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For a WSM, do you all recommend chips or chunks? I ended up buying the 18” from Facebook and was going to give some ribs a go tomorrow. I’m wondering how much charcoal I’ll need and how many chunks of pecan I should add or how many chips I should add. I think chunks would be best because it’s burn longer. I don’t think it would give a good smoke using chips but I don’t know to be honest. For charcoal I’m thinking half a bag maybe? No idea at all.
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Jul 18, 2020 11:57
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| # ? May 19, 2024 06:59 |
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Chunks. Either way check out https://www.virtualweberbullet.com. I learned pretty much all I know about smoking from that website. Lots of good WSM specifics and how-tos.
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Jul 18, 2020 12:05
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It has begun....  Pork shoulder went in about 45 minutes ago. Meat probe is already showing 135 degrees, so I know I must have overinserted it something. Will re-stick it in a few hours to try and get a better spot. Using original Kingsford and applewood chunks.
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Jul 18, 2020 13:33
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It has begun...wait Pastrami time! Gonna smoke it all the way through instead of steam finishing. Need that bark. For those of you wondering how large the 22 inch Weber Smokey Mountain is. That is a full 14 pound brisket seperated to point and flat next to each other. um excuse me fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Jul 18, 2020 |
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Jul 18, 2020 13:48
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 10lb brisket trimmed, rubbed and ready to go on the smoker. Not super happy with my trim job, thinking I might separate the point to make burnt ends before I wrap it in 4-5hrs
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Jul 18, 2020 14:46
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Saturday smoking crew: Got it on around 6:15. Took a bit to get a handle on temperature, but feeling good about it now. Ended up having to put binder clips around the lid to stabilize the temperature. Got up to 256, had the bottom completely closed and was still rising. Noticed some smoke escaping around the lid, and the instant I put clips on it started dropping. REALLY glad I drilled that hole for the probes... had I run them under the lid, I'd have no hope of keeping the temp controlled. One known issue is that the "one touch" is original, so it doesn't seal well and one of the fins is bent up, so "fully closed" is not actually closed. Plan on replacing that soon enough, but looks like I have good enough control for today. Meat's up to 150 already, after 4 hours. Kinda surprised it went that fast. No stall yet, but I know it's coming. That said, there seems to be a lot of bone, so I'm not confident in my probe placement. Once I get close I'm going to have to poke around with an instant read to see where I'm at. Probably going to check the water in a bit. Was holding tight 235-245, just futzed with it and got it back to 225 and holding fairly steady. Things are going about as well as I expected!
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Jul 18, 2020 15:31
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DaveSauce posted:Saturday smoking crew: Looking good! This was after three hours. Needed to open the lid to add more water to the water pan.  4.5 hours in now. Internal temp has been holding at 165 for a little while now, so might be in the stall. Smoker temp I’m trying to keep in the 225-250 range.
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Jul 18, 2020 17:23
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We're posting porn now? Okay. 5 hour update: 
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Jul 18, 2020 17:38
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3 hours in here  Also trying out this smoke tube for the first time, seems cool so far.
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Jul 18, 2020 17:40
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Picture from about 5 hours in (2 hours ago): That was when I topped off the water and added a few more briquettes (preemptively, wasn't strictly necessary but I had it open so  ).Right now, it's a hair shy of 7 hours and sitting at 163. After it recovered from opening for water, the smoker stabilized around 230 (with some prompting). Been steady since. And of course just as I typed that it dropped to 223, but stabilized quickly so I'm not going to touch it. Really amazed at how well it's keeping temp. I'll post the graph at the end.
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Jul 18, 2020 18:16
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My setup is a wicked cheap, no-name smoker I need to fiddle with constantly to keep temp. But it’s gets the job done and has held up for four seasons now. It’s the first smoker I ever got. My logic was if I can learn on a cheap $35 smoker, when I actually spring for the Weber I’ll be able to smoke with my eyes closed.
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Jul 18, 2020 18:40
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My smoker has been wild today. It's 90°F out but I've been swinging like crazy. I get 200°F sustained all vents fully closed. I open a single vent on the bottom and get 265°F. Luckily brisket is just a heat sponge and I'm not gonna crutch it. It might be time for some gaskets.
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Jul 18, 2020 19:12
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I must have hit a monster stall. Temp of the pork dropped from 172 to 166 in an hour. Never had one lose so much temp before.
