Weber Kettle Club Forums
Grill Talk => Weber Grill Forum (Grills, Accessories) => Topic started by: RandyG on August 29, 2013, 01:27:43 PM
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Ok guys, I'm pretty pumped right now, been wanting a wsm for a while but all the one's I've seen on cl have been out of my price range, 160 and up, then today, out of nowhere this pops up and I couldn't pass it up,he was asking 45, felt guilty but tried to get the guy down on price but couldn't ???. He said it had never been used but has been fired up at least once. Now I'm needing some tips on this thing, some techniques, going to do my first cook this weekend, thanks!! ::)
(http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p792/Rtg1989/IMAG0340_zps8525e720.jpg) (http://s1351.photobucket.com/user/Rtg1989/media/IMAG0340_zps8525e720.jpg.html)
(http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p792/Rtg1989/IMAG0339_zps14cfc2f8.jpg) (http://s1351.photobucket.com/user/Rtg1989/media/IMAG0339_zps14cfc2f8.jpg.html)
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You tried talking him down from 45 bucks? I wouldn't have sold it to ya afterwards... lol
I love my WSM and wished I got one 7 years ago! As for tips/techniques, I don't use water in the pan as a heat sink. I picked up a clay pot base, wrapped it in foil, set that in the water pan, and wrapped foil over all of the above. After the cook is done, ball up the top layer of foil and clean up is done. I love the minion method and start with ~15 lit pieces of charcoal. KBB produces a lot of ash and will smother the coals well into a long cook, but it's cheap. Lump burns clean, but fast. Stubbs is the best of both worlds, but kinda pricey. Having an ET-732 allows worry free overnight cooks while I get a good nights sleep.
What are your initial cook plans?
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That's a great score, Randy! It looks brand new. Most will tell you that Pork butt is the most forgiving thing to smoke. It take a long time though! Beercan chicken also comes out great. Ribs are a little less foolproof, but google babyback 2-1-1 ribs with foil and I am sure those will come out great. Here are some tips to consider:
- Run the WSM with water for the first few cooks just to get comfortable with the heat. Then later you can use a clay pot or run it dry and see if that works out for you.
-Don't muck with the vents too often. Most wsm's are rock solid at temp. Sometimes I even leave one bottom vent just halfway open, and the top fully open and it stays between 230-250.
-Pick up a thermometer if you can. Doesn't have to be anyting fancy, some people just get a normal dial one and pop it through the top vent. It will give you piece of mind and a gauge (no pun intended) on how your cook is going.
-Don't overdo the minion method- its where you throw on a few lit charcoal onto a pile of unlit. You really only need 10 coals or so to get it up to temp.
Last but not least, have fun with it, experiment, and ask alot of questions.
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Sweet score! I suggest stafting with a pork shoulder, aka butt, with a nice, sweet rub. They're really forgiving and really good!
- Decide what you want to do with the water pan. Leave it empty, fill it with water or fill it with sand are all common practices.
- Light the smoker with all vents open using the "minion method." Google this if you aren't familiar with it. I like to add apple chunks to the charcoal for pork.
- When the smoker temp approaches 225 start to close the lower vents. You'll probably have all three closed at least 2/3rds of the way. If wind is a factor you can close two fully and just adjust the third. The smoker temp will gradually stabilize around 275 and the smoke will start to thin. You want it looking thin & faintly blue, not thick and billowy. This can take 30-45 mins, really.
- Stick the meat on and LEAVE THE LID CLOSED. Once the meat gets to about 175 internal temp you can start poking it with a probe or skewer to test for tenderness = doneness. The probe should go into it like butter with little resistance.
- When you're convinced it is tender enough pull it off the smoker and let it rest for at least an hour. Coolers work good for this.
- After it has rested go ahead and shred it, then enjoy!
Hopefully I'm not telling you a bunch of stuff you already knew. If so, please tell us what your specific questions are. The BBQ Brethren and Virtual Weber Bulletin are both good forums with more info on WSMs.
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Good things come to those who wait--great grab on a really clean wood handled smoker! What is the date code on the vent?
You'll want to junk the inside up a bit to get the seal really tight, so as others have stated, do a couple pork butts and ABT's and get the inside dirty. You'll have fun for sure. There is a WSM site as well that helped me out a lot.
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You have received some great advice Randy.
What is the date code? Is that the original wood handle?
There is a lot of collective WSM advice right here at WKC.
