- Jun 25, 2017
- 7
- 12
Guys,
I've owned a WSM for exactly 7 days now. I got a decent deal (I think) for it...an 18.5" with everything (except a cover) for $150.00. I plan to keep this in my garage or shed when not in use, so a cover wasn't a deal-breaker for me. Since my first smoker was a vertical gasser, I didn't want to go all in financially for the WSM and not like it, so this was the correct amount of risk for me. :)
After cleaning it (it really wasn't dirty but since it was used, I wanted to ensure that it was clean), I used the Minion Method and I fired up the smoker and got it up to temp. Our local grocery store didn't have a lot of choices for wood chunk so I bought a bag of Mesquite and Hickory and since I've heard horror stories of using too much Mesquite, I decided to use a few chunks of Hickory for this smoke. My first smoke was hamburgers wrapped in bacon and Nathan's hot dogs. I figured this was easy, quick and a good test run for my first time using this smoker. After a good 30-45 minutes, the smoker seemed to be running OK and was sitting at 240* on my iGrill Air Probe (a bit higher on the thermometer in the lid which is to be expected). The bottom air vents were mostly closed off and the top vent was wide open. I was running water in the pan this time to help regulate the temps. I put my food in--hamburgers on the top rack and hot dogs on the bottom and things went well. The issue I had was that the food (the bacon, especially) seemed to have way too much smoke flavor. I don't know what "acrid" tastes like, but I couldn't eat the bacon because it was too smoky for me... The dogs were fine, as expected, but the burgers with the bacon removed were even a little too smokey for my taste.
So...trying to learn from my mistakes, last night I decided to brine and smoke some boneless/skinless chicken breasts. I read somewhere that someone has modified the Minion Method slightly by putting an empty/hollow metal can in the center of the charcoal ring that you surround by coals. Then, once you pour the hot coals from your chimney into the can, you use tongs to remove the can leaving a perfect "core" of burning coals. To me, this seemed much neater/easier than trying to make a hole in the center of the ring without anything to keep the coals from "avalanching" back into the center. Again, this worked great...and I had 2 small chunks of pecan and 2 small chunks of cherry for smoke...and after 30-45 minutes, the smoker was up to 250*, the smoke wasn't too thick (but not quite TBS) and I assumed it was ready for me to put the meat on. (For the chicken, as instructed, I did not use water in the pan--it was simply foiled for easy cleanup.) Again, the bottom vents were mostly closed and the top vent was wide open.
I loaded 8 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts--4 on each rack--and put the lid back on and the first thing I noticed was that my pit temp probe sitting right below the top rack was reading 40* lower than the thermometer in the lid. I've read that this should be closer to 15* difference under normal circumstances, so I was kind of lost here... My suspicion is that the meat temp. sitting on the rack was bringing down the temp. on the ambient probe. What I don't know is how...was it because of the proximity of the probe to the meat or was it because the little metal clip holding the probe was allowing the lower temp of the grate due to the meat sitting on it to transfer to the probe?
Either way...here is my question: I've read on forums that when you put the meat on, you don't adjust the WSM for when the temp. drops when you put your meat in. Most people tend to "ride it out" and wait for the temps to go back up. Since this was supposed to be a quick smoke 1-1.5 hours at 250-275*, if I don't adjust my temp due to the meat going into the smoker, it would never get completed in 1-1.5 hours. In my case, I think that was my mistake...I chased the temp. up and down. It really didn't stabilize until the last 30 minutes of the smoke and I spent the first 30-45 minutes of the smoke at a really low temperature (250-275* at the lid, 210-235* right below the top grate).
Once the temp of the chicken was up to temp, again, I tasted a little too much smoke for my liking. Since I used pecan and cherry instead of something "stronger", I wasn't expecting to have that much smoke flavor. This brings up other questions: 1. Am I using to much wood chunk? (3-4 small chunks sitting on the coals using the MM.) 2. Am I tasting the flavor of the Kingsford Blue instead?
Sorry to ramble on...just looking for some advice to get rid of what I feel is "too much smoke" on my last 2 smokes.
Thanks!
