New to smoking, looking to learn

[MegaMorsels]

Hello all!

I have just recently got into smoking and I'm excited to learn. I recently picked up a unmodified Weber Smokey Mountain used and smoked a 5 lb pork butt and am currently *attempting* to smoke 2 racks of baby back ribs.

I do have a quick question for anyone who may have experience with the WSM. I am struggling with temperature control. My first smoke temps went straight up to about 275 and wouldn't go lower with all the vents closed. Using the minion method with kingsford blue and about 15 hot coals in the middle to start. Today I'm doing ribs and I started only about 10 hot coals in the middle and the rest of the bag around the outside. I started with all 3 vents at half and the temp went up to about 200 where I then closed all three and the temps settled at 250 or so. The problem is, the charcoal is billowing with white smoke and has been for an hour and a half and I haven't added any wood yet. Everywhere I read in the forums, it seems that this is normal for the first 20 to 30 minutes, but should then taper off. Any ideas what I've done wrong? The temperature outside is about 75 degrees with a light breeze, in case that matters.

Thanks for any help for this obvious beginner!

 

[02ebz06]

Greetings, and welcome to the community.
Can't help with the WSM, but others here will surely chime in.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Welcome from Colorado.

I don’t run a WSM but if you put a whole bag of charcoal in that may be the problem. That’s a lot of fuel for ribs.

 

[MegaMorsels]

Greetings, and welcome to the community.
Can't help with the WSM, but others here will surely chime in.

Thanks for the welcome!

 

[MegaMorsels]

Welcome from Colorado.

I don’t run a WSM but if you put a whole bag of charcoal in that may be the problem. That’s a lot of fuel for ribs.

Thanks for the welcome! Most of the how-to videos for getting the WSM started say to fill the chimney about a third to a half, and then put the rest in the smoker. But, you might be right. On my next smoke, I'll do a little less and maybe pay more attention to how they are arranged to make sure too many aren't catching at once. After about 2.5 hours, the white smoke finally dissapated and I was able to start the ribs. Dinner will be late, but hopefully it will still be good. Thanks for the tip!

 

[mike243]

Welcome home and don't sweat the white smoke, it's normally moisture and the food won't know the difference. minion method is to layer in rings and only light 1 end, not the middle as it will run out all the way around and cause high temps. good luck

 

[mike243]

Also layer in wood randomly and I want smoke from the start, as the temp comes up and the outside starts drying smoke will stick less imo, a spritz can help with smoke but runs the time up as you loose heat and can cause spikes. better to get the wood in there at the start and don't peak, a remote therm can and will be your best friend.

 

[MegaMorsels]

Also layer in wood randomly and I want smoke from the start, as the temp comes up and the outside starts drying smoke will stick less imo, a spritz can help with smoke but runs the time up as you loose heat and can cause spikes. better to get the wood in there at the start and don't peak, a remote therm can and will be your best friend.

Thanks for the advice. Those are great recommendations. I do plan on getting a dual thermometer setup, one for the rack and one for the meat. I just thought I'd do a few trial runs to get the hang of temperature control before I started upgrading and changing things.

So, for the minion method, I'm supposed to layer evenly and light at one end as opposed to lighting from the middle? Most of the how-to's say to light from the middle, but I'm down to try the end if it gets me better temperature control.

As for smoke, I didn't add the wood until the smoker stabilized. Should I be adding from the get go when I first light the coals?

Thanks for the help.

 

[mike243]

Yep let the smoke roll

 

[JLeonard]

Welcome from Mississippi! Look forward to more post and pics. We like pics like a preschooler at show and tell.

Jim

 

[fxsales1959]

Hello all!

I have just recently got into smoking and I'm excited to learn. I recently picked up a unmodified Weber Smokey Mountain used and smoked a 5 lb pork butt and am currently *attempting* to smoke 2 racks of baby back ribs.

I do have a quick question for anyone who may have experience with the WSM. I am struggling with temperature control. My first smoke temps went straight up to about 275 and wouldn't go lower with all the vents closed. Using the minion method with kingsford blue and about 15 hot coals in the middle to start. Today I'm doing ribs and I started only about 10 hot coals in the middle and the rest of the bag around the outside. I started with all 3 vents at half and the temp went up to about 200 where I then closed all three and the temps settled at 250 or so. The problem is, the charcoal is billowing with white smoke and has been for an hour and a half and I haven't added any wood yet. Everywhere I read in the forums, it seems that this is normal for the first 20 to 30 minutes, but should then taper off. Any ideas what I've done wrong? The temperature outside is about 75 degrees with a light breeze, in case that matters.

Thanks for any help for this obvious beginner!

