Can I Grill on my WSM

[mkedda]

I just got my Weber Smokey Mountain in the mail today. I am having my folks over for dinner tonight and I would like to use it. Clearly, I do not have time for a full smoke, but I had an idea.

2/3 chimney full of charcoal.
I plan to grill the strips directly over the charcoal for 2-3 mns / side.
Then, place the midsection on top of the charcoal holder and grill for few minutes.

Will this work?
Is it horribly dangerous to add the midsection after you have started burning the charcoal?

 

[tntxajun]

Since none of the owners of that rig, will attempt to give you an answer.

I have a bullet smoker similar to the WSM but I dont know if mine is the same size as yours or not.
On a few occasions I have made an improvised grill out of mine by putting putting coals in my water pan on the mid section rack. It made the top grill rack about 8" from the top one. I cooked burgers and some chicken filets
on just fine. 6"-8" from the coals to your rack should work fine.

Hope this helps,

Jack~

 

[the dude abides]

I tried doing a couple of ribeyes on mine a couple of weeks ago without much luck. They were ok, but I couldn't get the grill hot enough for a good sear.

I did a full chimney of lump, no water pan and used the lowest rack with the midsection always on. If you're going to set the cooking grate right on top of the charcoal basket, I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work better than how I tried it.

 

[bigsteve]

Given the time of day, I'm sure many WSM owners were at work.

 

[smokin' dick]

I have a WSM and have grilled on it successfully. I just had the lit charcoal on one side of the charcoal ring and placed the grate right on top of the ring, no center section.
This makes for close proximity of meat to heat, but let the grate get hot, put the meat on the grate for a couple of minutes and then shift it to the side with no charcoal. Balance the cover on carefully and finish your meat with indirect heat. Be careful not to knock the cover off as it is the same size as the base of the unit and there is nothing to hold it in place.
I think using the center section to hold the grate puts the food too far from the heat for proper grilling. But you could certainly sear first close to the charcoal then add the center section for the indirect portion of the cook. Good luck and have fun. You're gonna love that WSM!

 

[alx]

I have used a wsm about 10 years.

Yes, you can grill on them.Personaly i do steaks on a 500 degree plus kettle,but here is my experience.

Last 10 or so thanksgivings i have smoke grilled 16-23 pound turkeys,I foil water pan(no water,sometimes sand) for drippings(gravy) and add 3 funnels of charcoal.I maintain 340-360 wide open for 4-6 hours.Sorry,did not have camera last year.

Yes,remove middle section and grill with a funnel of charcoal-throw a chunk of wood on for a little smoke.The lid will fit over the bottom vent section if it flares up.It is a little close to grill so you can turn every two minutes if you are doing 4 minutes per side etc or add middle section and do what the other folks mentioned-just wear mits when reaching in their...

I also cold smoke 80-100 degree with mine.

I did these breasts at 275-300 for 50 minutes-not steak temp but this is what a funnel wide open can do

 

[justpassingthru]

Yep, sure can, I grill like SD said, here is a mod I made to hold the lid on, they are old bicycle wrenches that I cut down and bolted on using the top leg bolt, but I'm sure you can bend up something that will work.



Since it's brand new you need to season it, after that you'll find it will run hot for the first two or three cooks, which is great for chicken, they are short cooks and you'll learn how to manage the temps with the bottom vents. Many drill a hole through the top vent rivet and install a thermometer, but I found it gets dirty real fast, I drilled a hole and put it on the other side.

(In case anyone is wondering, I don't cook on the plastic table, I just set it there to take the pic.)

Have fun with the WSM, it's a great smoker.

Gene

 

[mkedda]

So, I tried to do it yesterday. I used about 50 briquettes and got them going on the chimney. I banked the kingsford competition briquettes to one side of the grill and I could not get the heat hot enough. I think it may have been my inexperience with charcoal.

What is the process you use to get the charcoal going?

After you get the good orange flow, you dump the charcoal into the grate and wait how long?

Covered or uncovered during the waiting process?

When is it time to grill? Should all the charcoal be grayed over?

 

[herkysprings]

A good place to go for WSM info:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html

 

[justpassingthru]

The way you explained it is the way most people do it, might have been a problem with the briquettes, did you open the bottom vents?

My way is different from the others because when I bought my WSM they didn't have chimney starters. I use lump, it's all we have here, I place it in the charcoal ring to one side, about 1/4-1/3 full, now this is where I do it differently, I use a #10 can with both ends removed and on one end I punch holes all around with a old style can opener, the kind that makes a triangular opening, I place 2 cubes of starter block on top of the lump and light it, place the can over it with the holes on the bottom and then add some lump on top of the starter blocks, how much lump I place in the can determines how quickly the lump underneath starts burning.

With this method I can start cooking usually within 10 minutes, I sear my steaks over a small hot area of lump and then move them to the side to cook indirect, with the bottom vents wide open and the lid on you have to be very careful because the temps will go as high as 400°-425° very quickly.

Gene

 

[mkedda]

Mods please close, I duplicated sorry.

http://smokingmeatforums.com/forums/...d=1#post340976