WSM Newbie Questions!!

[RandyG]

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!!

[Bman]

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?

[pbe gummi bear]

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.

[cbpeck]

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.

[OGlenn]

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.

[G$]

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.

[RandyG]

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!!

[landgraftj]

Stubbs briquettes are the only thing I've ever used on my WSM.

[RandyG]

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"?

[LightningBoldtz]

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....

[HankB]

Score! That's awesome. 

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.

[RandyG]

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 !!

[pbe gummi bear]

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.

[pbe gummi bear]

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....

Don't mind the Kamado lover, WSM's are still part of the family. 

[RandyG]

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....

LOL Well, its made by weber and its sorta shaped like a kettle!!