# New Big WSM cooking info



## Captain Morgan (Jan 24, 2009)

several folks here have it....I'm interested in it...I know it's cold up
there but I'd like to have a thread for a while about cooking results.

Please post your opinions here..I'm anxious to hear about

a:  smoke flavor in the meat

b:  temperature control

c:  fuel use.

d:  clean up



This will be a spot for anyone to post questions.


----------



## Bruce B (Jan 24, 2009)

Cappy as far as I know Witt is the only one on this board who has the new big one, I could be wrong though.


----------



## bigwheel (Jan 24, 2009)

Well you WSM boys are a hoot. Now how would a mo bigga one supposed to react different than a little one? It bound to be the same thang only on a larger scale. Swear folks buy yall books..and send ya to school..and whut do yall do? Yeppers..chew on the book covers?) You definitely need to run buy one. 

bigwheel


----------



## honcho (Jan 24, 2009)

I think Mr Pigs also


----------



## wittdog (Jan 24, 2009)

Ok keep in mind I’ve only done two cooks on the Big WSM so far and its been cold here so the conditions are less then ideal…but seeing how I cook in the cold a lot..it is what it it is…

Smoke flavor is good…
Temp control isn’t bad…but…

I’ve been using water in the pan and lump…..which might be some of the problem with the fuel use….
The big WSM is a fuel pig it uses a lot of fuel compared to the smaller one…I would think that 12hrs is going to be about the best you are going to get on one load of fuel…..and reloading it is not as easy as the little one…even if you put handles on it…it would probably take two people to take the mid section off and reload…the big door makes it a little easier to add charcoal with it assembled but after you add charcoal you need to worry about the fire getting out of control….I seem to be filling up the water pan a lot..I’m going to try a few things on my next cooks and see how it goes

Given a choice between loading up the big one for a massive but cook and firing up both small wsms I would use the small ones…

The Big one Shines when it comes to cooking ribs…shorter cooks but you can spread the ribs out and cook full racks.

The big one is nice to have as an option  but I wouldn’t get rid of my smaller ones for the long cooks.
Clean up is no worse than the little one….


----------



## Griff (Jan 24, 2009)

Bruce B said:
			
		

> Cappy as far as I know Witt is the only one on this board who has the new big one, I could be wrong though.



Actually, mine just got here today. It's still in the box as I just picked it up a half hour ago. Pics tomorrow. The box is HUGE.

I got a big quandry now. Do I break it in next week on the Frozen Few cook, or stick with the smoker I know well? It's nice to have these kinds of problems.


----------



## Bruce B (Jan 24, 2009)

honcho said:
			
		

> I think Mr Pigs also



He don't count.


----------



## Unity (Jan 24, 2009)

There's a fairly thorough evaluation of the 22" WSM on TVWB, including descriptions of several test cooks with various loads of meat.

--John
(Don't put the 18" WSM on craigslist. I expect to see people using both at comps, maybe two 18" and one 22".)


----------



## Cliff H. (Jan 25, 2009)

Somebody smoke something without the water pan.


----------



## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Jan 25, 2009)

It's a lump hog in the cold. Might not be so bad when it's 80 out.   

Pigs


----------



## surfinsapo (Jan 25, 2009)

I love my WSM 22 for smoking. It doesn't get too hot. It uses about one large bag of charcoal for pork butts. It is like the set it and forget it commercial. I have no complaints at all...


----------



## Captain Morgan (Jan 25, 2009)

Great info Witt.....Griff, get to work.


----------



## Cliff H. (Jan 25, 2009)

I can't wait to get one so I can put the lid on my drum.


----------



## gsmith (Jan 25, 2009)

My friend picked one up friday and we are going to break it in for the FF

we plan on using sand in the water pan and kinsford charcoal with hickory and apple chunks

will post my thoughts next week


----------



## wittdog (Jan 25, 2009)

I've been thinking about using sand or some Al Foil Balls I just haven't had much time to play with it.


----------



## Captain Morgan (Jan 25, 2009)

gsmith said:
			
		

> My friend picked one up friday and we are going to break it in for the FF
> 
> we plan on using sand in the water pan and kinsford charcoal with hickory and apple chunks
> 
> will post my thoughts next week



looking forward to hearing about this.


