WSM Owners - Q for ya

[flbobecu]

Guys, couple of quick questions. 

About how long of a smoke, can I expect, filling up the fire ring, and a cooking temp of  240 or so? (18.5" model)

Second, what if I wanted to do chicken, burgers, or whatever. Can I use my charcoal basket for smaller cooks/shorter cooks? (1-3 hours) Not always will I be using it for 8+ hours. 

If I fill the fire ring, and say it lasts 14 hours, and my cook is 10 hours, will some of that unburnt (I'd assume, using minion method) charcoal (I love Stubbs briquettes) be usable for future cooks? Or should I expect it to be all unrelightable in the future?

I might have 1 or 2 more questions - that's all for now. Thanks for your help!

 

[indyadmin1974]

About how long of a smoke, can I expect, filling up the fire ring, and a cooking temp of  240 or so? (18.5" model) - If you are doing the minion method probably about 10-12 hours max.

Second, what if I wanted to do chicken, burgers, or whatever. Can I use my charcoal basket for smaller cooks/shorter cooks? (1-3 hours) Not always will I be using it for 8+ hours. - You won't get the high heat needed for grilling, but for smoking burgers and chicken and anything else, yes.

If I fill the fire ring, and say it lasts 14 hours, and my cook is 10 hours, will some of that unburnt (I'd assume, using minion method) charcoal (I love Stubbs briquettes) be usable for future cooks? Or should I expect it to be all unrelightable in the future? - Yes you will have unburnt coals that are perfectly usable.

 

[flbobecu]

About how long of a smoke, can I expect, filling up the fire ring, and a cooking temp of  240 or so? (18.5" model) - If you are doing the minion method probably about 10-12 hours max.

Second, what if I wanted to do chicken, burgers, or whatever. Can I use my charcoal basket for smaller cooks/shorter cooks? (1-3 hours) Not always will I be using it for 8+ hours. - You won't get the high heat needed for grilling, but for smoking burgers and chicken and anything else, yes.

If I fill the fire ring, and say it lasts 14 hours, and my cook is 10 hours, will some of that unburnt (I'd assume, using minion method) charcoal (I love Stubbs briquettes) be usable for future cooks? Or should I expect it to be all unrelightable in the future? - Yes you will have unburnt coals that are perfectly usable.

Hi, I see you have both the Performer and WSM. 

Do you smoke on the Performer? Or have you? Around town here, Sears has the Performer for $246 and I can buy the WSM online for $240. 

 

[indyadmin1974]

Hi, I see you have both the Performer and WSM. 

Do you smoke on the Performer? Or have you? Around town here, Sears has the Performer for $246 and I can buy the WSM online for $240. 

I have smoked on the Performer.  The charcoal pans that it comes with make it easy to do so.  You'll be limited on the amount of food you can smoke, but it's ideal for a couple of racks of spares or some chickens.  I did find a limitation on the Performer last night.  I will not do beer can chicken.  The lid is too shallow.  That was disappointing, but I can do it on the WSM if I want.

If all you are going to do is smoke, go for the WSM, but if you're looking for a versatile grill that can do smoking, go for the Performer or a 22.5" kettle.
 

 

[flbobecu]

I have smoked on the Performer.  The charcoal pans that it comes with make it easy to do so.  You'll be limited on the amount of food you can smoke, but it's ideal for a couple of racks of spares or some chickens.  I did find a limitation on the Performer last night.  I will not do beer can chicken.  The lid is too shallow.  That was disappointing, but I can do it on the WSM if I want.

If all you are going to do is smoke, go for the WSM, but if you're looking for a versatile grill that can do smoking, go for the Performer or a 22.5" kettle.
 

Do you find that the Performer is more efficient? Is one over the other easier to control temps?

 

[indyadmin1974]

Do you find that the Performer is more efficient? Is one over the other easier to control temps?

Not if you're doing it right...

  The table, ash catcher, charcoal bin and LP charcoal starter make the Performer easier or maybe more user friendly but they both operate with the same efficiency in my opinion.

For example, I fired up both WSMs, my performer and my 18.5" kettle over the weekend for our 4th of July party.  When I was done, the WSM that went for 15 hours was nearly out of coals (I only added a handful at the 12 hour mark just in case).  The WSM that I did ribs on had ~1/4 pan of usable charcoal left.  The Performer had about 40 coals left to use again and the kettle didn't get much use but it had almost all of the coals left.

The key is to use them as they were meant to be used.  As soon as you are done, shut all the vents 100% and leave it for an hour or so.  The fire will be dead and the coals should be cold to the touch.  Put the unused coals in a metal trash can (I have a 5 gallon metal can for ash and a smaller one for unused coals).  Empty the ash and other crud that's not baked on and get all the big chunks of junk off all the grates.  Put everything back together and you're good to go for next time.

I love my WSMs even though I've only had them for 2 months, but my daily grill is the Performer.  The WSM takes a certain amount of thought and preparation.  This doesn't make it hard, but a bit more time consuming and cleanup is a bit more involved, though again not hard, just time consuming.

 

[flbobecu]

Not if you're doing it right...

  The table, ash catcher, charcoal bin and LP charcoal starter make the Performer easier or maybe more user friendly but they both operate with the same efficiency in my opinion.

For example, I fired up both WSMs, my performer and my 18.5" kettle over the weekend for our 4th of July party.  When I was done, the WSM that went for 15 hours was nearly out of coals (I only added a handful at the 12 hour mark just in case).  The WSM that I did ribs on had ~1/4 pan of usable charcoal left.  The Performer had about 40 coals left to use again and the kettle didn't get much use but it had almost all of the coals left.

The key is to use them as they were meant to be used.  As soon as you are done, shut all the vents 100% and leave it for an hour or so.  The fire will be dead and the coals should be cold to the touch.  Put the unused coals in a metal trash can (I have a 5 gallon metal can for ash and a smaller one for unused coals).  Empty the ash and other crud that's not baked on and get all the big chunks of junk off all the grates.  Put everything back together and you're good to go for next time.

I love my WSMs even though I've only had them for 2 months, but my daily grill is the Performer.  The WSM takes a certain amount of thought and preparation.  This doesn't make it hard, but a bit more time consuming and cleanup is a bit more involved, though again not hard, just time consuming.

Thanks! On the WSM, maybe 1 out of 3 times I would make use of the second/other tier rack. 18.25/5" is plenty of room for me, but I REALLY like the table/cart the Performer comes on. 22.25" is more than enough for us.