So I got a WSM...

[solamente73 1132]

16 hours ago, dcbc said:

How long has he had it?  I'm all about gadgets for making life easier, but I can hold temps with little to no effort just by closing down two vents and closing the third down to the size of a pencil. 

He’s had it for a couple of years.  Yes, learning your pit before turning it over to a computer is a moral imperative, but I think his inquiry is part looking for convenience and part just looking to play with a new gadget.

[luke duke 6412]

Get him a butt plug. That will take care of the gadget part.

[solamente73 1132]

I said new gadget.  He’s got plenty of butt plugs already.

[BradInATX 9208]

So I recently bought a used WSM to start getting my feet wet on serious smoking. I've done some rib smokes in a Weber kettle, and chickens before, which turned out okay, but wanted to go next level.

 

Did a small pork butt yesterday as my first attempt on the WSM. Pretty much watched Aaron Franklin's pork butt video and did exactly what he did. Ran it at 275, pulled at 203 degrees, foil wrap for an hour, and done. It turned out amazing as far as the cook. Great bark, fell apart, texture like butter. Only issue I had was that the bark was a bit salty. I used Franklin's rub, which is basically half salt half pepper with dashes of paprika, and onion/garlic. Any idea what happened there? Obviously I can just use a bit less salt next time, but trying to figure out how I ended up too salty, when using the Franklin recipe. I've had Franklin pulled pork and never found it overly salty.

 

Requisite pics.. was not DAF, would eat again.

[mdleast 8289]

I’m at work and so I don’t have access to my copy of his book but doesn’t he say 2 parts pepper to 1 part salt on all pork (as well as turkey) whereas the rub for beef is 1 to 1?

[BradInATX 9208]

4 minutes ago, mdleast said:

I’m at work and so I don’t have access to my copy of his book but doesn’t he say 2 parts pepper to 1 part salt on all pork (as well as turkey) whereas the rub for beef is 1 to 1?

I believe, at least in the video I watched, that it was half and half. But I was drinking beer.

[77horn 216]

It may be the grind of the salt/pepper.  Table grind salt will have twice the weight of coarse with a given volume.

[dcbc 14465]

In the PBS series, he does use 1:1 Coarse Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper by volume with the rest of the rub being very small amounts. 

I've made my pork shoulder rubs just like that for the last year and have not found them to be too salty.  It might be less about the ratio and more about how much salt you used (since you say it was a small pork shoulder).  Or, you might just like it less salty, in which case, as you mention, you could use less salt. 

A lot of people on here say to do the ratio by weight rather than volume.  But in the video, he's going by volume, which is what I have taken to doing as well. 

End product looks delicious for what it's worth.

Edited November 4, 2018 by dcbc

[elfenix 34223]

Coarse pepper to kosher by weight ends up 2 or 3 to one by volume.

[Baboontyme 2809]

I need some new innards for my WSM. The brackets are so malleable that they won't hold the water pan any longer. Even empty. When the pit warms up, it falls into the charcoal ring. 

I also need a new door. Cajun bandit right?

[baboso 6054]

Yessir.

[TornACL 7698]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 10:45 AM, dcbc said:

In the PBS series, he does use 1:1 Coarse Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper by volume with the rest of the rub being very small amounts. 

I've made my pork shoulder rubs just like that for the last year and have not found them to be too salty.  It might be less about the ratio and more about how much salt you used (since you say it was a small pork shoulder).  Or, you might just like it less salty, in which case, as you mention, you could use less salt. 

A lot of people on here say to do the ratio by weight rather than volume.  But in the video, he's going by volume, which is what I have taken to doing as well. 

End product looks delicious for what it's worth.

Doing the ratio by weight seems a bit ridiculous. 50/50, eyeball it, rub that shit on the brisket, and get on with life.

[BradInATX 9208]

In the PBS series, he does use 1:1 Coarse Kosher Salt and Coarse Black Pepper by volume with the rest of the rub being very small amounts. 
I've made my pork shoulder rubs just like that for the last year and have not found them to be too salty.  It might be less about the ratio and more about how much salt you used (since you say it was a small pork shoulder).  Or, you might just like it less salty, in which case, as you mention, you could use less salt. 
A lot of people on here say to do the ratio by weight rather than volume.  But in the video, he's going by volume, which is what I have taken to doing as well. 
End product looks delicious for what it's worth.

Definitely like things pretty salty. I think i may have just gone too heavy on the rub period. Going to fire another one up this weekend and try a little lighter on the rub. See how it goes.

