WSM comp cooks

[Smokin' Aces]

some valid points on all the combinations used. I think I'm leaning towards (2) 22"s

Just curious what the going number for used 18" wsm's, will be selling the 3 I have as well as a 2fan stoker draft system

sled i am intereted in the smokers and fans i tried to pm you pm me back and let know prices

 

[Big Bears BBQ]

WSM smokers are well worth their money...........

 

[JerryA]

Does anybody here cook two butts and one brisket in a single 18" WSM? I know some teams do that in comps, I tried it this past weekend at home and results were not that great. I think maybe the butts were too large and money muscles were too close to the edge where the heat rises (butts were on bottom rack), and that resulted in the front piece of the money muscles becoming tough while the inside of the money muscle was perfect. Brisket was fairly large but shrunk nicely, cooked OK.

 

[ique]

How about insulation? Anyone use that reflectix stuff or a guru jacket?

 

[Q-Dat]

Does anybody here cook two butts and one brisket in a single 18" WSM? I know some teams do that in comps, I tried it this past weekend at home and results were not that great. I think maybe the butts were too large and money muscles were too close to the edge where the heat rises (butts were on bottom rack), and that resulted in the front piece of the money muscles becoming tough while the inside of the money muscle was perfect. Brisket was fairly large but shrunk nicely, cooked OK.

Its a tight fit, but I point the MM'S towards the center when I do two butts on one grate.

 

[Stacks]

For those doing chicken and ribs on the same WSM, are you putting one meat above the other? Staggering the times so that the ribs are done before putting on chicken? Or something else?

Chenernator, I do 3 slabs on the bottom rack if I'm using water in the pan. I found the bottom will run 20 degrees cooler so my ribs can cook at 235 while my chicken cooks at 255. I cook 16 thighs on the top rack in two foil pans so I don't get drippings on the ribs (hopefully the ribs are foiled by the time the chicken goes on anyway) If I time everything correctly, when I open the lid to tweak the chicken I pull the top rack and check the ribs then get everything closed back up and start managing the temp spike I just created. I would say this works well for me but I've yet to get a call for ribs so I may change it up a bit for next year.

 

[Still Smokin]

How about insulation? Anyone use that reflectix stuff or a guru jacket?

Don't use the Reflectix stuff, I tried that this weekend and it melted to the sides of my WSM. It was OK for a while until I took the lid off to check meats and the temp spiked, as soon as I put the lid back on, it melted.

:doh::doh::doh:

 

[JerryA]

Its a tight fit, but I point the MM'S towards the center when I do two butts on one grate.

Thanks for the response.
What size pork butts do you buy. Mine were over 9lbs each, I don't think they would have fit if MM pointed toward the center.

 

[Q-Dat]

Thanks for the response.
What size pork butts do you buy. Mine were over 9lbs each, I don't think they would have fit if MM pointed toward the center.

That sounds about right for the size I typically use. If you have to trim the side opposite of the MM to get a better fit, it shouldn't matter much because I find the meat on the MM side of the bone to be better anyway.

 

[Funtimebbq]

Does anybody here cook two butts and one brisket in a single 18" WSM? I know some teams do that in comps, I tried it this past weekend at home and results were not that great. I think maybe the butts were too large and money muscles were too close to the edge where the heat rises (butts were on bottom rack), and that resulted in the front piece of the money muscles becoming tough while the inside of the money muscle was perfect. Brisket was fairly large but shrunk nicely, cooked OK.

Jerry,

The tight fit for the butts lead me to use the 22". With the 18", there were problems when removing the butts for foiling. Sometimes the butts would fall apart right at the MM. With the extra room in the 22", I put the MMs facing the center of the grate.

Benny

 

[Funtimebbq]

How about insulation? Anyone use that reflectix stuff or a guru jacket?

I also had the melting problem with the reflectix stuff. I now use the BBQ Guru jackets in all weather conditions. It helps me to use less charcoal in the 22". I can go over 16 hours on 2/3 bag of Kingsford Blue at 250 degrees.

