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My BBQ team Slap Yo Daddy BBQ from Diamond Bar, California, has been competing using these smokers which I bought off Amazon with free Prime shipping. They work flawlessly and are easy to use and clean up. Our WSMs regularly allow us to win Grand Championships even when we go up against other smokers costing over $15,000.
The key step once your smoker arrives is to ensure you season it properly. New WSMs will tend to overheat until you are able to get grease and gunk on the inside and around the rim where the lid sits to ensure an air tight seal. The fastest way to season is to do the following: Phase One cover the water pan completely with aluminum foil and run a full load of lit Kingsford briquettes and let it run as hot as it can with no water in the pan (over 350 degrees) to burn off any manufacturing residue. Clean out the ash and proceed to phase two.
Phase Two fill the charcoal basket 1/2 full of unlit briquettes. Then put in a 1/2 chimney of lit Kingsford briquettes in the middle. This will allow a slow burn for 3-5 hours at 72 degrees outside temperature. Adjust the vents to get 275 degrees on the dome thermometer. Put bacon strips, chicken parts, pork fat, or any other scrap meat you don't plan to eat. The key is to get fatty meats to generate lots of grease. Toss in a couple of tennis-sized wood chunks to generate smoke. Repeat Phase Two at least twice before you cook meat that you want to eat.
Phase Three When you cook meat you plan to eat, take a tip from me and don't use any water in the pan. When I cook, I just cover the water pan with foil top and bottom. I foil it twice so I can remove the second layer after the cook and refoil it. That way, I don't have to clean my pan. It works just as well, AFTER YOU SEASON YOUR WSM, when you cook without water in the pan. Dry heat allows the crust to form faster on the meat (called the bark). Once the crust forms on the meat, you can introduce moisture. I just spray water with a regular spray bottle to encourage bark formation after the initial crusting (Maillard reaction) has begun. To test for properly formed bark, use your finger nail and scrape the meat surface. If the crust has formed, it will not come off when you gently scrape it with your fingernail. If the crust comes off, the bark has not set (still wet) so don't spray until it sets. Let it cook longer and check back in 15 mins. You'll get much better results this way. We've won many awards with this technique.
When it comes to cleaning your WSM, never wash the insides. Get a good grill brush and scrape down the insides and dome. You need the "aroma" which takes several years to build up. I NEVER mix my meat WSMs from my seafood and hotdog WSMs. Nothing destroys the aroma faster than cooking fish/seafood/hotdogs in a WSM used to cook chicken, ribs, pork, brisket, and tri tip. That's why you should buy a pair if you plan to cook seafood/fish/hotdogs. Better yet, get a Weber Kettle for those meats. Remember to always empty the ash from the bottom and grease on the foiled water pan to avoid fires and any rancid old oil smell before you cook. When you need to clean the grates, put the grates in a big plastic trash bag, put on gloves, and spray oven cleaner on the grates while in the bag and let sit for 1/2 hour. Hose off the grates. It's as easy as that. To clean the outsides, I use Simple Green spray.
Enjoy your WSMs. They are awesome and built to last.
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As a fan of the earlier Smokey Mountain Cooker, I'm surprised and gratified with the changes they made to the smoker.The previous smoker was an easy 5 stars in my book. I guess I'd have to give this one 6 stars, because it's better!
After using my old smoker for some time, I began finding ways to improve it. It seems that Weber thought so too, and their changes include all of mine plus a few more.
Here are some important improvements:
Wider door for adding charcoal & such. This is NOT a small detail but rather a much appreciated design change. The older model's smaller door made it more difficult to place wood chunks or new charcoal where I wanted them and once upon a time I knocked the water pan down into the coals trying to put a wood chunk toward the back of the smoker.
The door latch is spring loaded and features a lever type handle. The previous door latch is not spring loaded and had a featureless round knob. It was less secure and not always easy to tell if the latch was fully closed. Now it's obvious -for those of us who need things to be obvious. :)
Built-in thermometer! To think I paid more than Amazon's current price on the smoker and then another $50 on a thermometer. Mine is even in the same place on the lid. Great minds think alike, I guess... and Weber added this useful feature while keeping the price under control.