----------



## Griff (Jan 25, 2009)

Well, it's all assembled and sitting on my deck. My initial observation is tha it is big and heavy. No shipping problems and nothing appears out of round. The door even fits snugly. Dave was right about the bottom vents being partially under the charcoal ring and the potential safety hazard on a wood deck. I always moved my "little" WSM to the yard/snow for overnight cooks anyway so I'll be doing the same with the big guy. I'm really looking forward to cooking some ribs flat on the grate.


----------



## Unity (Jan 25, 2009)

Wow.

--John


----------



## wittdog (Jan 25, 2009)

You are going to love it for ribs...Can't wait to see the picks


----------



## Larry D. (Jan 26, 2009)

bigwheel said:
			
		

> Well you WSM boys are a hoot.* Now how would a mo bigga one supposed to react different than a little one? It bound to be the same thang only on a larger scale. *Swear folks buy yall books..and send ya to school..and whut do yall do? Yeppers..chew on the book covers?) You definitely need to run buy one.
> 
> bigwheel



Are you talking about smokers, or women?  

(For anyone who's interested, the owner's manual for the new WSMs is on-line at http://www.weber.com/manuals/pdf_fi...y_Moutain_Cooker_OwnersGuide_56001_100108.pdf)


----------



## dollarbill (Jan 26, 2009)

How long did it take to freeze the cover into shape?


----------



## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Jan 26, 2009)

Fire it up Griff!  

Pigs


----------



## Tannehill Kid (Jan 26, 2009)

Griff you look like a kid on Christmas morning opening gifts    Hope you enjoy your new toy.


----------



## bigwheel (Jan 26, 2009)

Looks good Griff. Who is the elderly distingueshed looking grey headed gentleman? Your grandpap come for a visit maybe?   

bigwheel


----------



## Griff (Jan 27, 2009)

bigwheel said:
			
		

> Looks good Griff. Who is the elderly distingueshed looking grey headed gentleman? Your grandpap come for a visit maybe?
> 
> bigwheel



Thank you for the distinguished looking compliment.


----------



## Nick Prochilo (Jan 27, 2009)

Griff, you look like a little kid at Christmas!


----------



## bigwheel (Jan 27, 2009)

Heck yeah..he even got Santa there to deliver it.

bigwheel


----------



## The Missing Link (Feb 1, 2009)

Were can I buy one of the 22 in SWM?  A part number are a link would be great.


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 1, 2009)

welcome back Link!

might have to order it from Amazon, etc....I've never seen any
Weber bullet at a store in my area.


----------



## The Missing Link (Feb 1, 2009)

it nice to be back......work has been hell  over the last year.


----------



## Unity (Feb 1, 2009)

The Missing Link said:
			
		

> work has been hell  over the last year.


When I read that I remembered this terrifying event last summer.   

Welcome back. 

--John


----------



## gsmith (Feb 1, 2009)

here are mt thoughts:

Outside temperature at start up was 16º and never rose above 26º with winds gusting up to around 20 mph. The smoker was set up in the yard with no protection at all.

We used the thermometer in the lid for our cook temps but next time will put oven thermometers on the grates to compare. It was just too damn cold and we didn’t want to bother with it. J

We started the smoker around 7:45 a.m. using the minion method – the charcoal ring was full but not heaping with unlit, we poured one full lit chimney in the center with 2 big hunks of apple and one small stick of hickory. We used sand in the water pan.

We left all vents open throughout the cook which was from 7:45 a.m. until 5:15 pm .

The smoker reached 225º within one hour after startup – meat went on and it came back to temp within 15-20 minutes and hit 300º about an hour later, where it stayed for most of the cook which was our target cooking temp.

One hour later we checked on the charcoal and noticed that all the coals were ashed over. We chalked it up to the vents being wide open and strong winds.

3.5 hours into the cook we added one full unlit chimney. We probably didn’t have to but didn’t want to take any chances. Adding the charcoal wasn’t as easy/convenient as we thought it would be with the bigger opening between the water pan and charcoal ring. 

7 hours into the cook we added one more unlit chimney, we did notice that after adding charcoal both times it took awhile for the smoker to get back up to 300º.

We used one 21 pound bag of Kingsford charcoal for the entire cook which created a lot of ash and at times was coming out of the bottom vent openings. Kicking the legs helped get it to the bottom. 

The heat shield on the bottom seem to have worked great as there was snow under it for most of the cook. The legs were a different story as the frost in the ground around them melted and the smoker sank so we had to shim it up twice to level it off.

There was a hot spot above the door so we will try rotating it to see if that eliminates it.

