Upping the ante


 
W

Wayne Ficklin

TVWBB Fan
I recently got an 18.5" WSM for my birthday and proceeded to cook better-than-average pulled pork and the 2nd best slab of ribs I've ever had, so I figure I'll try again. This time its just a Boston Butt. I bought 16.45lbs in 2 butts @ Sam's and I'm cooking the larger of the two. On my last (first?) cook, I used Bad Byron's Butt Rub and wasn't thrilled with the bark. On this one, I've adapted Slap Yo' Daddy's General purpose rub and I think I'm going to like it much better.

The previous cook was 2 smaller butts (3 & 4 lbs). This one's at least 8 (the larger of a pkg of 16.45lbs...). I'm also facing rain/drizzle most of the day tomorrow with no really good way to protect the WSM.

We'll see how it goes. It's rubbed and in the fridge. I'll probably throw it on 4 or 5 am, and shoot for 230 - 240, ...but I'm planning to use the water pan since I don't have a clay pot yet.

Anything I'm missing? Thanks guys.
 
Wayne Ficklin said:
I recently got an 18.5" WSM for my birthday and proceeded to cook better-than-average pulled pork and the 2nd best slab of ribs I've ever had, so I figure I'll try again. This time its just a Boston Butt. I bought 16.45lbs in 2 butts @ Sam's and I'm cooking the larger of the two. On my last (first?) cook, I used Bad Byron's Butt Rub and wasn't thrilled with the bark. On this one, I've adapted Slap Yo' Daddy's General purpose rub and I think I'm going to like it much better.

The previous cook was 2 smaller butts (3 & 4 lbs). This one's at least 8 (the larger of a pkg of 16.45lbs...). I'm also facing rain/drizzle most of the day tomorrow with no really good way to protect the WSM.

We'll see how it goes. It's rubbed and in the fridge. I'll probably throw it on 4 or 5 am, and shoot for 230 - 240, ...but I'm planning to use the water pan since I don't have a clay pot yet.

Anything I'm missing? Thanks guys.
Click to expand...
A couple of good cold beers! Enjoy the cook.
 
Use the water pan you don't need a clay saucer or any of the other gizmos a lot of guys use here the wsm functions perfectly just as it is
 
Colby R said:
Use the water pan you don't need a clay saucer or any of the other gizmos a lot of guys use here the wsm functions perfectly just as it is
Click to expand...

Colby, if you like the 18.5" wsm water pan, you'd LOVE a Brinkman charcoal pan for one of those el cheapo water smokers.

The old wsm pan (Smokey Joe lid) wasn't too secure on the brackets and was too shallow for the water to last all night long. Evidently, Weber responded to years of complaints by replacing it with the BOWL of the Smokey Joe, making it very secure on the brackets and so deep that you'd think it wouldn't need to be refilled even on the longest cook. HOWEVER, it often doesn't. Why? Because it's so close to the coals that it's easy to boil the water off, and this isn't good for optimum smoke flavor or bark development, either.

Of course, the more obvious drawback to the pan's close proximity to the fire is lack of room for loading charcoal and wood chunks. The pan shouldn't contact the coals just because they're heaped up for a long smoke! That's not user friendly in the least bit, but if Weber made a pan actually designed for the 18", evidently the cost would be reflected in a higher price point, and that wouldn't be a good thing......

So anyhow, that's where the Brinkman pan comes into play. It sits the perfect distance from the coals, holds the perfect amount of water, is very secure on the brackets, and won't tip over once removed since it's flat on the bottom. But other than that, yes, I agree with you. The 18.5" wsm works great with zero mods....once the water pan is replaced. ;-)
 
I set my alarm for 4, so I got up promptly @ 4:28. Lit the chimney with 25-30 briquettes. Boiled water on the stove and added it to the water bowl. I had the meat on the smoker at 5:34 am @ 216ºF. It dipped to 160ºF with the lid off. (I need to take the top rack in the kitchen to load up the meat.)

Back to 216ºF @ 5:59. I went to bed.

227ºF @ 8:13. I noticed it wasn't smoking, so opened the door and added 2 handfuls of apple wood chips. Steady rain.

211ºF @ 8:43. I opened the bottom vent (from nearly closed to less than half-way) to compensate for this rain. (That's in addition to another half-open vent.)

