I'm ashamed of myself. I haven't smoked anything since the NFL playoffs.
When I got into smoking stuff a few years back, I used to love getting up super early to get everything going. But with my current work schedule, the last thing I want to do is get up at 4 or 5 AM on an off day because that's what time I get up during the week.

I mean, I could smoke ribs or chicken because they don't need to go in the smoker that early, but I just haven't gotten around to it. Such a shame...

Flea wrote:And that's a wrap.

Beautiful. Now that it's all said and done, how did the cook go? Any snags, etc?

wooswiff wrote:

Flea wrote:And that's a wrap.

Beautiful. Now that it's all said and done, how did the cook go? Any snags, etc?

I'm always amazed by the simplicity and excellence of patience, wood fire, and meat.

Our very own nutfat hosted an all-day grilling/meat fest yesterday. Thank you nutfat for the goodtimes! The pork, corn-on-the-cob, and what was in that meatloaf? Cheddarwurst, bacon, and something else - no matter. It kicked ass and I hate meatloaf! Buffalo chicken dip on the smoker?! Fantastic. Good music and good times. Thanks again.

^^ hey paul,,meatloaf was ground beef,cheddar brat,bacon and the secret sauce..goodtimes!!

Any of you guys familiar w the Pit Barrel Cooker? Its brilliant, I got one a few months ago after using an electric smoker (I was living in an apt and it was the only safe/legal way to go about it) for the past 7 years. It's smaller, can fit way more meat and it's also much cleaner- Attempting my first PBC brisket on Saturday. Really stoked to try a prime rib but that's for another week

http://pitbarrelcooker.com/

I built a similar Ugly Drum Smoker last year and it has become my main unit. It works perfectly for pork butts and ribs. With the air adjustments I can maintain a steady 200-300 degrees (locks in really nice at 225 for my BBQ). I will share some pics later.

PeterJ wrote:What are people's thoughts on the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker? I am thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these. Lots of great reviews, and some of the bad ones are that there is too much room. Thought I would get the opinions of people I "know" and trust.

I remembered this discussion from last year and thought I'd bring it back up. With the demise of my Weber kettle and my love/hate relationship with my propane smoker I've been researching what to buy for awhile now. Part of me wants s Big Green Egg or other porcelain cooker but I just can't justify the expense for what I want it for. I have small grill for grilling so I'm good there, I just need a smoker for low and slow. Everything leads me to the WSM and I think I'm going with the 18.5". I realize I need to immediately get a digital surface thermometer since the built in seems to be universally bad but I have a few other questions. A lot of people talk about buying an aftermarket charcoal door, has anybody done this? The ones that recommend it say that the door is flimsy and lets out too much heat. Also I'm told that the WSM works best with charcoal briquettes and I haven't used them in 15 years. My original barbecue mentor was a wood purist with an offset box smoker but grudgingly approved the use of lump charcoal if you had to which I did with a kettle. He claimed briquettes were filled with"goat turds and cynadide" and wouldn't use them and ridiculed those who did. After doing some research they seem to be far less controversial than I had thought and the even burn is pretty desirable. My barbecue guy wouldn't leave his smoker over a 10-12 hour smoke fussing with the temp constantly. That was the main reason why I went with an electric smoker and later propane because I only had to add wood chunks every few hours. I just don't have the kind of time to devote entire days to smoking meat and the WSM seems perfect. I'm a pretty accomplished amateur pitmaster so
I'm confident in my rubs, techniques and wood choices but I need a reliable smoker that maintains even temps. Thoughts?

Briquettes comes in different qualities (as do charcoal), but I always I chose high quality briquettes over lump charcoal if can find them. In my experience they last longer (if you stop them before they are completely turned to ash you can even re-use them later). I also tend to think they give a more uniform distribution of heat, as they seem to light up all over the surface, whereas lumped charcoal seem to have cold and hot-spots. The result is all-over better control of temperature; longer lasting at a more constant temperature, whereas lumped coal has more of a temperature peak and require more active control of oxygen supply.

(I don't really expect you to take BBQ advice from someone living close to the north pole, but that's my two cents)

A friend of mine has a Traeger wood pellet grill.

It works like a charm. Choose the kind of wood pellets to use, set the temp, and relax
as your brisket (or whatever) cooks all day.

My brother gave me a a Weber Smokey Mountain for my bday. I fucking love it.

bovine knievel wrote:My brother gave me a a Weber Smokey Mountain for my bday. I fucking love it.

Nice. I'm excited about getting mine in the next week or so here. Did you do a lot if seasoning first, dry runs and all that or did you just dive in? Seems to be a great debate about that.

^^^^
I did burn a chimney full of hickory briquettes before I cooked on it. But other than that I just dove right in. Here's a great site for Weber Smokey Mountain cookers.

My PK is about 50 years old. I'll get another one so I can have two. Best smoker I've ever used and I've owned completion smokers. And they're made in the USofA!


http://www.pkgrills.com

bovine knievel wrote:My brother gave me a a Weber Smokey Mountain for my bday. I fucking love it.

I've got one, too. It's great. Once you get the temerature locked in it is virtually set it and forget it. It's been too long since I used it. I must rectify that soon.

