# sfprankster's WSM (mis)adventures



## sfprankster (May 6, 2015)

I've been a backyard BBQ fanatic for several years(10-12), with a high percentage of successes on a variety of meats, veggies and pizza, on an old Weber kettle. I recently purchased a WSM and today is the first dry burn to begin the seasoning process. Tomorrow will be the fun part, and possibly to make my gf nuts, thefirst run with some fat supplied from my favorite butcher. :)

Built without any mods:













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Having an OCD tendency to change what works by design into my own personalized version, I have already  added a few mods to my WSM before the first burn. 

1) Added a second charcoal grate with a pair of eye bolts to make cleaning as little easier.













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2) Added a gasket kit to the aluminum door and lid. Not the cleanest work I've done, but effective. :(













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3) Added a few washers to the top grill mounting tabs.













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4) Using a small Weber electronic thermometer inserted through the silicone plug to be able to check the WSM temperature in the cooking area.













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5) Changed to a Brinkman water bowl.













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The plan is to start small, with a chicken or two at first. Then onto easier cuts until I learn the ins and outs of the WSM. 

Having access to a commercial kitchen gives me room to start making brines and my ultimate goal, brined/smoked pastrami. :)

Wish me luck!!!

Any recommendations on a meat thermometer I can read without opening the smoker?


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## dirtsailor2003 (May 6, 2015)

I'd ditch the water pan, or more exactly not fill it with water. Wrap it in foil and run dry. Have you tested your therm? Boil some water out the tip in and see how close you are to 212f. Can vary a few degrees depending on your altitude and the barometric pressure. But if you are within 5-7 degrees you're probably good. 

Any of the remote Maverick therms, or the iGrill are good. I own both and use my iGrill2 all the time and the Mav is my back up.


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## sfprankster (May 6, 2015)

I have no plan to fill it with water, more to deflect the heat/smoke to the outer edges of the WSM.

The therm in the lid is off by 35-38 in boiling water. No plan to use it at all.

The digital is much closer, off by 3 in the same boiling water test.


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## gary s (May 7, 2015)

*Good morning and welcome to the forum, from a nice day here in East Texas. Lots of great people with tons of information on just about  everything.*

*Gary*


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## noboundaries (May 7, 2015)

Welcome to SMF sfprankster!  Great job on setting up the new WSM.  As far as wireless therms go most of the folks opt for one of the Mavericks, aka RediCheck, aka Ivation.  IGrills too.  The probes are the weak point on the Mavs but a little shrink wrap where the lead connects with the probe and you're good to go.

Lots of WSM fans here, including me. 

Have fun!      

Ray


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## themule69 (May 7, 2015)

Glad you joined the group. The search bar at the top of any page is your best friend.
About anything you wanna know about smoking/grilling/curing/brining/cutting or slicing
and the list goes on has probably been posted. Remember to post a QVIEW of your smokes.
We are all smoke junkies here and we have to get our fix. If you have questions
Post it and you will probably get 10 replies with 11 different answers. That is
because their are so many different ways to make great Q...
Happy smoken.
David


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## sfprankster (May 7, 2015)

Thanks for the welcome!!

I just ordered a Maverick therm, should be here Monday.

1st seasoning run on my WSM with a grill of beef brisket fat( or as my gf calls it, beef bacon).

1 hour:













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2 hours:













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3 hours:













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I used the Minion method(45 lit and 3/4 full ring, 2 chunks of cherry for smoke) for starting the briquets, since I'm familiar with this method on my Weber kettle. So far, I'm finding it fairly easy to maintain a stable temp of 265-275 on this run. I just have to remember to make small adjustments on either the intake or exhaust vents, not both at the same time, wait a bit, and check for the change in temp.


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## tropics (May 7, 2015)

sfprankster said:


> I have no plan to fill it with water, more to deflect the heat/smoke to the outer edges of the WSM.
> 
> The therm in the lid is off by 35-38 in boiling water. No plan to use it at all.
> 
> The digital is much closer, off by 3 in the same boiling water test.


Your digital may not be wrong check on Boiling water at high altitudes


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## sfprankster (May 7, 2015)

Not really at high altitude here, just a tad over 1200'. For me, a +/-3 degree range is workable.

I'll give it a test tomorrow at my commercial kitchen in Santa Cruz. Less than 50' elevation there. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  

I'm noticing a small amount of smoke coming from behind the WSM lid therm. Is it advisable to apply a little RTV silicone between the therm and the lid?


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## dirtsailor2003 (May 7, 2015)

sfprankster said:


> Not really at high altitude here, just a tad over 1200'. For me, a +/-3 degree range is workable.
> 
> I'll give it a test tomorrow at my commercial kitchen in Santa Cruz. Less than 50' elevation there. Thumbs Up
> 
> ...



I wouldn't. As it junks up it will seal up. If you want to hurry up the process spray some cooking oil on the interior of the lid around the therm.


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## sfprankster (May 7, 2015)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> I wouldn't. As it junks up it will seal up. If you want to hurry up the process spray some cooking oil on the interior of the lid around the therm.