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[Landomatic 3813]

4 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Definitely like things pretty salty. I think i may have just gone too heavy on the rub period. Going to fire another one up this weekend and try a little lighter on the rub. See how it goes.

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What kind of salt did you use?  I use the Morton’s Kosher salt and the Franklin video 1:1 thing was fine.  That salt has kind of a light flaky texture which is similar in size and shape to a coarse ground pepper.  However, I think if you tried it with a salt that’s more dense, like a regular table salt or especially some of those sea salts that are really stout, you could be fucked.

[BradInATX 9208]

What kind of salt did you use?  I use the Morton’s Kosher salt and the Franklin video 1:1 thing was fine.  That salt has kind of a light flaky texture which is similar in size and shape to a coarse ground pepper.  However, I think if you tried it with a salt that’s more dense, like a regular table salt or especially some of those sea salts that are really stout, you could be fucked.

It was Morton Kosher as well.

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[Landomatic 3813]

19 hours ago, BradInATX said:

It was Morton Kosher as well.

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Huh...not sure then.  I’ve always found Franklin’s 1:1 ratio to be about perfect.  I guess “salt to taste” is a real thing.

[BradInATX 9208]

Huh...not sure then.  I’ve always found Franklin’s 1:1 ratio to be about perfect.  I guess “salt to taste” is a real thing.

I'm thinking too much rub in general, because the paprika was pretty strong as well. Forgot i had a pic pre cook. How's this look? Too heavy handed?

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[Landomatic 3813]

3 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

I'm thinking too much rub in general, because the paprika was pretty strong as well. Forgot i had a pic pre cook. How's this look? Too heavy handed?

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Yeah that does look really thick.  How’d you even get it that thick?  I always applied as liberally as I could get it and mine never looks that thick.  It’s almost like you added some kind of starch to it?  Mine always has several spots with meat showing through.  Did you maybe pour a layer on top to somewhat pile it up then just move it straight to the smoker?  Like you didn’t dump the excess?  So the top had a much heavier rub than the rest?  I think mine have always been pretty equal on all surfaces.  So I let any pile up fall off.

I don’t know man...I’m just throwing darts because it interests me and I follow the same video tutorial as you.  But there are a ton of people on here who are much better at all of this than me.

[BradInATX 9208]

Yeah that does look really thick.  How’d you even get it that thick?  I always applied as liberally as I could get it and mine never looks that thick.  It’s almost like you added some kind of starch to it?  Mine always has several spots with meat showing through.  Did you maybe pour a layer on top to somewhat pile it up then just move it straight to the smoker?  Like you didn’t dump the excess?  So the top had a much heavier rub than the rest?  I think mine have always been pretty equal on all surfaces.  So I let any pile up fall off.

I don’t know man...I’m just throwing darts because it interests me and I follow the same video tutorial as you.  But there are a ton of people on here who are much better at all of this than me.

Rubbed w olive oil then basically dumped on and sorta rubbed it in. Definitely didn't shake or make any attempt to get the excess off. The excess on top probably just stayed piled on since it went from counter to grill looking like that. Thinking that was the mistake.

 

I'm doing another one sunday, I'm going to try a more reasonable amount of rub (and a much bigger butt now that i know it turns out so well). Will report back!

 

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[thunderlounge 7813]

How did you apply the rub? Is it possible the salt/pepper separated a bit and thus providing uneven mix in coverage?

I go higher on the pepper myself, but dayum that rub is thick on there and awful white lookin. 

[BradInATX 9208]

How did you apply the rub? Is it possible the salt/pepper separated a bit and thus providing uneven mix in coverage?
I go higher on the pepper myself, but dayum that rub is thick on there and awful white lookin. 

Just sorta threw it around in a solo cup. It was mixed fine. I went a little heavy on garlic powder vs. Franklins video, as my wife and I are both garlic junkies. Might explain the color.

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[Landomatic 3813]

9 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Rubbed w olive oil then basically dumped on and sorta rubbed it in. Definitely didn't shake or make any attempt to get the excess off. The excess on top probably just stayed piled on since it went from counter to grill looking like that. Thinking that was the mistake.

I'm doing another one sunday, I'm going to try a more reasonable amount of rub (and a much bigger butt now that i know it turns out so well). Will report back!

For reference, these are from the last time I took pics of a butt following the frankin 1:1 video recipe.  Looks to be a lot less rub.  Not sure that's the problem but it's as good a guess as any.

