New to smoking

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glenns01

Newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2016
4
10
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!
 
Welcome to the forum!

That's a very popular & excellent smoker.

Plenty of guys with them on here.

Al
 
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.
 
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
 
Are you using the minion method for your coals?


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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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  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
 
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