FIrst Long Cook With WSM

So I have had this odd shaped steel vessel in my back yard for a month or so and have used it once to cook some ribs back in February but really wanted to give it a test run on a long cook. I have been looking at a lot of info on how to run the cooker, methods and techniques to get good results. The site is where I got my main source of info is virturalbullet.com and is dedicated specifically to the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. It is so in depth you can even toss the manual that comes with your cooker. This site alone is one of the main reasons I decided to go with the Weber and not an Egg (other than price). Everything is there and in easy to read formats. Its organized into a few diffrent sections.....operation, maintenance, start up and a forum section. If you have seen the show Pitmasters on TLC....Harry from Slap Yo Daddy BBQ is a regular in the forum area as are others on the BBQ circut....so lots of good info here.

On Saturday it was cold and crappy in St. Louis and we decided to pack Sam up and go to the store for a few things. I recently bought a new cookbook on line and its loaded with items all focused around grilling. last weekend we grilled some shrimp and small fillets and it turned out excellent... so shrimp was on the menu this weekend as well. We picked up some things for Cajun Po Boys and I on a whim decided that I wanted to try a pork shoulder and give it a try...The rule of thumb for cooking at low temps is roughly 2 hours per pound so I would need do an overnight to make this happen. The cut of meat I bought was roughly 7 lbs and after trimming the fat cap and it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 6.5 or so. This means i had no option but to start it late on Saturday Night in order to have it ready for Sunday lunch or dinner. If you have ever smoked anything in a kettle for a long period of time you will know that it seems that you need to monitor and adjust air into the cooker on a constant basis to keep the temp low. This is where things get normally sketchy.....you need to plan your day out around the approximate time of it takes to fully cook the product and with anything but a dedicated smoker. This means either getting up extra early or staying up late. Or you can get up every few hours though the night to "feed" the fire. Its almost like a newborn.....I didn't care for the 2 hour feedings with Sam early on so this option was clearly off the table.

Around 8 pm we started prepping the meat....trimming and applying the rub. The standard rub I have been using I found on a website called amazingribs.com and is a take on Charlie Virgo's famous blend.  Its probably not the best for pulled pork and really is better suited for ribs but its all I had at the time. Here is the recipe:
http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/rendezvous_rub_and_BBQ_ribs.html
Ingredients8 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons powdered garlic
4 tablespoons mild chili powder
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons kosher salt
4 teaspoons whole yellow mustard seed
1 tablespoon crushed celery seed
1 tablespoon whole celery seed
1 tablespoon dried crushed oregano
1 tablespoon dried crushed thyme
1 tablespoon whole allspice seeds
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
1 teaspoon ground coriander

It also calls for Accent but if you read the ingredient list on the package it is just MSG. Leave it out...you wont notice.
I fired up the WSM using the Minion Method....A good write up on it is found here:
http://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion
This is a good way to ensure there is enough fuel for at least a 12+ hour cook and  is contrary to the Weber guide. The Minion brings the temp up and then you begin dampening air to maintain rather than fight it down from 350F to get to the correct temp as in the Weber guide.

A bit of a tangent about charcoal.....I primarily use Kinsford for both the kettle and smoker. Costco has been where I historically buy but they have recently began to only carry the Competition briquettes. If you pay close attention to the packaging you will notice that you get less in terms of volume with the Comp. vs the standard blue bag. Also, it does burn hotter...and faster. This is not desirable in a smoker. Most write ups for running a WSM you find out there base most if not all the info on the standard blue bag. I have been using lump hardwood Charcoal lately in the kettle  for things that require lots of heat such as steaks....anything you need to get a good sear on really. I won't go into that as it is two different animals.

Anyway....I loaded the chamber up with about 13lbs of Kingsord Blue and started roughly 30 coals and threw them on. Then Assemble the cooker, water pan and added the meat. I also Foil the water pan FYI...this allows for easier clean up. Let the unit run up to 250 or so and then damper the bottom vents to about 25%  I even went as far as drawing a simple spreadsheet on our Ipad to track vent locations...cooker temp and meat temp.  (Again with the Engineering Background)


I monitored the temp for about 2 hours and finally felt it was to the point that could go to bed. At that time it was a constant 220-235. This was about midnight and I really didn't know what to expect in the morning. For some reason I woke up around 5:30 and went out to check. I was certain that I would find that the fire went out and all would be lost but to my surprise a rock steady 225 was indicated on the dial. Checked the fire box and plenty left so I went back to bed! Fast forward until 10am or so and the meat finally reached 190 (perfect temp for pulling..well beyond the recommended 160 for pork)

It was stupendous.....if I may say so myself. Just a note....I only used the rub above....no brine or baste. Nor did I touch the meat until at least 8 am. Keep the lid on....every time you open the lid you add about 15min to the cook time. I cant say enough about the WSM and look forward to whats to come in the next few months.