[Landomatic 3813]

27 minutes ago, BradInATX said:

Just sorta threw it around in a solo cup. It was mixed fine. I went a little heavy on garlic powder vs. Franklins video, as my wife and I are both garlic junkies. Might explain the color.
 

Garlic powder or garlic salt?  Haha

[BradInATX 9208]

Looks much different. And delicious.

 

Have one last random question. How do you guys crack pepper in large quantities? My little $5 mill took about 20 minutes to make enough for the butt.

 

ETA: lol. Definitely powder. Don't even think we stock garlic salt.

 

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[Dutch 4465]

16 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Rubbed w olive oil then basically dumped on and sorta rubbed it in. Definitely didn't shake or make any attempt to get the excess off. The excess on top probably just stayed piled on since it went from counter to grill looking like that. Thinking that was the mistake.

 

I'm doing another one sunday, I'm going to try a more reasonable amount of rub (and a much bigger butt now that i know it turns out so well). Will report back!

 

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Try a shaker next time.  That way you can re-mix it right before applying it (because the rub will start to settle over time), and using a shaker will also help you apply a more even coating.  You want to get a uniform coating on all sides while still still kinda-sorta being able to see the meat underneath, and it shouldn't look "caked-on."

From your before picture, the rub looks too heavy and way too white /no racist.  I'm not sure what the white elements are:  Table salt? Garlic salt? You may already know this (and if so $&#@ me for stating the obvious), but use Kosher salt not table salt, and Diamond brand Kosher salt is better than Morton's (which is twice as salty as Diamond,).

As far as pepper, I've had good results with Kirkland's coarse grid from Costco.  Others on here have mentioned Tone's.  Saves a lot of time and effort.

[luke duke 6412]

Try a shaker next time.

Definitely. Get a couple of these.

[TornACL 7698]

58 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Try a shaker next time.  That way you can re-mix it right before applying it (because the rub will start to settle over time), and using a shaker will also help you apply a more even coating.  You want to get a uniform coating on all sides while still still kinda-sorta being able to see the meat underneath, and it shouldn't look "caked-on."

From your before picture, the rub looks too heavy and way too white /no racist.  I'm not sure what the white elements are:  Table salt? Garlic salt? You may already know this (and if so $&#@ me for stating the obvious), but use Kosher salt not table salt, and Diamond brand Kosher salt is better than Morton's (which is twice as salty as Diamond,).

As far as pepper, I've had good results with Kirkland's coarse grid from Costco.  Others on here have mentioned Tone's.  Saves a lot of time and effort.

I love the Costco coarse grind. Just right.

[dcbc 14465]

Slightly cross posting, but did a T-giving day turkey on the WSM.  I've done one before, but it wasn't nearly as good as this one.  I'm posting what I did in case I foget.

Load the charcoal ring and added two chunks each of hickory and pecan to the outer mid area.  16 lit coals in the center.  Assemble.  Once it was about 230 F, I put the Turkey on with a probe in the breast. 

Rubbed the turkey (store bought fresh turkey injected with whatever; no brine) with a 2:1 coarse black pepper:coarse kosher salt.  Added about a tablespoon of paprika and a pinch of garlic powder and onion powder with a slight shake of poultry seasoning and dried rosemary.  Olive oil all over and rubbed (About 1/2 cup of rub overall.  Tossed all of the extra in the cavity.  Speaking of the arse, I shoved 2 navel oranges quartered up in there along with a sprig of fresh sage. 

Cooker never ran over 297 F.  Mostly ran between 275 F and 290 F.  At around the 3 hour mark, probe was reading 155 F.  At that point, I did the Franklin finish and panned it with a mere stick of butter cut up and strategically placed.  Foiled it and pulled it at about 163 F in the breast.

Rested about 20 minutes and sliced.  Juicy as it comes.  Black pepper bark looks scattered and weird on a bird, but this wasn't charred.  Skin was bite through despite the temps staying below 300 F. 

[Spur08 382]

I cooked a 12 pounder this Sunday when it was windy as hell. It basically was a version of hit and fast due to that...mainly cooking around 325 +/- 25*. It actually turned out pretty damned exceptional.

I know, I know. My cutting game is off.

[Dutch 4465]

Daaaayyymn, dcbc.  You did right by that bird; looks great.  Two questions, if you'll permit me:  did you brine beforehand? And what charcoal are you running with?