All in all we are very pleased with the performance of the smoker and look forward to cooking on it at the lower temps.


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 1, 2009)

good info


----------



## Griff (Feb 1, 2009)

I just completed an eight and a half hour cook at 0 to +5* outside temp thru the entire cook with negligible wind. I opened a new 18# bag of Kingsford and filled a chimney about two-thirds full. I poured the remainder of the bag into the fire ring. That filled the ring about 3/4 to 7/8 full. Then I set the chimney on the ring and lit it with two Weber starter cubes. By the time the chimney was fully lit, the center under it was lit about two inches out around the perimeter of the chimney. Then I dumped the chimney on top of the rest of the charcoal. I wanted to start hot and cook hot so I had a prayer of getting done by dark.

I was running the temp at 280* because I didn’t get the meat on until 9am and I wanted to finish early. I got the meat up to 205* at 5:30pm when I took it off. After the first hour I had one bottom vent closed and the other two open about 25% and the temp was rock solid until about six hours into the cook. Then I added a chimney of unlit charcoal. I thought about cranking the vents open more, but I decided to error on the side of caution and just add more charcoal. 

It uses a lot of fuel but I was cooking in cold weather at a high temp. And it is huge. I am anxious to see what happens when I'm cooking at my usual 240-250* and warmer outside temp. I'll add to this post about what meat was inside after the FF judging is complete.

I do want to join Dave Witt in cautioning people about using this cooker on a wooden deck. I did notice some ash coming out the bottom.


----------



## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Feb 1, 2009)

Great reports. I get to play with one this spring at George's store. I'm looking froward to it. ( if Val don't beat me to it ) Since we got "Dallas" (WSM) I can't get near the thing.    I get more sleep that way. Not a bad thing in my book.    

Pigs


----------



## Cliff H. (Feb 1, 2009)

I am not liking this short burn time.   Hope it ain't so.


----------



## nakedpigbbq (Feb 6, 2009)

OK...so I have to ask this.... is there a huge difference between these WSMs and the cheapy I have from wally world?  I know you get what you pay for, but $25 for mine and $300 to $400 for WSM will I tell the difference?  I use my offset for most everything, but I would really like to have something for comps to do the chicken on.  I have never seen one of these things in person.  Are they much more durable, heavy duty?  Do they hold the temperature better?

If I were to get one just for comp chicken or back yard, would y'all suggest the smaller one or the bigger one?  Would it be better to have two small ones or one big one?

thanks!


----------



## Unity (Feb 6, 2009)

If you're familiar with Weber kettles, you have a good basis for visualizing the WSMs. Without measuring, I'm guessing the metal gauge is the same, so they're sturdy without being too heavy. The beauty of WSMs is their fuel efficiency and ease of temperature regulation (once you get the hang of it). I think I'd recommend the smaller (18 1/2") one to start. You can do just about any barbecue cut in it -- ribs, butt and brisket for sure. For chicken pieces, I prefer to use the kettle. The WSM is great for beer can chicken. 

--John


----------



## nakedpigbbq (Feb 6, 2009)

How long do you think it takes to get the hang of it?  I have a comp in May so I will need some "break in" time!


----------



## wittdog (Feb 6, 2009)

nakedpigbbq said:
			
		

> How long do you think it takes to get the hang of it?  I have a comp in May so I will need some "break in" time!


No time a few cooks....
There is a big difference in temp control with a WSM and a ECB


----------



## nakedpigbbq (Feb 6, 2009)

Cool!  Will have to break down and get one...


----------



## Unity (Feb 6, 2009)

Scattered around this board there's a lot of excellent discussion and advice about how to use a WSM. Unfortunately, it is scattered, and sometimes the thread subject wouldn't lead you to look there. You might also want to check out the Virtual Weber Bullet site, which has a lot of easily found how-to information.

--John
(BTW, Amazon.com is a good place to get one -- competitive pricing and free delivery. Use the Amazon.com link at the top of the page and Greg will get a small kickback to help support the BBQ Central site.)


----------



## nakedpigbbq (Feb 7, 2009)

Great! Thanks!


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 9, 2009)

can anyone tell me the height of the middle section?


----------



## wittdog (Feb 9, 2009)

About 21 in


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 9, 2009)

ordered today.


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 17, 2009)

My 22 is here....hope to cook this Friday.


----------



## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Feb 17, 2009)

No pic, no 22!    

