Sorry for the less than descriptive title - but that's all I could say after yesterday's inaugural Fathers Day cook with the new WSM. On the grill - a soaked 'corned beef' for pastrami, some baby backs (with Willie's One-derful rub), and some sausage.
I belabored the idea of a WSM upgrade to my existing ECB for a year, thinking that from the standpoint of design, there weren't many differences between the two. I couldn't be more wrong. I assembled the WSM in about 15 minutes, and barring the lack of a thermometer built into the unit, it was well thought out and constructed, with excellent quality materials and instructions.
The cook itself was delayed - although I had meant to start at around 7 AM, I got caught up using the power washer to clean up the back of the house a bit, and didn't get underway until 10. I intended to fire up the WSM at around 10, so at 9:30, I lit a chimney full of Kingsford to fire the WSM in the 'standard' method (didn't need the Minion method as this was going to be a shorter cook). At 10, I assembled the cooker with vents open, Maverick ET-73 installed on the top gate, and water pan full. In 15 minutes, I was reading 220F and it was time to add the meat. I noticed an ammonia type smell - rather strong - had me wondering if I'd forgotton to 'cure' the smoker, or if the charcoal wasn't gray enough (it was entirely ash covered). Ran inside to do a search of this forum, and found that the smell was typical, and continued.
For the next 3 hours - it hovered between 215 and 235F. No change in vents, no change in water, nada - just sit, drink a beer, and watch the remote.
At 4 hours in, the temperature started to drop somewhat, so I added half a chimney of charcoal (fully lit). That brought the temperature temporarily to 250F, but it quickly dropped to 235, and stayed there for another 2.5-3 hours.
In total - 7 hours of cooking, with only one access, no vent changes, and one extra add of water. Next time, I'll try sand - but I don't think it gets any easier than this. The only thing that comes close to the WSM is this nifty thermometer, which allowed me to remotely watch the action. I was grilling and keeping guests company while smoking at the same time, relaxed. What a great day.
Kudos to Weber! And thanks to the forum members whose posts pushed me over the top and made me get this humongous upgrade, which was well worth the money. I do recommend the Maverick Smoker Thermometer (ET-73), which was money well spent.
I belabored the idea of a WSM upgrade to my existing ECB for a year, thinking that from the standpoint of design, there weren't many differences between the two. I couldn't be more wrong. I assembled the WSM in about 15 minutes, and barring the lack of a thermometer built into the unit, it was well thought out and constructed, with excellent quality materials and instructions.
The cook itself was delayed - although I had meant to start at around 7 AM, I got caught up using the power washer to clean up the back of the house a bit, and didn't get underway until 10. I intended to fire up the WSM at around 10, so at 9:30, I lit a chimney full of Kingsford to fire the WSM in the 'standard' method (didn't need the Minion method as this was going to be a shorter cook). At 10, I assembled the cooker with vents open, Maverick ET-73 installed on the top gate, and water pan full. In 15 minutes, I was reading 220F and it was time to add the meat. I noticed an ammonia type smell - rather strong - had me wondering if I'd forgotton to 'cure' the smoker, or if the charcoal wasn't gray enough (it was entirely ash covered). Ran inside to do a search of this forum, and found that the smell was typical, and continued.
For the next 3 hours - it hovered between 215 and 235F. No change in vents, no change in water, nada - just sit, drink a beer, and watch the remote.
At 4 hours in, the temperature started to drop somewhat, so I added half a chimney of charcoal (fully lit). That brought the temperature temporarily to 250F, but it quickly dropped to 235, and stayed there for another 2.5-3 hours.
In total - 7 hours of cooking, with only one access, no vent changes, and one extra add of water. Next time, I'll try sand - but I don't think it gets any easier than this. The only thing that comes close to the WSM is this nifty thermometer, which allowed me to remotely watch the action. I was grilling and keeping guests company while smoking at the same time, relaxed. What a great day.
Kudos to Weber! And thanks to the forum members whose posts pushed me over the top and made me get this humongous upgrade, which was well worth the money. I do recommend the Maverick Smoker Thermometer (ET-73), which was money well spent.