So I got lucky and scored a 22" WSM from another member of The Pit, and since I got my chores done early today, I figured I would light a fire and see what happens. ​​​​​​First run is a bit of a scatter blast of what they had at the gas station and a steak out of the freezer. It's been a few years since I had my SNS/ kettle combo, but it seems I do remember how to light a fire. Now I have to see if I can recall how to control one. Wish me luck!
Well, the first cook is under my belt, and I'm happy to report that all the food was edible.
For my first run I started with one full chimney of whatever charcoal was cheap at the local big box store figuring that there was a very real chance that I was going to struggle with this thing, and there was no point in buying the good stuff just to practice with. The same concept was used for the food selection.
I didn't want to mess with either the snake or minion method yet so two Weber starter cubes got lit up to get the chimney of charcoal going, then it was time to think about smoke. For the smoke, I had a couple of options. Either a chunk or two of hickory that I had left over from my kettle/SnS days, or an assortment of chips I use in my pellet pooper. I ended up going with one chunk of hickory under the coals simply because in my experience, chips burn up too fast in a charcoal fire. The smoke flavor was a lot lighter than I'm used to, so I should have gone with two or three chunks of wood instead of just one. I'm just going to chalk that up to living, and learning.
I was torn between filling the water pan and leaving it empty, however I decided to go with "as designed" for the first run. If nothing else, I figured it would help cut down on the variables. So I added about a gallon of hot tap water to the pan. I took a peek at the water pan when I was checking on how the charcoal was holding up a couple of hours into the cook, and I can already tell that cleaning that mess up is going to quickly become one of my least favorite things to do.
The actual cook itself was wonderfully uneventful. The steak ended up a bit overdone, but I have to chalk that one up to me being too lazy to scrounge up another probe for the Fireboard and kind of guessing how long it would take to get to temp. Other than than that, I had to keep opening up the bottom vents more than I had anticipated to keep things up around 225. I'm guessing that the water pan has a lot to do with that, but if anyone has bothered to read this far and would like to chime in with an opinion, I'd love to hear it. The thing that impressed me the most was that with very little fiddling, and just one chimney of charcoal, I was able to keep that big ol' thing at a pretty steady 225 for just over three hours. I was also surprised at how little the temp varied from the upper to the lower grate. Again, I'm thinking the water played a big part in that, and again, I'd like to hear from somebody that actually knows such things.
So that's cook number one done and out of the way. As I do, and learn more, I'll try to remember to fill this story out and bring you all along for the ride. I also want to say a BIG "Thank You!" to Andrrr for selling me such a nice cooker at such a reasonable price. I'll try do it justice.
Today was my first time lighting a fire in one, but it's pretty easy to see why these things a so popular. I won't give it the full blown recommendation just yet, but early results are definitely positive.
My pleasure and it looks like you’re doing it justice already. Glad to hear your maiden voyage went well, not that I expected anything less. It’s a rock solid cooker that really doesn’t need much fiddling and I’ve found that filling the water pan helped with that though there are plenty here that ditched the pan long ago and have had great success PBC style. If you go waterless just line the water bowl with foil. And I’d suggest putting a drip pan (with lots of beans) on the lower grate under anything you cook to collect the fat. Best of luck!
My Ma may not be in the best of health these days, but she'd still have no qualms about whacking me with that wooden spoon of hers if I forget my manners. "Yes *smack* Sir *smack*. No *smack* Sir *smack*. Please *smack* and *smack* Thank you. *smack*. That's how people know you weren't raised by wolves." *smack*
Applied properly, some lessons stick with ya!
God Bless my dear mother for caring enough to teach her kids their manners.
Took another step in the journey today. After the success of the initial run, I decided to give a pellet pooper regular a try on the WSM. So four chicken thighs got seasoned up, three with my homemade rub and one with Ras El Hanout that I just got from The Spice House. Since I like a good crispy skin on my chicken, I set the WSM up with a chimney full of hot coals and the water pan in place, but empty. Target temp was 325F and although things ran a few degrees lower than target, the temp was steady throughout the 50 minuet cook. I'm still just learning how to control temps, so I am happy with consistent for now, and will work at getting better at hitting set points as time goes on. So with a hot and fast cook under my belt, next will be a low and slow. I have several racks of St. Louie's in my freezer that are itching for some smoke and fire, and I'm itching to give them what they want. I don't have a day off until next week sometime, so the ribs will just have to chill until then, but I'm looking forward to getting them on the fire and seeing what happens.
Until next time, peace and smoke to you all.
Attached Files
Last edited by willxfmr; October 8, 2020, 06:25 PM.
Reckon I'd be all kinda hankerin fer me some gravy, an a big ol biscuit, but it looks like ya got some stuff goin on in yer taters, was curious what all...???
Also would love to learn more bout yer rub used, if'n ya feels amenable to sharin yer secrets...