Pigs


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 17, 2009)

might have pics today of it and my new rig.


----------



## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Feb 17, 2009)

I have to tell ya all. The thing is just beautiful. When the wife called me and told me that the Weber shipment was there at the store I jumped in my buggy and was there to put one together.(well she did it cuz I don't do any thing right!)  The 27 inch kettles have not showed up yet. Val has been on the phone with Weber and get's the run around. Not sure what the deal is with them. Enjoy Jim!   

Pigs


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 17, 2009)

gonna rain tonight and tomorrow, so I hope to fire it up
Friday.


----------



## Unity (Feb 17, 2009)

Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
			
		

> The 27 inch kettles have not showed up yet.


Wow, I didn't know about the new-for-2009 supersized kettles!  

--John


----------



## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Feb 17, 2009)

Unity said:
			
		

> Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not sure what the deal or delay is on them. Val has been hammering them for answers. I want one along with a 22.   

Pigs


----------



## Captain Morgan (Feb 23, 2009)

ok, one cook in the book, and here's my thoughts.

This performs remarkably similar to it's little brother.  I was 
very happy with temp controls, and maybe because it's bigger,
I thought it stabilized a little faster than the 18.

I really like the amount of cooking space...you can do a lot here.

I thought the therm mounted in the dome performed pretty well if
you take into account the distance from the probe to the cooking great.
I checked it constantly while using the digi-que and a Maverick.
All seemed to agree on temps.

I had a little time to get used to the new door assembly.  I kept
pulling it out because I was used to the old way....eventually I
would remember  to just open it instead of pulling it off.

The larger water pan rocks...it holds a LOT of water.  However, this
adds weight and with a bunch of meat on there, I'd pretty much forget
about trying to lift the middle section off mid-cook.  However, the
new larger door allows you much better access if you want to add coals.
The water pan also sits a little higher from the coals for better access.

Also, the larger lid may cause some problems for people running
therm probes through the roof (like I do).  The probes have to cover
more ground so to speak, and I found myself having trouble keeping 
the therm units from being pulled off a shelf nearby.


----------



## Captain Morgan (Mar 8, 2009)

Another cook yesterday...I encountered a problem others
have reported....trouble getting the smoker up to temp.
Wanted to sit at 200, while I wanted 250.  Added about a third
a chimney of lit coals, no change.

Ended up adding another full lit chimmney, which did the
trick a little too well, got temps up to 280  and held there
for too long, but finally came down.


----------



## Greg Rempe (Mar 8, 2009)

Jim,

I'm sure that you have done this, but when I add my MM coals to the fire I leave everything off for a few minutes to let them fire get going a little bit...one of my WSM's has trouble getting to temp and this has eliminated that issue.  Just a thought if you haven't tried this way yet.


----------



## Captain Morgan (Mar 8, 2009)

I have never thought of that...thanks Greg.

Couple more things...the new flip down door is excellent for
throwing in a chimney of lit coals....a fall onto the door, and
you just close it.

The therm worked very well again.

I'm starting to worry a little bit about the size of the fan on
my digi Q.  It may be a tad too small.  It was working it's butt off
yesterday trying to get the pit up to temp, with no effect.
However, it held temps very well.


----------



## Greg Rempe (Mar 8, 2009)

Side note...make sure you don't have your wood on when you leave it open to fire up...it will burn!  Add it after you assemble everything as normal.


----------



## wittdog (Mar 8, 2009)

wittdog said:
			
		

> Ok keep in mind I’ve only done two cooks on the Big WSM so far and its been cold here so the conditions are less then ideal…but seeing how I cook in the cold a lot..it is what it it is…
> 
> Smoke flavor is good…
> Temp control isn’t bad…but…
> ...



After a couple of more cooks...my first impressions are pretty spot on..IMO


----------



## Griff (Mar 8, 2009)

wittdog said:
			
		

> wittdog said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yep, you pretty much nailed it Dave.


----------



## Bruce B (Mar 8, 2009)

Just a thought for those of you with the 22 WSM, quite a few folks over on TVWB have been using the charcoal ring from the 18 WSM in the 22 and getting better temp control,  longer cook times and less fuel consumption...just a thought; you might want to try it if you own both.


----------



## Captain Morgan (Mar 9, 2009)

thanks Bruce, next time....you gonna "bite the big bullet?"


----------



## Captain Morgan (Jun 1, 2009)

bttt


----------

