Weber Smokey Mountain

[stimpson]

We have a thread for the Orion cooker so I thought I would start one for the WSM as I know a few of us have them. I know we have talked about them in the Outdoor Smoker thread, but I believe it deserves it's own. So what's the last thing smoked, and the next thing you plan to smoke. This past Sunday I did a rack of BB, a rack of pork spares, and some high temp chicken that I brinned for 24 hrs. All turned out great. I have a small pork butt that I'm going to start curring tonight to make Buckboard Bacon.

 

[HD MM]

Good idea Stimpson. We can use this thread to share recipes, techniques, cook times and pictures.

The WSM is truly one of the greatest toys used in outdoor cooking. I'm thinking of smoking some St. Louis Spare Ribs this weekend. Recipe and results to follow. Up until this point, I've only done Baby Backs on this smoker. Spare Ribs are typically larger, fattier and contain more meat. Although, since I'd be cooking low and slow, I'm sure the fat would break down just perfectly to allow these to be as tender as the Baby Back's I've done. Not to mention, SR's are usually less expensive than BB's. I'll let you know of the results...

 

[navychop]

I'm in. I was tempted to get a ceramic smoker, but when I realized they had less capacity, well.... Maybe someday, as I guess they use less fuel and it's easier to regulate temps in them, esp in cold weather. Maybe. But my WSM stays in use, and I may get another one for the campground so I don't have to schlep one back and forth.

Only problem is, there's only two of us. One load goes a long way.

 

[stimpson]

Cool. Welcome aboard fellas. So what, if any, mods have you guys done to your WSM? Mine, 1) Handles on the cooking section. 2) Added another charcoal grate to the existing one to make the gaps smaller. 3) Guru eyelets to to allow meat therm probe use instead of running the probe lead under the lid. 4) 14" foil wrapped clay flower pot base. It just sits on top of the water pan. 5) Added high temp RTV around the fuel door to better seal it. 6) Just ordred another fuel door to mod it for when I need to do some high temp smokes. 7) Installed a Trend therm in the lid. I think thats it. Oh, one more. 8) Safety wired the charcoal ring to the charcoal grates so it doesn't move around when I need to stoke the coals.

 

[HD MM]

Cool. Welcome aboard fellas. So what, if any, mods have you guys done to your WSM? Mine, 1) Handles on the cooking section. 2) Added another charcoal grate to the existing one to make the gaps smaller. 3) Guru eyelets to to allow meat therm probe use instead of running the probe lead under the lid. 4) 14" foil wrapped clay flower pot base. It just sits on top of the water pan. 5) Added high temp RTV around the fuel door to better seal it. 6) Just ordred another fuel door to mod it for when I need to do some high temp smokes. 7) Installed a Trend therm in the lid. I think thats it. Oh, one more. 8) Safety wired the charcoal ring to the charcoal grates so it doesn't move around when I need to stoke the coals.

No mods for mine yet.

I just dangle the digital probe thermometer through one of the top damper holes. The cord runs to the monitor which stays magnetically attached to a hinge on my shed door, which is near my smoker.

 

[navychop]

Stimp, you may have gone over the top. But I'm going to have to look at them all. I especially like #2.

 

[stimpson]

Stimp, you may have gone over the top. But I'm going to have to look at them all. I especially like #2.

Your right. I tend to go crazy on tinkering around with things. My wife calls me a BBQ nerd. as she gets up for her second heaping pulled pork sammi. I say, 'I know I am". Anyway. All the mods are functional and improve my use and enjoyment of the WSM.

 

[navychop]

Isn't it great to hear them complain out of a full mouth?

OK, I gotta ask- what is the purpose of #4? To get a single, but taller, cooking level?

 

[stimpson]

#4 is to take the place of adding water. It's a better heat cink than the water. The combination of the clay pot base, and the gap it creates inside the water pan, gives much better temp stableization. The cooker doesn't react as bad to minor temp fluctions due to gustes of wind, rain, ect. I have never used water in my water pan.

