Weber Smokey Mountain Modifications

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

I am finally getting a Smokey Mountain! I have worn out a handful of Weber charcoal grills over the years is why the brand loyalty. I have also burned through a couple of cheapo side burner smokers, didn't like them. Hard to control temps/leaky.

I see all kinds of modifications on several bbq sites/forums. I am going to perform (I hope) all mods before first use.

I will be getting some digital thermometers also. Probably a Maverick 732 or whatever that number is.

If anyone has any suggestions, they are greatly appreciated. As for going and ****ing myself, I abused myself last night. I kept saying no, but I knew I wanted it. (hilarious avatar humor)

Dinny

[Fire Me Boy!]

Nothing to add, but commenting to subscribe.

[tooge]

Here are a couple I did.
1. I used some heavy guage wire to wire the fire ring to the fire grate. That way, when you are done, you just pick up the ring, out comes the grate with it, then you can dump the ashes easier.

2. I bent a long "s hook" into a piece of 1" by 1/4 " about 6 inches long. I use it to prop the door open if I need to bring the temp up a bit in cold weather.

If you plan on drilling holes for extra grates, be very careful. If you crack the enameled paint around the area, it'll rust.

[KCUnited]

Here are a couple I did.
1. I used some heavy guage wire to wire the fire ring to the fire grate. That way, when you are done, you just pick up the ring, out comes the grate with it, then you can dump the ashes easier.

2. I bent a long "s hook" into a piece of 1" by 1/4 " about 6 inches long. I use it to prop the door open if I need to bring the temp up a bit in cold weather.

If you plan on drilling holes for extra grates, be very careful. If you crack the enameled paint around the area, it'll rust.

Turn the door upside down and rest the handle on an empty Boulevard Smokestack 750 ml bottle.

[tooge]

I used to do the upside down door, but I have too many drunk friends that bump it out.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Ordered all the stuff for the mods.

18ga stainless steel door and compression latch. Gasket set. Grommets for probes. Second charcoal grate for cross-hatch retention.

Maverick ET-732 Digital Thermometer.

All the research I've been doing has me convinced that meat science is very true. Temperatures are key, so the most critical aspect seems to be fire control/management.

I'm goin' all Tennessee Tuxedo up off in here.

Dinny

[OnTheWarpath15]

Probably just bad luck, but I went through three of those Maverick thermometers before giving up and buying one of these:

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/TW8060.html

I use the alligator clip on the grate where the meat sits, and a probe inside the meat, obviously. As you said, temperatures are key - and I'd rather know what the temp is where the meat is than up in the dome.

It's been worth every penny.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

I am going to mod the original door for a cold smoker conversion to do fish, hot dogs and such. Cold smoking on a budget is like a grade school science fair project that no one in their right mind would allow their kids to do.

In case you're wondering, I'm at aboot $585 total.

Dinny

[Toadkiller]

I got this door, love it.
http://cajunbandit.com/wsm-parts-mods/

Also did grommets but never use them really. just end up being lazy and putting them under the lid.

I would love to put wheels on it.

Also http://virtualweberbullet.com/

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Probably just bad luck, but I went through three of those Maverick thermometers before giving up and buying one of these:

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/TW8060.html

I use the alligator clip on the grate where the meat sits, and a probe inside the meat, obviously. As you said, temperatures are key - and I'd rather know what the temp is where the meat is than up in the dome.

It's been worth every penny.

Reviews on the Mavericks highlight problems inserting the probe cables into the receivers/transmitters. Evidently, you can't be afraid to get big with them.

Decades of monkeying with all types of test equipment in the electrical/electronics field will hopefully pay off. Additionally, I don't believe that instruction manuals are merely suggestions.

I have seen it suggested to prevent the chamber temp probe from contacting the metal grate, as it won't accurately measure air temps.

Dinny

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

I got this door, love it.
http://cajunbandit.com/wsm-parts-mods/

Also did grommets but never use them really. just end up being lazy and putting them under the lid.

I would love to put wheels on it.

Also http://virtualweberbullet.com/

That's the door I ordered. The virtual site is where I started researching. That place knows everything.

Dinny

[Toadkiller]

I put one of my probes through a cork and rest that on the grate so I can get an accurate temp. Cork works well

[htismaqe]

With the amount money you're putting into mods, you could have bought a high quality heavy-gauge steel smoker like my Horizon.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

I put one of my probes through a cork and rest that on the grate so I can get an accurate temp. Cork works well

I was reading about this. Doesn't the heat and smoke affect the cork somehow? I can't imagine one of those plastic corks would be suitable.

