So I got a WSM...

[Baboontyme 2809]

Do not worry too much about pit temp. Worry more about meat temp and when it will be "done". 

[dcbc 14465]

20 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

top.  Next to the meat

Make sure you get it a bit toward the center so it doesn't read slightly hot from the heat on the edge, outside the water pan.

[Chico_SA 521]

Thanks guys. And to whomever recommended the SMOKE probe, thank you. I'm being spoiled early. The receiver seems to be spot on, so I can stay inside and binge some Netflix

[mdleast 8289]

Did a quick tri-tip cook tonight (actually only my second time to ever do one I realized). Not my best work but yet also, pretty tasty.

[immortal13 4059]

Looks well done

[Baboontyme 2809]

The sear looks great. That's all I'm gonna say about that. Glad you enjoyed. + rep

[Chico_SA 521]

So...My first brisket was a little dry. Nice flavor but I definitely left it on too long.  Chopped it up and made some chili.

One of the potential issues was that my Smoke ambient temperature probe was running about 25 degrees HIGHER than the WSM lid thermometer. I expected the opposite and wasn't quite sure how to deal with it so I ended up adjusting things way to much toward the end.   The probe was on the top grate about 2 inches from the brisket. 

Thoughts?

I have the 22.5 .  Also, I filled that grate to the top using Minion method and never had to add anything.  According to the lid thermometer, it was hitting 275 at 15 hours. 

Edited July 17, 2018 by Chico_SA

[Baboontyme 2809]

Worry less about the cooking surface temperature and more about the temp of the flat. Start probing it when it's around 195 in the center and pull it when it's probe tender in most of the flat. 

[luke duke 6412]

Did a quick tri-tip cook tonight (actually only my second time to ever do one I realized). Not my best work but yet also, pretty tasty.

[mdleast 8289]

Yup I was trying to strike a balance between my wife’s preference of, at most, medium to medium-well and my medium-rare to medium. I was aiming for a medium cooked meat and had probed right at that level but, as you can see, it overshot and ended up being well done instead. Still, as I said before and to refute some of you Uber BBQ dorks, it was still pretty tasty.

[dcbc 14465]

So...My first brisket was a little dry. Nice flavor but I definitely left it on too long.  Chopped it up and made some chili.
One of the potential issues was that my Smoke ambient temperature probe was running about 25 degrees HIGHER than the WSM lid thermometer. I expected the opposite and wasn't quite sure how to deal with it so I ended up adjusting things way to much toward the end.   The probe was on the top grate about 2 inches from the brisket. 
Thoughts?
I have the 22.5 .  Also, I filled that grate to the top using Minion method and never had to add anything.  According to the lid thermometer, it was hitting 275 at 15 hours. 

How close to the edge was your probe? Too close to the edge and it will read high as a result of the gap between the water pan and the edge. Your assumption is correct. Lid should read hotter than either grate.

[TornACL 7698]

51 minutes ago, dcbc said:

13 hours ago, Chico_SA said:

 

How close to the edge was your probe? Too close to the edge and it will read high as a result of the gap between the water pan and the edge. Your assumption is correct. Lid should read hotter than either grate.

My lid always runs 20-25 degrees lower than the probe. I always assumed it was mainly because the lid gauge sucks ass.

Edited July 17, 2018 by TornACL

[Hank_Hill 18789]

My lid reads much lower.

[thunderlounge 7813]

I don’t care a out, nor pay attention to the lid temp. 

[dcbc 14465]

14 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

I don’t care a out, nor pay attention to the lid temp. 

This is the real takeaway.

Mine runs hotter and the consensus on virtual bullet is that that is the case, but it's a ymmv situation since those lid thermometers are worthless.

 

http://virtualweberbullet.com/measuretemp.html

Edited July 17, 2018 by dcbc

[stc 1460]

the lid gauge is consistent but not accurate. i've never used an additional probe on the grate, the lid gauge lets me know if the temp is consistent, that's all that matters. if my lid gauge is sitting between 225-250 i've never had a problem. 

[Chico_SA 521]

10 hours ago, dcbc said:

This is the real takeaway.

Mine runs hotter and the consensus on virtual bullet is that that is the case, but it's a ymmv situation since those lid thermometers are worthless.

 

http://virtualweberbullet.com/measuretemp.html

And that is what I expected.  I''ll probably do another this weekend so I'll compare. 

