WSM noob with charcoal issue


 
P

Phil_T

New member
Hey everyone, love this forum and the community!

So this week I finally decided to purchased my first smoker (WSM 22.5) and decided to give it a quick run last night.

For my first smoke I tried (not recommended I know) chicken wings. But I ran into some issue.

They only tasted like charcoal. Which was way too much.

I started by pat drying the wings (a dozen) and a simple dry rub.

Filled halfway the ring with Kingsford Blue Original and did a 1/3 of rapid chimney starter.

Lite the chimney into the base of the charcoal and let the fire lower for quite a bit (until I could see some white charcoal) probably 20 minutes.
then I poured the coals onto the base (minion style).

Then I assembled the WSM with no middle grill (top grate only) and lined the water pan with aluminium but without any water in it.
I let it run for about 45 minutes because my temperature would not drop bellow 350F (grate level thermometer). Top vent was fully open and I had to close the two bottoms vent with only one open to a pencil width.

I'm assuming I had way too much charcoals in there.

Even by then I could smell the charcoal which was overpowering (my clothing still reeked this morning a lot...)

I used one fist size of apple and one fist size of cherry chunk of wood, which I placed in 10 minutes before the wings.

I dropped the wings in the smoker when the temperature was at 325F and I let them in for an hour. At that point I sprayed some apple juice on them to give them a nice color. (mistake I guess). During the cook, the temperature got to about 285F.

And finally had them cook for another 20 minutes with all the vents opened with a grate temp of 325F and internal meat temp reached 185F. By then it was already 10:30pm.

Final result was over powered smell of charcoal and the skin was unedible (rubbery texture) we had to remove the skin.

I live in NB, Canada and the outdoor temperature was 14F.

Can anyone guide me for my next smoke.

Thanks
Phil T.
 
Reads to me like you don't like the taste of KB.
Fine, switch to another brand or lump until you find something better.
350 is a fine temp for grilling wings, smoking temps are lower ( if that's what you were looking for) and can cause rubbery skin.
HTH and welcome to the board!:wsm:

Tim
 
timothy said:
Reads to me like you don't like the taste of KB.
Fine, switch to another brand or lump until you find something better.
350 is a fine temp for grilling wings, smoking temps are lower ( if that's what you were looking for) and can cause rubbery skin.
HTH and welcome to the board!:wsm:

Tim
Click to expand...
Know you don't like KB Tim :) but don't overlook "I used one fist size of apple and one fist size of cherry chunk of wood, which I placed in 10 minutes before the wings." Plus an hour and 20 minutes cook time.
I'm thinking it was way too much smoke.

IMO wings should be done hot and fast on a grill, or if using a WSM, use fully lit, no water pan, and very little if any wood.

Welcome aboard Phil!
 
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Yes I should have kept it at a higher temperature!

I'm also gona try a different brand of briquettes.

Was it normal for everything to have a heaving smell of fire? Clothing, house and food? Is this a typical smoker situation?

Next I want to go for some (6x) burgers (till I get better at it for some ribs). Any pointers? Temp, time, amount of briquettes and amount and types of wood?

Thanks all
 
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Phil,
With all due respect it seems you're trying to do things best suited for grilling.
Yes wings and burgers can be cooked on a Weber smoker, but it's best suited for low and slow.
It can do both wings and burgers, but a little more experience might be needed.

I have to assume that the heavy "fire" "charcoal" smell and flavor came from so much wood used.
Go for those ribs, or pork shoulder, or whatever using Chris' guides found here:
http://virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html
 
If you are "looking" into the smoker with the lid off, ya you're going to smell real smokey. Even for the brief time when putting the food (on the rack) into the smoker at the very beginning, you're clothes are going to get smoked up.

I like that when it happens but that's just me.

Stuff with skin (chicken, wings) need high heat (350) otherwise you'll get rubber skin.

Don't give up on what you've got. Get some ribs and do your low & slow (225-275) for 5 hours (backs) or 6 hours (spares). Do the bend test (google the term) rather than time. Times given are approximate.

Gotta give yourself a fighting chance here.

