So long Brinkman, I finally got my WSM!!!!! :)

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blacjac

Newbie
Original poster
Aug 19, 2012
20
10
Seattle, WA
I'm not into mods and after having so so results from the Brinkman, I knew I needed to get a WSM.  So I've been looking for a good deal on a WSM, I've been searching craigslist and ebay for a chance at owning of these gems.  Yesterday I ended up driving 180 miles south to pick one up.  I got a 18.5 for $279 and no sales tax which saved me about $50, but cost me $36 in gas....but I did do some other stuff and some other shopping in sales tax free land, so I guess it's all worth it.  It was new, but it was an open box and already assembled, so I missed out on the kid at X-Mas experience :/

I had 3 racks of St Louis style ribs from Costco $24 for 8 lbs that were just waiting to be smoked

While on my shopping trip, I decided I wanted to load this thing up and see what happens, so I picked up a fresh pack of Foster Farms chicken thighs from Costco, and an Angus Choice Brisket 14lbs for $34 from Cash and Carry

I made it home about 12:30 am, and finally got serious about 2:30am of getting everything together and firing this baby up.

I used Big Green Egg lump charcoal and some Kingsford Briquettes.  Except I forgot my chimney stater was left over my friends house.  I was interested in driving 20 mi to Walmart, so I was determined to jerryrig a fire.  It took me about an hour, but I finally got a fire going.  What eventually worked was using about 10 sheets of newspaper with 3 crumpled in balls and stacking the the Kingsford around the balls in a volcano fashion, and lighting the newspaper balls.  It took about 20 minutes of some serious fanning, but eventually they caught.  Now that that was done, it was time to go get my brisket ready!

Normally I marinate my brisket in the fridge for 24 hours with about 4 turns, but because I wanted brisket, it was a rub and go.  I like a crust on my briskets and roasts, so I laid it on pretty thick.  For my rub I used Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Kirkland Sweet Mesquite BBQ Seasoning, Black Pepper, Trader Joe's South African Smoke, and Grill Mates Montreal Steak for the coarseness of the seasoning that crusts up very well.

When smoking, I use the Minon Method, but when I went to put the brisket went on, all my coals were all lit and very much on fire, so I put the lid on and closed all the vents, and waited for the temp to come down to 250.  Yes I know I should use a real thermometer but for now, to just get started, I'm using the temp from the lid....and my understanding, it's not too far off anyway.  So at 4am I the brisket finally made it on, and set the vents at about 1/3 open and went to bed.


14 lbs of goodness


Seasoned and ready to go, oak chunk for smoke

At 10 am, I checked on the new family addition, and I was 200 degrees, overnight temp dropped to 58...so I opened the vents up to halfway to bring the temp up above 225.  I prepared the ribs and the chicken.  I set the chicken to marinate in Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar and Grill Mates Mojito Lime Seasoning.  I really wanted to do Caribbean Jerk marinade, but since the lil one really likes chicken, I had to take it easy on the spice.  With the ribs, again it was rub and go.  With three racks I did two of them similar and one way out in left field.  The first two racks I used Lawry's Season Salt, Smoked Paprika, Ground Coriander, Sweet Mesquite BBQ Seasoning, and one rack got Kansas City Steak Seasoning, and the other rack got the Montreal Steak Seasoning...No I didn't "crust" these :)  The third rack I went to left field on got Lawry's Seasoning Salt, Smoked Paprika, Ground Coriander, Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute, Trader Joe's Curry Powder and a light dusting of ginger powder.  When all said and done, it was actually the thrid rack that smelled really tantalizing!


holding at 200 overnight temp was 58


coals are looking great after 6 hrs


10 am first peek at the brisket..mmm I also added an onion cut in half


Rack out of Left field


Seasonings for the other two racks

The ribs went on at 1pm and the chicken thighs at 3:30p.  So now I just sit and wait.  The brisket will come off at 5:30p and get wrapped and rest for an hr in the cooler, and everything else will come off at 6:30p ready to eat....man I can't wait!


mmmm mmmm mmmm ribs after 2 hours, chicken is going on
 
Great first run on the WSM! Can't wait to see the final results.