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You tried talking him down from 45 bucks? I wouldn't have sold it to ya afterwards... lol
I love my WSM and wished I got one 7 years ago! As for tips/techniques, I don't use water in the pan as a heat sink. I picked up a clay pot base, wrapped it in foil, set that in the water pan, and wrapped foil over all of the above. After the cook is done, ball up the top layer of foil and clean up is done. I love the minion method and start with ~15 lit pieces of charcoal. KBB produces a lot of ash and will smother the coals well into a long cook, but it's cheap. Lump burns clean, but fast. Stubbs is the best of both worlds, but kinda pricey. Having an ET-732 allows worry free overnight cooks while I get a good nights sleep.
What are your initial cook plans?
Hey, what can I say, I'm cheap!! ::) Thanks for the great advice, I was planning on a ET-732 anyway. As far as Stubbs, are you talking about lump or bricks? I've read some bad reviews on their lump. I will probably start with a pork butt just to break it in, maybe some ribs too, thanks again!!
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Stubbs briquettes are the only thing I've ever used on my WSM.
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Good things come to those who wait--great grab on a really clean wood handled smoker! What is the date code on the vent?
You'll want to junk the inside up a bit to get the seal really tight, so as others have stated, do a couple pork butts and ABT's and get the inside dirty. You'll have fun for sure. There is a WSM site as well that helped me out a lot.
Thanks Glenn, for some strange reason, there is no date code on the vent ??? Can't find it anywhere..And excuse my ignorance but what is "ABT'S"?
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If it is that good of a deal I pay the asking price and run......just me. Nice find
...And BTW this is the Weber KETTLE Club, there is another site dedicated to those things take your questions elsewhere pal.... :D
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Score! That's awesome. ;D
Most of my suggestions have already been covered. All I'll add is ... one Butt? How 'bout some ribs too? Or a brisket? I started blogging my smokes first as a way of keeping records so I could learn from prior experience and second, to share what works for me. You can check it out at http://smpoke-on.blogspot.com/
Did anyone mention that the WSM tends to run hot the first few cooks? It takes a while to build up the layer of smoke and grease that helps to seal the sections. You might find you can maintain 250 with the bottom vents fully closed.
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Sweet score! I suggest stafting with a pork shoulder, aka butt, with a nice, sweet rub. They're really forgiving and really good!
- Decide what you want to do with the water pan. Leave it empty, fill it with water or fill it with sand are all common practices.
- Light the smoker with all vents open using the "minion method." Google this if you aren't familiar with it. I like to add apple chunks to the charcoal for pork.
- When the smoker temp approaches 225 start to close the lower vents. You'll probably have all three closed at least 2/3rds of the way. If wind is a factor you can close two fully and just adjust the third. The smoker temp will gradually stabilize around 275 and the smoke will start to thin. You want it looking thin & faintly blue, not thick and billowy. This can take 30-45 mins, really.
- Stick the meat on and LEAVE THE LID CLOSED. Once the meat gets to about 175 internal temp you can start poking it with a probe or skewer to test for tenderness = doneness. The probe should go into it like butter with little resistance.
- When you're convinced it is tender enough pull it off the smoker and let it rest for at least an hour. Coolers work good for this.
- After it has rested go ahead and shred it, then enjoy!
Hopefully I'm not telling you a bunch of stuff you already knew. If so, please tell us what your specific questions are. The BBQ Brethren and Virtual Weber Bulletin are both good forums with more info on WSMs.
Thanks, I know some basics in general but looking for temp control on these cookers, how much charcoal to use per cook. Basically the behavior of this particular smoker, but hey, I'm always open to good advise on anything ;)!!
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Did anyone mention that the WSM tends to run hot the first few cooks? It takes a while to build up the layer of smoke and grease that helps to seal the sections. You might find you can maintain 250 with the bottom vents fully closed.
+1. Start with a small fire. It's always easy to stoke it up but not always the other way around.
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If it is that good of a deal I pay the asking price and run......just me. Nice find
...And BTW this is the Weber KETTLE Club, there is another site dedicated to those things take your questions elsewhere pal.... :D
Don't mind the Kamado lover, WSM's are still part of the family. :D
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If it is that good of a deal I pay the asking price and run......just me. Nice find
...And BTW this is the Weber KETTLE Club, there is another site dedicated to those things take your questions elsewhere pal.... :D
LOL ;D Well, its made by weber and its sorta shaped like a kettle!! ::)
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If it is that good of a deal I pay the asking price and run......just me. Nice find
...And BTW this is the Weber KETTLE Club, there is another site dedicated to those things take your questions elsewhere pal.... :D
Don't mind the Kamado lover, WSM's are still part of the family. :D
Hey thanks, I needed that, was getting a tear in my eye.. :'(
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Score! That's awesome. ;D
Most of my suggestions have already been covered. All I'll add is ... one Butt? How 'bout some ribs too? Or a brisket? I started blogging my smokes first as a way of keeping records so I could learn from prior experience and second, to share what works for me. You can check it out at http://smpoke-on.blogspot.com/
Did anyone mention that the WSM tends to run hot the first few cooks? It takes a while to build up the layer of smoke and grease that helps to seal the sections. You might find you can maintain 250 with the bottom vents fully closed.