Dinny

[Toadkiller]

No, use a real cork. But nope the cork browns up a bit but after at least 100 smokes it is still going strong.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

With the amount money you're putting into mods, you could have bought a high quality heavy-gauge steel smoker like my Horizon.

I have space and portability issues. Convenience ain't cheap. I am a card carrying Weber true fan homerific ijit, so there's that.

Additionally, I aspire to be a wannabe tinkerer. God help me, I just can't stop wanting to be a tinkerer.

Dinny

[htismaqe]

I have space and portability issues. Convenience ain't cheap. I am a card carrying Weber true fan homerific ijit, so there's that.

Additionally, I aspire to be a wannabe tinkerer. God help me, I just can't stop wanting to be a tinkerer.

Dinny

You justify your wasteful and exorbitant purchase well. :thumb:

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

No, use a real cork. But nope the cork browns up a bit but after at least 100 smokes it is still going strong.

That is good to know. I couldn't find any science on cork smoking, so I appreciate any practical app info.

Dinny

[Fire Me Boy!]

Probably just bad luck, but I went through three of those Maverick thermometers before giving up and buying one of these:

http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/TW8060.html

I use the alligator clip on the grate where the meat sits, and a probe inside the meat, obviously. As you said, temperatures are key - and I'd rather know what the temp is where the meat is than up in the dome.

It's been worth every penny.

Thermoworks stuff is da bomb.

[htismaqe]

That is good to know. I couldn't find any science on cork smoking, so I appreciate any practical app info.

Dinny

You dirty cork smoker.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

You justify your wasteful and exorbitant purchase well. :thumb:

The bright side is determining how much Chiefs' merch I could have had for that wad.

There is another factor involving credit scores, but that's not important right now.

Dinny

[htismaqe]

The bright side is determining how much Chiefs' merch I could have had for that wad.

There is another factor involving credit scores, but that's not important right now.

Dinny

ROFL

[MTG#10]

All Ive done to mine was add a temp gauge (older model, didnt come with one) and put it on wheels.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

The only smokers I've ever had were the cheap kind. I could never manage the fire in those things. I am not blaming the equipment. I got spoiled by the Weber charcoal grills because I could manage the fire in those. Cheap smokers and Weber grills behave very differently, and I didn't spend the time figuring out the smokers.

I am hoping this WSM behaves like the grills. It gives me hope I can smoke something fit to eat.

The thermometer is brand new territory for me. I'm looking forward to some new tricks.

Dinny

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

I have to go to the casino.

Dinny

[Whoarethechefs]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=979_1349562393

[In58men]

Does anybody leave the top vent wide open and only adjust bottom vents to help control temp? I’ve been having a tough time controlling my temp tonight.

[007]

Got a few old bumps on the front page. Maybe its a good night to bump a bunch. ;)

Wonder what we were talking about on this day 10 years ago.

[MTG#10]

Does anybody leave the top vent wide open and only adjust bottom vents to help control temp? I’ve been having a tough time controlling my temp tonight.

Yes, top vent always stays open. Only time I've ever had issues controlling temp is when it was real windy.

[RedandGold]

Does anybody leave the top vent wide open and only adjust bottom vents to help control temp? I’ve been having a tough time controlling my temp tonight.

That’s all I ever do on mine. With lump charcoal, I keep the top vent at 12:00, the bottom vent at 6:00, and start with hot coals at 6:00 to slowly light the unlit charcoal since lump isn’t as consistent as briquettes. Can typically get around 8 hours out of a ring of lump this way. Toward the end, I might have to crack the bottom vents at 10 and 2, but that’s about it.

[In58men]

Yes, top vent always stays open. Only time I've ever had issues controlling temp is when it was real windy.

I’ve been doing complete opposite, all 3 bottom vents have been closed 98% of the time while throttling the top vent.

[MTG#10]

I’ve been doing complete opposite, all 3 bottom vents have been closed 98% of the time while throttling the top vent.

From everything I've read (it's been a long time) you're doing it wrong. I've had my WSM probably 15 years now and back when I bought it I thoroughly researched how to use it to get the best results. Everything I read back then recommended leaving top vent open all the way and control temp with bottom vents. I've put out hundreds of pounds of outstanding meat this way.

[In58men]

From everything I've read (it's been a long time) you're doing it wrong. I've had my WSM probably 15 years now and back when I bought it I thoroughly researched how to use it to get the best results. Everything I read back then recommended leaving top vent open all the way and control temp with bottom vents. I've put out hundreds of pounds of outstanding meat this way.

