First smoke attempt, help please

[cutcookeat]

Hi All:

Had my first outing with my WSM this weekend and I have a couple a questions as things turned out ok but there were some issues.

Here is the blog of the day out...

I was smoking a 7lb boneless turkey breast, which should be done in 4 hours (30 min x 7 plus 30 minutes).

Q1) Minion method
I tried this method by putting heat beads in my Weber Chimney about half to two-thirds full and when they were white hot dumped them into the WSM. Piled them up and the added some Weber charcoal briquettes around the outside with some oak and apple wood chips in between the hot and cold briquettes. Things were good with all vents open I was getting about 110C and it was 41C outside. At 4 hours I was still at 56C in the breast. I had only opened the smoker this one time from the top. I was running out of daylight and the heat was getting worse falling below 100C.
Further investigation showed that the heat did not migrate out to the briquettes. It was not until I raked the coals into a pile by the door and gave them a blast of air did things get better, but then I got a huge spike. I finished off in the fan oven which dried it out, head hung low.

Any idea where I went wrong, besides trying to smoke in January in England

Q2) Soaking
I had two types of wood in this first attempt. I used some large chunks of Oak and some Weber Apple Wood shards. I would not soak the Oak as they are about 2 inches in diameter, but would you soak the shards?

Q3) Fire by the door
I know a "real" pit master does not have to open the smoker, but I felt kind of helpless until I made a pyramid by the door so I could see and work the heat. Is there a problem with doing this and not spreading the coals out evenly?

Q4) Clearing up
Of course the water bowl on the inside needs to be cleaned as it contains meat drippings, but what about the underside which get quite a bit of smoke residue?

Thanks for tolerating newby questions

Drew

[Swindon_Ed]

Q3) Fire by the door
I know a "real" pit master does not have to open the smoker, but I felt kind of helpless until I made a pyramid by the door so I could see and work the heat. Is there a problem with doing this and not spreading the coals out evenly?

This sounds like you've not put enough charcoal in, if you're doing a small cook fill half way up the ring and if you're doing a big cook fill all of the way up to the top. Also i'd suggest using the search bar on the forum and look up an old thread on clay saucer method as this will give you higher heat and better temp' contol.

Finally when cooking chicken or turkey it's better to cook at a higher temp'. I normally cook at anything from 280-325f.

[Eddie]

I will just reiterate what the Dr and Ed has said. When it comes to lumpwood charcoal, get restaurant grade charcoal. If you have trouble getting it. It can be obtained from Bookers, Liverpool wood pellets or even Ed's sponsor http://www.bigk.co.uk/
The clay saucer I find is a must. If you have a garden centre near you. pick one up that will fit on the top of your water pan. viewtopic.php?f=8&t=320&hilit=clay+saucer#p1560

Hope this helps

Eddie

[biggus_richus]

Hi Drew,

I'm a comparative newbie as well, so I ask this in the hope that someone more experienced might answer: could it be that you got the minion the wrong way round? It's normally done with lit coals on top of unlit - it may be that doing it with unlit on top of lit burnt the unlit coals out too quickly.

What I can advise, as a newbie, is don't lose heart! I started off last summer and went straight to trying to cook ribs. I had about one success out of four and at that point lost interest a bit.

However, I've decided to start again from the basics and I fired up my WSM this past weekend (not like it was particularly cold out). I followed the basic barbecued chicken recipe on the Virtual Weber Bullet website. It turned out well, was pretty darn tasty, and my interest has been rekindled a bit.

Keep at it, and maybe invest in a chimnea/firepit if the weather decides to get a bit more seasonal!

Rich.

[British BBQ Society]

A couple of things I would consider,

Your timing are recommendations for a fan oven, a BBQ / Smoker is a different beast and sometimes it is just a case of waiting until its done. An oven would be at 180c about 350f

You mention the water pan, did you use boiling water from the kettle and keep it below 2". Cold water or too much water absorbs the heat.

For that size joint I wouldnt have used the minion method, one load of charcoal could easily handle the cook, especially if using heat beads. Personally I wouldnt use any type or briquette for minion but that is just my opinion.

Good luck on your next cook

Toby

[From The Sauce]

Agree Toby,
Not sure minion is the best method if you only want to cook for 4 hours. I only tend to use it overnight.
Also agree with the Doc about wood, some people soak it some don't I prefer not too and still get some good results.