Try it. You'll like it :D
 
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I agree with Bob. Hot and fast is the way to go with wings. Rubbery, skin aside, did you see thick white smoke pouring out of the top before or during the cook? I’m thinking the fire fluctuated and caused the partially lit charcoal to put off acrid smoke. It seems to me that I get the best smoke when my temps are steady. Next time, I’d try to make sure your temps have stabilized before putting the food on. Then, be careful not to open the lid during the cook any more than absolutely necessary. And, limit the time the lid is off to as little time as possible. That might help keep the temps normalized.
 
Phil, you can switch charcoal if you want, but Kingsford only gives off a strong smell during lighting. Just for the sake of learning, I would suggest trying Hot & Fast Chicken using Kingsford (maybe 1-3/4 to 2 chimneys of lit charcoal) and no smoke wood and water pan removed from the cooker and see how you feel about the flavor--it should be basically a grilled flavor with no smoke flavor. Then try again using just 1/2 fist-sized chunk of apple wood. Some are very sensitive to smoke flavor, that might be you.
 
I agree with others' feedback and if you are hanging out with your charcoal waiting for it to ash when it's in the chimney it will yield an intense taste and smell. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't so intense that it affects your taste buds when eating your food. I do what needs to be done outside, then light and go indoors for at least 20 minutes. But as has also been said, I have read that KBB can yield a taste that some people are simply too sensitive against. I feel blessed that I and my family are not that sensitive. I personally would not abandon KBB after just one use, though. After smoking and using charcoal grills for 2 1/2 years I came to realize that one experience does not provide adequate data for establishing a rule.

Welcome, and I wish you lots of success and enjoyment! You probably already know about it but this area is also full of a wealth of informative detail, from cook methods to recipes and troubleshooting: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com
 
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Thanks for the feedback!

I realize it's a combination of things... We still have 4' of snow, so I had to cook relatively close to the house and with the rubbery skin of the chicken it made it worse. We just want to make sure if we use it in the summer time around the pool that every body does not end up smokey!

Anyways next smoke will be ribs then!
 
If you cook around the pool I doubt everyone will end up smokey, especially if you don't start the charcoal right by the pool. Assuming you load up with the minion method, light the charcoal maybe a little further away and then dump the chimney in and assemble the smoker, I doubt everyone will end up smelling smokey, especially if the only time you open the lid is to add or remove food, or to very occasionally check for doneness.

Anyways, welcome to the forum and enjoy the ribs! Let us know if they turn out any better than the chicken.
 
Good luck with your next smoke :)

I use lump charcoal in my WSM and I hardly ever use wood as it's smoky enough for me....
 
Anne, I’m curious, just what kind of charcoal and other commercial supplies are available in Zambia? I’ve had some fun chatting with TonyUK about what is available and what is NOT available there. After a few months of emailing, we were sending thing back and forth and have developed an interesting “electronic” relationship. He’s out at sea right now working an oil rig so, he has very spotty internet connections but, we keep in touch.
 
Tim, we buy our charcoal on the side of the road. It's made locally.
Charcoal burning is a big issue here and contributes to deforestation. But is is awesome charcoal, and I always feel a bit guilty buying it.
There is some other charcoal available in town I think, but that's a 3 hour drive.
I will be posting a thread about my pork cook soon and it will have some charcoal pictures in it :)
 
Thanks Anne, it’s interesting to see how things are done around the world! I wondered about locally made charcoal for you, I don’t hear about container ships of Kingsford headed to Africa very often.
 
I'll check next time I am in town what type of charcoal is being sold in the shops.
Those are just small bags though. Most people that braai a lot will buy the big bags on the roadside.
Charcoal is also used for heating in the winter and to cook stews, relishes and everything else on. Gas is expensive and some areas don't have electricity. Solar is starting to become big...

By the way: Braai means both grilling and BBQ-ing, to braai is the action of cooking. A braai is the equipment used.
 
I tried again smooking some wings (memphis dry rub) and this time they turned out a lot better.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I went with a higher temperature throughout the cook (350F) for 50 minutes without the water pan. The skin was crispy.
I also used lump charcoal to give me a higher temperature. And I only put in one small fist size of apple wood. There was a thin smoke layer coming out of the smoker (blue smoke I guess!)

The smoke taste was much more subtle. A bit too much for the wife but I was satisfied!

Photo #1
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