WSM forum members, seeking your help for a friend - guide on how to set up and use a WSM


 
Brett-EDH

Brett-EDH

TVWBB Olympian
Compatriots, I am seeking your guidance here on a few "best of" links so my friend can learn to use his WSM and cook like a pro.

I'd teach him, personally, but I know he'd rather read and then experiment with his new found knowledge, and I don't have a ton of free time to cook with him at his place.

Specifically, he needs to learn how to load coal, start a fire (how many coals to light, or which methods you prefer to use on the WSM, target temps and WSM management (vents).

Any links you can share as a best of, or "this is what you need to know" in a tight version would be of huge help to him.

He needs to learn understand fuel management and fuel load amounts, along with placing wood and which wood types are best for XX type of cooks.

He does butts now, and he'd like to learn brisket cooking.

Your replies and help is appreciated greatly. TYIA for sharing your best of links.

I think this will be of huge help for him, and I might be able to convince him to join here.
 
Yeah Brett, get him to join! Have him ask his own questions, that way he will get fifteen different points of view from everyone, then he can pick and choose. My methodology seems to be somewhat different from many others. It’s s method that works very well for my needs with my equipment. And for what it’s worth, this forum is how I GOT my first (only) WSM! Thanks Chris, Dave Boerner, and all the rest of you generous folks! This is the place to learn!
 
Brett - I agree with all the above. I will add a few tips of my own here just for fun & to share my personal experiences

1) Hot weather cooking on the WSM is a different beast than cold weather cooking. You need less lit charcoal in the beginning to reach target cook temperatures vs when it's cold outside. For long cooks, on my 22" WSM, at < 60F, I usually start with a full chimney doughnut/minion style and a dry water pan, foil wrapped. On warmer or hot days (over 80F) that's a bit too much charcoal, and I'll cut it back to half to 2/3rds.

2) For longer brisket cooks, I recommend loading charcoal/prepping the WSM, and trimming/seasoning the brisket the night before. All this prep can take up to an hour (especially when you're new). After you do the prep, go to bed, wake up early, get coffee, light your charcoal, dial in the temp, and load the brisket EARLY (I shoot for 6:30 AM). Getting done early is awesome because you can rest the brisket in cooler or in a warm oven while it's wrapped, and it just gets better the longer it rests. I also recommend running the WSM the "hot side" of your temp target for the same reasons. Getting done late is not recommended ;) .

3) Don't experiment too much with different fuels when you're first getting started. Pick something good and stay with it for your first few cooks. Good quality briquettes can be a little bit more predictable since the shape is uniform. Some lump charcoals have long narrow peices in them that can act like a fuse, and mess with temperature control thru uneven ignition of the coal bed. If you see peices over 6 to 8" long, just break em' up into smaller peices to prevent that issue

4) Don't fret too much about minor temperature variations when running the WSM. Give or take 20 F around your target is no big deal. If you build the fire correctly, and don't fiddle with the vents too much a WSM will settle into a sweet spot for temperature without too many adjustments as long as it's not to windy outside.

5) Join the forum, don't be shy. Some internet forums are full of mean spirited trolls, but not this one - we're all AWESOME.
 
John K BBQ said:
2) For longer brisket cooks, I recommend loading charcoal/prepping the WSM, and trimming/seasoning the brisket the night before. All this prep can take up to an hour (especially when you're new). After you do the prep, go to bed, wake up early, get coffee, light your charcoal, dial in the temp, and load the brisket EARLY (I shoot for 6:30 AM). Getting done early is awesome because you can rest the brisket in cooler or in a warm oven while it's wrapped, and it just gets better the longer it rests. I also recommend running the WSM the "hot side" of your temp target for the same reasons. Getting done late is not recommended ;) .
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i just fed him my low and slow off my E6. he and his wife really enjoyed it. I'd recco, having owned a 18 WSM in my past, you do an overnight, 12 hour cook on a brisket, just from this past experience. it was near zero work for me. i just watched my Signals to se what was going on. and after the 12 hour cook, a 5 hour rest, slicing at 127F, and the brisket was like jello. from raw to stall temps from 225-245 at grate. meat from 50F up to 173F, then wrapped and finished to 200F average temp (3 probes in this last brisket).

excellent advice on hot and cold days. we only have two real seasons here, hot and raining.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
My last brisket was 21 hours cook time, worth time spent! I am so pleased with the way my 18” does it’s job, no ATC, just a two probe remote thermometer. The KISS method is my preferred rule of thumb, Keep It Simple Silly!
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any link to it so i can read about your experiences, temps, times, etc? i agree; no ATC and just simple heat management worked very well.
 