I probably am, but I’m maintaining 225 fairly easy now.

[MTG#10]

If I remember correctly there was another reason to keep the top vent open, something about lingering smoke causing bitterness. Like I said, it's been years since I've researched any of this. Maybe recommendations on the top vent have changed but keeping it open has always worked well for me.

[KCUnited]

Airflow through the bottom vents controls the temp. Why Cali should stick to what they're good at, poke bowls. :D

[gblowfish]

I did the same with my grill grate to make it easier to clean, and I also went to Ace Hardware, got some U shaped handles with bolts and nuts to put a handle on the bottom rack to make it easy to lift out. Most of the design for the GSM is pretty awesome as is. I put in a better thermometer in the lid, but using a digital plugged into the meat is more accurate.

[DJ's left nut]

I’ve been doing complete opposite, all 3 bottom vents have been closed 98% of the time while throttling the top vent.

Good God. Have you produced anything edible?

The creosote buildup must be awful.

Never, ever, EVER throttle the top. Not on a WSM or one-touch or anything else. Close the top down if and only if you're trying to kill the cook. Even then, I'd still recommend just letting it all burn out instead.

[In58men]

Good God. Have you produced anything edible?

The creosote buildup must be awful.

Never, ever, EVER throttle the top. Not on a WSM or one-touch or anything else. Close the top down if and only if you're trying to kill the cook. Even then, I'd still recommend just letting it all burn out instead.

Fuck you, I’m all good is legit.


Like I said, ALL vents on the were closed and I was maintaining 225-325 with top being wide open. I had no reason to open the bottoms.

[HonestChieffan]

Ordered all the stuff for the mods.

18ga stainless steel door and compression latch. Gasket set. Grommets for probes. Second charcoal grate for cross-hatch retention.

Maverick ET-732 Digital Thermometer.

All the research I've been doing has me convinced that meat science is very true. Temperatures are key, so the most critical aspect seems to be fire control/management.

I'm goin' all Tennessee Tuxedo up off in here.

Dinny


I would strongly encourage you to buy the digique fan and controller. I have the 22 inch WSM and I rely on the gizmo to maintain the temp on all night cooks as well as when I neeed the temp to remain very low like when i cure and smoke bacon

[Fire Me Boy!]

Fuck you, I’m all good is legit.





Like I said, ALL vents on the were closed and I was maintaining 225-325 with top being wide open. I had no reason to open the bottoms.Your temp fluctuations shouldn't be that much.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

[DJ's left nut]

Fuck you, I’m all good is legit.


Like I said, ALL vents on the were closed and I was maintaining 225-325 with top being wide open. I had no reason to open the bottoms.

If you have a water pan acting as a heat sync, it's almost impossible to get above 300. I have no idea how you're 'sitting' in a 100 degree range; that's a bunch of wild swings that will make your meat tougher. And frankly, the top vent has nothing to do with that; it simply exists to create the 'draw' that pulls air through. If you close the bottom, that's good enough - no air is going to be 'drawn' through the top vent if the bottom vents are closed.

If you're sitting there with your vents closed and still running 225+ (especially 300), you're overfueled. You have too much charcoal lit at once at that point and by shutting the vents down and starving them, you're forcing them to smolder rather than burn. And if you've shut the top vent as well, now all that shit is in your dome.

And again, that creates an impure flame and just more creosote. This is why a cooler fire generates more smoke than a hot one - it's a shitty burn and the smoke you're seeing is full of impurities that would've burned off on a hot, clean burn. Those impurities are an annoyance in a campfire but they're flat out bad (and now on your meat) in a cook. With your top vent closed as well...ugh. That's just a bath of unburnt shit coming from your smoldering coals that are settling all over your meat. And if you're using briquettes instead of lump, that's mostly binders and glues used to hold the briquette together. You're now ingesting that shit.

Look - even bad barbecue can be okay, but the way you're running your cook here is just wrong. Fill your bottom with unlit coals and put maybe 15 lit coals on top. Leave your vents wide open for about 15 minutes while your heavy smoke burns off. Once you have light smoke kinda 'puffing' (folks will call it a blue smoke), that's when you start your cook.

The unlit coals will then light slowly and in sequence. At worst you should need to close your bottom vents to maybe 1/3 open. You maintain a far cleaner burn, far less creosote and a much more delicate smoke flavor rather than an overpowering and acrid burn.