Welcome to the group from SE Florida .I'm still fairly new to WSM 18". I still use the water bowl. For a 5 hour smoke (ribs) I fill the ring about 2/3's with briquets (Blue bag). I light about 1/3 to 1/2 chimney of coal, make a dimple in the middle. Add blazing coals to middle (top vent open, bottom vents closed except one which i keep about a pencil hole open.) Add water bowl and fill to about 2/3s
I takes a few minutes but it settles in at about 200-230. Then I open the side door and add a chunk of apple (or whatever) if I want more heat at the end (think burnt ends) I open the one vent about 1/2 or more. Never really noticed a ton of white smoke other than the initial coal burn.
Good luck, plenty of of experience on here.

 

[MegaMorsels]

Welcome from Mississippi! Look forward to more post and pics. We like pics like a preschooler at show and tell.

Jim

Thanks for the welcome! I'll remember to get some picks of my next smoke.

 

[Bigtank]

Welcome from NW Iowa, no experience with a WSM. This is how I set my weber kettle though I don't know why it wouldn't work in a WSM

 

[DRKsmoking]

Welcome from Nova Scotia

This is a great place with lots of helpful folks
Like said , a little Show and Tell and some fun along the way.

David

 

[MegaMorsels]

Welcome from NW Iowa, no experience with a WSM. This is how I set my weber kettle though I don't know why it wouldn't work in a WSM

Thanks for the welcome and the advice!

 

[MegaMorsels]

Welcome from Nova Scotia

This is a great place with lots of helpful folks
Like said , a little Show and Tell and some fun along the way.

David

Thanks for the welcome! I'll definitely be sharing my setup and pics on my next smoke.

 

[bill1]

Here's my Lessons Learned from WSM's and other bullet smokers:
1. Don't expect temperature stability like electric smokers. If that's really important to you, there are after-market thermostatically controlled fans (for the bottom air feed point) that help after 30 minutes or so, but I think temp stability better than +/- 25F is over-rated, and after a few cooks, you'll learn how to achieve that via fuel arrangement and vent settings.

2. I like water in my water pan. It gives moister meat and helps temperature stability. Exception is high temp 20-minute cooks like burgers. (These are versatile machines.) However plenty of good cooks don't like the water. That's fine, but make sure you have SOMETHING that shields all your meat from any direct line-of-sight path to the hot coals/wood. Otherwise the added infrared heating (over the normal convective heating) will overcook part of your meal. And if you like a clean machine, cover that water bowl (or IR plate, like a pizza pan) with foil for faster clean-up.

3. Except for high temp cooks (e.g. burgers) you need your fuel to only slowly ignite so use something like the minion method. I high recommend a "chimney" to start your coals but I never use more than a half-chimney. I use a 1 pound steel coffee can, open both ends, in the middle with unlit coals (and some wood chunks) arranged radially around it, then pour in the hot coals, then pull out the can with channel locks...leaves a well-defined boundary to the fire to radially expand out into. Leave the vents wide open for 10 minutes to get everything up to temp, then close both way down. For cooks under 250F, it's amazing how little air flow you need. In cold weather, I put a large cardboard box around it (openings top and bottom) which conserves fuel, keeps the fire going, and prevents huge temp excursions which happen when your fire is close to going out and you have to compensate with a big vent change. (I use a box in summer too, unless guests are around, since it looks pretty funky.) If you just can't stomach the cardboard box idea, at least put some wind shielding on the upwind side.

4. for long cooks, you may need to open the side "door" to quickly add fuel or water, but remember these cookers are NOT for Lookie-Lou's. You need a "remote" thermometer in your meat, and that's your only diagnostic...you can't check for color, flex of meat, juiciness, etc...trust your machine. A wired one under $10 from Ikea work fine. A 2nd one monitoring internal cooker temp is useful too but the built-in dial thermometer is good enough. These are not set-and-forget pellet machines. Use a timer and check on your temps and general fire safety matters every 15-20 minutes. If you use more expensive, rf-based (true remote) thermometers on both cooker and internal meat temps you can go longer, but I'd never be more than a 20-second run from one of these. And always have a garden hose handy. I've never needed one, but have had a couple impressive flare-ups with other fuel-based smokers where I lost part of my meal and was glad I was at least prepared.

5. speaking of the side door, prepare some tubing and funnel in advance to add water...a simple funnel usually won't work. And for adding fuel (only needed for >4 hour cooks) I use a 3-foot section of steel rain gutter, prefilled with unlit fuel, that I can then tip up and quickly add to the charcoal pan. You really don't want to leave that door open more than a few seconds.

6. As far as fuel goes, there's plenty of opinions so search this forum. IMO just about any lump charcoal is better than about any briquettes! But sort out (or break up) the really big lumps or the questionable (lumber-type) lumps. Wood chunks for a little more smoke flavor place on top of coals are very common, although I prefer little smoke bombs (empty soda cans half filled with pellets) or a small cast iron pan filled with chips/pellets placed about half-way out on the fire. But frequently a charcoal-only smoke really hits the spot. See what you like. These are VERY versatile smokers and a great way to get into this hobby.

