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I just got a smoker, the tiniest Weber Smokey Mountain. What else should I get? I figured a spritz bottle, wood, and charcoal. Any opinions on hybrid sous-vide/smoking? is it a dumb idea? My gut says you won't get the right bark.
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Apr 21, 2020 20:25
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qutius posted:Get a (at least) dual probe thermometer, so that you can monitor your pit temp + whatever hunk of meat you're cooking. I really like the ThermoWorks Smoke The WSM has a temperature gauge an i have an thermoworks dot, is the webers temp gauge inaccurate or too high up?
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Apr 22, 2020 02:55
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Kalman posted:The gauge is inaccurate AND too high up - not a great thermometer even to measure dome temp, and it’s measuring dome temp, not temp at the grate. Word that makes sense, I'll get another dot. The dual probe thermometers are very expensive on their site. I do have a raspberry pi that I don't use, worth getting a probe thermometer for it? My intended progression will be Pulled pork->spare ribs->beef short ribs->brisket Maybe throw a duck in there somewhere.
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Apr 22, 2020 13:38
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Anyone have a good guide for using my Weber? Maintaining the temperature and starting the fire etc?
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Apr 23, 2020 03:44
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With getting wood for my WSM, should I get chunks, pellets, or chips? Any brand worth getting or its all the same?
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Apr 23, 2020 15:25
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Bob A Feet posted:YES. Another complaint against the 14.5. Again, it works great and I've smoked on it for years...but I have to reload it multiple times during longer smokes (brisket or pork butts) which can be pretty tedious. The charcoal basket in it is just tiny. My brother has an 18.5" and says he does have to reload it, but not nearly as much. How often you talking about? How do you know when to add more charcoal?
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Apr 24, 2020 00:14
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Bob A Feet posted:When it wouldn’t maintain temperature and I’d already opened the vents, it usually needed fuel. I’d confirm but just opening the door and looking as well. However, over time, I’d just reload my charcoal chimney and start coals at about the 5 hour point on every smoke. This would be once or twice on long smokes. Thats not that bad!
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Apr 24, 2020 00:54
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um excuse me posted:With a full load on the 18.5 I'd use a full basket every 6-7 hours. That's an entire bag. well gently caress me, thats a lotta charcoal.
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Apr 24, 2020 01:21
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I'm doing my first smoke ever on a new WSM (14") Heres my plan: 1. Cover pork butt with mustard, salt, pepper, and paprika. 2. Light charcoal and add apple wood chunks (how many?) 3. Fill water pan 4. Add pork butt @ 275 5. spritz every hour after 3 hours 6. wait for fat cap to split - then wrap 7. cook until internal temp ~203-205. Any tips for a beginner?
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May 2, 2020 02:08
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Kalman posted:3-4 fist sized chunks is plenty. I got the thermoworks smoke! thanks for the tips. So wrapping is just to speed it up? I'm not in a hurry so I'd prefer a perfect bark.
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May 2, 2020 02:23
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Infinite Karma posted:Why spritz at all? It seems counterproductive; the smoker just has to boil the water you're spritzing with, which steams the surface of your meat instead of smoking it at the 275 (and getting the Maillard reactions you're looking for) you're using. I was following Aaron Franklins Masterclass. Should I go lower on the temp then?
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May 2, 2020 02:51
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Kalman posted:Some people like a softer bark, and for them wrapping is the correct choice. I love me some loving bark!!!!
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May 2, 2020 02:52
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My pork butt is only 5-6lbs, how will that change the cook? Just shave off a few hours? Should I do it at a lower temp cause its smaller?
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May 4, 2020 17:57
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Will smoking chicken drumsticks dry them out? Or do they come out juicy? I have a bunch marinated and need to cook them.
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May 4, 2020 21:30
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So I smoked the drumsticks but had a lot of trouble maintaining temperature. It would shoot up and then shoot down (it was v v windy today). How much should I have to mess with the vents and how often to keep it stable? Do you open all 3 vents equally or just one until its completely open? Cooking on a WSM 14.
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May 5, 2020 01:01
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Bob A Feet posted:For chicken I typically did them as hot as I could get the thing to go so I left them full open. When I do meter them I do them all proportionally, including the top vent. Yea it seemed nearly full open on all of them was the right choice to get to 275. It would shoot up to 295 and down to 250 if I closed them even to half. I'm gonna do a pork butt on Thursday I think. A bit scared!
