How I start and use my WSM....

[va_connoisseur]

 
I always see people talking about only having one vent open or two partially open.  I run my WSM with all three open, 275 degrees (verified with a Maverick thermometer), and I can run all day on one load.  No re-loading charcoal, the hotter temp lets me power the butts through the stall a bit quicker, and I'm a no foiler.

I'm doing two over night tonight and throwing a couple racks of ribs on tomorrow morning, following that all by two more butts once the ribs are off.  Should be a loooong 24-36 hours of smoking, but I would imagine that I'll have one full reload and that will be about it.

How did your cook turn out?

 

[heyer5]

 
How did your cook turn out?

Good, everything ran as well as it usually does!  Ribs were amazing, the pulled pork is in the freezer awaiting a wedding rehearsal dinner here in a few weeks.

 

[flyinion]

 
I always see people talking about only having one vent open or two partially open.  I run my WSM with all three open, 275 degrees (verified with a Maverick thermometer), and I can run all day on one load.  No re-loading charcoal, the hotter temp lets me power the butts through the stall a bit quicker, and I'm a no foiler. 

I'm doing two over night tonight and throwing a couple racks of ribs on tomorrow morning, following that all by two more butts once the ribs are off.  Should be a loooong 24-36 hours of smoking, but I would imagine that I'll have one full reload and that will be about it.

Going to say that it probably has a lot to do with the area of the country.  I just looked up Waukee, and your weather is like 20 degrees cooler (no kidding) than me.  My smoke today I had my top vent full open, two bottom vents closed, and third about 1/3rd and ran 230 for about 4.25 hours, then temps started dropping outside because it was around 7pm and so my smoker temp started dropping and I opened the one vent all the way and ended up back around 225 at the end of my smoke 30 minutes later.

 

[gary s]

b

 

[jnltrucking]

Hey guys, I just got my 18 WSM today and I was wondering.
Do i have to run the insides with oil like an offset smoker ?
Thanks.

 

[noboundaries]

No seasoning is necessary. Clean the grates if you want. Then smoke away.

 

[nkaust]

 
As I looked at the search related wsm start up threads I see lots of different methods and thought I would show how I do mine so it would be easy for me to find and repost..

I use Kingsford Blue charcoal..it burns nice and lasts a long time...

It also can be bought in fairly large quantity at the box stores on sale in the spring and fall..

Starting at the bottom....

I put a 28 oz can in the middle of the ring and pour the charcoal into the ring..filling full to the top of the ring.

Next I add the wood for smoke..layering from the bottom to the top...then grab the ring and turn it and shake it to settle the charcoal nice and tight..then add the charcoal up to the top again...

10 to 12 pieces of charcoal into the chimney and get them all burning..

Dump the chimney into the soup can and pull the can out..

I dont use water in the pan..it has a 12 inch terra cotta pot saucer in it...dont foil it either..I have a fire pit so everything gets washed into it.

After a few years it looks like a well seasoned Dutch oven..

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• fpnmf
• Apr 16, 2013

Assemble the rest of the wsm with all vents wide open..

When the temp gets around 180-200 I close 2 bottom vents and put the other bottom vent at half open..if I am going to smoke above 225-240 I let it get a little hotter before closing.

When it gets up to temp..put the stuff in and leave the top vent all the way open..

Simple and easy..thats how I like to do things...

I did several mods to mine...washers behind the top rack supports and installed evelets from ace hardware..

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/94076/wsm-mods

Picture is from Mr Rodriguez..

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• fpnmf
• Apr 12, 2013

I also practice the "Keep the lid on!!' routine.. I found that if I start chasing temps or thinking I gotta look....the temps go up quickly..

I did this method until I bought the guru..it worked for me quite well. YMMV

I still fire it off the same way only now the guru keeps temp perfect for me...Makes doing butts real easy by starting everything going in the evening..

That way all the pulling and cleaning can be done in the morning the next day.

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• fpnmf
• Dec 27, 2012

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• fpnmf
• Aug 2, 2012

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• fpnmf
• Dec 24, 2012

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• fpnmf
• Apr 16, 2013

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• fpnmf
• Nov 30, 2012

Have a great day!!!!

  Craig

i see all of the ash is still in the ring in the 6th pic, but i was wondering if you have 2 grates like some do or did you foil the grate?

thanks

kaust

 

[fpnmf]

The pile of ashes is just a pile at the end.. The grate is there..not covered or foiled.. The picture just shows what a good burn looks like to me.. Hope this helps..

  Craig

 

[acgreen95]

Ok Ive been a part of this forum for a few years, but haven't posted much. I was just wondering is the Weber WSM the upgraded version of the old Brinkman Smoke n Grill?

 

[noboundaries]

Both the WSM and the SnG are "bullet" smokers, but that's where the similarity ends. They function in a similar way (fire bottom, water pan middle, grate(s) top). The temp control and durability of the WSM is in a different class than the SnG.

But, if the history of smoking has taught us anything, you can pretty much use anything to smoke meat. I recently saw a kid on YouTube smoking meat with a cardboard box.