 

[HD MM]

#4 is to take the place of adding water. It's a better heat cink than the water. The combination of the clay pot base, and the gap it creates inside the water pan, gives much better temp stableization. The cooker doesn't react as bad to minor temp fluctions due to gustes of wind, rain, ect. I have never used water in my water pan.

Interesting. I thought the purpose of the water was not only to stabilize the temperture, but also add moisture to the internal cooking chamber?

 

[navychop]

That's what I thought.

So you never use water at all?

Wouldn't a few bricks work as well?

 

[stimpson]

I'm sure a few fire bricks would work ok, but the gap between the bottom of the clay saucer and the water pan is very important. Never had a problem with anything being dried out by not using water. My first brisket was a little dry, but that was because I cooked it up to a certain internal temp, and didn't foil. Now I cook them up to 160 internal, foil, then after about 1.5 hrs, start checking for done by tenderness checks with my temp probe. Plus clean up is snap. Just change out the foil on the pan and saucer after a few cooks. No nasty water to mess with.

 

[HD MM]

Ok, finally took some pictures....

Meal: Rack of Smoked Spare Ribs
Rub: BRITU Rub:

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup non-iodized table salt
1/8 cup brown sugar, dried
4 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon Accent (MSG)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder[/FONT]

Wood: 4 med-large chunks of Hickory
Cook Time/Temp: 4.5 hours at apx. 225°F
Sauce: KC Masterpiece mixed and modified by adding honey and a touch of water.

I fired up the WSM at 1:40pm. The Smoker was up to temp by 2:30pm when I put the ribs on. We ate at 7pm. (Ribs sat out to come to room temperture for apx. 1.5 hours before I put them in the WSM).

Below, you will find the Ribs sauced and sliced. I even got to use my new Lodge Cast Iron Sauce kettle to warm the sauce. Works great! The ribs were very meaty (more so than babybacks). They were also very tender (although not as much so as BB's). They did have a nice smokiness and pink smoke ring to them. The wife made her patented baked Mac & Cheese with crispy bread crumbs on the top as a side dish for the rib dinner. I think my dog Bailey (German Short Haired Pointer), is my biggest fan though. He loves when I smoke meat!

 

[navychop]

So you're a sauce guy, eh?

Why "non-iodized" salt? Any idea? Can't imagine you could taste the difference, maybe it affects something else?

 

[HD MM]

So you're a sauce guy, eh?

Why "non-iodized" salt? Any idea? Can't imagine you could taste the difference, maybe it affects something else?

Sauce on ribs? Absolutely.

I actually use kosher salt for that run, not the "non-iodized" as suggested. I got this recipe from the famous "Best Ribs In The Universe" rub on the Virtual Weber Bullet Site.

 

[navychop]

Yeah, I figured that when I saw "BRITU" but thought you might know something about iodized. Most recipes say kosher salt.

I've tended more toward no sauce. Might swing back.

 

[stimpson]

Awsome job HD. Man those ribs look good. Did Baily get some bones? I have a small pork butt curing in the fridge right now. I'll pull it after 5 or 6 more days and smoke up some Buck Board bacon. I'll try to remember to do some pics.

 

[HD MM]

Awsome job HD. Man those ribs look good. Did Baily get some bones? I have a small pork butt curing in the fridge right now. I'll pull it after 5 or 6 more days and smoke up some Buck Board bacon. I'll try to remember to do some pics.

The pack of ribs I bought came with a few extra thin strips of rib meat. I had that smoking right along side the ribs to make "burnt ends". I ended up chopping those up and giving them to Bailey. He devoured them in an instant. He LOVES smoked meat.

 

[stimpson]

Well, hope this works, but I'll try to post some pics of my first try of making Buck Board Bacon. The end result is that I'll never buy store bought bacon again.Picasa Web Albums - Steve - Buck Board Bacon

 

[HD MM]

Well, hope this works, but I'll try to post some pics of my first try of making Buck Board Bacon. The end result is that I'll never buy store bought bacon again.Picasa Web Albums - Steve - Buck Board Bacon

Looks awesome Stimpson. I've never tried to smoke bacon. You may have inspired me...