BBQ'd this weekend with a few pics

[HAL9000]

Don't understand, sorry. I just wanted to show some pics of food I made.

He's saying the woman on the left made and served the food.

 

[chalmers]

I picked up a WSM a couple of weeks ago. The first weekend I did 2 beer can chickens and a small (4 lb) butt. Came out awesome. Last weekend I had a party and did two 7 lb butts, 2 chickens (but I butterfly'd them instead of beer can...came out just as good in terms of flavor and moister but took up more room than they do standing on the cans), and 40 ABTs. The WSM is my new obsession...I already wish I got the 22.5" model instead of the 18.5".

I got the 18.5" used for $175...good deal. I'm having terrible trouble regulating temperature though...I feel like I have to babysit it constantly. It seems really random as to where the temp goes. First I can't get it past 225, then it flies to 300+, food still came out good though.

 

[CaptnKirk]

That chicken looks like its going to blow. those ribs look good.

I tried a brisket this weekend. To be honest, it turned out like shit. It was a brisket flat about 5 1/2lbs. and I smoked it for a good 9 hours, up to 185 degrees. Had no smoke ring, but did have somewhat a smoky taste. The thing was tough, not tender. I'm going to stick with pork and poultry.

Solution:

Prime the Brisket with a good layer of Kosher Salt, then heavy course Black Pepper,
& dust generously with Garlic Powder (NOT Garlic Salt)
let sit in covered container overnight in refrigerator.

Take the Brisket out an hour before you want to start cooking.

Pack the fire ring with Kingsford Original - Full, slight crown to the pile (you need it to burn for 12 hours)
Start a full chimney of bricquets in the middle of the pile on the fire ring, & when the chimney is fully lit,
dump it on the pile of coals & spread it out.

Make sure the water pan is full.

Cover the cooker, & wait for it to come up to over 200*F, all vents full open.

When you see the 200*F + temperature, place the Brisket on the top grill, Fat side up.
Open the fuel door, and add 3 medium wood chunks. Hickory works well.
Don't use Oleander - ever !

Check every hour & when it goes above 230*F close the top vent only to just more than half open - about 2/3rds.
It should stay in the 220*F, +/- 10 easily.
Play with the vents on the bottom if you have to.
Check every hour until it is stable, then every 2 or so, still the coals through the Fuel Door,
add 2 or 3 more wood chunks after 2 hours, it won't take in any more smoke after 3 or 4 hours.

At 9 hours, take the Brisket out & double wrap in aluminum foil.
Put it back on for 3 more hours.

Let stand 15 minutes before unwrapping, and another 15 after unwrapping before cutting.
You can even mash it with a spoon to make shredded taco meat.

Killer !

 

[chalmers]

He's saying the woman on the left made and served the food.

Oh. Well I can't imagine why he would say that considering he wouldn't know.

 

[spidey07]

Don't understand, sorry. I just wanted to show some pics of food I made.

I'm just giving you a good "ribbing". Get it? Ribbing.

You done good. You done very good. You should be very proud. I love my WSM. Welcome to BBQ.

 

[HAL9000]

Oh. Well I can't imagine why he would say that considering he wouldn't know.

He was just trying to insult you by saying your Mum cooked it.

 

[davmat787]

They say brisket is the most difficult, and I agree with "them". I would have preferred to see a thicker cap IMHO.

Currently my brother and I are planning on smoking a brisket for our family get together this weekend. We are pretty good with Ribs and pork butt, but this will be our first time doing a brisket. Might have to re think this...

Know any good articles on smoking a brisket for the first time?

edit: just saw captnkirks post above, reading that now...

 

[shortylickens]

fap

fap
fap
fapfapfap

 

[chalmers]

I'm just giving you a good "ribbing". Get it? Ribbing.

You done good. You done very good. You should be very proud. I love my WSM. Welcome to BBQ.

Thanks. I am obsessed already. I need to learn how to regulate temps better though. I think I am not beginning correctly with the charcoal. I have a chimney and I can't seem to get them uber white hot no matter how hard I try. They seem to get partially white but there's not much of a fire at all. After awhile I just said f it and dumped them into the ring. I think that's why it took longer to get the temp high enough, perhaps. I guess it'll come with time.

 

[spidey07]

I got the 18.5" used for $175...good deal. I'm having terrible trouble regulating temperature though...I feel like I have to babysit it constantly. It seems really random as to where the temp goes. First I can't get it past 225, then it flies to 300+, food still came out good though.

You'll get better at it as you keep doing it. You'll learn what woods you like, etc. But you shouldn't have to baby sit it, once it's up to temp it will hold it like nobody's business.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

It's a nice site to get started and learn. You can use the base knowledge from there to do whatever you want. And the recipes are pretty decent as well.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

ewww. you should probably see a doctor about that.

What we call a barby the yanks call grilling.

What they mistakenly call a BBQ is actually slow cooking. We dont really do it so theres no proper word for it.

It sounds pretty tasty though.

And what's with Americans and ribs? You guys go crazy for ribs!

 

[seepy83]

Chalmers, I highly suggest virtualweberbullet.com and their forums (tvwbb.com) for any questions you might have.

To properly manage your temperatures, you must keep the top vent 100% open all the time. You regulate temperature by adjusting the bottom vents. If you can't get it under control, you might have significant air leakage around the door, or your mid-section might be out of round and not forming a proper seal. Put a bright flashlight inside the WSM at night, assemble it, and see if there is significant light escaping anywhere. Also note that the weather conditions (outside temperature, humidity, wind, etc) can have a significant impact.

