So I got a WSM...

[Spur08 384]

I dunno. I listed it for $200. I'd do something close

[McFly 606]

On 5/31/2019 at 11:58 AM, WhatTheBuck said:

Whatever you're smoking, there's always room for sausages. Take advantage of any extra space during a smoke. That's something I never thought of before reading the thread on the old site. Yet it's so obvious.

So true.  I never have just one thing on the smoker.  Bacon wrapped jalapeño poppers are quick and easy, and nice snack while you're waiting for the meat to finish.

[luke duke 6,447]

I dunno. I listed it for $200. I'd do something close

$201?

[Gil Bang 26,178]

So, we have a beach condo available to us starting Saturday. Right on the fucking sand. GF wants to throw a party for her work friends on Sunday.

 

Place doesn’t allow bbq/grills.

 

GF wants me to smoke a pork butt for Sunday afternoon. I live 30 mins away. Ideally I’d like to throw it on the smoker Saturday early, smoke it as long as necessary to maximize the flavor, then haul ass to the beachhouse where I can throw it in the oven immediately or toss in the fridge and finish Sunday morning. [mention=286]champkind[/mention] and others, recommendations por favor.

 

[Baboontyme 2,876]

I had to do one in a pinch a couple of weekends ago and I didn't have time to do all the clean up and transfer, etc in the morning. I threw it on around 7 that night, around 300, and pulled it around midnight. It already had a decent bark forming. Put it in the crock pot on low overnight and just took the crock pot with me in the morning. It was fanfuckingtastic. Had the smoke, the bark, and finishing in the crock pot allowed it to collect juices while it cooked. I actually think it was probably better than one finished all the way on the pit. 

[luke duke 6,447]

I actually think it was probably better than one finished all the way on the pit. 

[dcbc 14,643]

14 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

So, we have a beach condo available to us starting Saturday. Right on the fucking sand. GF wants to throw a party for her work friends on Sunday.

 

Place doesn’t allow bbq/grills.

 

GF wants me to smoke a pork butt for Sunday afternoon. I live 30 mins away. Ideally I’d like to throw it on the smoker Saturday early, smoke it as long as necessary to maximize the flavor, then haul ass to the beachhouse where I can throw it in the oven immediately or toss in the fridge and finish Sunday morning. [mention=286]champkind[/mention] and others, recommendations por favor.

 

I traveled with brisket that I finished too far in advance to just toss in a cooler.  I tried keeping it warm in the oven for an extended period (cycling the oven to keep it at about 150 internal (wrapped in foil and paper after a full smoke.  Dried out the flat, but the point was good.  If I were doing it again and had that long of a lag between done smoking and serving, I'd rest, refrigerate, and reheat to 145 F or so when I got to the destination.

I've never half smoked and crock potted for an extended period of time before, but that probably would work.  I've found the crock pot briskets to be a bit soft versus what I'm going for with a smoked brisket.

If you guys have the condo for an extended period of time, just stay at your place on Saturday for an overnight smoke and bring the brisket in the cooler on Sunday.  Or get the WSM going at your place overnight, drive to the beach for the night, get up early to come tend the brisket the next morning, and bring it back in a cooler for Sunday afternoon.  As long as the smoker is clear of anything flammable, it's not much different than going to sleep while it's doing its WSM thing.  WalMart has some cheap ($25) wifi temp probes that you can monitor from anywhere on your phone.  Plug in a cheap webcam outside and you can keep an eye on the WSM from the beach. 

That's all to say that ideally, you smoke the thing on the WSM and bring it to the party ready to slice.  You're place is close enough that I think that is a viable option.

 

[Gil Bang 26,178]

1 minute ago, dcbc said:

I traveled with brisket that I finished too far in advance to just toss in a cooler.  I tried keeping it warm in the oven for an extended period (cycling the oven to keep it at about 150 internal (wrapped in foil and paper after a full smoke.  Dried out the flat, but the point was good.  If I were doing it again and had that long of a lag between done smoking and serving, I'd rest, refrigerate, and reheat to 145 F or so when I got to the destination.

I've never half smoked and crock potted for an extended period of time before, but that probably would work.  I've found the crock pot briskets to be a bit soft versus what I'm going for with a smoked brisket.

