My First WSM

[BigRix]

I didn't want to post until I had time to shoot a few pics but I picked up my first WSM last week.

18.5" that was on craigslist here in town. They were asking $200 but I got it for $150.

Turns out they are long time customers of the shop where I work. Small world.

They cooked on it once and they felt the learning curve was too steep so after it sat around for awhile, they let it go.

I did not even dust it off before snapping these pics. It's like new.

That is till tomorrow when it gets seasoned/cooks a butt.

I'll let you know how it goes.





Even came with a cover and a book on BBQ.

Any pointers you can give me before I fire it up in the morning?

Plan to do the Minion method, how many coals do you light? 10-12?

Should I foil both sides of the water pan or just the top?

G$ says he never uses water and that was my plan. Any thoughts?

[5280Jeff]

That is brand new! Very cool. Sorry I don't have any tips for a WSM. But I can tell you from my experience with my offset smoker that too much smoke is usually one of the 1st mistakes people make. It sure was for me, I managed a nice smoke ring but the taste was overpowering. Good luck and looking forward to some food pron!

[gunner]

Holy crap that thing is brand new! Great price and great score! I can give you my two cents...I never have used water either, I have a clay saucer in mine as a heat sink. You should be fine with just a foiled water pan for easy clean up. I always do the minion method on the WSM as well. I usually light about 15-20 briqs, I don't actually count them it's usually a little less then half a chimney I think? I feel like it gets up to temp quicker that way. Spread out the lit briqs evenly on top of the unlit and assemble back your WSM, this is where I usually add the meat too. Have the top vent and bottom vents wide open until you hit 10 degrees away from your target temp, then close all your bottom vents till they are about 25% open (leave your top vent open), then your WSM should settle in right around your target temp. I think the main thing is to make sure to catch your target temp on the way up and close your vents down to 25%. If it gets away from you too hot, it's hard to bring it back down. Also don't fudge around with the vents too much during the cook (you will want to but don't!) or you will be riding a roller coaster of temps and adjusting all the time, it's going to go up and down no matter what so just let it be if you can unless it really goes far down or up in temp. And when you make vent adjustments it's important to make real small ones. If it's within 20-25 degrees or so of your target temp I wouldn't mess with it too much. If it it starts to rise in temp real quick later on in the cook then you need to close your bottom vents a bit more till it stabilizes. Since your new unit is so new it might run a little hot your first couple times till you build up gunk on the inside. Anyways, my two cents turned into a buck fifty so sorry, I will stop ranting. Good luck with your first cook and breaking her in! (Oh and try not to open the lid to peek as much as possible) 

[mike.stavlund]

Congrats, Big!  Nice grab, and nearly new.  Wow.

Like gunner said, start slow, maybe 10 coals and let it come up to target temp slowly.  And be patient-- by this I mean give it several cooks to work like it should.  I bought my smoker used, and it had quite a bit of that good greasy gunk built up inside, but it still took be 8 or more cooks to get it properly sealed up at the joints and ready to cook nice and steady. The first few cooks were roller-coaster adventures, temps all over the place.  But once they get broken in, those WSMs just love to sit between 225 and 260 all day (and night) long.

[Bman]

I like my kettles, but I LOVE my wsm's.  I mostly agree with what gunner said.  I'm a fan of the "tin can minion" and dump all 15ish coals into the can then remove it.  Most importantly - don't lift the lid for no reason and just let the cooker do it's thing.  Butts are VERY forgiving and easy to cook.  I think the biggest 'mistake' people make is buying into the 225 degree mentality.  If you're shooting for an internal temp of 190-200 degrees with a pit at 225, you're not eating pulled pork any time soon.  Anything 240-300 and I let it ride.

Tin can set-up

[jcnaz]

I am fairly new at this WSM stuff, but everything that Bman  and Gunner said is spot on!
I use 4-5 chunks of apple wood in my briquettes. Fill the ring about 90% then dump a mini-chimney of lit coals over the top. I put a couple of bricks in the water pan and then foil over the top. Don't get worried if the temps run 275°. Like 1Buckie told me, "...the pig can take it!"

