WSM (22.5") arrives tomorrow!


 
M

Morris B.

New member
I've been grilling on a regular Weber grill for years and in recent times have started smoking ribs on it as well. But sometimes I want to smoke more ribs at once. Enter the WSM.

I can't wait to try it out. I'll be smoking baby back ribs for some friends on the 31st and wondered if anyone had any tips. I'll be smoking 8 racks and have ribs racks to use. I had the system down pretty good smoking 4 racks of baby back ribs on the regular Weber grill, but I'm sure there are things I need to know about smoking 8 racks on the WSM.

Any tips or anything I should be aware of moving from a regular Weber grill to a WSM?

Thanks!
 
When I set up the regular Weber grill for smoking, I typically put a pan with dihydrogen monoxide under the ribs. Does the WSM need more dihydrogen monoxide since I'll be doubling the number of ribs I normally smoke?

:-)
 
I fill the pan up regardless of how many racks I am cooking. Others may tell you differently. I also foil the pan so that clean up is a bit easier. It's pretty straight forward given you've done them on weber grill. I'd be curious to hear how you did after your cook and what you noticed were any differences.
 
The main thing I'm wondering about is the charcoal. On the regular grill, I put about 25 coals inside of a char-basket and added about 12 briquettes (Kingsford) every 45 minutes to keep the temp right over the course of 3 hours (about what it usually takes me for baby backs at around 240-250 degrees). But I was measuring the temperature with a cheap thermometer of questionably reliability. The WSM has a temp gauge on top so I'll use that. Also, on the regular grill, I rotated the ribs every 45 minutes to even out the smoking since the heat was on the side. Is there a need to rotate the ribs in the WSM?
 
I don't use any water. I double foiled the water pan, bought a large terra cotta planter base, double wrapped it too, and then put it in the water pan. I also bought one of those cheap aluminum turket roaster pans and put it in the water pan. I remove this before each cook and wash it out. I load my coal basket up full of KBB and then use the flame thrower to light the coals in the very center. I use fruit wood, usually apple for my ribs. A couple large chunks are enough for our tastes.

All four vents wide open until the smoker gets within 20* of my target temp, then I close two bottom vents all the way and the third about 2/3 closed. Your WSM is new, so it may want to run higher until she gets dirty. Just close the third bottom vent a little more. Let her settle in around your target temperature and wait for the white smoke to disappear.

I cook St. Louis style ribs at 275*ish for about 2 hours nekkid, wrap them in foil for half an hour, and then nekkid again for half an hour or until they pass the bend test. I don't usually cook BB's, so not sure if they cook faster or slower.

Once the cook is done, I close all four vents. Within an hour, when I can touch the bowl with my hand, I cover her up for next time.
 
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