Thanks Hank, I'll check it out!! :)
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Nice find. I would love to have a WSM.
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WTF is WSM?
"And excuse my ignorance but what is "ABT'S"?"
here's some things on ABT's & there's some stuff in the "Appetizer" section
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/previous-what-to-do-for-a-few-part-2-4/msg7899/#msg7899
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/'turd-wrapping/msg32093/?topicseen#msg32093
Just throw " 'Turds " in the search box up above & see what comes up.....
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Stubbs + WSM + Boston Butt + 225 + 12-19Hrs = Happy Family
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Randy, you've gotten great advice already, so I'm just gonna add a bit to that.
It might be fun to start with a chicken or something, just to get the thing working and see how it works. But don't expect the skin to be very good-- I find that smoking a temp at WSM temps makes some great meat, but really rubbery skin. Just the same, it's a good place to start.
Ribs are a nice trial run, too, since they 'only' take 5 or so hours.
+1 on getting it gunked up before it'll cook quite right. I bought mine used, and it was plenty 'seasoned'. But it still took maybe 6 cooks before it started to run nice and steady for me. So be patient. I've heard of people smoking bacon and/or other cuts of cheap meat, just to season the smoker.
When you do take a try at pork shoulder-- and you really should as soon as you have the time-- I think you should start with the ending. Which is to say, you'll be pulling your meat off at 190 or higher, and you should wrap it tightly in foil, wrap that in a towel, and pack the meat into a small cooler to stay warm and rest for at least an hour. The good news is that you can go ahead and leave it in there for at least 4 hours before it gets anywhere close to 140 (a very safe range for pork). So start with the ending, and give yourself plenty of time (this is good advice in general when it comes to WSM cooking and butts in particular). If you're wanting to eat at 5, guestimate your finish time toward 12 or 1, so you have some time to play with. Then you won't be trying to race to the end, or all worried about things. In the case of butts, I start them the night before, since they usually take me between 14 and 19 hours.
And like others have said, GO SLOW. Fill the coal ring up with cold charcoal, but only use about 10 coals to get it started. When it's rising up to within 25 degrees of your target, choke the vents down to slow it down even more (it's easy to bring it up to temp, but it's really hard to bring it back down). If you do make adjustments to the vents or coals or whatever, don't expect to see the results of those changes for about an hour (remember, the WSM is built for SLOW). Once it gets settled in where you like it, I think you'll find that it holds really steady at that temp for hours and hours and hours. Last time I did an overnight smoke (2 butts), I didn't even get out of bed once.
Your smoker is gorgeous-- congrats on your patience and reward. The handle is in incredible condition! And that's an amazing price (I paid 85 for mine, and am still stoked about that deal). I'm really happy for you.
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If it is that good of a deal I pay the asking price and run......just me. Nice find
...And BTW this is the Weber KETTLE Club, there is another site dedicated to those things take your questions elsewhere pal.... :D
Great score. A WSM of any flavor is on my list. Disregard comments from the peanut gallery.
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WTF is WSM?
"And excuse my ignorance but what is "ABT'S"?"
here's some things on ABT's & there's some stuff in the "Appetizer" section
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/previous-what-to-do-for-a-few-part-2-4/msg7899/#msg7899
http://weberkettleclub.com/forums/grilling-bbqing/'turd-wrapping/msg32093/?topicseen#msg32093
Just throw " 'Turds " in the search box up above & see what comes up.....
Thanks, I've actually made those before, must have just had a brain fart last night, I think the excitment just got to me, think I'm going to make some this weekend, my son inhales them!! :o
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Randy,
How did the cook go?
Can't wait to fire my WSM up. Any opinions out there about what would be a good virgin cook? Boston butt? Remember I'm a noob and don't want the initial cook to be a disaster.
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Randy,
How did the cook go?
Can't wait to fire my WSM up. Any opinions out there about what would be a good virgin cook? Boston butt? Remember I'm a noob and don't want the initial cook to be a disaster.
butts are pretty easy but the long cook is challenging if you are busy.
