First smoke on WSM 18, how much charcoal to use?

[LJ13]

I’m preparing to smoke some chicken thighs and would like to maintain 300-325 degrees. How should I prepare the charcoal to achieve these temps? How full should the charcoal ring be? How many lit briquettes in the chimney starter? Should I use the minion method or just dump the lit coals evenly over unlit ones? Should I not use unlit ones and just add a chimney or two full of ignited briquettes?

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

 

[gmc2003]

I have a 22" WSM, but the procedure should be the same. I would basically fill the charcoal ring and add a full chimney of lit charcoal spread over the top. Have all your vents wide open NO water in the pan. You'll over overshoot your desired temps, but with chicken that really isn't an issue. Especially if you want crispy skin. Bury a few chunks of wood into your ring for the smokey flavor. Once the chicken has hit 165* and is taken off the smoker shut down all vents including the top vent. The next day shake the charcoal grate to remove the ash and reuse the unburnt charcoal in your next smoke. If your doing skinless chicken thighs then just fire up the WSM the way you normally do and smoke it until hits 165*.

Chris

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

What Chris said.

 

[LJ13]

Thanks! I followed the same charcoal procedure as Chris recommended, but I made the mistake of shutting the bottom vents a bit to try to get temps down from 360-365 to 325. I had the lid off adding the thighs for 3-5 minutes. The temp hasn’t risen above 300 since, even with the vents back all the way open. It seems to be sitting at 280-290.

 

[kelbro]

Thanks! I followed the same charcoal procedure as Chris recommended, but I made the mistake of shutting the bottom vents a bit to try to get temps down from 360-365 to 325. I had the lid off adding the thighs for 3-5 minutes. The temp hasn’t risen above 300 since, even with the vents back all the way open. It seems to be sitting at 280-290.

The chicken will be just fine.

 

[LJ13]

They turned out pretty good. They cooked a little too long, but they were still juicy at 180-185. Brining them for an hour probably helped.

The hickory chunks I used seemed to burn up quickly. I wound up adding a couple of extra midway through the cook. Smoking at these temperatures didn’t produce a smoke ring. I assume that’s normal?

 

[noboundaries]

Chicken thighs are tough to mess up. They can handle higher finishing temps due to more connective tissue and fat. 165F is for safety and juicy tender white meat. I find that bone-in, skin-on thighs are more tender and juicy in your 180-185F finishing range. Same for turkey.

 

[Rathog23]

I'm new to this also and I have found the beginner recipes on TVWB to be very helpful ( along with advice on these forums, of course:-)

https://virtualweberbullet.com/cook.html#beginner

 

[Berettaclayshooter]

A smoke ring has more to do with the amount of salt that is in your rub and how long it takes your meat to hit a certain temp (I don't know off hand). That's more or less what creates the smoke ring. You can also choose to use wood chips as well as chunks. When adding to get smoke and not as a fuel try soaking them for a while in water this will prolong the amount of smoke you'll get, but be careful with something like hickory with chicken, it can over power it easily. Fruit woods are good for poultry. You can also mix and match wood types, but i would go with 2/3 fruit woods and 1/3 oak, hickory or pecan.

 

[Whoppr]

I have an 18" WSM and do something similar to what Chris and others do. Here is what I do and again is a little different.

I use a metal coffee can and put in the middle of the charcoal ring. I fill up the ring around the coffee can completely. Put a few hardwood chunks in the mix. Light 10-15 charcoal briquettes in your chimney starter. When lit pour into coffee can and remove can with tongs. Top vents and bottom vents all open and when you reach your desired temp add meat. It will cool down and when it recovers and adjust bottom vents as needed. I usually start half closed depending on conditions.

BTW, this method is referred to the Minion method named after Jim Minion who at least popularized it.

Also as Chris said no water in the pan. I recently moved to using a clay saucer as some have done to make cleanup easier and also as a heat sink.

This website is a great website, but I also echo how helpful TVWB is. Amazing Ribs is also a good resource as well(Meathead Goldwyn).

Link below for minion method and variations

Hope this helps. I can send you more resources if it helps.

https://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion

 

[Rathog23]

Love the idea of using the coffee can to shape the coal ring Whoppr.

 

[squatch]

I’ve been using pretty much the same method Whoppr suggested for several years now, although I start with a much smaller can and I also start with my lower vents nearly closed. I try to avoid overshooting my target temp. Your results will vary based on factors such as ambient outdoor air temp, humidity, etc... you just need to play around a bit until you have perfected the method.
Happy Smoking!