Don't do what you're doing. It's simply not the right way to go about it. If/when you're looking for a higher heat at the end of your cook, you can just prop open the front door to blast air to it (prop it, don't take it off or you'll lose that heat before it hits the grate) and if you have let the water level in the pan drop off over the length of the cook, it will absorb less energy and you can create your bark.

There's a right way and a wrong way to do a cook on a WSM. You're doing it the wrong way.

[In58men]

I meant 225-235 smfh

[DJ's left nut]

I did the same with my grill grate to make it easier to clean, and I also went to Ace Hardware, got some U shaped handles with bolts and nuts to put a handle on the bottom rack to make it easy to lift out. Most of the design for the GSM is pretty awesome as is. I put in a better thermometer in the lid, but using a digital plugged into the meat is more accurate.

Yeah, they a hollow screw for one of the wing nuts that hold the grate. You can run your probe thermometer through that hole and get the best possible read on your temp. The dome thermometer on the WSMs is pretty shitty (and unreliable; they break after a year or two).

I haven't gotten around to it because I'm lazy, but they work really well. I just run my probe through the top vent. And even that kindof annoys me because I'm usually running 3 separate probes (one in each hole) and even that slight amount of blockage (a pinhole sized wire) is more than I want.

Because YOU NEVER CLOSE YOUR TOP VENT, INMEM!!

[DJ's left nut]

I meant 225-235 smfh

And I reiterate, if you can maintain 225 with your vents closed, you have WAY too much fuel burning at once. You're using more than you need and you're tossing a shitloat of impurities into your dome.

[DJ's left nut]

Oh, and there's a flat out cheat code for these things these days.

I can't remember the name of the device, but it's essentially a computer fan attached to one of your bottom vents that is wired into a temperature probe. You keep your other 2 vents at at about half closed and the 3rd vent will run air up and down as needed to maintain your temperature.

Personally I think they're overkill because again - that water pan is such an exceptional heat sync that unless you just ignore the damn thing while actively trying to sabotage things, you can't break 260 with a full pan of fresh water. But if you're gonna do something like turkey or chicken in there, you want to smoke around 300 to get a crisper skin. If you're doing that, you leave the pan empty (or put sand in it; still a heat sync but less extreme) and in THAT case, having that fan will make things a lot easier.

[HonestChieffan]

Oh, and there's a flat out cheat code for these things these days.

I can't remember the name of the device, but it's essentially a computer fan attached to one of your bottom vents that is wired into a temperature probe. You keep your other 2 vents at at about half closed and the 3rd vent will run air up and down as needed to maintain your temperature.

Personally I think they're overkill because again - that water pan is such an exceptional heat sync that unless you just ignore the damn thing while actively trying to sabotage things, you can't break 260 with a full pan of fresh water. But if you're gonna do something like turkey or chicken in there, you want to smoke around 300 to get a crisper skin. If you're doing that, you leave the pan empty (or put sand in it; still a heat sync but less extreme) and in THAT case, having that fan will make things a lot easier.


Digique. I have 3 of them and wouldnt be without them on long overnight cooks

[DJ's left nut]

Digique. I have 3 of them and wouldnt be without them on long overnight cooks

I spin the wheel and take my chances; haven't had a problem yet.

I run my iDevices and just set an alarm for 220-250. Anything outside of that is within the range that I can fix it without doing any damage (get below 200 and you've gotta essentially restart the cook; about 275 and you've gotta starve it to the point that we get that pesky creosote again).

I've had to drag myself out of bed at 3 o'clock once to stir some coals because I had a weird flame out; I'm guessing I spilled some water in the kettle when I was filling the pan and it created a cool spot that just needed to be stirred in.

It's just such a forgiving cooker that they seem damn cool, but ultimately unnecessary.

[HonestChieffan]

I spin the wheel and take my chances; haven't had a problem yet.

I run my iDevices and just set an alarm for 220-250. Anything outside of that is within the range that I can fix it without doing any damage (get below 200 and you've gotta essentially restart the cook; about 275 and you've gotta starve it to the point that we get that pesky creosote again).

I've had to drag myself out of bed at 3 o'clock once to stir some coals because I had a weird flame out; I'm guessing I spilled some water in the kettle when I was filling the pan and it created a cool spot that just needed to be stirred in.

It's just such a forgiving cooker that they seem damn cool, but ultimately unnecessary.


I just got the CyberQue for my Weber Summit Charcoal as well

[DJ's left nut]

I just got the CyberQue for my Weber Summit Charcoal as well

I think I'd probably prefer it on a one-touch, for sure.

