Weber Summit Kamado - new owner questions / help needed


 
Has anyone been following Smoking Dad BBQ on YouTube and his trials with the WSK?

It's fair to say he likes it as a better kettle, but not a replacement for a true kamado cooker for low and slow.

You can find his latest video here:
 
I have not. What’s his definition of LAS? The WSK does everything well. HAF and LAS, grilling, searing, pizza and smoking.

EDIT: at 2:56, he’s clueless on how to use the WSK. Maybe he should come here to TVWBB for some lessons.

I’ll refrain from passing further judgement. He’s already lost me in less than 3 minutes.
 
As a rookie WSK owner, I wanted to see what others thought about it. Baby back maniac found the smoke flavor to be lighter as well. He's a big fan of Kamado's (so I don't normally view his videos as I don't have a ceramic Kamado) , but I find it interesting to see what others think. I did find in my first LAS on the WSK, smoke flavor was definitely lighter than my WSM. But I gave that to a family at church and they loved it so I am not sure what to think.
 
Grant Cunningham said:
Wow. This is why I don't bother much with YouTube - too many people able to build large fanbases by giving out sketchy information.
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Brett-EDH said:
He clearly knows nothing about the WSK.

He’s probably smoked more weed than briskets with what he did in that video.
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He is a WSK rookie. And to be fair to all of you regulars here, I have had nothing but great advice from all of you!
 
Todd K Wisc said:
As a rookie WSK owner, I wanted to see what others thought about it. Baby back maniac found the smoke flavor to be lighter as well. He's a big fan of Kamado's (so I don't normally view his videos as I don't have a ceramic Kamado) , but I find it interesting to see what others think. I did find in my first LAS on the WSK, smoke flavor was definitely lighter than my WSM. But I gave that to a family at church and they loved it so I am not sure what to think.
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Smoke comes from your wood. How much and what type of wood affects the smoke taste and profile.

How much wood chunks did you use and what kind of wood?

And what’s your fuel source? Briqs or lump charcoal?
 
Brett-EDH said:
Smoke comes from your wood. How much and what type of wood affects the smoke taste and profile.

How much wood chunks did you use and what kind of wood?

And what’s your fuel source? Briqs or lump charcoal?
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In the WSM, I use oak or pecan and then pair it with apple or cherry typically. I put a couple pieces of wood at the bottom of charcoal basket in a a coffee can that I use for my minion starter. Then I put another chunk out from the coffee can in all three directions towards the bottom vent holes. I have had great luck with that. I believe my first LAS on the WSK was similar layout, but didn't get as much flavor. And I typically only use B&B briquettes for low and slow and use kingsford pro to get it started as they light and get heated up faster in my mini chimney. I used the arbor fab basket that I showed above for the WSK.
 
I've found that smoke flavor (regardless of the wood species) is more dependent on exposure time than anything else. Maintaining a constant stream of smoke throughout the cook will do more for flavor than a whole lot of smoke that ends early in the cook.

I watched one of Baby Back Maniac's WSK cooks, and he used just two small chunks of wood, placed randomly on the charcoal pile, for his cook; no wonder he doesn't get much smoke flavor.

What I do is make a bed of wood pieces, none of them terribly thick (think 3/4" or so) on the bottom of the grate before adding my charcoal. When I start the coals, no matter what direction the burn goes it will be igniting some wood along the way. The result is a constant stream of smoke that permeates the meat.

All grills are unique and require different technique to coax the most out of them. The WSK can give you the smoke profile you want, you just have to adjust to how it likes to run.

(Edited to add: this works well for milder woods, like the maple and madrone I prefer to use. If you're using a really pungent wood, this technique might prove overpowering; fewer pieces of wood in the bed, with a little more space between them, will reduce the intensity. The key, though, is arranging the wood so that some of it is always burning underneath the charcoal.)
 
