Your #1 Tip on getting the smoker smoking...


 
A

A.J. S

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Hey Hey... Ok Just fired up my 18for the 1st time. Im cooking a whole chicken that cost 5 bucks so if I destroy it I will live..... So,I filled my chimney with charcoal, I also filled up my ring with charcoal leaving a empty spot in the center. I let the coals get good and ready and poured them to the center of the ring, also adding a few chunks of apple wood. The questions I have is, how much/long do I let those coals burn(get hot) before putting on the cylinder? I let them start getting burning and put it on right away. I hope I don't kill my fire, but my temp is reading 225. I don't know if I'm excited or nervous
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Thanks... I know this is an art, and I need to be good by Christmas I'm cooking prime rib for my parents and my family...(the good part is sarcastic by the way!!!)
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Welcome AJ. Just make sure all vents are open on your rig then start trimming them closed as you reach desired temp.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas!
 
Thanks Mike, I know what I did wrong.. I had left the vents open 100%, I just returned from some last minute Christams shopping and after three hours my temp is at 170. UGH!!! Well looks like I will be having a midnight snake of smoked chicken.
 
AJ try the mm method where you spread the coals over the top of the unlit. A full lit chimney is a lot of lit charcoal, you will have a hard time controlling temperatures. Try a half chimney of lit next time. As for the readiness of the charcoal in the chimney I typically wait until the top coals are beginning to turn white. If you use stubbs k it will light up quicker and hotter, the same for lump charcoal. After you put the wsm together leave all the vents open and begin to play with the vents when your within 15 degrees of target. Good luck.
 
AJ - in my experience, its always easier to get the temps on a WSM up than back down if you overshoot it. Like Richard said, learn the Minion Method. A full chimney in charcoal in a WSM, without another chimney underneath it, is going to burn out quickly with the vents open (as you know) and with a bed of coals under the lit chimney, its going to be hard to keep the temps under control.

Using the Minion Method, you will be able to catch your temps on the way up, keep them much more stable throughout your cook, and have a much longer cook time on a full loan of charcoal.

Most of all, relax, enjoy it, and don't panic if your temps want to settle in 10 or 20 degrees above or below what you were shooting for. Just cook it a little longer, or shorter, use some foil, or not, and remember, this is what we do to relax!

Pat
 
Well I had chicken.... But from wing stop!
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I figured that no biggie I would just pull it of later and shread it up for sandwiches. Well got home from wing stop and the temp was 100... WTH? My fire never got really where it needed to be. I checked and I still had some black unburnt charcoal. So the adventure begins again tomorrow. I will be going to the store and grabbing some salmon... AJ-vs-Smoker round 2 tomorrow..
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Pat Smith:
AJ - in my experience, its always easier to get the temps on a WSM up than back down if you overshoot it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. I start closing vents 40-50 degrees shy of my target temp.
 
Aj, I am no pro but I have had great experiences with my 18.5 wsm. I use the MM 100% of the time. I have not cooked yard bird yet but I have done brisket, port butt, and ribs several times with success. I fill the charcoal ring in the WSM 3/4 full with unlit and 3/4 full weber chimney. I dump the lit on the unlit and have the top vent open 100% for the entire smoke. The bottom three are never open more than 30%. I get a consistent 235-240 on the lid which should be about 225-230 on the grill. I have gone 9 hrs with this set up and there was still a little fuel left and my guess I could have gone another few hours. you will not need this much fuel with chicken as it will cook in a couple hours tops depending how much and size. Enjoy your weber, have have been into this since June. I am doing a pork shoulder and bb ribs tomorrow, can't wait!
 
AJ - If you prepped like you said and couldn't get to temps you choked your fire. Per the others above, try a by-the-book minion method start (detailed on this site) and just watch how temp and vent position work. A note on chicken, do it as hot as you can, which means an empty water pan, a non minion start (also see here) and vents wide open (you can even prop open the door a bit for more air). Keep reading here and practising and you'll be smoking in no time.
 
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