[dcbc 14465]

3 hours ago, Dutch said:

Daaaayyymn, dcbc.  You did right by that bird; looks great.  Two questions, if you'll permit me:  did you brine beforehand? And what charcoal are you running with?

Fresh, i.e., not frozen, turkey from WalMart.  No brine since it already was injected with some sort of salt solution.

I used KBB with two fist-sized chunks of hickory and two of pecan.  Sidenote:  I tried Stubbs somewhat recently based on lots of good reviews, but I didn't care for the odor of it (even with wood chunks) and found that it was very slow to come up to temp and didn't hold temp  (spiked 30 degrees) after I thought I had it locked in.  KBB is cheap and I don't notice any off flavors from it.  Plus, I've found it really easy to dial in on the WSM.

Edited November 28, 2018 by dcbc

[BradInATX 9208]

Got the rub down after the help in this thread. Just needed to be a little less heavy handed. Made one tonight that came out great. 10/10 would smash again. Thanks for the pointers guys.

 

 

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[dcbc 14465]

This little 12 lb brisket was a stubborn bastard.  WSM ran like a champ.  Got it dialed in quickly, and it ran at 240 F all night and most of the day.  But this brisket climbed the temp ladder slower than Christmas.  15 hours later, I finally probed WVB at 205 F, and we made it to the Christmas party on time. 

[Mojo Hand 4580]

To what extent do y'all clean the inside of your WSMs?   I was reading online about creosote taste caused by too much buildup on the inside and it got me thinking.   I've just been scraping the loose shit off the grates in between cooks, and occasionally doing a more thorough cleaning when I forget to empty out the water and ash for awhile after a cook and it gets gross. 

[Incredulity 11647]

All I have done on WSM or stick burner is a once over with a stiff bristled poly brush. Usually end of fall/early winter to put away for season.  I have always felt a real thourough cleaning would end up with accelerated rust or degradation of metal.

My main purpose being to avoid a creosote fire, but I guess helps avoid creosote sprinkles on meat.

[dcbc 14465]

I brush out the lid occasionally since the build up is pretty loose and will fall on the food after a while.  I remove the foil from the water pan, brush off  the grates, and empty the ash after a cook so the ash won't absorb moisture and allow things to rust during longer periods of down time.  I don't touch the inside of the middle section.  I do run it with all vents wide open after I get the food off to get some high heat on whatever junk is on the sides.  Seems to make things a little less gooey. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

After a cook I also run it wide open. A couple three times a year I’ll let it run like that then take the sprayer to it. Then give it a light coat of pam.

[mdleast 8289]

To commemorate Bama playing OU in the playoff game, I decided mdmost and I would eat “Alabama-style” BBQ while drinking Oklahoma beers and watching said playoff game.

 

Oklahoma beers were accomplished via a growler of Roughtail’s Adaptation 14. A very tasty IPA.

 

Alabama BBQ was accomplished via Weber Virtual Bullet’s “Alabama-style Chicken Sandwiches with White Sauce” recipe. That’s right - BBQ people in Alabama put white sauce on their BBQ. Weird but “when in Rome...”

 

http://virtualweberbullet.com/alabama-chicken-sandwiches-white-sauce.html

 

As expected, the chicken itself was pretty tasty but what the hell is wrong with Alabama people that feel they need to add sauce to BBQ...especially white sauce?!?

 

I mean, we are happy you beat OU but you Bama people are stupid re: BBQ. I mean we ate it and all but give us some normal non-sauced BBQ next time. Yet, again, thanks for sparing us an OU national championship.

 

 

 

[Landomatic 3813]

On 12/30/2018 at 12:11 AM, mdleast said:

To commemorate Bama playing OU in the playoff game, I decided mdmost and I would eat “Alabama-style” BBQ while drinking Oklahoma beers and watching said playoff game.

 

Oklahoma beers were accomplished via a growler of Roughtail’s Adaptation 14. A very tasty IPA.

 

Alabama BBQ was accomplished via Weber Virtual Bullet’s “Alabama-style Chicken Sandwiches with White Sauce” recipe. That’s right - BBQ people in Alabama put white sauce on their BBQ. Weird but “when in Rome...”

 

http://virtualweberbullet.com/alabama-chicken-sandwiches-white-sauce.html

 

As expected, the chicken itself was pretty tasty but what the hell is wrong with Alabama people that feel they need to add sauce to BBQ...especially white sauce?!?