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Jul 18, 2020 19:38
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Of course the second I posted that the temp dropped again  And I was at the store so I couldn't do much about it. Thanks I guess, Signals, for letting me watch helplessly from a distance! I mean, only went down to like 212 or so. Currently oscillating between 215-225. Not really panic worthy, just annoying after it was doing so well for so long. I'm pretty sure it's the sun... south facing deck, no shade. Been sunny all day, but now some clouds are starting to show up. Just little ones, so the sun is peeking in and out. Frankly, I'm surprised I'm doing this well. I was afraid that the sun would overheat it and I'd never get this low.
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Jul 18, 2020 19:54
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Decided to inaugurate my smoker today, so popped down to the garden centre, picked up some coal and olive wood, and got to business. Ended up deciding on running a couple of whole chickens, simply because I've never used one of these things before, and they seem a little friendlier to higher temperature (with some extra stuff thrown in just to gauge cooking times, effect, etc - nothing fancy, just pork steaks, burgers, halloumi, etc). Simply salted, I wanted to see what olive smoke was like on it's own (and this was definitely a decision I do not regret - it's a very sweet, almost herbal flavour that it imparts to the meat, with some light medicinal notes that are really nice... having easy access to olive wood in the UK is probably gonna pay off pretty well.) About 2 and half hours at 300-ish; temperature isn't the most inaccurate, as, being second hand, the temperature gauge is really sticky and needs tapping to swing. (It's early on the list of things to replace.) Really fun tending the fire, watching how it's burning, making sure to adjust airflow if you start seeing white smoke and to control temperature, etc - it's certainly really hands on, and really enjoyable. This thing is gonna see a LOT of use. Might get some extra tools, a decent charcoal starter, etc, too. Wife's told me that A: I'm obsessed with the thing, and after tasting the food, B: I need to be running this more often.    
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Jul 18, 2020 21:13
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loving lol Currently standing on my deck In a downpour Under a patio umbrella (and also a golf umbrella because the patio umbrella is meant for sun, not rain) Grill temp is steady at 225-230 Neighbors must think I'm nuts, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let mother nature ruin 10 hours of work.
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Jul 18, 2020 21:33
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DaveSauce posted:loving lol It started trying to get raining here during my run, I mostly just sat marvelling at the puny hiss of rain against firebox.
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Jul 18, 2020 21:38
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DaveSauce posted:loving lol Oh man that sucks! Hang in there!
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Jul 18, 2020 22:06
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I decided to throw a chicken into the smoker for the hell of it. It's 20°F from finished and I started it 5 hours after the brisket. It's a good throw on item because chicken borrows smoke flavor very easily, so you want to add it after the wood chunks have stopped smoking.
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Jul 18, 2020 22:16
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Honestly the worst part is playing human PID loop. The constant changes in wind and rain are starting to throw the temp all over, but I've been managing to keep it between about 220-230. But it's all good. I honestly find this hilarious, and I was expecting rain so no biggie. Meat is at 178! Edit: just had an excursion to 213, but I got her headed back. Wife has the kiddos and is keeping me topped up, so it's not all that bad. Edit again: Neighbor across the cul-de-sac opened his garage door and plopped down in a chair. Not sure if he's watching me or the storm DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Jul 18, 2020 |
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Jul 18, 2020 22:18
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Stall may be over. Pork blasted up from 172 degrees to 192 now. Still trying to keep in mind that I may have overstuck the probe so it actually may be a little cooler than that. Either way, I opened it up to add more water and the probe was still pretty tight in there. This thing is going to need to go to 205 degrees probably in order to be nice and tender. Here’s the 10 hour mark: 
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Jul 18, 2020 22:50
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Chicken's done.
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Jul 18, 2020 23:48
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Ffffffffffff got distracted with the rain and trying to get food to the kids that I ran out of fire. Threw some more briquettes on and we're going back up. Meat's at 180, just need a LITTLE bit more.
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Jul 19, 2020 00:19
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Holy poo poo my probe was way off!!! Pork temp hit 200 degrees and I went out to see how tender it was. Also brought another probe to check temp in a different spot. Got the second probe in a good spot and it’s only 175 degrees! Adjusted the overstuck probe and it’s showing 175 too. Got out the tinfoil and wrapped it up. Going to be a little longer than I thought apparently.
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Jul 19, 2020 00:22
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DaveSauce posted:Ffffffffffff got distracted with the rain and trying to get food to the kids that I ran out of fire. Threw some more briquettes on and we're going back up. You can always finish it in the oven
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Jul 19, 2020 00:35
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Whooping Crabs posted:You can always finish it in the oven I was thinking about finishing mine in the grill. Too hot to turn in the oven. I can probably keep the temp pretty low in there. Anyone else ever try finishing on a grill?
