JimmyH jusrt wash that mold out and burn it out. Next time you cover up the smoker be sure it is clean and DRY before covering up. I’ve had that issue with my offset, and just hose and wash it out and burn a chimney of charcoal to help dry it up and burn the mold out.
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thanks everyone for the encouragement. at close to midnight I was starting to worry. My wife looked at it and didn't think it was mold, but ash covering the sides of the door and the walls of the grill. Needless to say, she helped me wipe it down a bit and this morning I fired it up to about 300 while I was trying to figure out other things with the grill I had not thought of or planned for.
Do I ask those same questions here or create a new post in this forum or another forum?Comment
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JimmyH, keep the faith brother!! You’ve already heard the answers here on how to handle it. Burn it out and smoke on! Besides, this hurdle will just make the final product all the better!Comment
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No apology necessary brother, I meant that you’ve already heard all the answers that I would have given you on this specific question, so no need for me to repeat them. Now that I re-read my post, I see how it came off so I owe you an apology. I don’t have a WSM, so I won’t be much help to you there, but it appears you’re in good hands. 😁
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JimmyH, first of all, welcome. I have a wsm and i have had the mold problem several times. I use sos or brillo pads and hot water to get it off, then burn a full load of charcoal with the vents wide open. That gets rid of it.Comment
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Welcome from Farmville,VA.Comment
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Welcome from South Texas. You will find this site to be more and more impressive as you peruse it. After BBQ'ing for around 50 years I have learned more here than all of those years. Meatheads book is one of the best sources for actual how to's but there are many posts in here with great ideas that boggle the mind and make you the hit of the day.Comment
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Welcome to the Pit JimmyH .... sorry I missed this thread. I’ve been over the top busy at work and not really doing anything on the Internet. But here I am better late than never, I hope.
I love the Shenandoah Valley .... If I didn’t love the Cascades in W. WA so much, I think I’d move to the Shenandoah!
As to the mold issue, you’ve had some good advice on that already. my two cents worth .... and I live in the Pacific Northwest, so damp, mold, etc is an issue :-) .... I always make sure to empty my water pan and let my WSM dry out on the inside before I put the cover on. If possible. Sometimes it isn’t possible. And sometimes you get mold inside in the wet months anyway. When I have mold, I hit it with a wire brush and knock it off. If it is really heavy, I wire brush it and then burn a half chimney of charcoal with vents wide open and no water pan for 30 minutes. Seems to do the trick.
Here’s my favorite way to do pork butt on the WSM (I have a WSM 22, but the principles are the same for the 22 or 18).
I have a rub I prefer that is intended to create a carnitas style flavor. This is enough to apply liberally and nicely cover a 8-9 lb pork shoulder. Feel free to experiment with the amount of cayenne, or add chipotle powder.
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp white table sugar
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground oregano
½ tsp cayenne pepper
I do the typical method for prepping the pork shoulder. I tie it to get an even piece of meat and then salt it (1/2 tsp Morton’s kosher salt per pound) 24 hours ahead of time. I apply the rub after the WSM is going and while it is settling down to a steady temp.
As to lighting and getting a solid, steady temp ..... I use a Weber charcoal chimney and I use wood chunks, not wood chips, for smoke. I use Kingsford charcoal. Just standard Kingsford Blue Bag (KBB) is fine, but the Kingsford Pro is great, too.
Take the WSM apart, clean out the ash, old charcoal, etc from the bottom bowl and the charcoal ring.
Place wood chunks around the bottom of the charcoal ring.
Cover the chunks completely with charcoal and fill the ring completely. Pull 30 briquettes and put in your chimney. Create a donut of charcoal.
Once the charcoal is burning in the chimney, pour the lit briquettes into the donut.
Assemble the WSM and fill your water pan. Run the vents wide open until the top grate temp is over 200F. Close the bottom vents to 1/3 open and the top vent about 1/2. As the temp gets up over 225F, start making minor adjustments (like very, very minor) to get a stable temp in the 225-250 range. You want to use the top vent as a chimney to create a good draft of air from bottom to top. This requires a smaller, hotter fire. If you have a larger fire, you will have to close down vents to maintain temp and that will smother the fire and create dirty smoke, which you don’t want.
Hopefully this helps a lot with how to start and run your WSM. Feel free to ask questions!
Last point .... don’t use the temp gauge in your dome to measure the temp. Get a decent digital thermometer, like a Maverick ET-732, so that you have a grate temp probe and a meat probe.Comment
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Welcome! I'm relatively new myself and the articles, tips, etc. are excellent starting points. Enjoy!Comment
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Have fun!Comment
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