New to smoking

[glenns01]

Hey all,
I'm new to using a smoker. I purchased a Weber 18.5" vertical smoker. I did ribs last weekend and am trying chicken breast today. I'm in Delaware. Any tips are appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[mike5051]

Welcome to the forum!  I assume you have a Weber Smokey Mountain 18.5, me too!  Lots of here with WSM's with lots of info available.  Glad you joined us.

Mike

 

[SmokinAl]

Welcome to the forum!

That's a very popular & excellent smoker.

Plenty of guys with them on here.

Al

 

[glenns01]

Yes Mike, I'm using a WSM 18.5" smoker. When using this smoker at what level on the smoker am I looking to have the temp at 250f? The lid thermometer is lower than the 2 maverick probes that I have stationed in there. I have a temp probe at each grate.

 

[mike5051]

I monitor the top grate for smoker temp.  I only have two probes, so one in the meat and one at grate level.  I let the bottom grate do its thing without monitoring.  

Mike

 

[wade]

Are you using the minion method for your coals?

Basket with hole.jpg

• wade
• Jul 14, 2016

ProQ Minion.jpg

• wade
• Jul 14, 2016

Also you can use the water pan for either water or sand. Both make a good thermal buffer between the coals and the meat. Some here omit the water pan completely but I find it helps keep the temperature fine tuned by removing any heat spikes.

 

[glenns01]

No Wade I wasn't using the minion method. I've just read up on that though and I will try that when I do a turkey next week. I assumed that the water was also used for keeping the food moist. Was that the wrong assumption?
Thanks for the info and any more info that you have.

Glenn

 

[wade]

Hi Glenn.

You will find that using the minion method you will be able to maintain very stable low temperatures over the long smokes. It is also very economical -  in my 18" bullet I can make a 4 Kg (~9 pound) sack of briquettes last for over 12 hours at 110 C (230 F)

The water pan is there predominantly as a thermal buffer and adds little or nothing to the moistness of the meat being smoked. A lot of people leave it out altogether but I find it helps to stabilise the temperatures and for them to recover again quickly after the smoker lid has been removed. Water can be quite messy - especially as it dries out and leaves burned residue in the bowl. Sand is just as good for storing and buffering heat and is much easier to clean.

 

[glenns01]

So I've smoked ribs a couple of times now (sorry I was so excited so far I haven't taken any pictures) I've also smoked a brisket and turkey which both have came out pretty good. They still need work though. Today I'm smoking a pork butt. This is 3 hours in.

IMG_1311.JPG

• glenns01
• Dec 10, 2016

 

[gary s]

  Good afternoon and welcome to the forum, from a warm and windy day here in East Texas, and the best site on the web. Lots of                great people with tons of information on just about  everything.

           Gary