[Lhorn 4909]

15 hours ago, mdleast said:

Yup I was trying to strike a balance between my wife’s preference of, at most, medium to medium-well and my medium-rare to medium. I was aiming for a medium cooked meat and had probed right at that level but, as you can see, it overshot and ended up being well done instead. Still, as I said before and to refute some of you Uber BBQ dorks, it was still pretty tasty.

Looks tasty.  How did you cook it?  Low and slow or hot and fast?  Smoked or just grilled? 

[mdleast 8289]

I did the hot and fast cook recipe from the Weber Virtual Bullet website. Only in the smoker for a max of 45-50 minutes. Think that’s the main reason I ended up with well cooked meat (also my porn star name). While I pulled it to sear for 5 minutes right when it was probing as “medium” I think the 5 minutes of searing and 10 minutes rest gave it time to then move up to well done status. Still tasty at well done but not what I normally shoot for.

[dcbc 14465]

I asked about this on TOS and have been looking for it for a while, but it seemed like it either didn't exist or was more than I wanted to pay.

What I wanted was a temperature probe setup that linked up to the wifi so I could monitor pit and meat temps remotely, or, at the least, wouldn't be limited in range by Bluetooth.

On Thursday, I was at WalMart and went to the grilling area to grab some charcoal.  While I was there, I noticed a $24 "WiFi" probe by "ProGrade."  I grabbed it just to see if it was worth a damn.  It's only got one probe and I'm running a Maverick dual probe monitor closer to the pit.  But since I have two briskets going, I stick this probe into one of them and downloaded the app.  It's bare bones, but it works like a charm.  The puck is rechargeable via USB and has been going for 13 hours now.  Not sure if I have the alarm setup correctly, but we shall see.  In the future, I might run the pit temp probe to it instead.  Pretty excited  about this cheap find.

[thunderlounge 7813]

Nice find for the price. 

I’m fixin to throw on a couple racks of ribs for dinner. 

[dad 557]

Smoking some beef cheeks for the first time today. Will post results if it came out great otherwise I forgot to post pics because it was so delicious.

[Mojo Hand 4580]

How's the thermaworks smoke system compared to the Maverick?  Is that where those charts of smoking progress I've seen here are from? 

Edited July 21, 2018 by Mojo Hand

[dcbc 14465]

3 hours ago, Mojo Hand said:

How's the thermaworks smoke system compared to the Maverick?  Is that where those charts of smoking progress I've seen here are from? 

What is it that you're looking for that you're not getting from the Maverick.  I was messing around with the cheapo wifi probe I got this week and it appears to have a temp chart screen buried somewhere in the app.  So far, other than range, the Maverick dual temp probe/receiver has worked well for me.

[Mojo Hand 4580]

20 minutes ago, dcbc said:

What is it that you're looking for that you're not getting from the Maverick.  I was messing around with the cheapo wifi probe I got this week and it appears to have a temp chart screen buried somewhere in the app.  So far, other than range, the Maverick dual temp probe/receiver has worked well for me.

Range, mostly.  But I also like those charts. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

Charts? Hell, my iGrill does charts, and across 4 probes. Bluetooth of course, so I set my tablet up and leave it. The range is ok, but not great. Maverick was a little better.

Wi-fi on the iGrill would be tits, as that's my only bitch about it really. (Well, that and I can't set a meat temp alert higher than 200*, thanks to a recent update. Work around is setting a temp range instead. The 4 probes come in pretty fucking handy from time to time though.

[dcbc 14465]

Wifi really is the ideal connection, and it apparently can be done for cheap and with plenty of battery life left over based on the POS I bought that worked flawlessly.  Just wish it was dual probe, but that's not a deal breaker.  It's pretty much the gold standard for range. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

Definitely. The iGrill I’m using now lasts forever on batteries. 2 AA and I’ve changed them once in almost 3 years, cooking at least 20 times a year with it. 

[dcbc 14465]

Anyone here built or bought a charcoal basket for their WSM?  A 13 lb bag of charcoal will get me 12 hours on my WSM.  It's easy enough to add more, but it seems like it would be pretty cheap to get a #9 expanded metal basket welded up the same diameter as the charcoal ring, but at twice the height so that once I have it going, I don't have to mess with the fuel again.