Flame and Smoke

Primarily this Blog is about whatever.....one of those whatever things for me is BBQ. I love it. Not just eating it but the whole process.....it really does bring people together and lets me kill a day outside with Sam or anyone else who is willing to stand around and smell. My Dad was and is still well known for grilling out (in those days it was the St. Louis Staple...Pork Steak) on a factory discounted Weber from Grandpa Pigeons. It was some sort of "factory refurbished" grill that fell off a truck or something. Served our family well for almost 20 years. This thing stood the test of time until Billy (Brother) and I  replaced it with a new Weber for a fathers day gift a few years ago.  So I always grew up with a grill in the back yard.... It was always Charcoal Grills and always Weber stuff.   Dad broke down at one point and bought a gas grill when I was a teenager and I don't think it even made it a few years.....total junk. At that point I realized that gas grills are the devil. Rain, snow, hail what ever....every weekend year round the coals were burning on Sunday. My now father in law also was famous for cookouts and being from somewhere other than St. Louis actually cooked things outdoors on a Weber other than pork. A welcome site indeed. He's damn good at it too.....

My first entry into BBQ'n was in College....Bought my first Weber Smokey Joe (That later was stolen) and the fire was lit. No pun intended. You can just barely see the handle above the top of the lawn chair in the above photo.

After my wife and I bought our house I ended up taking the grill that we got my dad as he scored a deal on a used Weber performer with a table and all that jazz.
I started experimenting with all kinds of set ups, gizmo's and meats. I found out that it really is a science.....all about time and temperature. The right heat for the right meat or vegetable. Ironically the whole fire thing is possibly the root of the whole obsession....For at least the last few years I constantly read and tried different things during cook's. Its always about improving and testing a new technique or method. Part of the Engineering background
I guess.

So this year I fully committed...After using a product called the Smokeanator 1000 in the Weber kettle for the last few years I decided to go full scale. The Smokeantor 1000 is a stainless insert with a water pan that separates the coals for a real indirect cook. It worked well for short cooks but became the heat became somewhat hard to control as the cooks got longer. Its not that the Weber kettle can not handle the tasks of smoking but I felt to do it right I needed to go all in with a dedicated smoker that can handle Low and Slow cooking for extended periods. Something i just didn't get with the Smokeanator. I still think its a great addition but not a full replacement for the real thing. See photo of the Smokeanator in action below.

Also this year.....my bother moved out on his own and as a right of passage i donated the Fathers Day Grill to him. Really it was just the excuse i needed to buy my own. I looked at lots of options....Big Green Eggs....Bubba Kegs and others but ultimately decided to go the Weber route again. The value was just to good and the quality and reviews were very good. Placed an order for a WSM 18" and a 22" Performer with Gas assist.

I must say I was a little bit skeptical of the gas assist on the kettle as it seemed un necessary. It just so happened to be part of the package. I wanted the work table and the height that the Performer offers over the stand alone grill. I will say it is pretty nice to have....coals are ready and blazing in just over 10 minutes. The gas really helps to speed things up and is a definite plus. Also, this is not meant to be an advertisement for Weber....I just found that they make good stuff. American made and Steel.

As the season starts will I attempt to chronicle the seasons BBQ offerings. The successes and failures....product and recipe reviews as well as some additional bullshit as I see fit.

Almost Summer Time.....Whats That Mean?

I can't even begin to explain how much I love Spring and Summer......This means lots of things around our house. It means yard work, beer, lawn chairs, lake season, sandals, and BBQ. All these things can even exist in one day and at the same time. Its really a thing of beauty. Although I never really quit BBQ'n through the winter it really does take a backseat to the sub freezing temps and absence of the sun for months on end. Most grills don't have issues cooking a good meal even below 0F but for me its about the whole deal. I like being outside and completely getting into the day. Today was one of those first days that I have looked forward to for a while.

So anyway....its finally gotten warmer and the grass has turned green. The familiar sounds of my Black and Decker Mower's copper windings spinning to the optimum RPM to effectively manicure our lawn into shape. Not only mine but the whole neighborhood is abuzz on Saturday mornings with this familiar sound(more on this later). It also means an escape for Ali and Sam who have been cooped up in the house all winter on the verge of going insane. 

Last weekend was really the first real weekend of all these things (minus Real BBQ)but for some reason it kind of got lost in the shuffle of everything going on. It was the annual landscape-athon that I seem to have gotten pretty good over the last few years. 10 bags of mulch, A hernia inducing bag of potting soil, some flowers and a bit of sun are what makes up our "Opening Day". 

I am really looking forward to this summer for multiple reasons. I just booked a vacation to the beach in late August....more on this later. Sam obviously is now walking very well and getting into things. He also does not require the same kind of attention as last summer and is very involved with things. Although last year we did a lot of "new" its different now. He interacts much more and reacts to everything. So the vacation is a big thing for us....his second plane ride and a different place for all of us to get away from things. This summer also means Sam's first fishing trip...luckily we just need to walk out the back door. It also possibly means the a new home should we be so lucky. Just today we buried a statue of St. Joseph and we will see if I continue to be a non believer.We have big things happening this year with the lake property and really just scratched the surface with everything involved with this. 

First Go Round

My wife suggested that I open one of these pages and give it a go. Why? I guess I have a lot to talk about and it is quite possible she is tired of hearing all of it. No....thats not the reason. The real reason is that it is much easier to put things in writing than talk about it and get your point or topic across. Believe me...I have sat at many conference tables listening to people talk and about sales quotas, price points and other associated BS for hours on end when a simple number on a page would make a bigger impact than listening to some guy telling war stories about some project in Cattle Creek Wyoming 20 years ago. 

This blog is intended to be an outlet for some of the things I enjoy and value in my life. My wife and kid, my job (although I do not enjoy this All of the time, mostly its pretty good), BBQ, Vacations and basically anything else I care to write about.