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May 5, 2020 03:00
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Internet Explorer posted:Pork butt is easy. You'll do great. Just give yourself way more time than you'd think. You can always keep it warm for an hour or two or heat it back up in the oven. Better than having to order a pizza. Bob A Feet posted:100% this. A butt/brisket/ribs will stay warm for hours wrapped in foil inside a cool oven or cooler. Better to start way early and be done early and serve on time than the opposite Plan is start the fire 6am for a 6lb butt and be done by 8pm. Is that cutting it too close?
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May 5, 2020 15:23
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Solid info, its not usually windy and I do have a spot on my roof that can block the wind from 2 sides. If I do this more often I'll probably go the PID route.
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May 6, 2020 20:10
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Starting my pork shoulder soon, whats the difference in cooking temp? I see people do anywhere from 225-275. What is the difference in taste between the range?
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May 7, 2020 12:21
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I'm up and smoking, this is so nerve wracking. This thermoworks smoke is like a god send though, no need to keep running upstairs to check on the temperature. I'm gonna do 250-275 smoke for the butt, try to keep it between those 2 values. Do I need to add more wood at any point? I did 4 fist size chunks of apple wood. I know I'll need to add more charcoal.
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May 7, 2020 12:45
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I put my thermworks probe is in a potato (tiny one) and it registers ~250 (the end of the probe is completely out of the potato) but the WSM is registering like 280. The meat is on the top rack, my assumption was the weber therm runs cooler, is that wrong? The temp is holding really stable compared to my first smoke which was on the windiest day of the year. This isn't as hard as I thought it would be. His Divine Shadow posted:Yeah I once kept smoking with hickory and the thing got just over smoked, tasted metallic and it instilled me with a deep dislike of hickory. I added a bit more than that. Maybe 25% more. Do you only add the meat after the wood has stopped giving off smoke? 5436 fucked around with this message at 13:41 on May 7, 2020 |
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May 7, 2020 13:35
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Doom Rooster posted:The thermometer on the WSM is not a super high quality one, but it is also at the top of the smoker, which will be hottest. Gwaihir posted:The built-in thermometer in a grill is just going to be hilariously inaccurate. Trust the thermoworks probes. In thermworks I trust. Sitting at 251 for like 30 min now!
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May 7, 2020 13:46
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His Divine Shadow posted:I am not following the 2nd part. Sounds kinda counter productive to wait until the wood stops smoking if you wanna smoke it. I usually add the the meat first. Then I add the chunks of wood a bit spread out so the charcoal will not ignite everything at once and it will burn up over a few hours instead. Yea thats pretty dumb question. I added it a few minutes after I put on the wood. I haven't opened the lid yet, 3 hours now. The meat is getting to 156F. Smoker got a little hot (280F) cause a big bunch of wind blew in but I got it under control again.
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May 7, 2020 15:36
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onemanlan posted:That's cool. Why do you want restaurant quality over consumer grade? I usually hunt for cheap charcoal deals around Memorial Day, 4th of July, & labor day sales. Even cheap charcoal can produce a decent product. Often comes down to quality of briquettes or chunks. For briquettes they may have more filler than others, but they still burn. If you hunt for decent deals & have a dry place for storage you can halve your cooking costs for a chunk of the year or so. This sounds insane to me.
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May 7, 2020 16:48
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I feel like my meat didn't stall, its at 182F after 7 hours. Is this normal? It's a 5.5LB pork butt. The temp has been rising pretty consistently.
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May 7, 2020 19:01
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atothesquiz posted:It happens. Every piece of meat is different. If it's done earlier than you expected, wrap it up and put it in a cooler or oven and it'll stay hot for hours. Will wrapping it steam the bark?
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May 7, 2020 19:32
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I. M. Gei posted:I don’t suppose any of you have found places to buy your meats at not-outrageous prices during COVID Times? Look up restaurant suppliers in your area, they are often doing consumer deliveries now.
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May 7, 2020 21:30
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Kalman posted:Stall temp and time vary by cooking temp; as you increase the cook temp the stall will be at a hotter temp for a shorter period of time (iirc the stall disappears completely at around 325 air temp). If you had a 280 temp for a bit, you might have just powered through the stall while it was hot. Good to know, is there a reason to cook it lower or higher? I was 250-260 for most of the cook besides maybe 1hr at 270-280.