215ºF @ 9:55. Steady rain looks like its going to make it difficult to get the temps up where I wanted. All vents open.

215ºF @ 10:45 (& dome dial at or just below 200ºF) so I added 20-ish half-lit coals. To compensate for any spike in temp, I closed all but one vent (wide open). Peeked at the meat and it had a rich mahogany color.

211f @ 11:33. I saw 229ºF after adding the coals at some point, but I guess the rains going to win this one. Meat's sitting @ 152ºF. Also added some more unlit coals from previous cook.


That's my progress so far. Looks like this one's going to be a long cook.
 
Look's pretty brutal! At 152 you could probably wrap and oven it if you had to. I'd probably be stubborn and not do it. I'm just saying it's an option.
 
I've got 5 hours til crunch time. I saw temp @ 222ºF a bit ago. I wasn't happy with the bark on my last one, so I'm going to TRY not to have to wrap this one. We'll see.
 
Wayne, sounds like you did everything right, but the rain and wind will really cool off a wsm. A patio umbrella works great. Foil is a great tool, though, for such occasions when things are going slow. There's always next cook...and get ya some wood chunks. :)
 
Last edited:
220F @ 1:30, meat was at 158. All the vents were open.

After this my notes got a little loose, (the more frustrated I was getting). Apparently I was using up all my fuel/charcoal trying to heat that water and it was going through it pretty quickly. I added more charcoal (lit and unlit) and emptied the water pan. Messing with the vents I was able to run between 220 and 240-ish for quite a while, but trying to heat the water really set me behind with fuel being used up and not running as hot as I wanted.

When I started losing temps again (roughly 185°F pit temp) I pulled it off and stuck it in the oven around 300°F until I saw 195. During this whole process (pretty late in the process actually), I picked up my wife who'd been gone for 4 days and we had eaten pizza. So out of the oven, this thing went into the refrigerator.

We had an evening with some friends/neighbors last night and I reheated (in the oven for a bit, then in the microwave) hunks I'd cut up. Once warm, it pulled like a champ and tasted even better. I announced while dinner/table-prep was happening that my only goal for this Pulled Pork was for it to be the best I've ever eaten. (That's not too lofty a goal right?) Of course, I'd had the same goal and made the same announcement during my previous cook ...but wasn't satisfied I'd reached that goal. This time, I think I'm pretty close and got unanimous praise that this stuff was pretty tasty, including from my 5 & 7 yr olds.
 
Sounds like a tough cook Wayne, but it also sounds like you pulled it out. Way to get er' done! The one rule to smoking is you can't have deadlines, cuz smokers cross dead lines like wives never shut up, LOL
 
Wayne - way to persevere and overcome buddy. You worked pretty hard for that one but it turned out great in the end...

Regards,

John
 
Did I mention that my (cheapie) wireless thermometer stopped working ...or that I left my "instant" read thermometer in the cooker while I drove 30 minutes one way to pick up my wife?
 
Nice job Wayne. You can only do so much. Sometimes it seems like my WSM 22" has a mind of its own and will settle in where it wants to settle in. Battling those kinds of weather conditions, I personally think you nailed it. Just stick with the plan and ride it out.

Well done!
 
Dave I'll look into that I haven't had issues with running out of water yet though even at 12 hours came close but not out yet :)
 
Colby R said:
Dave I'll look into that I haven't had issues with running out of water yet though even at 12 hours came close but not out yet :)
Click to expand...

For the volume of the '09- wsm water pan you shouldn't....but compare that to the relatively shallow pan in the 22.5" wsm, which is less apt to run out than the 18.5". The difference is that it's ten times the distance from the coals. If you're interested, look up what Famous Dave Anderson said about water baths when asked about "ribs" on the guest forum a while back.
 
Last edited:
Dave Russell said:
For the volume of the '09- wsm water pan you shouldn't....but compare that to the relatively shallow pan in the 22.5" wsm, which is less apt to run out than the 18.5". The difference is that it's ten times the distance from the coals. If you're interested, look up what Famous Dave Anderson said about water baths when asked about "ribs" on the guest forum a while back.
Click to expand...
I think this is the link to that thread: http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?41858-Ribs
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top