Tips you wish you had when you started with your WSM.


 
T

TimValentine

New member
Hi everyone. I am new to the forum but I have been reading it for a while. I have used the recipes from here before. They were great.

Anyway, I am getting my WSM on Thursday. I am would love it if people you could share some tips with me or point me to some great threads to read on here. I am coming from a electric smoker so I am concerned about controlling temp, properly using the charcoal, and feeling okay with going to bed while smoking...like I did with my electric.
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Hi Tim.

My experience is exactly the same as I read here: a new wsm runs a lot hotter on the first several cooks, before it gets good and seasoned. Therefore, I'd resist the urge to do any overnight low-n-slow cooks w/out water in the pan....until it starts acting like mine.

I'll be reporting back on an overnight cook in a few days. Now, my cooker won't get over 250 even w/ all vents 100% open if it's full of meat, even w/ no water in the pan. Speaking of the pan, get a Brinkman charcoal pan that's made for the ECB, or el cheapo brinkman (water smoker). Around here, they're $5 at Academy Sports or Bass Pro Shops. You'll get better access to the coals, and more room for stacking charcoal or wood chunks. No downside, as it holds plenty water to go all night w/out refilling. It's a better shape, flat on the bottom.

The cooker should have decent fit between the stack, bottom, and lid, and the door can be reshaped if needed for better fit. A simple test to see if your cooker is tight enough to control temps properly is to whether it'll kill the coals w/in an hour or so after shutting all vents, including the top.

What else? I'd start off w/ briquettes. I use K for short cooks and Stubbs for long ones since they have much less ash. K is ok, though for overnighters. Just tap the legs a few times before hitting the sack.

Read everything Chris A. has put on his site. He's done a lot of work for all of us.

HTH!
Dave
 
Great tips Dave. I looks like a missed the new WSM owners section, I will give that a read.

I was under the impression that the 22.5, which I got, did not need the ECB water pan.

I assume K stands for Kingsford?

Thanks again Dave.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TimValentine:
Great tips Dave. I looks like a missed the new WSM owners section, I will give that a read.

I was under the impression that the 22.5, which I got, did not need the ECB water pan.

I assume K stands for Kingsford?

Thanks again Dave. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Check out the Cooking topics and Operating tips Chris has on the Virtual Weber Bullet, and yes, the new wsm owner queastions and discussion here.

Oh, so you're gonna cook a LOT of bbq.
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If you don't say which one, I assume you mean the size that Weber has been making for decades now.
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Yeah, as in blue bag K.

You won't be sorry w/ the cooker. The big one is a bit of a fuel hog, from what folks say, but the small one isn't near as good for ribs or a bunch of chicken. Weber should've come out with a big one years ago.
 
Let the cooker settle in and find its happy temperature for the cook, don't chase temperatures or sweat a few degrees difference from your target temperature (or more than a few degrees). Stress less and enjoy more.

Pat
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Mac McClure:
"I am would love it if people you could share some tips with me or point me to some great threads to read on here."

Good reading here.
http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/...511099695#7511099695 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

For some reason that link goes back to this thread.
 
Hey Tim. Lots of good advice has been given here. I agree, read everything that Chris has already done. As far as your water pan goes, the one you have is fine. I am soooooo glad that I read Chris' thread on foiling it before I used my new 22. It makes clean up much faster. For what it's worth, I don't use water in mine. The WSM is so stable, it doesn't seem necessary. Let it come up to temp before you put on the meat and don't over correct and you will be amazed at how easy it is to cook on this thing. As far as fuel usage, on my last overnight cook, my 22 went just over 10 hours on a full ring of lump. It was fairly cool that night (in the 40s) so I was happy with that. Last piece of advice, listen to the members here, they have a lot of good ideas. Good luck!
 
I don't use K, so I'm not sure. Someone will read this and let you know. Some people say it burns longer than lump and some say shorter.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pat Smith:
Let the cooker settle in and find its happy temperature for the cook, don't chase temperatures or sweat a few degrees difference from your target temperature (or more than a few degrees). Stress less and enjoy more.

Pat </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Wow! So simply put and probably the single best piece of advice I've seen.

Tim, From what I've read about the 22, you'll be lucky to get one cook out of an 16 lb. bag of Kingsford. Unless you know that you have a short cook AND you have a little experience with how the WSM works, you pretty much have to fill the charcoal ring. On the 18.5 that takes just shy of a full 16 lb bag and the 22 is significantly bigger. Rich
 
Pat hit it perfectly.

Being off by 10, 15, or even 20 degrees of the exact target temperature is no big deal. About the only thing it will change will be the cook time slightly. I've learned to watch the meat temperature, not the cooker temperature.

The other tip I tell people is to learn to make a vent adjustment and then don't touch it again for at least an hour.

Russ
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Russ Sylvester:
Pat hit it perfectly.

Being off by 10, 15, or even 20 degrees of the exact target temperature is no big deal. About the only thing it will change will be the cook time slightly. I've learned to watch the meat temperature, not the cooker temperature.

The other tip I tell people is to learn to make a vent adjustment and then don't touch it again for at least an hour.

Russ </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Russ gives some really good advice there.

Taylor your cooking temps to your schedule and your method of cooking. Anywhere between 200-275, it's all bbq-ing and good as long as you don't undercook or overcook.

I like to cook butts and briskets overnight, low-n-slow 225-250 measured at the vent (which means that the meat cooks at 15 or so degrees less) for a couple of reasons. First, I don't boil my water off as fast and I can easily make it all night w/out refilling my water pan. Second, I usually bbq for a supper the next day, not lunch, so there's no reason to rush it or stay up late getting the meat on the cooker. I can hold meat for six hours+ in my cooler if I preheat it.

On the other hand, if I were to bbq directly over the coals on my UDS, I would cook during the day for supper. I turn the meat two or three times during the cook and probably cook at 275+ at the center of the drum, even though I shoot for 240 on the gauge on the side. On the drum, it's rare when butts or briskets aren't done in ten hours max.

It's all good as long as it's tender, but not overcooked. Find out what works best for you.
 
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