Yeah... when doing overnights you have to set your WSM to run about 25° hotter than where you want it before going to bed. The coldest part of the night is the pre-dawn drop, when the temp. drops down right around 2 hours before sunrise. But you weathered it just fine! You almost feel like your cheating when you realize you can sleep for 6 or 7 hrs. and just let the WSM do it's thing... lol.
 
Looks-Great.gif
Welcome to SMF!... I purchased a 22 1/2 about 5 weeks ago... WSMs are the greatest!... Enjoy!
 
Looks great.  Where are the pictures of the results!  I kept scrolling down and it was like someone ripped the last chapter of the book out. 

As for temps, I have been using my WSM 22.5 and found I really have to close the vents down to keep the temp low.  I'm talking about one vent open maybe 1/4.  Ambient temp was around 70* the last time I smoked. 
 
I'm doing my first brisket this Wednesday.  Kept getting pushed back.

As other's have said, congrats, I too got the WSM about 3 weeks ago and have been in love ever since....

Worth every penny you spent and the food looks great!  

What was your IT when you pulled the brisket?
 
Bar-B-Que Blues, Thanks!!! :) Do you find the 22.5 to be too big??

WhtPlainsSmokerThomas PhillipsDragonmaster194   I have them but I had problems with my iphone and I cant get those to download, I'm going to have to email them one by one and save them that way...I'll get them soon!!!

onebadmofo  i didn't check it when I pulled it off...something to consider next time....I did let it rest in a cooler bag for an hr after it came off though

I was really happy with the results from the first smoke.  The ribs smoked for 4.5 hrs, and a few bones on the ends of each rack came up dry, but others came out absolutely delicious.  I put chicken on for 3 hours and they came out great, as in fall off the bone goodness, but after resting for a bit, they kind of dried out :(  They got marinated in Trader Joes Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar and Grill Mates Mojito Lime seasoning for about 2.5 hrs.......OMG it was some of the best chicken I ever had, and the essence flowed out of every bite....I'll be doing that combo again :)

My dissapointment were the ribs.  Yes some of them came out really well, but not most of them...so I have some work in that area.....and boy am I itching to do a brisket again!!
 
I figured out how to get the pics to download!!!!  So here's the results!! :)


Ribs after 2 hrs, Chicken thighs going on


look at that smoke :)


One of the good ribs


The brisket after resting


Ready for carving


It was very tender and tasty....next time I'm going to trim some fat first


Ribs and Chicken...I only basted one rack with BBQ Sauce while on the smoker


What a platter


looking good....and it was!!!
 
Welcome to SMF Jac.............Looks good to me............... congrats on the new edition to your family ....... How about swinging over to roll call and introducing yourself so we can give you a proper welcome and also add your location to your profile so you and members can know who their neighbors are....

Thanks

Joe
 
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Wow, that is a jumbo brisket.  Looks good, that was a great success.  Seattle huh?  Later this month we are going to visit my son in Tacoma, I may follow my nose to your backyard for some great Q.  I can sniff out Q like a blood hound.  Keep on keeping on.  Steve
 
Great job, the grub looks great. I love my wsm. To be honest my lid thermo usually settles where my et-732 is after it all warms up, that is when it's on my top rack. Did u download pictures to site from IPhone?
 
Nice looking pics, FYI if you trim your ribs and get a stacker you can fit up to 18 racks on the WSM at once!!  Light about 25 coals and use a 1 and a half load of charcoal from the chimney and your set!!
 
Great job, the grub looks great. I love my wsm. To be honest my lid thermo usually settles where my et-732 is after it all warms up, that is when it's on my top rack. Did u download pictures to site from IPhone?
I ended up finding out how to get the back up pictures to copy over to camera roll...then I was able to download them to the computer
 
Nice looking pics, FYI if you trim your ribs and get a stacker you can fit up to 18 racks on the WSM at once!!  Light about 25 coals and use a 1 and a half load of charcoal from the chimney and your set!!
I'll take that into consideration next time I do ribs...can't find a good price on them right now :/  Winco wanted nearly $4 a pound!!!  And Winco is our "cheap" store, not bad like a grocery outlet, but comprable to a Food4Less, a lot of the time, they have better pricing than Walmart...I'll check Costco in a few days.  I don't trim my ribs because I like all the meat, I'm paying for it, so I'm gonna cook and eat it :)  I do pull the membrane off though!  I'll look into a stacker though
 
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