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edhead,
Will likely want to put something in early in the morning and let it cook all day while I watch football. :D
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An empty smoker or a full one takes about the same amount of fuel. I agree with a pork butt for numerous reasons. It's forgiving. It's a long smoke which 'seasons' the WSM nicely. It shows you it's fire control abilities. It's a delicious hunk of meat you can't help but snitch the entire time you're pulling it. :)
With all of that said, I recommend adding more than just a pork butt to the cook. Then again, we love leftovers. Meatloaf, chicken, or ribs take less time and make for great kick-off vittles. Then the butt for prime time football.
I really like my kettles, but I love the WSM
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An empty smoker or a full one takes about the same amount of fuel. I agree with a pork butt for numerous reasons. It's forgiving. It's a long smoke which 'seasons' the WSM nicely. It shows you it's fire control abilities. It's a delicious hunk of meat you can't help but snitch the entire time you're pulling it. :)
With all of that said, I recommend adding more than just a pork butt to the cook. Then again, we love leftovers. Meatloaf, chicken, or ribs take less time and make for great kick-off vittles. Then the butt for prime time football.
I really like my kettles, but I love the WSM
WSM for smokin' Kettle for grillin'
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Thanks Chad. Maybe I'll do a Boston butt and chicken. This thing is so big I could probably do two or three of each.
Have you done a Turkey on it? I'm going to try it for Thanksgiving.
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I have done Turkey's on my WSM , i like them better on the kettle or better yet kettle rotisserie , done in about 2 hr or less and crispy skin !
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I've had 64 pounds of butts on mine at once. ;D
I got the WSM early November last year, but wasn't confident enough for Thanksgiving turkey. This year though --- game on!
I've done a number of chickens as 'practice' and brining is THE way to go. Very good stuff.
Also, toss a pan of baked beans under the butt for the last couple of hours. Buckie is royalty at Drip Beans
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Drip beans....genius!
Sparky,
Now there is something to think about - I do *need* a roti.
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I agree with what everyone has said. Just take it slow, give yourself time to learn it and enjoy. It's all about fun, don't over think your cook. Just give yourself plenty if time and have a few beers.
Beautiful WSM and a heck of a deal. Congrats.
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Drip beans....genius!
Sparky,
Now there is something to think about - I do *need* a roti.
Yep :))
(http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff41/cgh1309/11-06005.jpg)
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Thanks for the advice guys. Boston butt went on at 0700 this morning for the WSM's first cook. Also using my Maverick ET-732 for the first time. So far no problems with the temp - it came up quickly and with some tweaking of the dampers it has stayed consistent. I used the Minion method like some of you had recommended. I'll try to post pics later.
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz290/sttony1208/Grills/IMG_0960.jpg) (http://s836.photobucket.com/user/sttony1208/media/Grills/IMG_0960.jpg.html)
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I'm going to love this bullet. Got to watch football all day while the WSM did this:
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz290/sttony1208/Grills/IMG_0965.jpg) (http://s836.photobucket.com/user/sttony1208/media/Grills/IMG_0965.jpg.html)
(http://i836.photobucket.com/albums/zz290/sttony1208/Grills/IMG_0966.jpg) (http://s836.photobucket.com/user/sttony1208/media/Grills/IMG_0966.jpg.html)
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I almost feel guilty when I cook on my WSM. it's almost idiot proof. only thing to worry about is letting the temp go too high. and as efficient as these are, it isn't too hard to bring em back down. bottom line..a few taps on the vents is all it takes for a cook.
personally, i'm thinking of getting a pitmaster iQ. like the "no drill" aspect and piece of mind for overnight cooks. haven't decided if I want to do the 110 and a maverick or the 120 and roll with that.
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Just bought an 18.5" WSM last week (getting a hold of it this weekend) and can't wait to use it. This thread has been very useful reading.
I have also been asked by my friend to cook for her 40th (only 15-20 people) so the WSM should be invaluable.
Ken
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Check this site out, I too used this method for my pork butt today and it turned out awesome!
You will need a few smokes before it works perfect so do something greasy for first few smokes...
Youare gonna love the wsm...and you will want a stoker, im gonna order the Auber unit...
http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/weber_smokey_mountain_setup.html
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
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I almost feel guilty when I cook on my WSM. it's almost idiot proof. only thing to worry about is letting the temp go too high. and as efficient as these are, it isn't too hard to bring em back down. bottom line..a few taps on the vents is all it takes for a cook.
personally, i'm thinking of getting a pitmaster iQ. like the "no drill" aspect and piece of mind for overnight cooks. haven't decided if I want to do the 110 and a maverick or the 120 and roll with that.
Check out this stoker, less features but alot less money too...
http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=14_27&products_id=170
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2
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I use thee auber for overnight smokes love it
But if I am awake prefer tweaking the vents
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