[WhatTheBuck 28773]

34 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Anyone here built or bought a charcoal basket for their WSM?  A 13 lb bag of charcoal will get me 12 hours on my WSM.  It's easy enough to add more, but it seems like it would be pretty cheap to get a #9 expanded metal basket welded up the same diameter as the charcoal ring, but at twice the height so that once I have it going, I don't have to mess with the fuel again.

Wouldn't the water pan get in the way?

[dcbc 14465]

58 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Wouldn't the water pan get in the way?

I think there's some clearance under there.

[WhatTheBuck 28773]

Just now, dcbc said:

I think there's some clearance under there.

I don't think there's that much. I've only used an 18.5" but I've had some conflicts with a pile of charcoal/wood chunks and the water pan before. If you doubled the height of the fire ring on an 18.5" then i don't think the water pan would fit. Maybe the 22" is different. I don't know which one you have. 

[dcbc 14465]

11 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I don't think there's that much. I've only used an 18.5" but I've had some conflicts with a pile of charcoal/wood chunks and the water pan before. If you doubled the height of the fire ring on an 18.5" then i don't think the water pan would fit. Maybe the 22" is different. I don't know which one you have. 

There's a lot of room on the 22".  The link below is for a stainless basket for the 22.  It comes with a grate.  It's not cheap, but it's also $45 to ship, which makes it a tougher sell.  It's overkill, but it looks nice.  It's 8" tall (comes up to the edge of the lower portion of the WSM) and holds 37 lbs of charcoal. 

 

http://arborfab.com/Charcoal-Ring-for-Weber-Smokey-Mountain-Grill-185-225_p_127.html

Edited July 22, 2018 by dcbc

[WhatTheBuck 28773]

2 minutes ago, dcbc said:

There's a lot of room on the 22".  The link below is for a stainless basket for the 22.  It comes with a grate.  It's not cheap, but it's also $45 to ship, which makes it a tougher sell.  It's overkill, but it looks nice.  It's 8" tall (comes up to the edge of the lower portion of the WSM) and holds 37 lbs of charcoal. 

 

http://arborfab.com/Charcoal-Ring-for-Weber-Smokey-Mountain-Grill-185-225_p_127.html

Yeah, I was thinking back to episodes of Steven Raichlen's shows that I've seen and I recalled the water pan on the 22" being much shallower than on the 18.5".  On the 18.5" it's roughly hemispherical. It's fairly deep.

Fwiw, I haven't found it to be any problem when the coals are really close to or in contact with the water pan. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

I’m curious as to how you’re eating so much charcoal. A full bag of blue and I’m good to go. I prefer stubbs, which is a little smaller bag, but rarely need more than a bag of that either  

The only times I’ve really needed more has been if it’s windy. By the time it needed more, I just added a few good handfuls, which was about a chimneys worth in volume. Of course stuff was wrapped by then, so a little ash in the air didn’t matter. 

I haven’t had that problem since building the shack, and wind now has zero effect on fuel consumption. 

[dcbc 14465]

2 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Yeah, I was thinking back to episodes of Steven Raichlen's shows that I've seen and I recalled the water pan on the 22" being much shallower than on the 18.5".  On the 18.5" it's roughly hemispherical. It's fairly deep.

Fwiw, I haven't found it to be any problem when the coals are really close to or in contact with the water pan. 

My understanding is that they increased the size of the pan on the 22" at some point.  I've only owned it for about 9 months.  So I figure this is the larger version.  In any event, I don't think that basket is going to get things too close if it is an issue. 

[dcbc 14465]

5 minutes ago, thunderlounge said:

I’m curious as to how you’re eating so much charcoal. A full bag of blue and I’m good to go. I prefer stubbs, which is a little smaller bag, but rarely need more than a bag of that either  

The only times I’ve really needed more has been if it’s windy. By the time it needed more, I just added a few good handfuls, which was about a chimneys worth in volume. Of course stuff was wrapped by then, so a little ash in the air didn’t matter. 

I haven’t had that problem since building the shack, and wind now has zero effect on fuel consumption. 

 I run mine on our covered porch.  I have a ceiling fan going just to keep the smoke from getting bad in the area.  I don't think that's effecting much at the intake point. 

A full back of Kingsford fills up the charcoal ring on the 22" WSM.  I add a few fist sized wood chunks and light it off with about 10--12 hot coals in the center.  At the 12 hour point, the temp starts to drop off and I have to add some more charcoal.  When I'm at temp, I'm running the lid exhaust vent wide open.  I have two intake vents closed off and one open only about 1/3 of the way.  It holds temp very consistently.  Fuel consumption is consistent, too. 