 

[MegaMorsels]

Here's my Lessons Learned from WSM's and other bullet smokers:
1. Don't expect temperature stability like electric smokers. If that's really important to you, there are after-market thermostatically controlled fans (for the bottom air feed point) that help after 30 minutes or so, but I think temp stability better than +/- 25F is over-rated, and after a few cooks, you'll learn how to achieve that via fuel arrangement and vent settings.

2. I like water in my water pan. It gives moister meat and helps temperature stability. Exception is high temp 20-minute cooks like burgers. (These are versatile machines.) However plenty of good cooks don't like the water. That's fine, but make sure you have SOMETHING that shields all your meat from any direct line-of-sight path to the hot coals/wood. Otherwise the added infrared heating (over the normal convective heating) will overcook part of your meal. And if you like a clean machine, cover that water bowl (or IR plate, like a pizza pan) with foil for faster clean-up.

3. Except for high temp cooks (e.g. burgers) you need your fuel to only slowly ignite so use something like the minion method. I high recommend a "chimney" to start your coals but I never use more than a half-chimney. I use a 1 pound steel coffee can, open both ends, in the middle with unlit coals (and some wood chunks) arranged radially around it, then pour in the hot coals, then pull out the can with channel locks...leaves a well-defined boundary to the fire to radially expand out into. Leave the vents wide open for 10 minutes to get everything up to temp, then close both way down. For cooks under 250F, it's amazing how little air flow you need. In cold weather, I put a large cardboard box around it (openings top and bottom) which conserves fuel, keeps the fire going, and prevents huge temp excursions which happen when your fire is close to going out and you have to compensate with a big vent change. (I use a box in summer too, unless guests are around, since it looks pretty funky.) If you just can't stomach the cardboard box idea, at least put some wind shielding on the upwind side.

4. for long cooks, you may need to open the side "door" to quickly add fuel or water, but remember these cookers are NOT for Lookie-Lou's. You need a "remote" thermometer in your meat, and that's your only diagnostic...you can't check for color, flex of meat, juiciness, etc...trust your machine. A wired one under $10 from Ikea work fine. A 2nd one monitoring internal cooker temp is useful too but the built-in dial thermometer is good enough. These are not set-and-forget pellet machines. Use a timer and check on your temps and general fire safety matters every 15-20 minutes. If you use more expensive, rf-based (true remote) thermometers on both cooker and internal meat temps you can go longer, but I'd never be more than a 20-second run from one of these. And always have a garden hose handy. I've never needed one, but have had a couple impressive flare-ups with other fuel-based smokers where I lost part of my meal and was glad I was at least prepared.

5. speaking of the side door, prepare some tubing and funnel in advance to add water...a simple funnel usually won't work. And for adding fuel (only needed for >4 hour cooks) I use a 3-foot section of steel rain gutter, prefilled with unlit fuel, that I can then tip up and quickly add to the charcoal pan. You really don't want to leave that door open more than a few seconds.

6. As far as fuel goes, there's plenty of opinions so search this forum. IMO just about any lump charcoal is better than about any briquettes! But sort out (or break up) the really big lumps or the questionable (lumber-type) lumps. Wood chunks for a little more smoke flavor place on top of coals are very common, although I prefer little smoke bombs (empty soda cans half filled with pellets) or a small cast iron pan filled with chips/pellets placed about half-way out on the fire. But frequently a charcoal-only smoke really hits the spot. See what you like. These are VERY versatile smokers and a great way to get into this hobby.

Excellent tips! Thanks for taking the time to share. I used water in the pan on both of my first two smokes, and I don't plan on changing that. I'm going to try my best to limit the number of things I change from each smoke to the next so I can learn how this thing reacts. On my next smoke, I'm going to focus on fuel arrangement for consistency. Then, I'll probably start messing with different fuels like lumps.

However, after a bit of research, many have recommended a gasket kit to seal the door and lid as well as a 2nd charcoal grate installed 90 degrees off of the first so the charcoal doesn't fall through the grate too soon. Looking inside my WSM, you can see decently large gaps at the door, so I'm sure I'm losing some controlability there. But, your idea of the coffee can in the middle sounds like a great way to get a consistent start, so I'll definitely do that. Plus, I do love coffee and I'll take that as a reason to drink a bunch.

I will be getting a dual thermometer setup before the next smoke as well. As for the cardboard box on the outside, is it the same height as the smoker or just high enough to protect the bottom vents from wind? I may try that after I do that gaskets if I'm still having issues with air control.

And yes, safety first. I have had and will have a garden hose at the ready in case anything goes awry.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[bill1]

Yup my box is at least as tall as the smoker. The idea is to make the outside untouchable...if I can't touch it neither can the wind.
you can extend and tape the flaps on the bottom to make a square box long enough. I find resting it it on 4 red bricks give a proper air intake

 

[HalfSmoked]

Welcome to the group Plenty info here. Just watch a lot of what is posted is personal preference.

Warren