The hardest part of getting an excellent steak is having a rocket hot fire. Good lump charcoal will get you close, but if you want an 1100 degree fire or something as crazy as that, you're gonna need to force-feed air to it.

Have you given it a shot to turbo-charge the fire for steaks? I'd bet you could get an incredible char there.

[HonestChieffan]

I think I'd probably prefer it on a one-touch, for sure.

The hardest part of getting an excellent steak is having a rocket hot fire. Good lump charcoal will get you close, but if you want an 1100 degree fire or something as crazy as that, you're gonna need to force-feed air to it.

Have you given it a shot to turbo-charge the fire for steaks? I'd bet you could get an incredible char there.

Have not but, the Weber Summit Charcoal has two levels for coals and on top level it is perfect without assistance. I sold my XL BGE and bought this last summer and it may be the finest invention since Beer.

[DJ's left nut]

Have not but, the Weber Summit Charcoal has two levels for coals and on top level it is perfect without assistance. I sold my XL BGE and bought this last summer and it may be the finest invention since Beer.

I think I posted about that thing here when they first announced the plans to come out with them a few years ago. I'm fairly confident I masturbated to it on several occasions.

I just need my Performer to rust out or something because I definitely can't justify that monster while I still have the performer up and running. Maybe if Weber would ever put anything on sale I'd give it a shot...

[Fire Me Boy!]

I think I'd probably prefer it on a one-touch, for sure.



The hardest part of getting an excellent steak is having a rocket hot fire. Good lump charcoal will get you close, but if you want an 1100 degree fire or something as crazy as that, you're gonna need to force-feed air to it.



Have you given it a shot to turbo-charge the fire for steaks? I'd bet you could get an incredible char there.I wonder if I could us my Looftlighter to sear steaks....

[Stewie]

As has been said, keep the top vent wide open. Adjust the temperature using the bottom vents. I always keep my thermometer just inside the lid, in the middle.



If used properly the temperature in the upper chamber should never get higher than 325 with all vents wide open and easy to maintain at 220-ish. That's assuming you have the proper water level in the bowl.

[In58men]

If you have a water pan acting as a heat sync, it's almost impossible to get above 300. I have no idea how you're 'sitting' in a 100 degree range; that's a bunch of wild swings that will make your meat tougher. And frankly, the top vent has nothing to do with that; it simply exists to create the 'draw' that pulls air through. If you close the bottom, that's good enough - no air is going to be 'drawn' through the top vent if the bottom vents are closed.

If you're sitting there with your vents closed and still running 225+ (especially 300), you're overfueled. You have too much charcoal lit at once at that point and by shutting the vents down and starving them, you're forcing them to smolder rather than burn. And if you've shut the top vent as well, now all that shit is in your dome.

And again, that creates an impure flame and just more creosote. This is why a cooler fire generates more smoke than a hot one - it's a shitty burn and the smoke you're seeing is full of impurities that would've burned off on a hot, clean burn. Those impurities are an annoyance in a campfire but they're flat out bad (and now on your meat) in a cook. With your top vent closed as well...ugh. That's just a bath of unburnt shit coming from your smoldering coals that are settling all over your meat. And if you're using briquettes instead of lump, that's mostly binders and glues used to hold the briquette together. You're now ingesting that shit.

Look - even bad barbecue can be okay, but the way you're running your cook here is just wrong. Fill your bottom with unlit coals and put maybe 15 lit coals on top. Leave your vents wide open for about 15 minutes while your heavy smoke burns off. Once you have light smoke kinda 'puffing' (folks will call it a blue smoke), that's when you start your cook.

The unlit coals will then light slowly and in sequence. At worst you should need to close your bottom vents to maybe 1/3 open. You maintain a far cleaner burn, far less creosote and a much more delicate smoke flavor rather than an overpowering and acrid burn.

Don't do what you're doing. It's simply not the right way to go about it. If/when you're looking for a higher heat at the end of your cook, you can just prop open the front door to blast air to it (prop it, don't take it off or you'll lose that heat before it hits the grate) and if you have let the water level in the pan drop off over the length of the cook, it will absorb less energy and you can create your bark.

There's a right way and a wrong way to do a cook on a WSM. You're doing it the wrong way.

You’re absolutely right, I just watched a few videos and I’ve been cooking wrong and using WAY TOO MUCH charcoal. I fill my entire Weber chimney up, 15-18 coals seems to be the correct way. I was fucking killing myself for no reason. Thanks for the advice brotha.