If you guys have the condo for an extended period of time, just stay at your place on Saturday for an overnight smoke and bring the brisket in the cooler on Sunday.  Or get the WSM going at your place overnight, drive to the beach for the night, get up early to come tend the brisket the next morning, and bring it back in a cooler for Sunday afternoon.  As long as the smoker is clear of anything flammable, it's not much different than going to sleep while it's doing its WSM thing.  WalMart has some cheap ($25) wifi temp probes that you can monitor from anywhere on your phone.  Plug in a cheap webcam outside and you can keep an eye on the WSM from the beach. 

That's all to say that ideally, you smoke the thing on the WSM and bring it to the party ready to slice.  You're place is close enough that I think that is a viable option.

 

Thanks, but I'm doing pork, not brisket.

[dcbc 14,643]

10 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Thanks, but I'm doing pork, not brisket.

Throw it in the crock pot after smoke.  'twill be deliciousness.

[Landomatic 3,813]

2 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

Thanks, but I'm doing pork, not brisket.

Oh well then just do whatever.  You can’t fuck up a butt...or so I’ve been told.

[Gil Bang 26,178]

So the pork butts I bought are on the small side.  About 4 lbs each, I have 3 of them.  I'm liking the crock pot idea.  So, if I smoke for 5-6 hours, is that enough?  Then, how long in the crock pot.  Will they be OK for 24 hours or so?  '

Start smoke 0600, pull at 1200 or so, put in crock pot (on low) and then serve 24 hours later?   

That's a long time in the crock pot. 

Help. 

[Baboontyme 2,876]

Geez with 4 lb butts you could have them done on the WSM if you cook at 275/300 for 5-6 hours. Then you could wrap and refrigerate and pop in the crock pot the next day on high 2-3 hours before you guys want to eat. You definitely don't want to smoke for 5-6 hours and then crock for 24 hours. I mean the crock is essentially the same as the oven, just a nice easy container and will help you retain some juice as fat continues to render. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Baboontyme

[TornACL 7,792]

Don't forget the pics of the female work friends.

And the GF. 

[Hank_Hill 19,794]

[Gil Bang 26,178]

Geez with 4 lb butts you could have them done on the WSM if you cook at 275/300 for 5-6 hours. Then you could wrap and refrigerate and pop in the crock pot the next day on high 2-3 hours before you guys want to eat. You definitely don't want to smoke for 5-6 hours and then crock for 24 hours. I mean the crock is essentially the same as the oven, just a nice easy container and will help you retain some juice as fat continues to render. 

Did this and it was a hit. Thank you

[BradInATX 9,208]

For you brisket masters, what's the general method you use on the WSM? I've done a couple with pretty meh results.

Last one I basically just watched Aaron Franklin's brisket videos and tried to replicate. Ran it at 250, S&P rub. Sprayed it once about 5 hours in with apple cider vinegar. Wrapped at about 8 hours (sprayed before wrapping). Started probing at about 190. At about 195 the point probed without resistance. Thought I was going to have a home run, but not so much. My flat was really dry. The point wasn't quite as dry, was plenty edible, but definitely not super moist.

Flavor and bark were great though.

Any ideas? Should I be spraying it down more? Wrap earlier?

Edited June 26, 2019 by BradInATX

[Anastasis 23,703]

12 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Any ideas? Should I be spraying it down more? Wrap earlier

Sounds like you pulled it too early. I am terrible at judging doneness based on wiggle or probing alone, so I go by temp and probing with particular focus on the flat. I go by franklins guidance looking for 203 as a minimum and letting the probe act as a confirmation. I generally find that things complete later than I think using probing subjectively or if temp checking the point.  Just my 2 cents. 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Anastasis

[Baboontyme 2,876]

You probed the wrong part for doneness. The point will probe done way earlier than the leaner flat. 

[TornACL 7,792]

Don't waste time spraying brisket imo. And if you absolutely must spray it, I wouldn't spray it with apple cider vinegar. 

 

[BradInATX 9,208]

45 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Sounds like you pulled it too early. I am terrible at judging doneness based on wiggle or probing alone, so I go by temp and probing with particular focus on the flat. I go by franklins guidance looking for 203 as a minimum and letting the probe act as a confirmation. I generally find that things complete later than I think using probing subjectively or if temp checking the point.  Just my 2 cents. 

Wouldn't it being dry mean it was pulled too  late?

 

32 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

You probed the wrong part for doneness. The point will probe done way earlier than the leaner flat. 