Thanx!! The amount of smoke escaping is minimal.

Another run planned for tomorrow with more beef brisket fat

Well, 4 hours into the first seasoning and still some charcoal remaining for maybe another hour or two. I can see the advantage of having a remote therm to keep up with the changing temps. Today, the weather wasn't the most ideal, with a few showers and temps jumping up and down by 15 degrees, with the changing cloud cover.

4 hours:













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This piece of beef brisket fat came out like pork chicharrones @ 4 hours. I can see smoking pork belly in the my future.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Still more smoking for another hour or two.

Charcoal after 4 hours:













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## one eyed jack (May 7, 2015)

sfprankster said:


> Thanks for the welcome!!
> 
> I just ordered a Maverick therm, should be here Monday.
> I just have to remember to make small adjustments on either the intake or exhaust vents, not both at the same time, wait a bit, and check for the change in temp.


Welcome to the site.  Congratulations on your new smoker.  She's a "beaut."

Most folks advise against closing the vent at all,  (Unless you happen to get a run away fire).

I have three years worth of smokes on my 18.5 WSM and have never felt it necessary to set the vent at any thing less than 100% open.

The best trick with the WSM is to catch the temp on the way up and start early closing your drafts.

Judging by your test smoke pics you'r well on your way to smoking nirvana.


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## mike5051 (May 7, 2015)

You've gotten some good advise!  Keep the top vent wide open and control the temp with the bottom vents.  I've been using mine for almost 2 years and it keeps getting better/easier.  No water in the pan, just foil it for easy clean up.  Welcome to the forum, enjoy!

Mike


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## sfprankster (May 8, 2015)

I'll give it try tomorrow on round 2 of the seasoning process, leaving the top vent open and playing with the lower vents.


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## one eyed jack (May 8, 2015)

Good luck and have fun.


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## jirodriguez (May 8, 2015)

With a brand new WSM you will find the 250° mark is going to be top vent 100% open, two bottom vents 100% closed, and the third bottom vent about 1/2 open. Remember they burn a bit on the hot side when new, so damp it down early or it will get away from your, then it's really hard to bring back down.

Best of luck!


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## sfprankster (May 8, 2015)

Thanks for the vent advice!! Just the information I needed to find a way to shorten the experimentation process. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I'm running round two of the WSM seasoning, once again with beef brisket fat. The top vent is 100% open and one of the lower vents 40-50% open. The temps are holding steady, in the mid 230's, after the first couple of hours. 

So far so good!! Getting a little anxious to begin actually smoking a few chickens and some char siu sometime next week.

That's when the fun will begin!!


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## welshrarebit (May 8, 2015)

sfprankster said:


> Thanks for the vent advice!! Just the information I needed to find a way to shorten the experimentation process. :sausage:
> 
> I'm running round two of the WSM seasoning, once again with beef brisket fat. The top vent is 100% open and one of the lower vents 40-50% open. The temps are holding steady, in the mid 230's, after the first couple of hours.
> 
> ...



Char siu? I'll be following that smoke...


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## one eyed jack (May 8, 2015)

sfprankster said:


> Thanks for the vent advice!! Just the information I needed to find a way to shorten the experimentation process.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think that all of the effort you put into sealing it up,  (With the gasket kit), has put you ahead of the game as far as temp control goes.  Most WSMs need several smokes to "gunk up" the leaks enough to gain control of air flow and maintain low and slow temps.  If you can hold mid 230's I think that you are pretty much ready for anything you want to try.

One thing I will mention:  You mentioned loading your ring to 3/4 full.  I will suggest that you load it full in order to allow longest possible smoking time.  I always fill my ring and simply save unburned briquets for my next smoke.  It is a bit messy to save the unburned briquets but the "used" briquets work just fine in the  second go-around.  You might well, eventually wind up needing to add smoke time beyond what a full ring will provide.  I added a pair of screen door handles to my 18.5 to make it easier to dismantle the smoker while hot and loaded in order to add briquets.













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## sfprankster (May 8, 2015)

After reading up on the WSM, it seemed to have the best bang for the buck and most mentioned adding the gasket kit right away. With the ring at 3/4 full, it ran just over 8 hours yesterday, at 270-280. Today, I'm keeping it below 240 and will be logging the difference in run time.

With the gasket kit, there's a minimal amount of smoke escaping from the edge of the lid, a tiny bit from where the therm mounts in the lid and none from the door. After 5 1/2 hours today, it's holding the mid 230's without much adjustment to any of the vents. I had one hole fill with ash and I ended up closing that vent and opening another 40-50% and it never missed a beat. Unfortunately, I have to work out of town all weekend, but as soon as I get back on Sunday night, the pork butt begins to marinate and the char siu smoke begins on Monday. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  

I can see the addition of the handles on the sides of your WSM could become very useful.


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## mike5051 (May 9, 2015)

I too like those handles.  Great idea!

Mike


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## one eyed jack (May 9, 2015)

The handles paid their way the first time I had to dismantle the hot smoker to rebuild a fire.  (Loooong butt smoke).