Benny

 

[JerryA]

Jerry,

The tight fit for the butts lead me to use the 22". With the 18", there were problems when removing the butts for foiling. Sometimes the butts would fall apart right at the MM. With the extra room in the 22", I put the MMs facing the center of the grate.

Benny

Thanks Benny! I have a 22 and an 18, I'm going to have to re-think my strategy!

 

[atvalaska]

1-22" performer and 3 -18' wsm's ...... no 22"wsm for me...i used one(22"wsm) twice now, and i'm not liken it.........uses more fuel / lots of mass/harder.... to hold temp in my book.

 

[ique]

no 22"wsm for me...i used one(22"wsm) twice now, and i'm not liken it.........uses more fuel

I've read this criticism more than once re: the 22. I don't get it. You can cook twice as much meat, of course it will take more fuel

 

[boogiesnap]

I've read this criticism more than once re: the 22. I don't get it. You can cook twice as much meat, of course it will take more fuel

yeah, you really need to load that farker up to justify firing her up.

OR, just take out the middle section. i can smoke a couple racks of ribs with a 1/4 bag of stubbs.

 

[Smokesman]

1-22" performer and 3 -18' wsm's ...... no 22"wsm for me...i used one(22"wsm) twice now, and i'm not liken it.........uses more fuel / lots of mass/harder.... to hold temp in my book.

I've read this criticism more than once re: the 22. I don't get it. You can cook twice as much meat, of course it will take more fuel

ATV - I would recommend cooking on a 22 more than a couple times before tossing it as an option especially in a competition setting. I've cooked on both sizes for some time now and both get similar burn times but as Chris said of course it is going to use more fuel. This may be considered a con to some but the pros for using a 22 in comp far outweigh them. The cons for using an 18 have already been listed here. As far as holding temp I'll watch it closely and make adjustments for the first 1/2 hour after the meat goes on but after that I'm comfortable walking away for several hours. My sweet spot is 275/285.

 

[White Dog BBQ]

I've read this criticism more than once re: the 22. I don't get it. You can cook twice as much meat, of course it will take more fuel

Not to mention that you can lay 3 racks of ribs on each grate without rolling, rib rack, etc. That's huge for us.

 

[swamprb]

22" WSM is a fuel hog - Deal with it!

I've read this criticism more than once re: the 22. I don't get it. You can cook twice as much meat, of course it will take more fuel

You got that right Chris!

The big bullet is a fuel hog, thats no secret, but it does have the capacity you can't get with the 18".

The original question was regarding WSM's for competition, and thats how I'm using mine. They pretty much stay in the trailer and I rarely use them at home.

I can cook the same amount of meat on my Drum Smokers using HALF the amount of fuel as the WSM's 18 or 22. But I'm not a big fan of Ribs cooked on the drum.

So for comps I have smaller diameter charcoal rings that I use, in the 22" WSM for short cooks.

Here is an 11" diameter ring I used on my Cajun Bandit for chicken cooks.

We have Sausage and Tri-Tip cooks here in PNWBA Land and I've used charcoal rings using the Smokey Joe and use them in the 18" WSM's.

To address the vent placement on the 1st Generation 22" WSM's the guys at Cajun Bandit came up with the High Flow charcoal ring with tabs to hold the grate, extensions on the ring to move it away from intake vents to eliminate clogging and it will hold a whole 22 lb bag of Blue Bag Kingsford.

Fuel Hog? Hell yeah! I just scored a 2011 22" WSM for $250 from an Egghead that was put off by the amount of fuel it used.

I guess if the 22" WSM doesn't move atvalaska, thats cool too. I can always use another one!

What do they say? "it ain't the cooker it's the cook"

In this case it should be "it ain't the cooker - it's how you use it!"

 

[Jeffp]

I use one 18 and one 22. Pork and Brisket on the 18, ribs and chicken on the 22. I like being able to lay the ribs flat. Not to mention, this set up fits best in the back of my truck with a campershell on it. There is no way I could fit 2 22s in there with everything and not have to leave my daughter at home!

 

[que_dawg]

For you guys that use the BBQ Guru smoker jackets on your WSMs what are your opinions of them. Thinking about getting these, but would like to know if you that have used them regularly feel that they are worth the investment.