Same question as above. If I pulled too early, why was the flat and the brisket in general dry?

[Anastasis 23,703]

3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Wouldn't it being dry mean it was pulled too  late?

 

Same question as above. If I pulled too early, why was the flat and the brisket in general dry?

It seems counterintuitive, but dry is result of it being undercooked. 

[BradInATX 9,208]

4 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

It seems counterintuitive, but dry is result of it being undercooked. 

Huh.

Do you guys usually wrap? Or go the whole time or close without?

[dcbc 14,643]

55 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Huh.

Do you guys usually wrap? Or go the whole time or close without?

As mentioned above, you want to be probing the thick part of the flat for that warm v'butter doneness.  Too early, and it's dry.  When I wrap, it usually won't probe done until 209 or so.  If I don't wrap, it usually probes done closer to 200. 

For briskets on a 22.5" WSM, I will need about 20+ lbs of KBB briquettes and 3 fist size wood chunks.  Get about 12 coals white hot and dump in the middle. 

My usual plan is to cook around 238 F, i.e., where two lower vents are closed and one open to the width of a pencil likes to cook.  Might be higher; might be lower.  I usually put it on between 8--10 p.m. on a Friday night, make sure the temperature is stable, and go to bed.  Hot and fast temps would mean my getting up too early. 

I'll wake up the next morning around 8 or 9 and check the internal temp.  If it's below or in the stall (anywhere from 160--175), I may decide to wrap it in paper.  If it's higher than that, I'll let it go.  My experience is that wrapping only saves me about an hour and may require that I get up earlier than I like.  If I don't wrap, I may spritz with some ACV/Water mixture every hour or two.  I have clay pot bases in the foiled water pan and no water container in the cooker.  So a little moisture late doesn't seem like a bad idea.  If I stay up late, I may spritz early to help the bark set up or with the rub to help the pepper lay down (a la Champ).

After it's done, I let it rest (vented if I wrapped it) until it's about 160 F or so and put it in a cooler until time to serve if that's a matter of 4--5 hours or so.  A long rest in a cooler or oven goes a long way as far as tenderness.

Below is my most recent effort.  12 lbs.  No wrap.  On at 8 p.m., was probing done (around 203 F) when I got up at 8 a.m.

Edited June 26, 2019 by dcbc

[TornACL 7,792]

Dry = Pulled too soon

Falling apart and turning into chopped beef when you try to slice = Pulled too late

[BradInATX 9,208]

23 minutes ago, TornACL said:

Dry = Pulled too soon

Falling apart and turning into chopped beef when you try to slice = Pulled too late

 

24 minutes ago, dcbc said:

As mentioned above, you want to be probing the thick part of the flat for that warm v'butter doneness.  Too early, and it's dry.  When I wrap, it usually won't probe done until 209 or so.  If I don't wrap, it usually probes done closer to 200. 

For briskets on a 22.5" WSM, I will need about 20+ lbs of KBB briquettes and 3 fist size wood chunks.  Get about 12 coals white hot and dump in the middle. 

My usual plan is to cook around 238 F, i.e., where two lower vents are closed and one open to the width of a pencil likes to cook.  Might be higher; might be lower.  I usually put it on between 8--10 p.m. on a Friday night, make sure the temperature is stable, and go to bed.  Hot and fast temps would mean my getting up too early. 

I'll wake up the next morning around 8 or 9 and check the internal temp.  If it's below or in the stall (anywhere from 160--175), I may decide to wrap it in paper.  If it's higher than that, I'll let it go.  My experience is that wrapping only saves me about an hour and may require that I get up earlier than I like.  If I don't wrap, I may spritz with some ACV/Water mixture every hour or two.  I have clay pot bases in the foiled water pan and no water container in the cooker.  So a little moisture late doesn't seem like a bad idea.  If I stay up late, I may spritz early to help the bark set up or with the rub to help the pepper lay down (a la Champ).

After it's done, I let it rest (vented if I wrapped it) until it's about 160 F or so and put it in a cooler until time to serve if that's a matter of 4--5 hours or so.  A long rest in a cooler or oven goes a long way as far as tenderness.

Below is my most recent effort.  12 lbs.  No wrap.  On at 8 p.m., was probing done (around 203 F) when I got up at 8 a.m.

Awesome. Thanks for the heads up.