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

If you have a water pan acting as a heat sync, it's almost impossible to get above 300. I have no idea how you're 'sitting' in a 100 degree range; that's a bunch of wild swings that will make your meat tougher. And frankly, the top vent has nothing to do with that; it simply exists to create the 'draw' that pulls air through. If you close the bottom, that's good enough - no air is going to be 'drawn' through the top vent if the bottom vents are closed.

If you're sitting there with your vents closed and still running 225+ (especially 300), you're overfueled. You have too much charcoal lit at once at that point and by shutting the vents down and starving them, you're forcing them to smolder rather than burn. And if you've shut the top vent as well, now all that shit is in your dome.

And again, that creates an impure flame and just more creosote. This is why a cooler fire generates more smoke than a hot one - it's a shitty burn and the smoke you're seeing is full of impurities that would've burned off on a hot, clean burn. Those impurities are an annoyance in a campfire but they're flat out bad (and now on your meat) in a cook. With your top vent closed as well...ugh. That's just a bath of unburnt shit coming from your smoldering coals that are settling all over your meat. And if you're using briquettes instead of lump, that's mostly binders and glues used to hold the briquette together. You're now ingesting that shit.

Look - even bad barbecue can be okay, but the way you're running your cook here is just wrong. Fill your bottom with unlit coals and put maybe 15 lit coals on top. Leave your vents wide open for about 15 minutes while your heavy smoke burns off. Once you have light smoke kinda 'puffing' (folks will call it a blue smoke), that's when you start your cook.

The unlit coals will then light slowly and in sequence. At worst you should need to close your bottom vents to maybe 1/3 open. You maintain a far cleaner burn, far less creosote and a much more delicate smoke flavor rather than an overpowering and acrid burn.

Don't do what you're doing. It's simply not the right way to go about it. If/when you're looking for a higher heat at the end of your cook, you can just prop open the front door to blast air to it (prop it, don't take it off or you'll lose that heat before it hits the grate) and if you have let the water level in the pan drop off over the length of the cook, it will absorb less energy and you can create your bark.

There's a right way and a wrong way to do a cook on a WSM. You're doing it the wrong way.

This is a GREAT post!!!

Talk amongst yourselves. I'm a little verklempt.

Dinny

[In58men]

T-Roy Cooks on YouTube is a good teacher for the WSM.

[KCUnited]

I haven't had my WSM for a number of years now, but there was some good info on the Weber Virtual Bullet site many years ago that I found helpful at the time.

http://virtualweberbullet.com/tipsfaq.html

[Buehler445]

You’re absolutely right, I just watched a few videos and I’ve been cooking wrong and using WAY TOO MUCH charcoal. I fill my entire Weber chimney up, 15-18 coals seems to be the correct way. I was fucking killing myself for no reason. Thanks for the advice brotha.

Look at this fucking guy own it.

Respect

[DJ's left nut]

Look at this fucking guy own it.

Respect

Absolutely everyone learns by fucking up.

My dad's buddy is a contractor that does barbecue competitions (because !@#$ing contractors don't have real jobs and have a ton of money; the only people in the world that rival lawyers in that regard). He came to my place to re-build the deck when I'd just bought my house. I had a cheap red brinkman electric smoker and was going to do ribs on it.

I did everything like I had done on my buddy's big pit in Braymer and it tasted like SHIT. Acidic asshole flavor and tough and just god-awful. I was embarrassed to give that stuff to a guy that knew his shit so I threw 2 slabs away and grilled pork steaks instead.

Then I tried to figure out what happened and it was two-fold. 1) Those shitty cheap red Brinkman's don't have holes in the lid for some retarded reason so all the crap was hanging in the top of the dome and making the meat acrid. So I got out a drill and punched holes in it. My guess is that there is no 'draw' needed since it's an electric smoker so they just don't bother with the holes. That's wrong.

2) I oversmoked it by continuing to put soaked wood chips on there so there was a constantly smoldering chip. Dry chunks simply burn rather than smolder so they're far cleaner.

I've never produced anything that poor again because I just figured out why I screwed up. And the reason Inmem got away with it is because Pork Butts are bulletproof. They have so little surface area to their mass that by the time you shred them and mix them up, the acidity is lost to the rest of the mix.

But if you try to do ribs or brisket like that, you're end up grilling pork steaks instead.

