# Smoking Times on WSM 18



## GrayGhost21 (Mar 12, 2022)

Newbie to smoking here!

I've done about 4-5 smokes on my WSM 18 and I'm noticing a rather large difficulty getter pork shoulder/butt done in less than 15 hours (give or take).
After my smoke today (8.5 pound pork butt), I decided I should reach out to see if I'm not doing something right because after 13 hours, I only hit 172 degrees (aiming for 190). Here's a brief overview of my schedule: 

Outdoor start temperature was 27 degrees (keep in mind the overall question applies to the 2-3 pork smokes I've done)
3:04am meat is on smoker @ 230 (degrees)
Temperature dropped to 216 by  7:15am
8:05am - basted and temperature at 225
9:00am - Stall at 156 (meat temperature)
Meat temperature dropped to 148 before breaking)

10:05am - wrapped meat
11:00am - added more charcoal
11:45 - stall broke
Pulled the meat at 175 at 4:30pm


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## Buckeye02 (Mar 13, 2022)

I have the 22" WSM. When I'm smoking a shoulder I keep it around 275°. Normally takes around 11 hours with an 8lber. I start probing for tenderness around 200°. Do you slice vs shread? I would run the pit hotter. And I would definitely take your finishing IT up. If I'm pressed for time I'll wrap at 165° IT with some honey, butter and brown sugar. If I'm using my pellet grill I'll smoke at 225° for flavor. But with charcoal and wood there's really no point to smoke that low IMO. Unless you're looking for a good excuse to sit out by the smoker and drink beer for hours upon end! Hope that helps


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## gmc2003 (Mar 13, 2022)

Are you using water in the pan?

Are you relying on the lid thermometer(notorious for being off) or do you have an external one that is accurate? 

In my 22" WSM I use the minion method and no water in the pan. Smoker temp is running around 260*+/-. Usually it takes about 9-10 hrs. to cook for pulled. 

Chris


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## Buckeye02 (Mar 13, 2022)

gmc2003 said:


> Usually it takes about 9-10 hrs


I guess I should've said 11 hrs with time to rest to be more exact. I normally let it rest for an hour or 2


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## gmc2003 (Mar 13, 2022)

TGRIMMOSU#1 said:


> I guess I should've said 11 hrs with time to rest to be more exact. I normally let it rest for an hour or 2



I've had them go 11 hours before, but it's usually 9-10. I pull once I can put my hands in the meat. Very short resting time.

Chris


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## GrayGhost21 (Mar 13, 2022)

Thank you all for the responses! 
I do shred the pork, use water pan, and use an accurate temp probe. 

Definitely seems I need to run higher cooking temp then. I've been following this as a guide (which is by far the best rub I've ever had).


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## Memphis901 (Mar 29, 2022)

GrayGhost21 said:


> Newbie to smoking here!
> 
> I've done about 4-5 smokes on my WSM 18
> 
> ...


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