 

 

Crazy that it's dry if it's early. Dumb question amnesty and whatnot - but how does a piece of meat get more moist as it cooks to a higher temp? 

[Hank_Hill 19,794]

Rendered vs unrendered tissue. Think of small strands of butter running through the meat that hasnt had the chance to melt yet. 

Edited June 26, 2019 by Hank_Hill

[BradInATX 9,208]

Cool. Makes sense.

One more question while we're at it. I hear about people getting 8-12 hours from a basket of coals. I can't seem to make that happen. This last smoke I burned Kingsford, used the method dcbc described (6-7 hot coals in center of full basket), was running it with 2 vents closed and one about half open, and I got about 6 hours before I needed to reload with coal. My vents are in pretty good shape, I have the cajun bandit door, but I don't seem to be able to get the same amount of smoke time as others say they do. Any thoughts? On the 18.5 WSM

[dcbc 14,643]

50 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Cool. Makes sense.

One more question while we're at it. I hear about people getting 8-12 hours from a basket of coals. I can't seem to make that happen. This last smoke I burned Kingsford, used the method dcbc described (6-7 hot coals in center of full basket), was running it with 2 vents closed and one about half open, and I got about 6 hours before I needed to reload with coal. My vents are in pretty good shape, I have the cajun bandit door, but I don't seem to be able to get the same amount of smoke time as others say they do. Any thoughts? On the 18.5 WSM

Overfill the basket.  I can get 20 hours out of the 22.5, but I have to load well over what it looks like is maxed out, which requires some careful piling above the height of the basket.  An extra grate below the charcoal grate to form a criss cross pattern helps keep the coals from falling too soon.  A lid gasket helps as well.  CB door is a good option, too.  But mostly, it's putting more charcoal in the basket than you think you can.

Edited June 26, 2019 by dcbc

[BradInATX 9,208]

4 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Overfill the basket.  I can get 20 hours out of the 22.5, but I have to load well over what it looks like is maxed out, which requires some careful piling above the height of the basket.  An extra grate below the charcoal grate to form a criss cross pattern helps keep the coals from falling too soon.  A lid gasket helps as well.  CB door is a good option, too.  But mostly, it's putting more charcoal in the basket than you think you can.

Cool. Will try that on my next smoke. Definitely have not been doing that - probably filling to a half inch below the top of the ring.

[dcbc 14,643]

3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Cool. Will try that on my next smoke. Definitely have not been doing that - probably filling to a half inch below the top of the ring.

Yeah, definitely load it up.  The 18" is more efficient than the 22", but you definitely need lots of fuel for a packer brisket cook.

[WhatTheBuck 28,904]

2 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Cool. Will try that on my next smoke. Definitely have not been doing that - probably filling to a half inch below the top of the ring.

The 18.5" has a narrower and deeper water pan than the 22.5." You can't overfill the fire basket as much without the water pan sitting directly on the coals. Fill it up as much as you can but in my experience you're not going to get a lot more cooking time than you already are without having to add more coals. 

[dcbc 14,643]

Speaking of the water pan, are you using water?  I'm a fan of the clay pot bases (a nested pair) in the water pan because, unlike water, they don't evaporate and are a more constant heat sink over long cooks.  When I used water in brisket cooks, I was having to add it toward the last quarter of the cook.  While that's not hard, it's a moving target as far as its purpose of being a heat sink.

[baboso 6,102]

I've been doing the minion method with a split oak log (from Academy) in the middle of the charcoal basket and have had good luck getting 15+ hours on my 18.5.  Cajun Bandit sells a charcoal ring that is wider and holds more than the Weber one also.

[Baboontyme 2,876]

Brad, there is lots of good info here that will probably help you. I assume your water pan was full? That helps as a heat sink tremendously (or like dcbc said, filling it with sand or clay pots or something else).

The other thing I was thinking - it may or may not help you - try something other than Kingsford. I don't use it because I can taste a difference. Some others say they don't notice a difference. But other briquettes might give you longer burn time. There are some good options in the Whatcha smoking with thread. 

B&B briquettes

Cowboy briquettes

Royal Oak briquettes (some people had a bad experience a few years ago, but there was talk of a fire or something at the factory that affected product at that time. I've used recently from Lowe's and had zero issues)

It's been ages since I tried lump in a WSM but my guess would be it would burn too fast and temps would spike, so I would stick with briquettes, but do some experimenting with different brands and see if that makes a difference for you. 