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May 7, 2020 21:45
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gently caress the temperature is dropping, I added some more fuel and water, then my pork butt temp dropped from 197 to 191. The smoker is getting back up to temp now to 250 but the temp is still dropping. What should I do?
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May 7, 2020 23:37
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    The bark was amazing but the pork butt came out pretty dry. Only a small inside part was juicy. The bark flavor was great though but also a bit dry. What should I do next time? I put it on at like 260 for an hour, it rose to 270-280 for an hour, and for the rest of the time I kept it at 250-260 pretty well. It took 13 hours to cook.
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May 8, 2020 13:04
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Doom Rooster posted:What was the weight on the butt when you put it in, and what was the internal temp when you took it off? How long did you rest it for after, before pulling? It was 5.5LB, I took it off at 204. It rested for like 15min. At the 11th or 12th hour though it was 197, then I added more charcoal and water and it dropped to 188. I wrapped it and then got it to 204 before pulling.
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May 8, 2020 13:57
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Bob A Feet posted:What’s dry to you? Don’t take me wrong here: eat food how you like to eat food. But when I first made pulled pork and ribs for friends, they were used to oven or crock pot pork that is gooey wet and sloppy. All smoker pulled pork I’ve made has benefited from a sauce when I serve it. I've had pulled pork that wasn't this dry. The left side of the bone (smaller piece of meat) was exceptionally dry. The right side had some pocket of juiciness. I think I should have wrapped at 180 and/or spritz the left side so it didn't dry out.
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May 8, 2020 14:43
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Yup I think it was overcooked. I think maybe next time I'll do 240-250 and wrap at around 6-7 hours for a 5.5lb butt. That or are my thermometers wrong?
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May 8, 2020 18:25
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Carillon posted:Why not shoot for 225 and see how that goes? If you're doing 13 hour cooks anyways may get you closer to what you want from the product. 225 will result in a juicer pork shoulder?
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May 8, 2020 18:39
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tater_salad posted:I don't water pan pulled pork it's so fatty. did it come out juicy as gently caress though?
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May 8, 2020 18:45
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Is there a cheaper option of the billows + signal?
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May 10, 2020 14:52
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my turn in the barrel posted:I do not have one but the BBQPitmaster IQ 110 sells for $140. Looks so cheap, rather just get the billows + smoke X. Sucks cause I jsut got the thermworks smoke, maybe I can return it.
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May 10, 2020 16:47
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Doing spare ribs now!! center cut!! What temp do you guys reccomend? Gonna do 3 hours on and 3 hours wrapped instead of 3-2-1. I was thinking 230-250 for the cook, trying to stay around 240. What is the top vent for? I always see everyone to say to leave it completely open. Is this true? 5436 fucked around with this message at 16:23 on May 14, 2020 |
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May 14, 2020 16:13
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Bob A Feet posted:Is this on a WSM? I used to leave the top vent all the way open (virtualweberbullet recommends it) and had a difficult time controlling temps. Now I meter it the same amount as the lower vents. Yup 14" WSM! I guess I'll do 2 of them 3/2/1 and 2 of them 3/3 to just see the diff. I'm sitting at 225-230 now for 45 minutes, very stable. The billows + smoke is 20% off, does this happen often? Should I pull the trigger? 5436 fucked around with this message at 17:13 on May 14, 2020 |
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May 14, 2020 17:03
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| # ¿ May 7, 2024 03:32 |
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Bob A Feet posted:If you’re looking outside of pellet smokers, this thread and most of the internets recommendation is the Weber Smokey Mountain. 18.5” is the recommended size (it’s the middle of three sizes, 14.5 and 22.5 are the others), but I’ve used the smallest one for years and it’s been great. So to give you an idea, I'm brand new to smoking and got a WSM. My brother has a electric smoker and they are way way easier to make bbq with. The WSM, for me, has maintained temp pretty good. I don't have to fuss with it a lot to stay within +- 5 degree. The first 2 times I used it it was nerve wracking though. You have to add fuel to it through the cook, and quickly so you don't drop the temperature too much. I also feel like you need a Thermworks Smoke or some gadget to keep an eye on the temperature inside so that'll raise the price. If I had to do it over again I would have gone with the thermworks signal + billows (a fan that maintains the temperature for you). If people say the food tastes as good or better out of a pellet or electric smoker, I would probably just go that route for the simplicity. I don't have any place to really put one of those so I went with the WSM 14" and I like it.
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May 14, 2020 18:15
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