Michael
I've owned a WSM for exactly 7 days now. I got a decent deal (I think) for it...an 18.5" with everything (except a cover) for $150.00. I plan to keep this in my garage or shed when not in use, so a cover wasn't a deal-breaker for me. Since my first smoker was a vertical gasser, I didn't want to go all in financially for the WSM and not like it, so this was the correct amount of risk for me. :)
After cleaning it (it really wasn't dirty but since it was used, I wanted to ensure that it was clean), I used the Minion Method and I fired up the smoker and got it up to temp. Our local grocery store didn't have a lot of choices for wood chunk so I bought a bag of Mesquite and Hickory and since I've heard horror stories of using too much Mesquite, I decided to use a few chunks of Hickory for this smoke. My first smoke was hamburgers wrapped in bacon and Nathan's hot dogs. I figured this was easy, quick and a good test run for my first time using this smoker. After a good 30-45 minutes, the smoker seemed to be running OK and was sitting at 240* on my iGrill Air Probe (a bit higher on the thermometer in the lid which is to be expected). The bottom air vents were mostly closed off and the top vent was wide open. I was running water in the pan this time to help regulate the temps. I put my food in--hamburgers on the top rack and hot dogs on the bottom and things went well. The issue I had was that the food (the bacon, especially) seemed to have way too much smoke flavor. I don't know what "acrid" tastes like, but I couldn't eat the bacon because it was too smoky for me... The dogs were fine, as expected, but the burgers with the bacon removed were even a little too smokey for my taste.
So...trying to learn from my mistakes, last night I decided to brine and smoke some boneless/skinless chicken breasts. I read somewhere that someone has modified the Minion Method slightly by putting an empty/hollow metal can in the center of the charcoal ring that you surround by coals. Then, once you pour the hot coals from your chimney into the can, you use tongs to remove the can leaving a perfect "core" of burning coals. To me, this seemed much neater/easier than trying to make a hole in the center of the ring without anything to keep the coals from "avalanching" back into the center. Again, this worked great...and I had 2 small chunks of pecan and 2 small chunks of cherry for smoke...and after 30-45 minutes, the smoker was up to 250*, the smoke wasn't too thick (but not quite TBS) and I assumed it was ready for me to put the meat on. (For the chicken, as instructed, I did not use water in the pan--it was simply foiled for easy cleanup.) Again, the bottom vents were mostly closed and the top vent was wide open.
I loaded 8 large boneless/skinless chicken breasts--4 on each rack--and put the lid back on and the first thing I noticed was that my pit temp probe sitting right below the top rack was reading 40* lower than the thermometer in the lid. I've read that this should be closer to 15* difference under normal circumstances, so I was kind of lost here... My suspicion is that the meat temp. sitting on the rack was bringing down the temp. on the ambient probe. What I don't know is how...was it because of the proximity of the probe to the meat or was it because the little metal clip holding the probe was allowing the lower temp of the grate due to the meat sitting on it to transfer to the probe?
Either way...here is my question: I've read on forums that when you put the meat on, you don't adjust the WSM for when the temp. drops when you put your meat in. Most people tend to "ride it out" and wait for the temps to go back up. Since this was supposed to be a quick smoke 1-1.5 hours at 250-275*, if I don't adjust my temp due to the meat going into the smoker, it would never get completed in 1-1.5 hours. In my case, I think that was my mistake...I chased the temp. up and down. It really didn't stabilize until the last 30 minutes of the smoke and I spent the first 30-45 minutes of the smoke at a really low temperature (250-275* at the lid, 210-235* right below the top grate).
Once the temp of the chicken was up to temp, again, I tasted a little too much smoke for my liking. Since I used pecan and cherry instead of something "stronger", I wasn't expecting to have that much smoke flavor. This brings up other questions: 1. Am I using to much wood chunk? (3-4 small chunks sitting on the coals using the MM.) 2. Am I tasting the flavor of the Kingsford Blue instead?
Sorry to ramble on...just looking for some advice to get rid of what I feel is "too much smoke" on my last 2 smokes.
Thanks!
Michael