Brett-EDH said:
any link to it so i can read about your experiences, temps, times, etc? i agree; no ATC and just simple heat management worked very well.
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It’s the brisket from the birthday feast I posted on Sunday.
Set up- starting about 17:00
1-1layer smoke wood (this was cherry). fully across the bottom (a la Harry Soo).
2- full ring, (like barely able to hold one more briquette) Kingsford pro (~12#)
3- assemble WSM, no water pan, terracotta saucer wrapped in HD foil
4- lit through the door maybe two minutes with propane torch
5-set the brisket on, double checked probes, set the lid (pit temp~230-265 entire cook)
6-cracked a beer
7- small adjustment to rear vents, front full open, top full open
8- cracked another beer, made dinner
9- beered another crack
10- double checked the remote thermometer
11-went to bed, slept soundly
12-awake at 6 added maybe three more pounds of coal, went back to bed
13-made coffee, had breakfast, made macaroni and cheese
14-slight temperature drop so, I finished off the 18# bag of charcoal, threw the bag away, had more coffee. Made beans
15-probed for “jiggle”, not quite there yet.
16-14:00 probed better, brisket off, wrapped in two layers of foil, two bath towels(dedicated for that job) into an old Omaha steak cooler, closed vents.
17- unwrapped, and sliced about 17:00

Any questions? That’s pretty much as step by step as I generally get.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
16-14:00 probed better, brisket off, wrapped in two layers of foil, two bath towels(dedicated for that job) into an old Omaha steak cooler, closed vents.
17- unwrapped, and sliced about 17:00
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pull temp(s)? sounds like you do it by hand and not by actual temp, yes probe feel is more important then temp. my pull was 200F average temp with a nice jello jiggle and easy probing.

slicing temp? no that it matter, but i found that a nice nap for the brisket and cooler temps made for easier slicing. i measured 127F at slicing temp.

you left our the brand of beer. i've been vilified, happily, for coors lights. but i won't change that. i just like em.
 
Brett-EDH said:
pull temp(s)? sounds like you do it by hand and not by actual temp, yes probe feel is more important then temp. my pull was 200F average temp with a nice jello jiggle and easy probing.

slicing temp? no that it matter, but i found that a nice nap for the brisket and cooler temps made for easier slicing. i measured 127F at slicing temp.

you left our the brand of beer. i've been vilified, happily, for coors lights. but i won't change that. i just like em.
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Off at about 197* but, it could have gone longer. I had other things that needed attention.
No clue about slicing temp.
Dos Equis amber has been the brew of choice lately.
though tonight it was Guinness.
 
Another tip - have your brisket cook plan all written down the first few times. It helps take the stress out of the whole thing. Also gives you a place to scratch notes on when you did certain things (brisket on, stall over, into the wrap, take notes of smoker temperature and meat temperatures and certain times, etc..

How to wrap is a big subject all by itself and there are a lot of opinions on which way is best... If you don't wrap, like Tim said, it might take 21 hours or more, if you do wrap, you can knock it out in 8 to 12 hours depending on cook temp. I always wrap at 170 to 180, and have a slight preference for butcher paper wrap over foil, but I think foil is best for beginners.
 
Best advice I was given if doing a long daylight cook. Get all your ducks in a row the night before!! (You don't want to be fannying about prepping at sparrow's-fart o'clock).
Get as much fuel into the charcoal ring as humanly possible.....then add a bit more.
My routine: (YMMV).
1. Stroll out to the smoker, coffee in hand and ignite.
2. Sit back and enjoy the quiet morning.
3. As soon as the lit has been added assemble everything, (meat on, probes in etc), and bring it all up to cook temp together.
4. Don't chase the mythical 225deg. Anywhere between 225-280 is good.
5. Stuck at 165? Open another beverage. Wait. Let it do its thing until final desired temp achieved.
6. Soak up the adulation from friends and family when you present them with bbq that's better than your local bbq joint.
 
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Yes, early prep and planning is critical to successful outcome.
Plan, plan, plan, I’m feeding a moving crew this Saturday and am planning on a butt for feeding the masses. I’m kind of thinking that I will use Tony’s “sparrows fart o’clock“ start time like 06:00 for 17:00-18:00 sit down time. I need to get a huge bag of ice and lay in beverages too!
I hate moving, even if it’s just “in and out”!
 
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