Using my 18" for the first time this weekend, have a few questions


 
C

C.W. Nash

New member
My new 18" WSM showed up yesterday. Even though I got roped into 5 hours of overtime and didn't get home until after 11pm last night I couldn't let her sit in the box so I stayed up for awhile and got her put together. My Thermopen and BBQ Guru eyelets showed yesterday and I installed one eyelet (do I need both? If so should I put them both on the same support?) and she's all ready. My Maverick showed up today so I'm all set except for charcoal (I have lump but want to start with K).

I picked up an 11lb brisket on my way home from work and she's been washed and rubbed and is sitting in the fridge till Sunday morning.

Questions:

-Should I use water in the pan for this first go round? I can pick up some sand or a clay saucer if that's a better idea, not sure which way to go since it's the first smoke.

-It's supposed to be snowy/windy Saturday and I'm hoping Sunday will be a little calmer (forecast says 30*F for a high). Does anyone have any ideas for a quick/easy wind barrier? I'm planing to find one of those large white plastic drums and modify it but I'm not sure I can find one before Sunday.

-I've always smoked everything (brisket, ribs, chicken, shoulder) at 225*. Not sure if I'll be able to maintain that temp just yet. If I can't get it down there, what should I do different since I'm cooking at a higher temp? I usually just spray meats with apple juice from a spray bottle every hour or so.

-What would you recommend as far as coal loading? Two full unlit starters and one half full of lit on top sound about right?

Sorry for the long winded post and questions. I'll be reading as much as I can before Sunday, just hate the thought of messing up an 11lb chunk of meat.
 
C.W., Welcome, here is a pick of my wind shield:

chickenfattietritip006.jpg


This exhaust tubing I got at HomeDepot. Quick cut and tape job. works great to keep wind out of lower vents. It is now pop riveted but works the same.

I would fill the coal ring with cold coals and leave enough room to add about 1/3-1/2 chimney of hot coals. I put my hot at one corner by the door, but others do differently. See Minion Method.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/fireup1.html
You really don't need many hot to get her going and keep the temps at you desired level.

I personally don't use water. I tried it once after many cooks and use a ceramic dish in the water pan as a heat sink if I cook at low temps. Some will disagree, but to each his own. The ceramic pans can be had at the same hardeware store as the tubing if they have a garden section.

Your WSM may run a little hot first cook, best to keep the temps low to start. Close the bottom vents to barely open when you reach 190-200. If you want you can go High Heat all the way. Do a search here, great info.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html

There are lots of suggestions for other wind breaks on the forums.

Good Luck

Happy Smokin'

Mark
 
I used water on my first several cooks, and I recommend it to you because it is simple and will keep down the temps you are concerned about.

Down the road, after you get the feel for adjusting temps, you may want to explore clay and sand and such. I say keep it simple at first.

That 11 lb chunk is probably going to take over an hour per pound at low temps. Not sure when you planned to eat it, but plan for plenty of cook time.

I wouldn't worry about spraying with apple juice hourly. That will just lose your heat and make cook time longer. I sometimes spray once, about half-way through, but I'm not sure it does a thing.

Good luck, and have fun!
 
Thanks guys. If I can provide a decent wind break I may smoke it Saturday so we can eat it Sunday. We're having the leftovers from my last brisket for dinner tonight and that'll leave me without any brisket. An absolutely intolerable position to be in.
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1 - Yes, use water for your first cooks until you've mastered temp control. Then you can switch to just an empty foiled pan.

2 - A couple of panels (plywood, wallboard) or even flattened cardboard boxes on edge to form a V would work as a temp wind break. Use duct tape to connect them.

3 - Anything from 225º to 275º should be fine. Tenderness is the key to it being "done".

4 - Load the ring full and start will about a half-full chimney of lit on top.

Enjoy!
 
Uhh.... Couple of things.

First, you've got an 11 lb brisket that's going to trim down to about 10 pounds. At about 1.5 hours per pound, your looking at a 13-15 hour cook depending on cooking temp. You better get started REALLY early if you want to eat it for dinner.

Second, you say that you open the lid about every hour to spritz it with apple juice. I wouldn't do that. You are going to have a terrible time trying to keep 225 opening the lid that often. Especially with a NEW WSM that already has a hard time keeping temp until it gets a layer of gunk built up. I would pick about 2 or 3 points along the cook timeline to spritz it but certainly not every hour.

Russ
 
Thanks guys. I'm going to get the brisket on in the morning and plan to have it for dinner Sunday. I won't be lifting the lid more than a couple times as opposed to every hour like I did with my old offset.

Definitely going to use water in the pan as recommended. I really appreciate the help fellas!
 
Got up at 0530 and got things going. Full ring of unlit with 4 fist sized chunks of hickory stashed in there. Lit half a chimney and started a pot of water heating to just below a boil.

The brisket has been on for about 45 minutes now and I'm fighting the rookie temptation to adjust the vents every 5 minutes. She's holding in the 235* range with the three lowers open about 30* and the top open full. It's 28* outside and snowing, put a couple pieces of plywood up to block the wind.
IMG_1083.jpg

Thanks again for the help guys. Here's to hoping it stays this simple all day!
 
Man look at that shinee new thing! Good luck and as noted above don't worry urself crazy with temps 225-275ish is bbq'n!
 
All in all I'd consider it a success. I was running low on my dry rub so my bark was kind of thin. I also had to take the family to find a Christmas tree and the temp dropped on me down to around 195* for about an hour I'm guessing. The internal tempt dropped from 160* when I left to 154* by the time I got back. Had a hard time getting the temp back up also. There were plenty of good coals in there but I had to start another 1/2 chimney to get it going, it held 245* great after I did that.

12 hours on the WSM:
IMG_1108_2.jpg

IMG_1109_2.jpg



The good news is that the WSM was pretty close to perfect dimensionally. I never saw the slightest puff of smoke from around the door and only one section about 3" long on the lid which sealed up after about 7 hours. After that, nothing but smoke/steam from the lid vent.
 
Nice smoke ring and nice internal color. and the best part is you and your smoker did it. Congrats! And many more good cooks in the future. What's next?

Mark
 
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