The guys over at virtualweberbullet.com / tvwbb.com really know their stuff, and I think it's probably the best resource in the internet for a WSM newbie.

 

[HAL9000]

What we call a barby the yanks call grilling.

What they mistakenly call a BBQ is actually slow cooking. We dont really do it so theres no proper word for it.

It sounds pretty tasty though.

And what's with Americans and ribs? You guys go crazy for ribs!

Yeah it's bizzare isn't it.

If you are outside cooking food on a rudimentary cooking device involving a fire or coals etc you are having a BBQ.

 

[Imp]

So does the paint come off those cans when you cook them?

 

[chalmers]

You'll get better at it as you keep doing it. You'll learn what woods you like, etc. But you shouldn't have to baby sit it, once it's up to temp it will hold it like nobody's business.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/

It's a nice site to get started and learn. You can use the base knowledge from there to do whatever you want. And the recipes are pretty decent as well.

Thanks. I just looked up that site and noticed this pic in the tutorial:

http://virtualweberbullet.com/fire_photos/hotcoals.jpg

My charcoal never looked anything like that when I began. They were still mostly black. Maybe my chimney starter sucks or I was too impatient.

 

[SilverThief]

damnit that looks good.

 

[chalmers]

So does the paint come off those cans when you cook them?

Haha good question, didn't notice anything.

 

[*kjm]

Currently my brother and I are planning on smoking a brisket for our family get together this weekend. We are pretty good with Ribs and pork butt, but this will be our first time doing a brisket. Might have to re think this...

Know any good articles on smoking a brisket for the first time?

edit: just saw captnkirks post above, reading that now...

Just make sure to brine the meat.... I cook mine at about 165 for about 13hrs..... brisket is like butter

 

[davmat787]

Yeah it's bizzare isn't it.

If you are outside cooking food on a rudimentary cooking device involving a fire or coals etc you are having a BBQ.

Yea, that different countries have different names for things is really bizarre. Now, do you want a cookie, I mean a biscuit?

 

[HAL9000]

Yea, that different countries have different names for things is really bizarre. Now, do you want a cookie, I mean a biscuit?

I like both cookies and biscuits, I do find the fact that English speaking countries use the same words for different things bizarre, particularly given that America seems to do things more differently than any other English speaking countries.

This thread isn't about that though.

 

[spidey07]

Thanks. I am obsessed already. I need to learn how to regulate temps better though. I think I am not beginning correctly with the charcoal. I have a chimney and I can't seem to get them uber white hot no matter how hard I try. They seem to get partially white but there's not much of a fire at all. After awhile I just said f it and dumped them into the ring. I think that's why it took longer to get the temp high enough, perhaps. I guess it'll come with time.

Then spend a lot of time on the site I listed.

BBQ is really all about - fuel, air, temp. The are all related and you mostly control the temp via the air. As your fuel get's less you need to give more air. But it isn't a constant process. I frequently start my stuff in the evening and wake up in the morning to check on it - yep...still 225-230.

see the brisket recipe in this thread. It's a typical way to start a WSM and works great. Remember, you start the cooker with the barrel off and get your coals lit/ready in a chimney. If your coals aren't getting white hot in the chimney something is wrong. You use those white hot coals to essentially "light" all the coals in the cooker.

It takes a good hour to get the cooker started.

 

[seepy83]

Thanks. I just looked up that site and noticed this pic in the tutorial:

http://virtualweberbullet.com/fire_photos/hotcoals.jpg

My charcoal never looked anything like that when I began. They were still mostly black. Maybe my chimney starter sucks or I was too impatient.

I've been using the Minion Method (http://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion) for starting mine, which has been 20-30 coals in my chimney starter and it takes about 20 mins for the chimney to be ready to dump. If you're loading more coals into your chimney, it will take a little longer...maybe 30 mins for a full chimney.

 

[spidey07]

Thanks. I just looked up that site and noticed this pic in the tutorial:

http://virtualweberbullet.com/fire_photos/hotcoals.jpg

My charcoal never looked anything like that when I began. They were still mostly black. Maybe my chimney starter sucks or I was too impatient.

Probably the latter. See post above. Takes me a good hour to get it where I want it.

 

[chalmers]

Then spend a lot of time on the site I listed.

BBQ is really all about - fuel, air, temp. The are all related and you mostly control the temp via the air. As your fuel get's less you need to give more air. But it isn't a constant process. I frequently start my stuff in the evening and wake up in the morning to check on it - yep...still 225-230.

see the brisket recipe in this thread. It's a typical way to start a WSM and works great. Remember, you start the cooker with the barrel off and get your coals lit/ready in a chimney. If your coals aren't getting white hot in the chimney something is wrong. You use those white hot coals to essentially "light" all the coals in the cooker.

It takes a good hour to get the cooker started.

Thanks. Yeah I know I had coals in my chimney full for at least 20 minutes if not more. They never even came close to being full white, a few had a bit of white on them and that was it. It was always shooting smoke up though.

Off to the site i go

 

[spidey07]

Thanks. Yeah I know I had coals in my chimney full for at least 20 minutes if not more. They never even came close to being full white, a few had a bit of white on them and that was it. It was always shooting smoke up though.

Off to the site i go

If I had my coals in a chimney for 20 minutes they would be blazing red hot and burned down to about half the chimney essentially burning up most of the fuel. Go to home depot and pick one up.

-edit-
The only way I can see your coals not lighting is if they were wet or damp. 20 minutes and a chimney starter should be so hot you can barely touch it without mits.