Grant Cunningham said:
I've found that smoke flavor (regardless of the wood species) is more dependent on exposure time than anything else. Maintaining a constant stream of smoke throughout the cook will do more for flavor than a whole lot of smoke that ends early in the cook.

I watched one of Baby Back Maniac's WSK cooks, and he used just two small chunks of wood, placed randomly on the charcoal pile, for his cook; no wonder he doesn't get much smoke flavor.

What I do is make a bed of wood pieces, none of them terribly thick (think 3/4" or so) on the bottom of the grate before adding my charcoal. When I start the coals, no matter what direction the burn goes it will be igniting some wood along the way. The result is a constant stream of smoke that permeates the meat.

All grills are unique and require different technique to coax the most out of them. The WSK can give you the smoke profile you want, you just have to adjust to how it likes to run.
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This is a good point as the WSM it definitely moves towards the vent holes first. WSK isn't set up like that. I just got a bunch of 3" pieces from Fruitawood, but I bet my other store bags have smaller pieces to do that method. I think I found my father's day weekend test project!
 
Todd K Wisc said:
This is a good point as the WSM it definitely moves towards the vent holes first. WSK isn't set up like that. I just got a bunch of 3" pieces from Fruitawood, but I bet my other store bags have smaller pieces to do that method. I think I found my father's day weekend test project!
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BTW, re-check my comments for an important edit... ;)

I've found that on my WSK (I don't know if others are similar), if I start the burn in the center, it runs in a narrow strip to the 4:00 area then cools slightly as it hits the wall and moves radially from there. What I do now is to start the burn at the 4:00 position, and it expands to a "front" then proceeds very evenly toward the 10:00 area.
 
I'm also newer to the WSK family, but for smokes I've basically done what @Grant Cunningham described. A bed of wood chunks laid on the charcoal grate in the lower position, and then I pack lump charcoal on top/in between any gaps. I'll scoop out a few handfuls of of the packed lump, light it in chimney, and then dump the lit lump back into gap I created.

I have not noticed too much of a difference picking different positions, but I will have to start paying more attention to this.

We actually do own the low profile Slow N Sear and matching drip tray for the WSK, but I've only used it for the Sear part of the namesake when I wanted to get a bunch of lump right below the food. It was kind a of a splurge purchase; the two included baskets (either shoved together or made into a Bro N Sear) should get the job done too.
 
One of the biggest things I have learned with the WSK is where to place the wood. I use Sharpe brand chunks and put them close to the place where I start the charcoal. As can be seen in the photo (no wood chunks), the burn pattern after ~6 hours using Kpro Does not ignihjt all the charcoal. Any wood outside of the burn pattern will not create smoke.
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So now when I set up for LAS i place my wood chunks close to the ignition point.
Another thing to note is that ceramic kamados recommend lump charcoal, not briquettes which can have an impact on the amount of smoke flavor. No problem for me, I just add more wood.
I can easily make food too smoky to eat and unfortunately I have done that.
 
I am making pork belly burnt ends this weekend for the father and the father in law......yearly tradition to cook food that day.
Using the E6.....never had a shortage of smoke flavor and will make sure again this weekend.......as mentioned above I never go through all the fuel I put in there and have been using Weber trays to make the area smaller, and I do put the wood near the ignition point.
There is a burn pattern I follow on mine as well.....from early reviews I have started my hot point at about 10 o'clock if standing right in front, seems to burn clockwise for me......but I am from Canada, probably burns counter clock wise down south for you guys. :LOL:
 
For those who don't know, he is an avid Kamado Joe user. I follow him on YouTube so I know.
On most, if not all, of his cooks with his Kamado to get extra smoke flavor, he will add extra wood chunks to his ash pots because has had great success with the embers falling down and lighting the wood chunks. So yeah, while he shoulda had an idea it wouldn't work on a WSK, he was experimenting with a new toy using the method he regularly employs.
Sounds like most of us 😂
 
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