stack those?

 

[Rich Paq]

I think you could have two foiled pans of brisket on top of each other on the bottom grate and one large foiled pan holding the butts on top grate. You may have to make the large pan fit. I would consider having your brisket and butts done early then put in cooler or cambro to free up the 22 for the ribs. In my recent first comp, I cooked one brisket and two butts on a 22.

 

[SteveA]

I'm about to do my first comp in September on a 22 and an 18. Do you guys normally do 2 briskest and 2 pork butts? I would like to combine all 4 into the 18 when wrapped, like stated above. But I have a hard time picturing how all that will fit on an 18. I would like to use the 22 for ribs so I can lay them out flat. Btw I use pans when I wrap my brisket/bb. Could I stack those?

I've consolidated all four wrapped meats in an 18" WSM, but I don't use foil pans. I simply wrap the 4 proteins tight as possible so that I get very little steam forming within. I don't want to steam them; I want to braise them in their own juices & whatever wrapping mixture I add. I have no problem laying the butts side-by-side nor the brisket on top on one another when they are only tightly foil wrapped with no pan.

 

[Ed Roach]

I use a 22 & 18 for competitions. I do 1 brisket on the 22 and 2 butts on the 18. The big meats go on around midnight at 250 degrees using a Guru for temp control. I foil my butts after 7 hours (7am) and foil my brisket after 8 hours (8am). The foiled butts both go on the bottom rack until around 10am and then go in a cooler. I ramp up the temp of the 18 to 275 at 9am and start my chicken on the top rack at 9:30am and it's ready to be placed in the box at 11:45/11:50am. I foil the brisket at 8am and place it on the bottom rack. I ramp up the temp of the 22 to 275 at around 7:30am and put 3 racks of ribs on the top rack after placing the foiled brisket on the bottom rack (8am). The brisket usually finishes around 10am and goes into a cooler. The ribs are foiled after 2.5 hours and spend around 1.25 to 1.5 hours in the foil. I glaze the ribs and place on the top rack for about 20minutes. If you foil and hold the big meats, you should have no problem getting everything done on time, good luck!