Fire management on a WSM 18

[SmokingHotNurse]

So, first long smoke on the WSM 18. Spareribs on the bottom deck, and a meat parade on the top deck (pork belly for a few hours, shoulder hams for a few hours, jerky cuts for a few minutes). Did the snake variant of the Minion method to set up my fire, and never had to feed it for the whole cook. In general it worked like a charm. However, when I would have to go into the smoker to change out meats on the top deck, I'd get flames from the fire, a temp rise, and difficulty getting back down to the happy range. Bits of the spareribs that hung out over the water pan got a bit charred from the fire but otherwise, everything came out amazing.

Any tips to keep the flares down?

 

[Nuco59]

disclaimer: I don't own a wsm. I run a single grate UDS. I don't ever see "fire" unless I get a lot of dripping juice from AND my lid gets left off for an extended period of time. I do ribs, brisket, butts- and none of those require (for me) a lot of movement (no flipping , rotating, mopping) so my "lid off" time is very low. I will peek, the temp will rise and it will come back down in 5-10 minutes- so I never fight it or sweat it. 30-50 degrees more for a small time hurts little. All I can suggest is when you do intend to have the lid off, have all your stuff in a row and move smartly.

 

[musicmanj]

There are many ways to cook on the WSM...I use this method -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOctn85Y-nk

Once the dampers are set, the thing runs itself. These WSMs are quite the amazing cookers.

 

[NickTheGreat]

There are many ways to cook on the WSM...I use this method -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOctn85Y-nk

Once the dampers are set, the thing runs itself. These WSMs are quite the amazing cookers.

I do something similar on my WSM. Meaning, I don't use the water pan and do the coal in a similar manner. :thumb:

 

[PatAttack]

Taking the lid off regularly will cause flare-ups and a hotter fire.

Try to avoid that as much as possible.

 

[HouseDoc]

Not much else you can do about the flame up. It's just the way it works.

 

[El Ropo]

Leaving the lid off for more than a very short period of time will give the fire access to a lot of extra oxygen. One tip that long time UDS users have discovered is to close the intake vents a few minutes before removing the lid, and of course work fast to get the lid back in place ASAP. This will limit the temp spikes and flame ups. Then you can open up the intakes after lid is on.

 

[Hamdrew]

Leaving the lid off for more than a very short period of time will give the fire access to a lot of extra oxygen. One tip that long time UDS users have discovered is to close the intake vents a few minutes before removing the lid, and of course work fast to get the lid back in place ASAP. This will limit the temp spikes and flame ups. Then you can open up the intakes after lid is on.

This definitely works for WSM's, too. When I do use the water pan, sometimes i'll only have one intake open at a time, as well (all the way open).


Has anyone tried lining the bottom of their WSM with foil- less the intakes- and putting the pan on upside down? i can't see a benefit, but who knows? Extra grease barrier/protection never hurts on rainy smoke days..

 

[SmokingHotNurse]

Thank you all for the advice! I think the reason I had more issues is I spent a lot more time than I should have messing around with temp probes (my other new toys). Need to develop a better rhythm for playing with those!