 

I mean, we are happy you beat OU but you Bama people are stupid re: BBQ. I mean we ate it and all but give us some normal non-sauced BBQ next time. Yet, again, thanks for sparing us an OU national championship.

 

 

 

Tried some of that white sauce at a BBQ place on Lower Greenville in Dallas.  Seemed interesting enough and their meat was really bad so, why not?

It.  Was.  Gross.

i just assumed this place didn’t do it right based on the lack of quality of everything else.  But I’m thinking white BBQ sauce probably just sucks.

[Gil Bang 25907]

Does anybody else think that the 18" would be better if the top grill were about 2" lower?  

That would allow you to put bigger briskets/rib racks/ whatever in the thing (in the shape of an arch) and still get the lid on easily. 

I'm seriously considering this mod.  Thoughts?

[Landomatic 3813]

1 hour ago, Gil Bang said:

Does anybody else think that the 18" would be better if the top grill were about 2" lower?  

That would allow you to put bigger briskets/rib racks/ whatever in the thing (in the shape of an arch) and still get the lid on easily. 

I'm seriously considering this mod.  Thoughts?

Your mom told me my extra 2” makes a big difference

[TornACL 7698]

I have never had a problem with the lid not being tall enough for a brisket or rib rack. 

If the top grill was two inches lower you'd have an even worse problem on the lower rack. 

If you have the world's tallest brisket, why not just take the top rack off completely and cook on the lower rack? 

I used to get nervous if the brisket was too long or wide to fit easily in the 18". Now I just smash that son of a bitch in there. It'll cook down and turn out just fine. 

[baboso 6054]

Georgia weather is not cooperating with me wanting to run my WSM.  Either raining all weekend or 20 mph wind blowing. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

You need a shack. I run mine all year long. 

[TornACL 7698]

10 hours ago, baboso said:

Georgia weather is not cooperating with me wanting to run my WSM.  Either raining all weekend or 20 mph wind blowing. 

Wind shouldn't fuck your shit up other than maybe needing to add more fuel than normal. 

When I bought my WSM my first few smokes were in a North Texas snow / sleet storm, various cold fronts blowing in, rain, etc. Worked like a champ through it all, and taught me what to be ready for in various weather. 

You just gotta react accordingly my bros. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

Wind can certainly fuck you up if you are not careful. Especially when the wind speed is all over the place. More fuel, less heat, inconsistent airflow and thus temps. It can be quite the pain in the ass. 

[immortal13 4059]

 

16 lb packer cooked last night on my WSM

imgur

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by immortal13

[irishtexan 11512]

OK. I'm in the market for a new grill/smoker. I don't smoke very often these days and when I do it's typically ribs, pork shoulder, occasional chicken, etc. Don't do briskets very often, but would like the option of being able to smoke a whole packer. I'm not looking to spend a grand on a rig, and it seems that most quarter-inch steel offset smoker/grill combos run in excess of a grand. The best and most economic approach seems to be buying a weber keetle for regular grilling and a WSM that I can store in my garage for the occasional smoke. Convince me I'm wrong and that there's a better way to do this for  less than $500 or so.

Edited March 6, 2019 by irishtexan

[Landomatic 3813]

17 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

OK. I'm in the market for a new grill/smoker. I don't smoke very often these days and when I do it's typically ribs, pork shoulder, occasional chicken, etc. Don't do briskets very often, but would like the option of being able to smoke a whole packer. I'm not looking to spend a grand on a rig, and it seems that most quarter-inch steel offset smoker/grill combos run in excess of a grand. The best and most economic approach seems to be buying a weber keetle for regular grilling and a WSM that I can store in my garage for the occasional smoke. Convince me I'm wrong and that there's a better way to do this for  less than $500 or so.

Bro, do you even Groker?

[luke duke 6412]

OK. I'm in the market for a new grill/smoker. I don't smoke very often these days and when I do it's typically ribs, pork shoulder, occasional chicken, etc. Don't do briskets very often, but would like the option of being able to smoke a whole packer. I'm not looking to spend a grand on a rig, and it seems that most quarter-inch steel offset smoker/grill combos run in excess of a grand. The best and most economic approach seems to be buying a weber keetle for regular grilling and a WSM that I can store in my garage for the occasional smoke. Convince me I'm wrong and that there's a better way to do this for  less than $500 or so.

You are correct. Although I like having a gas grill for the day to day stuff. Earlier this week there were 2 WSMs on Dallas Craigslist.