WSM 22.5 Questions

[nmaust]

I have an offset smoker that I love but is too heavy to be remotely portable, & I don't have room for a trailer pit. I've entered a few competitions in the past but typically using someone else's pit, but it has only turned out well when I used a Pro Q bullet smoker I had a few years back, because I at least knew the smoker & cooked how I wanted to cook. Won $500 for ribs on the first contest I entered.

So, I'm thinking of getting the 22.5 WSM do I can take it to competitions in the back of my truck, but I have a few questions:

--How much does the temperature typically vary between the top grate and the bottom?

--Is the top grate large enough to fit a whole packer & a couple racks of ribs?

--If you're cooking on both the top and bottom grate, what do you typically cook on the bottom, & how do you keep juices from the top from dripping on the bottom?

 

[welshrarebit]

I've only used the top rack on mine but I'm interested in the responses as well...

 

[jirodriguez]

I have an offset smoker that I love but is too heavy to be remotely portable, & I don't have room for a trailer pit. I've entered a few competitions in the past but typically using someone else's pit, but it has only turned out well when I used a Pro Q bullet smoker I had a few years back, because I at least knew the smoker & cooked how I wanted to cook. Won $500 for ribs on the first contest I entered.

So, I'm thinking of getting the 22.5 WSM do I can take it to competitions in the back of my truck, but I have a few questions:

--How much does the temperature typically vary between the top grate and the bottom? Typical variance is about 10 degrees plus or minus a few degrees.

--Is the top grate large enough to fit a whole packer & a couple racks of ribs? You could do a packer and one flat rack of St. Louis trimmed spares, but in all honesty I would just put the brisket on the bottom and the ribs up top. Or take two smokers if you don't want to do that - a lot of folks using WSM's at comps will have 2 or even 3 of the 22.5" WSM's. Basically since you end up cooking a lot of extra meat to get that perfect piece for the turn in box you will see them do one smoker full of beef, one for ribs, and one for chicken.

--If you're cooking on both the top and bottom grate, what do you typically cook on the bottom, & how do you keep juices from the top from dripping on the bottom? For at home I usually have the longer cooking meat on the bottom. Even if you have the brisket in for 6 hrs. then add the ribs up top for 5 hrs. the outside of the brisket is already hot enough to kill any bugs and it is going to be cooking at temp. for another 5 hrs. which is plenty long enough to kill any bugs as well. If you really don't want the drips then I would consider adding the third rack between them and covering that rack with foil to act as a drip shield.