That's also how I learned about the water pan. I had the water pan for that thing rust on me and get a hole in it. I was going to do a brisket in it and though "eh, that's okay - I'll just spray more apple juice on it..." thinking that the water pan was for moisture. Nope. My 12 hour brisket cook was done in 2 hours and not edible. "Dafuq?" Well if you don't have that water pan in there, there's nothing to absorb the energy from the heat. So you're running waaaaaaay hotter than you want, and that's especially true of a cheap electric with no temperature regulation. Rather than smoke, you're essentially grilling. You go ahead and give a brisket a shot at 500 degrees. It's....not good. So ended the run of the cheap red Brinkman. Real money was spent shortly thereafter.

Ain't any shame in figuring this stuff out and the only way to learn is by screwing up. I was fortunate in that my buddy and I learned on his parents big pit at his ranch and so we figured out flavors and stuff we liked (and learned on his parents dime). But every cooker is unique and even when you know what you want to do with your meat, you still have to learn HOW to do it on your equipment.

Fucking up is half the battle...

[Dinny Bossa Nova]

Absolutely everyone learns by ****ing up.

My dad's buddy is a contractor that does barbecue competitions (because !@#$ing contractors don't have real jobs and have a ton of money; the only people in the world that rival lawyers in that regard). He came to my place to re-build the deck when I'd just bought my house. I had a cheap red brinkman electric smoker and was going to do ribs on it.

I did everything like I had done on my buddy's big pit in Braymer and it tasted like SHIT. Acidic asshole flavor and tough and just god-awful. I was embarrassed to give that stuff to a guy that knew his shit so I threw 2 slabs away and grilled pork steaks instead.

Then I tried to figure out what happened and it was two-fold. 1) Those shitty cheap red Brinkman's don't have holes in the lid for some retarded reason so all the crap was hanging in the top of the dome and making the meat acrid. So I got out a drill and punched holes in it. My guess is that there is no 'draw' needed since it's an electric smoker so they just don't bother with the holes. That's wrong.

2) I oversmoked it by continuing to put soaked wood chips on there so there was a constantly smoldering chip. Dry chunks simply burn rather than smolder so they're far cleaner.

I've never produced anything that poor again because I just figured out why I screwed up. And the reason Inmem got away with it is because Pork Butts are bulletproof. They have so little surface area to their mass that by the time you shred them and mix them up, the acidity is lost to the rest of the mix.

But if you try to do ribs or brisket like that, you're end up grilling pork steaks instead.

That's also how I learned about the water pan. I had the water pan for that thing rust on me and get a hole in it. I was going to do a brisket in it and though "eh, that's okay - I'll just spray more apple juice on it..." thinking that the water pan was for moisture. Nope. My 12 hour brisket cook was done in 2 hours and not edible. "Dafuq?" Well if you don't have that water pan in there, there's nothing to absorb the energy from the heat. So you're running waaaaaaay hotter than you want, and that's especially true of a cheap electric with no temperature regulation. Rather than smoke, you're essentially grilling. You go ahead and give a brisket a shot at 500 degrees. It's....not good. So ended the run of the cheap red Brinkman. Real money was spent shortly thereafter.

Ain't any shame in figuring this stuff out and the only way to learn is by screwing up. I was fortunate in that my buddy and I learned on his parents big pit at his ranch and so we figured out flavors and stuff we liked (and learned on his parents dime). But every cooker is unique and even when you know what you want to do with your meat, you still have to learn HOW to do it on your equipment.

****ing up is half the battle...

I'm just...

I'm just...huhhh…

You're so huhhh…

Talk amongst yourselves.

Dinny

[tooge]

Absolutely everyone learns by ****ing up.

My dad's buddy is a contractor that does barbecue competitions (because !@#$ing contractors don't have real jobs and have a ton of money; the only people in the world that rival lawyers in that regard). He came to my place to re-build the deck when I'd just bought my house. I had a cheap red brinkman electric smoker and was going to do ribs on it.

I did everything like I had done on my buddy's big pit in Braymer and it tasted like SHIT. Acidic asshole flavor and tough and just god-awful. I was embarrassed to give that stuff to a guy that knew his shit so I threw 2 slabs away and grilled pork steaks instead.

Then I tried to figure out what happened and it was two-fold. 1) Those shitty cheap red Brinkman's don't have holes in the lid for some retarded reason so all the crap was hanging in the top of the dome and making the meat acrid. So I got out a drill and punched holes in it. My guess is that there is no 'draw' needed since it's an electric smoker so they just don't bother with the holes. That's wrong.