[Spur08 384]

What do yall typically pull your turkey breasts at?

[Baboontyme 2,876]

160 personally. I know some do 155. 

[dcbc 14,643]

1 hour ago, Baboontyme said:

160 personally. I know some do 155. 

I think I pulled the one I did at Thanksgiving at 155 based on what I'd read at the time.  Twas delicious.

 

[Spur08 384]

Twas delicious

[TornACL 7,792]

On 6/28/2019 at 7:25 AM, Baboontyme said:

Brad, there is lots of good info here that will probably help you. I assume your water pan was full? That helps as a heat sink tremendously (or like dcbc said, filling it with sand or clay pots or something else).

The other thing I was thinking - it may or may not help you - try something other than Kingsford. I don't use it because I can taste a difference. Some others say they don't notice a difference. But other briquettes might give you longer burn time. There are some good options in the Whatcha smoking with thread. 

B&B briquettes

Cowboy briquettes

Royal Oak briquettes (some people had a bad experience a few years ago, but there was talk of a fire or something at the factory that affected product at that time. I've used recently from Lowe's and had zero issues)

It's been ages since I tried lump in a WSM but my guess would be it would burn too fast and temps would spike, so I would stick with briquettes, but do some experimenting with different brands and see if that makes a difference for you. 

Are they still making Stubbs briquettes?  They used to have them at Lowe's or Home Depot but I haven't seen them recently. I really liked those over Kingsford. 

[Baboontyme 2,876]

No they are not. I think they may have just rebranded them as Cowboy briquettes, as Cowboy owned the Stubbs charcoal line. However, my local Lowe's don't sell Cowboy briquettes - only lump. I have been able to find it at Kroger. 

 

https://www.cowboycharcoal.com/where-to-buy

[dcbc 14,643]

As much as people say they can smell/taste KBB in the food, I think I might be the only person who tried Stubb's Briquettes and switched back to KBB because I couldn't take the odor of Stubb's.  I guess I just like the chemicals.  I don't smell or taste them and haven't had anyone else complain either.  Weird, I know.

[thunderlounge 8,331]

11 hours ago, Baboontyme said:

No they are not. I think they may have just rebranded them as Cowboy briquettes, as Cowboy owned the Stubbs charcoal line. However, my local Lowe's don't sell Cowboy briquettes - only lump. I have been able to find it at Kroger. 

 

https://www.cowboycharcoal.com/where-to-buy

 

This is true. B&B briquettes are a good substitute (stubbstitute?) as well. It’s very, very close, although the briquettes are about 1/3 bigger.

 

 

[TornACL 7,792]

It's summer, why the hell has this thread fallen off of page 1?  

Finally home for a weekend so I'm going to do some pork ribs and maybe throw a couple of cans of spam on that smoker to slice onto crackers while I'm drunk. Why? Because yolo that's why. 

 

[Gil Bang 26,178]

1 hour ago, TornACL said:

It's summer, why the hell has this thread fallen off of page 1?  

Finally home for a weekend so I'm going to do some pork ribs and maybe throw a couple of cans of spam on that smoker to slice onto crackers while I'm drunk. Why? Because yolo that's why. 

 

see you on the shank thread

[BabaYaga 15,533]

1 hour ago, TornACL said:

a couple of cans of spam

My man.

[52-80 19,374]

Yo.  What's everyone's go-to pork spare ribs?

 

BRITU?  3-2-1?  Franklins?  Or just salt and pepper and straight smoking without foiling, basting, spraying, tenting, etc...?

[Anastasis 23,703]

3-2-1 concept, salt and pepper, some butter into the foil. What is BRITU?

[dcbc 14,643]

Best ribs I have done to date were a couple of racks of spares on the WSM at about 240 for 5 hours.  Dry rubbed, spritzed on the regular after the 2 hour mark. 

[Gil Bang 26,178]

3-2-1, dry rubbed, squeeze parkay and honey in the foil.  Champ once mentioned this technique, and it works very well.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Gil Bang

[52-80 19,374]

36 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

3-2-1 concept, salt and pepper, some butter into the foil. What is BRITU?

pretty famous rub and process.  first thing i ever did when i got my WSM.  turned out really really good, but now im of the mood that having a 10-ingredient spice mix is probably unecessary

 

https://virtualweberbullet.com/best-ribs-in-the-universe-by-mike-scrutchfield.html