Farm fresh chicken on wsm

[hillbillyrkstr]

Alright well I have ventured into the wsm world with my latest smoker purchase. Started about 15 years ago with a side firebox barrel smoker (ended up with 2 along the way), and then maybe 5-6 years ago I felt pretty good about my pitmaster skills so I decided to make things easier on myself and bought an mes 40 (ended up with 2 of these as well).

So looking for something new to mess with I ended up with an 18” wsm. I’ve used stans (The Godfather of the Fowlerville roundtable) green wsm clone before. He had it at a fattie contest a few years back and I messed with it a bit while we were smoking a turkey. Besides that’s zero experience with a wsm and I think that’s what lead me to it. Always trying to learn something new.

I have to give HUGE THANKS to SmokinAl for all his help on this latest venture. I ordered this smoker and immediately sent him a list of questions as I know he has a wsm, and we’ve become friends over the years on this forum. Nothing but help from question 1 to wherever they ended. Thank you Al!

I wanted my first smoke on the new smoker to be something great but by the time it showed up I had nothing thawed and ready to smoke. Ended up throwing a chicken from a local farm here in a pot of cold water and defrosting it quick the night before.

No time to brine it so I injected it heavy with creole butter, and gave it a solid rub down with salt & pepper, and some Tony’s. After that it was onto the smoker for a 3 hour tour.

I followed Als advice on how to get the smoker temp up and leveled and put the bird on.

Some nice smoke rolling on the new wsm last Sunday. Green finally returning to Wonder Dog Ranch in the back ground after a long winter. Pond level is as high as I’ve ever seen it with all the rain we’ve had lately.

Few hours in and the bird is looking tasty!

Finished product laying on a bed of farm picked asparagus! Great time of year out here!

Made a tin foil grease catcher to keep things clean. Al suggested a pie tin but I was all out. Nice piece of advice.

Great salad the wife made! Can’t wait to plant this years garden so we can eat our own greens again!

Some cut up breast pieces. The injection helped keep the white meat extra juicy & the skin was real crispy using the wsm!

Dark meat Also came out great!

Of course we have Scout staring at me hoping I’ll share or finish eating so we can go out and train. Did both in case your wondering.

One last shot of the plate.

Overall I’m impressed with the wsm. Having no real experience to speak of and asking only a few questions before I started it was super easy to use. Nothing like learning how to use an offset that’s for sure! Lol.

I was really impressed how it held its temp when I got it dialed in.

I guess the only questions I really have now is how long can you keep temp steady if your smoking something long like a pork butt? And what’s the best way to refill it during a long smoke?

Thanks again to SmokinAl for all your help!

Sorry for the rather boring post. Just figured I’d post my first trip around the sun with the wsm.

Scott

 

[SmokinAl]

Great post, great meal, & a great first run on your new smoker!
The chicken looks delicious, & perfectly cooked!
And congrats on getting a spin on the carousel, on your first smoke on your new WSM!
Al

 

[tropics]

Scott that looks like you been using the WSM for years. The plates look delicious even the salad. Points
Richie

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Thanks Al! Your advice really helped! Just another example of how great this forum can be if you need help or have questions!

Being a self taught smoker I’ve learned a lot of stuff on this site over the years. Reading posts helps a lot but having a good group of members who can answer just about any question you have is priceless!

Thanks again
Scott

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Thanks Richie!

I was surprised at how well the wsm held its temp and how easy it was to use! Very happy with the first yardbird!

Scott

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Forgot to mention my buddy scott at Motz farms. He got me these chickens from his brother who sadly passed away. I was lucky enough to meet him a time or two. Love listening to old farmers. Lot you can learn from them. Chickens have all been excellent! Thanks Motz!

 

[tropics]

Thanks Richie!

I was surprised at how well the wsm held its temp and how easy it was to use! Very happy with the first yardbird!

Scott

My WSM I have the BBQ-Guru for an it works great with or without it.
Bird looks great riding around
Richie

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Richie,

I talked with Al about the guru last week. I’m sure I’ll end up buying one but for now I’m gonna experiment with it in stock form and see what I can do with it.

Thanks again
Scott

 

[gmc2003]

Scott the bird looks great, nice color. Congratulations on the new smoker. I haven't had to refill my 22 yet when doing butt or brisket. As for steady temps, once your smoker is seasoned you should be able to hold temp pretty steady with only slight adjustments to the bottom vents. If you do need to add coals just use some type of trough and gentle slide them through the open door. I hear the 18 is a real miser when it comes to charcoal use unlike it's bigger brother so you should be all set.

Point for sure.

Chris

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Thanks Chris.

I’ll be giving a butt a try soon enough. Wasn’t sure if you’d need to add a whole new chimney full or charcoal at some point in the process while smoking a butt. That would require taking the smoker apart and that seems like a pain.

Scott

 

[tropics]

Thanks Chris.

I’ll be giving a butt a try soon enough. Wasn’t sure if you’d need to add a whole new chimney full or charcoal at some point in the process while smoking a butt. That would require taking the smoker apart and that seems like a pain.

Scott

Scott I put Handles on the side of mine,an I sed clamps to keep the top and bottom together


Richie

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Richie,

Handles is a great idea! Did you use some high temp silicone to keep the smoke from coming out of the screw holes?

Did you put casters on the weber legs? I was thinking of building a cart to move mine in and out of the barn.

Scott

 

[tropics]

Richie,

Handles is a great idea! Did you use some high temp silicone to keep the smoke from coming out of the screw holes?

Did you put casters on the weber legs? I was thinking of building a cart to move mine in and out of the barn.

Scott

Scott I sealed the Front door and the rim.I did not seal any of the screw holes I put in,the casters work but you would be better with a platform ( Dolly )
I also removed the brackets inside an went with screws,my water pan has been replace with an aluminum pot cover.
Richie

 

[browneyesvictim]

Good looking bird and meal Scott! Good looking buddy ya got there too.
I had some hind quarters on mine last night while my butt was on the mower. Good stuff!

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

I like. What was your average temp?

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Mighty Tasty, Scott!!:)

Love It!!

Looks like Scout has you pretty well trained already!!:rolleyes:

Bear

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Richie,

What’d you use to seal?

Also I filled my water pan with water for this smoke. I bought some lava rock to put in there now.

Thanks
Scott

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Thanks brown!

I’ll let scout know she has a fan. She retrieved plenty of ducks and geese last year to put on that smoker and do some more testing!

Scott

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Derek,

I had the smoker around 245-255 the whole time. Opened the vents at the end and added a few more coals and chucks to get it up hotter and crisp the skin.

Scott

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Lmao bear!

Scout is the baby of the family so she gets to do annoying things like stare at you while your eating without taking to much flak from me. I tell the wife as long as her and hooper do what I tell them while hunting they kinda have free range of the house. Lol. Wife hates that.

Scott