Welcome kjs

wittdog · 12-31-2006, 07:18 AM

I'd like to welcome my BIL to the best forum on the site...he's doing his first cook today on a WSM...Welcome [smilie=welcome.gif]

Kloset BBQR · 12-31-2006, 07:20 AM

Welcome KJS, good luck on that first cook, ask plenty of questions, and post pics, please!

Pigs On The Wing BBQ · 12-31-2006, 07:50 AM

:welcome
Come on in, the waters fine.

BigGQ · 12-31-2006, 10:29 AM

And don't be afraid to feed the animals. We like food pics!

Good luck with your first WSM cook.

Puff · 12-31-2006, 10:31 AM

Welcome and good luck on your first WSM cook

Don't forget the pics

Bill The Grill Guy · 12-31-2006, 12:32 PM

Welcome aboard kjs. Any kin of Witts is, well maybe not. Hope you are enjoying that WSM. Hope you have a digital camera. We love food porn pics.

WalterSC · 12-31-2006, 12:37 PM

Welcome to BBQ CENTERAL kjs , anything you ever wanted to know about Q is right here just ask anyone.

Greg Rempe · 12-31-2006, 03:14 PM

Welcome "Crap"chester!!

Greg Rempe · 12-31-2006, 11:36 PM

Great job KJS!!

wittdog · 01-01-2007, 12:10 AM

Nice job...everthing looks great..what did the company think?
And what did you learn on your first cook with the WSM?

BigGQ · 01-01-2007, 02:43 AM

Yeah, what Witt said...what did you learn on your first cook with the WSM?

Kloset BBQR · 01-01-2007, 06:08 AM

Fantastic! You sure this was your first cook?

WalterSC · 01-01-2007, 08:17 AM

Very nice work there!!

Puff · 01-01-2007, 10:46 AM

Looked great!

Bill The Grill Guy · 01-01-2007, 11:45 AM

Looks good KJS.

wittdog · 01-01-2007, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjs

Ok, a few things I picked up on:

1) Don't be stingy with the charcoal. I only started with one 5lb bag, half lit, and half unlit. After getthing the thing up to temp, it stayed steady... for about 3-3.5 hours. Then started to drop, and was clearly low on charcoal. I had to reload (almost another whole 5lb bag - half lit, half unlit) at this point, and wasn't expecting it. Adding anything at that point was shooting ash all over the place too, so that wasn't ideal. I should have just lit 2/3 or so of one of the bags and left another whole bag in there.

2) Tuning the dampers was not what I expected. I found that closing the dampers to lower temp was much more effective than opening them to get it hotter. I'm not sure if that's cause I was low on fuel or the ambient temp (ranging 44-38F) /breeze was working against me. It seemed like closing the dampers 50% when the fire was too hot only took a few minutes to visibly see the temp go down, but opening them 50% took a loooooong time to see temp go up (if it did at all). This defies everything I've read and been told that it's easier to bring a smoker up to temperature than it is to bring it down, so it makes me sort of think this was all related to a lack of coal. Thoughts?

3) Whether you use mustard or just a wet washed bird, rub bakes onto a chicken but basting gently with a brush will take it right off. I should have used an actual baster or spray bottle... or is there another secret I don't know about (like not basting the chicken?)?

4) The melting point of asphalt is somewhere in between the temp of a burning weber starter and the edge of a roaring chimney started.

I put nice little ring of hole in my driveway!

1. Your right..you really need to load the ring up a decent amount...especially for the longer cooks..butts and brisket and the like...the shorter cooks like ribs you could have gotten away with a little more charcoal...
2.I'm guessing your damper issues with the temp have to do with the amount of charcoal..small fires need more air...to get to temp...if that ring was full of charcoal....and the dampers were open wide...you would have had some temp isses...the outside temp and wind will also play into it.
3.As far as basting the bird..it's really not necessary at the lower temps...but it you feel the need to baste you need to give the rub a few hours on the smoker to let it set up...or a spray bottle works great as well..if am mopping I wait until the rub gets crusy..you are also better served rubbing under the skin seeing how most of the time the skin is inedable
4. It's good to know what the melting point of asphalt is..was the cook worth the hole in the drive way?

What kind of wood did you use and how much?
What did your company think of the finished product?

BTW guys..when we took the WSM back to AIH....KJS had to pick up a ribrack...his purchase wasn't lost on his wife

My wife and myself got a big kick out of that....

bigwheel · 01-01-2007, 12:15 PM

Hey KJS...welcome. Aint gonna hold it agin ya that you kin to Witt in a roundabout way by marriage.

bigwheel

wittdog · 01-01-2007, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwheel

Hey KJS...welcome. Aint gonna hold it agin ya that you kin to Witt in a roundabout way by marriage.

bigwheel

Yeah but he will hold it against you that you are a real Yankee

Cliff H. · 01-01-2007, 07:55 PM

That is a nice shiney WSM

Nick Prochilo · 01-02-2007, 06:44 AM

Welcome aboard KJS. Those issues that you had with the WSM, Always start with more than you will need on charcol. I try to figure about a pound an hour with charcol after the unit has been used a few times. It will start to cook a little different after it gets a coat of grease around the inside. It starts to seal up a little better. What ever you don't use on charcol after the cook can be saved and used again on the next cook. Set up a wind break for those windy days, that will help maintain temps. I don't do yardbirds on the WSM, I do them on my kettle so I can't help you there. Finally, why would you want to cook when Witt is your BIL? Doesn't he invite you enough?