Bottom ash catch pan. I never thought of that one but then again I have a concrete pad set up and it was never a big deal to sweep up a few stray ashes.
Overall, the smoker performs as well as the older model but is much easier to use. With the thermometer, it will be much easier to maintain temperature and smoke up some great grub right out of the box.
I am by no means an expert, but here are a few quick tips for using this smoker.
0. If you are interested in instant gratification, get a gas grill or go out for dinner. It takes some work, time and patience to use and maintain this smoker.
1. Keep the temperature as stable as you can.
2. Don't lift the lid any more than you have to (for mopping, adding charcoal, etc.
3. Use briquets, at least at first. It's much easier to work with compared to lump charcoal. If you do choose to use lump charcoal, don't add any extra wood chips or would chunks! You'll oversmoke the food and that's bad!
4. Start early. Give the charcoal time to start up, and the liquid in the water pan to get up to temperature before you put on the food.
5. Line the water pan with aluminum foil. Trust me; it will be much easier to clean later if you do!
6. Make small changes to the vents when you need to adjust the temperature. Give it some time to work.
7. Get a good book on smoking. I think we all know a good place to look for one...
8. The internet is your friend. Check out Weber's site, some of the bbq forums and most definitely Virtual Weber Bullet.
Best Deals for Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18.5 Inch
I bought this smoker after extensive research. I have always been the "grill master" in my family, but never invested in a smoker. After using the Weber website and a few other websites dedicated to smoker cooking, I was able to successfully smoke 2 whole chickens the first time! The chickens were moist and had the most delicious, delicate, smoky favor!I was so confident in my skills that a few weeks later ( and after much research) I had a BBQ at my house and smoked 15 lbs of chicken, 4 slabs of ribs, and 2 pork shoulders! I had to stay awake most of the night before (off & on), but the thermometer and the ease of use in adding charcoal made it very easy... I received rave reviews for my meat at the BBQ the next day!
If you're in the market for a smokerthis is it! It's great for everyoneexperienced or newbieit's worth the money 2x over!!!
P.S.I didn't bother with a lot of the extras but the following items were invaluable. I used paraffin cubes that worked wonders!!! (non-toxic/no tastefound at Lowes) Also, If you're planning on ribsinvest $15 in a standing rib rackyou can stand 4 slabs up at a timeconserving space while not compromising on taste...
Happy Smoking!
Honest reviews on Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker 18.5 Inch
Having been a Weber user since 1975, I figured that this was going to be a great little smoker. I had never smoked a thing in my life (Not entirely true, I grew up in the 60's).It took about 15 minutes to assemble. A snap. And since it was in 3 major pieces, it was easy to get from the assembly area, the living room, to the smoking area outside. I poured in enough briquets to fill the briquet containment ring. Heck, I didn't know what was too much or not enough. Turned out it was a good amount.
I lit it up just like the Weber kettle I have and got the coals all toasty. Put on the middle stage, got the hose and filled the water bowl, put on the top grate, threw on a 6 pound pork roast that I had put a dry rub on (about.com, dry rub recipes, Kansas city style). Put on the lid and began smoking, the meat that is.
I fiddled with it for about an hour just getting a feel for the air adjustments. It didn't take much to get a temp set perfect.
I added briquets, 10-15, every 90-120 min or so and rustled the others around to keep the ash off of them. A long pair of cheesy, dollar store tongs was helpful for doing this. I also added a stick of well-seasoned plum wood at the same time. Nummy nummy!
8 hours later I had a smoked pork roast that was GONE after being done as all of the neighbors wanted to try some. Needless to say it was a hit with me and a crowd.
Next day I fired it up, put a brined whole chicken on it with NO rub or sauce. 3.5 hours later I had chicken to die for.
My wife told me I could NOT smoke our Westy.
Buy this thing. Painless, fiddleless, fool proof. Nuff said. Straight up. (Did I mention how well made and heavy duty it is?)
Y'all gotta smoke with this think.
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