I think yerself an this WSM are gonna git along jus Famously....
Cooking gadgets
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill Center
Weber Summit Platinum D6
Blue Rhino Razor
Dyna-Glo XL Premium Dual Chamber
Camp Chef Somerset IV along with their Artisan Pizza Oven 90
Anova WiFi
Thermometers
Thermapen Mk4 - ThermaQ High Temp Kit - ThermaQ Meathead Kit - ThermaQ WiFi - ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S - ThermoWorks Signals & Billows - ThermoPop -ThermoWorks ProNeedle - ThermoWorks TimeStick Trio x2 - and a Christopher Kimball timer - NO, I do not work for ThermoWorks...I just like their products.
Other useful bits...
KitchenAid 7-qt Pro Line stand mixer
A Black & Decker food processor that I can't seem to murder
A couple of immersion blenders, one a "consumer" model & the other a "high end" Italian thing. Yes, the Italian one is a bit better, but only marginally
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 8-qt + accessories like egg-bite & egg holders
All-Clad pots & pans, along with some cast iron...everything from 7" Skookie pans to 8.5qt Dutch ovens
Weber GBS griddle, pizza stone, and wok
Knives range from Mercer to F. Dick to "You spent how much for one knife? One knife?!" LOL
The more you use it, the more you’re gonna love it.
One of my all time favourite cookers. I pretty much think that everyone should own one at some point. Relatively easy to setup & use...quite versatile...and they can produce some very tasty, even award winning, food. My WSCG handles my WSM duties these days..,but every once in a while I kinda wish I hadn’t given it away.
Well, we are taking another step today. Three racks of St. Lou's are are on and I'm hoping for the best. Conditions today are a little more challenging than in my previous cooks, with a steady wind. Outdoor temp is right around 60F, so can't complain about that. Target temp for this cook is 275F, and I'm hoping
for a cook time of right around 5 hours. On my pellet pooper I know I can nail this cook in just about any weather, but it's been a long time since I have tried to manage a charcoal fire in the wind. Wish me luck!
Any particular reason you have the ends folded into the next slot of the rib rack? If it's to keep them from flopping over onto one another, I have had pretty good results with skewers for that.
There is no good reason for folding them like that. They just kinda seemed to fit nice that way.
Thanks for the skewer tip. I'll keep that in mind if I ever have a actual reason to fold them up.
Grill/Smoke/Roast = SnS Grills Kettle + SnS Deluxe Insert & Drip n' Griddle
Grill/Smoke/Roast = Hasty-Bake Gourmet Dual Finish with HB rotisserie and Grill Grates
Smoke = Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5"
Pizza = Blackstone Propane Pizza Oven (Stacy's, but she let's me use it sometimes)
Indoor Cooking = LG Studio 30" gas range
Camp Cooking = Coleman 2 burner white gas stove
Thermometer = FireBoard FBX2 with 2 ambient and 6 meat probes
Thermapen Mk IV = Light blue
Thermapen Mk IV = Black
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Auber 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 1 fan)
PID Controller = Fireboard Drive + Fireboard 20 CFM Fan (FB gen 2 fan)
Knives
Wusthof Classic Ikon set: 9" carving knive, 2X 8" Chef's Knife, 7" Santoku and three utility knives
Kamikoto Kuro set: 7" Santoku, 6.5" Nakiri, 5" Utility
Amazing Ribs Brazilian Steak knife set
Favorite wine = whatever is currently in the wine rack
Favorite beer = Sam Adams Boston Lager or Shiner Bock
Favorite whisky = Lagavulin Distiller's Edition 16 year old single malt
Best Cookbooks - Meathead's "The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", Chris Lilly's "Big Bob Gibson's BBQ Book", Aaron Franklin's "Franklin BBQ"
Cookbooks to check out - Raichlen's "Brisket Chronicles" and anything by Adam Perry Lang.
Current fanboy cookbook - "Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant"
Well, I certainly got a nice bark on them. The WSM did great at holding temp even in the wind. The cook however did not do so good at keeping an eye on the meat. I took a quick peek an hour and a half in, and then didn't open the lid again until I hit the five hour mark. I'm going to guess that was about an hour too long to wait. They are far from the worst ribs I have ever made, and they won't go in the trash while I order a pizza, but they not what I was hoping for when they went on. Under the "bark" there is still some not horribly dry and tender meat. Over all, I'm okay with how things went. Heat management was smooth and easy. I feel like I'm getting a good idea of how much wood it takes to get the smoke profile I like. And I learned not to let ribs go five hours without taking a peek at them. I kinda knew that already, but today was the day I just forgot. Oh well, this was my first rib cook on the WSM, and I'm going to bet the next one goes better. For those of you that are having a hard time holding your thoughts in, these will also be posted on the "Make fun of me" thread. Feel free to hop on that one and let me know what you really think!
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