[Bman]

PS - don't believe what the thermometer tells you.  It's fine if that's what you learn and know, but don't go by the numbers alone. 
Reason being, these are on my 22.5" (lid thermo verses grate temp probe)







This was taken at Christmas while cooking a turkey on my 18.5"

[mike.stavlund]

Bman is right--  pork but is very forgiving.  I used to worry if the temps climbed up to 250, but now I'm happy to have them rolling right along at 290.  It all comes out just the same, in my experience. 

[ramsfan]

You got a bargain there. Nice find. I agree with all the advice given thus far. The only further advice that I could offer you is that if you choose to use the water pan and not put water in it - be careful. I have used my water pan in the past without filling it with water, but instead have put "other" things in the pan such as sand, rocks, etc. and have foiled over the top.

The grease drippings always seemed to find it's way into the pan and settle to the bottom and scorch and burn. After a few times of this, I just use water in the pan. However, being cold in February, water might make the internal temperature too cool and you might have trouble getting it up to the right temperature. So, make sure you foil it good and heavy if you don't use water. I always foil the outside of the bottom of the pan where the heat makes direct contact. It will protect the bowl and make clean up easier. Good luck.

[Duke]

Great score Big Rix!

[saxart]

I was going to post some tips, but it looks like our other members have it covered.  Follow what these guys say, it's all true.

Here are a couple thoughts I would add:

• Use PLENTY of foil on the diffuser-pan.  I usually wrap the entire thing, then lay one flat piece in the center over the top of it all just before setting it in place.  Otherwise, if you're a neat freak like me, you'll have to scrub it all out when your cook is done and you don't want any burnt on crust to deal with!
  

• If you have an electronic therm (you should have an electronic therm) I would HIGHLY recommend doing the 'slot-mod' so you're not crushing your wires under the lid.  The mod only takes a moment to do, and the slot is so small, it has zero effect on your cooker's performance.
  

Nice score.  Be sure and post up a thread on your first cooks!

[G$]

The pics do not even do this rig justice.  When I saw it, the only way I knew it had been fired up was some un burnt coal in the bottom.  the grates are pristine!  They may have only fired up a dry run.

Rick - you got good advice, now make it your own with a few cooks!  (I am doing a pork shoulder on the WSM today as well.  All the brisket I found was too stiff.)

Ok, I can't resist, a few notes:
1) Regarding the dome therm, as a few people said, don't trust it to be accurate....but also don't dismiss it.  I have seen ones that tracked perfectly (albeit in a delayed fashion) with a probe at top grate level.  Just learn what yours means to the way you cook.
2) Bottom grate will run hotter if you don't use water in the pan
3) Nothing wrong with cooking at 225.  Or 250. Or 275. etc.  (I am stoked at 250 today, may ramp to 275)
4) Confucius Say,  "It is easier to raise the WSM temp than it is to lower it."
5) Have fun and cook on it a couple times before making whole sale changes to your cooking method.

Just my opinions!

[BigRix]

Well I haven't cooked on a WSM before but I have cooked a lot on my home spun mini.



It never leaked as much as this one but it is almost "set it and forget it" now.

I suspect my new one will be the same after at seals it self up.

I dug a one pound coffee can out from under my reloading bench and stuck it in the middle of my ring, then filled her up.



Put the can full of coals in my chimney (up side down) and lit it on my Genesis.



Smoke is coming out, everywhere.



Lid thermometer is tracking well with my old trusty candy thermometer stuck in the top vent and an oven thermometer at the grate.

I think I just need to learn where it needs to run.

Meat should be going down soon.

[HankB]

That's a great find!

I like my kettles, but I LOVE my wsm's. 

Today I have about 50 lb of meat to cook. I have my 26" kettle, 18 WSM and 14 WSM fired up.

Not sure I can add much to the rest of the recommendations. Good luck on your inaugural cook and best wishes for many more. (Too bad the original owner didn't know where to ask but their loss is your gain.)

[BigRix]

This thing rocks.

Held steady at 250ish all day after I got the vents dialed in.

Pulled the butt at 4:45 to rest.



Shredded it at 6:30 and served it in time to sit down with the family and watch The Walking Dead.

BBQ and Zombies are a sunday tradition at my house.



Every time someone walked out to the back yard today they kept commenting on how great it smelled.

Pork fat and a mixture of hickory and apple.

My favorite smells.