One mod I did is put the bottom of a clay pot in the big bowl as a heat sink rather than water. That water isn't adding any moisture to the meat and it makes you burn more fuel on long smokes.

pearlysnaps wrote:One mod I did is put the bottom of a clay pot in the big bowl as a heat sink rather than water. That water isn't adding any moisture to the meat and it makes you burn more fuel on long smokes.

Thanks for that, I appreciate the advice. There seems to be a huge debate on this. I've always used water in the past but it does seem that some with the WSM get away without it just fine. Others swear by it even if only as a means of temperature control which I actually used to do with cheaper units, adding ice to the water to drop the temp. I think I might experiment with this a bit. Are you able to maintain 225 degrees without water or do you smoke at higher temps? One of the reasons I want to go with this is the ability to maintain the lower temps. My propane unit and my last charcoal bullet were cheaply built and the only time I could maintain anything under say 280° was in the winter when outside temps were below 40°. I'm actually getting excited about playing around with this, maybe as soon as the coming weekend.

On another subject, do you guys foil your pork butts at a certain point in the smoke? I never have except when I've had temp problems and finished up in a 200° oven to slow down the cook time. If so what do you find are the advantages?

I got the WSM 22" just because I liked the bigger door for adding charcoal and water. Jumped right in, did a shit ton of research and smoked a boston butt for a Labor Day party at our house. Turned out amazing. Ended up doing turkeys for T'giving, and it was quite cold/windy here in Iowa this year. I wrapped it in a welding blanket, and skipped the water and upped the temp to cook the turkeys a little quicker. I also spatchcocked them (that word got thrown around all T'giving day at the house). I did brine them for about 12 hours beforehand too. They were amazing, I am not a big turkey guy, but we cooked two of them, and the leftovers didn't last long. I have done several chickens, and also several bags of chicken wings. Even those cheap frozen wings turn out great.

I use the kingsford charcoal, and the weber wood chunks. Once that temp is dialed in, you're all good. You can also use the WSM as a charcoal grill, the upper lid doesn't fit perfectly, but it works for burgers, brats and whatnot.

TC, I do a Minion method start and catch it on the way up and can lock it in around 225 if I want. The key for low temp smokes is starting with fewer lit coals and adjusting the vents early enough.
And the only time I foil a butt is post-smoke, wrapped in blankets and in a cooler for an hour or two.

pearlysnaps wrote:TC, I do a Minion method start and catch it on the way up and can lock it in around 225 if I want. The key for low temp smokes is starting with fewer lit coals and adjusting the vents early enough.
And the only time I foil a butt is post-smoke, wrapped in blankets and in a cooler for an hour or two.

Thanks, I'm getting ahead of myself because this smoker is my Q1 comission present to myself and I don't have the check yet but I'm excited. I haven't done any serious smoking in 18 months and I'm itchy.

PeterJ wrote:I got the WSM 22" just because I liked the bigger door for adding charcoal and water. Jumped right in, did a shit ton of research and smoked a boston butt for a Labor Day party at our house. Turned out amazing. Ended up doing turkeys for T'giving, and it was quite cold/windy here in Iowa this year. I wrapped it in a welding blanket, and skipped the water and upped the temp to cook the turkeys a little quicker. I also spatchcocked them (that word got thrown around all T'giving day at the house). I did brine them for about 12 hours beforehand too. They were amazing, I am not a big turkey guy, but we cooked two of them, and the leftovers didn't last long. I have done several chickens, and also several bags of chicken wings. Even those cheap frozen wings turn out great.

I use the kingsford charcoal, and the weber wood chunks. Once that temp is dialed in, you're all good. You can also use the WSM as a charcoal grill, the upper lid doesn't fit perfectly, but it works for burgers, brats and whatnot.

I looked at both the 18" and 22" and remembered what you said here about the door and decided to go with the 22". Ordered from Amazon this morning just in time for the holiday weekend, it arrives Friday. I'll probably mess with it a little bit and do something small on Saturday and then do a pork butt Sunday. It's been well over a year since I've done any smoking so I'm pretty excited.

Congrats, TC. Enjoy that beast.

Got a butt coming out of the smoke in another 7 degrees.

Flea wrote:Got a butt coming out of the smoke in another 7 degrees.

Tomorrow on the butt for me. Have two slabs of St. Louis Ribs in now getting to know the WSM. Had some potatoes in with them, now making twice baked out of them. Ribs have another hour.

I'm still digging your rub.

Flea wrote:I'm still digging your rub.

In retrospect, that's a bit of a "Get a room!" comment, isn't it?

Flea wrote:I'm still digging your rub.

It's a good one, thanks. I'm actually trying a new one, or really a variation, this weekend with some different aromatics including galangal, star anise and some valencia orange peel. Was good on the ribs yesterday. Butts going on the smoker in 30 minutes.

Flea wrote:

Flea wrote:I'm still digging your rub.

In retrospect, that's a bit of a "Get a room!" comment, isn't it?

Well I guess there's no need to for me to make a snide comment after all. Damn.

To add to this conversation: damn, that's a fine looking slab of meat you've got there, TC.

Yesterday's cook. Same rub as the ribs, applewood smoke.. Locked in at about 232° and cooked for 11 1/2 hours. Served with a homemade cherry cream soda barbecue sauce. Delicious.





For all y'all that recommended the WSM, thank you! Love this tool! I was decent at smoking meat before but this is like moving to a circular saw from a handsaw. The even temps, the long cook time and frankly just the heft of this thing and you know you're working with serious equipment. Thanks again.