2) I oversmoked it by continuing to put soaked wood chips on there so there was a constantly smoldering chip. Dry chunks simply burn rather than smolder so they're far cleaner.

I've never produced anything that poor again because I just figured out why I screwed up. And the reason Inmem got away with it is because Pork Butts are bulletproof. They have so little surface area to their mass that by the time you shred them and mix them up, the acidity is lost to the rest of the mix.

But if you try to do ribs or brisket like that, you're end up grilling pork steaks instead.

That's also how I learned about the water pan. I had the water pan for that thing rust on me and get a hole in it. I was going to do a brisket in it and though "eh, that's okay - I'll just spray more apple juice on it..." thinking that the water pan was for moisture. Nope. My 12 hour brisket cook was done in 2 hours and not edible. "Dafuq?" Well if you don't have that water pan in there, there's nothing to absorb the energy from the heat. So you're running waaaaaaay hotter than you want, and that's especially true of a cheap electric with no temperature regulation. Rather than smoke, you're essentially grilling. You go ahead and give a brisket a shot at 500 degrees. It's....not good. So ended the run of the cheap red Brinkman. Real money was spent shortly thereafter.

Ain't any shame in figuring this stuff out and the only way to learn is by screwing up. I was fortunate in that my buddy and I learned on his parents big pit at his ranch and so we figured out flavors and stuff we liked (and learned on his parents dime). But every cooker is unique and even when you know what you want to do with your meat, you still have to learn HOW to do it on your equipment.

****ing up is half the battle...

Very true. All of it. Now, if you don't want to fuck with water, you can use sand in the water pan. Put down some foil in the pan, fill it about half way with sand. Pour enough water into the sand to make it just moist. After the cook, let it cool, skim the top inch or so of sand out, and just add a bit more next cook. You can probably get a summers worth of cooks out of a regular store bought bag of sand. I find it works the same as water as far as temp dampening, but it's much easier to clean up.

[srvy]

Those old brinkman didn't have daisy wheels is a fact. Their instructions stated it didn't need them because the lid was designed as the heat vent. Remember the rim ring smoked like a coal fired engine on a narrow gauge train. I always drilled and added a daisy wheel from old burnt out charcoal camp grills.

I started smoking on a brinkman I got my Mother one moms day when I was 14 or 15. I think she didn't like getting smoker on her day so I always got the job of smoking lol. They were black then and they had a charcoal and electric model you fill with lava rock on bottom to cover element. I produced some fine brisket flats on that thing. Mom would promptly take it slice it put it in an electric frying pan on low with her home made recipe bbq sauce that tasted a lot like kc masterpiece before there was such a thing. I swear Mr Davis ripped that from my moms old recipe. That stuff would come out fall apart tender and dad liked it that way so I was over ruled. I have nothing bad to say about brinkman they worked. In fact when they shuttered a few years back Kmart had them on close out for 15 bucks. I bought the last two and still have one unopened in the box stored away. But as Tooge says WSM is incomparable like Otis Taylor and now Mahommie. Its heat controllable versatile can go low and high. It's just a well thought out smoker in its simplicity.

As far as creosote that nasty business is from pyrolysis. Its heating wood in low oxygen conditions. This is what I think inmem58 was doing. It's a chimney, open it let the flu draw your control is at the bottom the draw. Pyrolysis isn't your enemy it's what gives you the smokey flavor.Just dont starve it of oxygen. If you want no smokey flavor use gas or buy binchotan at 8 bucks a pound. Note that lump has more creosote than charcoal like kingsford. But mostly it's the smoking wood. No matter how well seasoned it still has moisture. Creosote is formed from partially burned wood and water vapor. Wait till you see blue smoke billowing before placing meat white smoke is for signals and it smells like creosote.

Grease chafe and soot build up also leads to fouling of the meat. Knock the crud off the walls lid and grates. That build up isn't seasoning its meat fouling soot rancid grease. It gets so bad that it drips onto your food yuk. Many guys do what's called a high temp burn to rid it. Nothing cuts it except heat and a wipe down. You can buy a 40 buck propane ice melter that works very well.

typed with my trusty nose picker using Tapatalk

[srvy]

Absolutely everyone learns by fucking up.

My dad's buddy is a contractor that does barbecue competitions (because !@#$ing contractors don't have real jobs and have a ton of money; the only people in the world that rival lawyers in that regard).

Fucking up is half the battle...

I think you mean Real Estate Developer.

[In58men]

Look at this ****ing guy own it.

Respect

Thanks brotha