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Jul 19, 2020 00:51
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Why not just open all the vents on your smoker and let it rip up over 300? Comedy option: leaf blower will into the bottom vent will get those temps up
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Jul 19, 2020 00:59
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I got the grill up to 250 now and the meat is climbing again, so I think we're good. Definitely going to have some "lessons learned" from this one. Really looking forward to doing this again with ribs. Or maybe some chicken breasts/thighs or steaks first...
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Jul 19, 2020 01:02
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dangling pointer posted:Why not just open all the vents on your smoker and let it rip up over 300? Yeah that’s what I’m doing now. Holding at 300.
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Jul 19, 2020 01:03
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DaveSauce posted:I got the grill up to 250 now and the meat is climbing again, so I think we're good. Definitely going to have some "lessons learned" from this one. You’ll be fine! I recently did my first smoke and didn’t eat till 10pm.
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Jul 19, 2020 01:05
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Separated the point and flat when I wrapped at the 5 hr mark. Should have done it before I put the rub on, but oh well. Tossed the point in a pan with some beef broth and covered it, and was surprised that it hit 210 while the flat wrapped in butcher paper was still at 180. Cubed and sauced the point for some burnt ends and put it back out for another 20 min or so to glaze.  
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Jul 19, 2020 01:19
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dangling pointer posted:You’ll be fine! I recently did my first smoke and didn’t eat till 10pm. Oh no question. But the toddler throwing multiple tantrums kinda got my stress level way up when added to this. And now the wife is putting her to bed and I have a fussy 2 month old strapped to my chest so the smoke is the least of my problems. It's all good though. Wouldn't be a Saturday with small children if there weren't a few minor freak outs!
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Jul 19, 2020 01:22
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Oh my God. This beats anything I've ever gotten at a restaurant. The fat completely rendered and it's like jelly.
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Jul 19, 2020 01:34
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um excuse me posted:Oh my God. That’s loving beautiful, dude
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Jul 19, 2020 02:29
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16 hours later... It is done.   Sandwich I made didn’t stand a chance of being photographed. It was all over too quickly.
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Jul 19, 2020 05:20
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Alright first time with the WSM and trying some ribs. Did a half-full load charcoal and 20 briquettes in a chimney starter to do the minion method. I filled the water pan with cold water. Temp initially went right to 235 and then spiked at 300. I put some ice cubes in the pan and closed some vents for a bit and now I’ve got the vents pretty lined up so the ribs have been on and temp has been consistent at 235 for the last hour. Top vent is 90% open and all bottom vents are 10% open.
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Jul 19, 2020 17:54
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Ribs are a great way to break in a grill, lots of fat and vapors. They're also pretty forgiving. I think you'll be happy with the results. I looked up to see if theres any way to sell pastrami and health regulations restrict me from selling anything that requires refrigeration from home. Bummer. Guess I'll stick to family and friends. um excuse me fucked around with this message at 18:58 on Jul 19, 2020 |
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Jul 19, 2020 18:51
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Ribs at 300 are totally fine even if you can’t get it down low. Last time I did ribs it was between 250 and 300 (F not C) and they still went nearly 6 hours (no wrap, naked with a little spritzing) and they were incredible. Eventually you will learn that the water pan is more for humidity management than temperature control. Those bottom vents are really your temp level until you get a fan/controller. 90% closed feels like my experience as well, top mostly open.
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Jul 19, 2020 19:01
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Ultimate Mango posted:Ribs at 300 are totally fine even if you can’t get it down low. Last time I did ribs it was between 250 and 300 (F not C) and they still went nearly 6 hours (no wrap, naked with a little spritzing) and they were incredible. It’s been holding at 225 for the last 1.5 hours now so I’m pretty happy. I thought the water was more of a heat sink-interesting it’s more for humidity. I never filled it in my MES and I’m in Virginia where it’s hot and humid as gently caress right now. The ribs are smaller, but they weren’t marketed as baby back, so I’m hopeful they’ll be done by 5 since I started at 11, but we all know how that goes. Part of me is tempted to crack the vent open a bit to go to 250.
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Jul 19, 2020 19:09
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| # ? May 19, 2024 06:59 |
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nwin posted:I thought the water was more of a heat sink-interesting it’s more for humidity. I never filled it in my MES and I’m in Virginia where it’s hot and humid as gently caress right now. Bit of both, I think. (And the humidity should in theory help to reduce stall duration, since stall is evaporative cooling and that’s in part a function of air humidity.)
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Jul 19, 2020 19:37
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