Edited July 22, 2018 by dcbc

[dad 557]

Beef cheeks came out amazing. 

 

 

[thunderlounge 7813]

Wild. I’ll start 25-30 lit, and run 250ish, and wrap with paper at about 150-155. Typically have 2 vents craked open once to temp, 3rd is pretty much permanently closed. Top vent always full open. 

Kind of interesting how each one is just slightly different on the specifics, but overall characteristics remain constant. 

[dcbc 14465]

1 hour ago, thunderlounge said:

Wild. I’ll start 25-30 lit, and run 250ish, and wrap with paper at about 150-155. Typically have 2 vents craked open once to temp, 3rd is pretty much permanently closed. Top vent always full open. 

Kind of interesting how each one is just slightly different on the specifics, but overall characteristics remain constant. 

For sure.  I don't really care about having to use a little extra charcoal as long as the temperature is easy to maintain.  Mine leaks at the lid a bit, and I think a gasket may be in order there.  But the rest of it seals up well ever since I got that Cajun Bandit Door. 

[immortal13 4059]

2 hours ago, dcbc said:

For sure.  I don't really care about having to use a little extra charcoal as long as the temperature is easy to maintain.  Mine leaks at the lid a bit, and I think a gasket may be in order there.  But the rest of it seals up well ever since I got that Cajun Bandit Door. 

The lid gasket is totally worth it

[thunderlounge 7813]

2 hours ago, dcbc said:

For sure.  I don't really care about having to use a little extra charcoal as long as the temperature is easy to maintain.  Mine leaks at the lid a bit, and I think a gasket may be in order there.  But the rest of it seals up well ever since I got that Cajun Bandit Door. 

I haven’t done anything to mine yet. Shit, the grommet for probes was toast early last year, and I haven’t replaced it yet. Only difference is the shack. I’m thinking about building a 3-sided break out of some scrap plywood I have laying around, just to see if that works as well. The shack is great, but all the heat cycles do take their toll. 

[dcbc 14465]

I tried to do a gasket around my OEM door, but it was hit and miss.  I'll order some more and do the lid at some point. Mine's probably a bit out of round.  I'd do the bear hug thing, but my door seals so well, I figure why mess that up.

Also, I recently started using 2 clay pot bases in my pan instead of water.  Much easier to control temperature, but it may have extended cooking times and fuel usage. 

Edited July 23, 2018 by dcbc

[thunderlounge 7813]

I use water for 250 or less. 275+ and I do without. I quit foiling the pan, and instead just foil the bottom rack. Cleanup is way easier, and no greasy water. 

[dcbc 14465]

3 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

I use water for 250 or less. 275+ and I do without. I quit foiling the pan, and instead just foil the bottom rack. Cleanup is way easier, and no greasy water. 

I switched to two clay pot bases in the foiled pan.  Temperature has never been so easy to dial in.  Water was a pain for me since there's no hose bib close.  I don't think the moisture factor makes much of a difference.  But the main reason I switched is that a 3/4 full water pan would boil off over the length of the cook and as it did, temperature crept up.  With the clay pot bases, the heat sink effectiveness isn't a moving target.

[Hank_Hill 18789]

Yea ever since one of the brackets for the bowl broke and spilled water over my perfectly lit coals I've stopped using water. 

[baboso 6054]

dcbc, Cajun Bandit sells a larger charcoal ring that allows you to put more fuel in.  Check it out.

[dcbc 14465]

38 minutes ago, baboso said:

dcbc, Cajun Bandit sells a larger charcoal ring that allows you to put more fuel in.  Check it out.

That's right.  I forgot they had one.  I'll give it a look. 

Edited July 23, 2018 by dcbc

[dcbc 14465]

Looks like the CB ring is the same height and only about 1.25" wider in diameter.  I think I'll keep my eye out for something bigger or just have something welded up locally.  In the meantime, I've ordered a gasket kit for the lid and am going to see how much charcoal I can cram into the stock ring since I have seen videos where people are pouring 21 lb bags into them.

Edited July 23, 2018 by dcbc

[Clintonaldo 2572]

I dropped my fucking lid on the 22 and warped it but was able to straighten it back out almost perfect but now it is bothering me. I am not having much luck finding just a lid. Any ideas?