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## mike5051 (May 9, 2015)

One eyed Jack said:


> The handles paid their way the first time I had to dismantle the hot smoker to rebuild a fire.  (Loooong butt smoke).


I get about 18 hrs on a full ring at 225, sometimes a butt needs more.  I need handles.

Thanks,

Mike


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## one eyed jack (May 9, 2015)

mike5051 said:


> I get about 18 hrs on a full ring at 225, sometimes a butt needs more.  I need handles.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mike


You are welcome Mike.


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## sfprankster (May 11, 2015)

The Maverick therm I ordered late last week arrived today.

Took a bit to figure out how to pair the transmitter/receiver to work together...

..guess that's why they include instructions inside the box... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Let a few chunks of pork butt take a relaxing bath in a char siu marinade overnight...

...and the smoking has officially begun. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Check out my char siu recipe >>HERE<<


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## sfprankster (May 13, 2015)

Round 2 of my WSM experience... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Another easy smoke... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Buttermilk brined whole chicken.

Can be found >>HERE<<


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## sfprankster (May 16, 2015)

Round 3 of my WSM adventure has begun... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





A group of chicken thighs are bathing in a citrus ginger marinade overnight... 













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Another group of thighs given an application of rub...













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Then onto the WSM for a place in chicken nirvana... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  

The pastrami adventure begins...

...brought this baby home and it's 20+ day brine adventure begins on Tuesday... 













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## welshrarebit (May 17, 2015)

You are on a roll!!! Good stuff...


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## sfprankster (May 17, 2015)

WSM experience 3 has come to a conclusion. Chicken thighs two ways. The first, chicken thighs marinated overnight in my citrus ginger marinade. The second, chicken thighs with a rub I quickly tossed together from the contents of my spice drawer. 

For a view, click >>HERE<<


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## sfprankster (May 21, 2015)

Round 4 of my WSM experience was my first attempt at beef brisket, the holy grail of smoked meat...  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Brought this baby home last week with the intention of making pastrami out the entire 9.5 lb brisket... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	

















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Once realization set in as to how much pastrami a 9.5 lb brisket would make, I split the brisket into two equal pieces and began the brining process last night at my commercial kitchen. I plan on leaving the brisket in the brine for 20-21 days, before I smoke the pastrami on my WSM.













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The other half, I brought home and got to make my first attempt at smoking a brisket on my WSM. 













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Further details of my first brisket smoke can be found >>HERE<<


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## sfprankster (May 28, 2015)

Round 5 of my WSM experience happened last night... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Now I know to NEVER begin smoking a pastrami(brisket) late in the afternoon... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





After 8 hours and 45 minutes of smoking, the pastrami finally finished at an internal temperature of 203 and passed the tenderness test(random poking with a toothpick) at 1:15 am... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





....and then having to wait another hour for the pastrami to rest before having the first slice was painful... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Today's brunch included my first smoked pastrami, grilled asparagus and smashed potatoes, with a spoonful of the pastrami jus over the top.













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Patience is the one virtue I highly recommend for everyone before venturing into the smoker section of your local store. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  

..of which I showed little. I fully intended to brine my pastrami a full 20 days. After opening the brine bucket on the 7th day, Tuesday night, and having all of the spice aromas in the kitchen all night, the smoking began on Wednesday afternoon... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





You can find more information on my pastrami experience >>HERE<<

Having to work all weekend, round 6 has already begun...

... a couple of racks of baby back pork ribs.


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## sfprankster (May 28, 2015)

Round 6, pork ribs 4 ways... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Had time to experiment today on a couple of racks of pork ribs to find a favorite method.

Cut the racks in half and prepared them in 4 different ways...

1) rubbed only

2) rubbed and prepared in the 3-2-1 method

3) rubbed and sauced only

4) rubbed and sauced in the 3-2-1 method

I found I liked the rubbed and sauced in the 3-2-1 method the best. The moistness and fall off the bone tenderness were the best combination for me. 

All of them were tasty and none will go to waste around here. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Pork ribs served with grilled zucchini, garden salad with homemade blue cheese dressing, garlic bread and a glass of champagne with fresh cherries.













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I may have missed a little, but not much... 













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Got off to a much earlier start than yesterday...


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## mike5051 (May 28, 2015)

Wow Dude!  You are on a roll!  Great job with everything!


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## sfprankster (May 28, 2015)

mike5051 said:


> Wow Dude!  You are on a roll!  Great job with everything!


Thanks!!!

It's been loads of fun, except last night's late/early morning finish with my first pastrami.


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## sfprankster (Jun 3, 2015)

Round 7 of my WSM (mis)adventures begins tomorrow... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Have a nice tri-tip resting in a garlic/soy based marinade overnight. Be ready for  the smoker tomorrow... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





The one I am looking forward to, is a maple bourbon bacon, I have planned for smoking on Sunday.













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## sfprankster (Jun 3, 2015)

More of my (mis)adventure with tri-tip can be found >>HERE<<













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## sfprankster (Jun 4, 2015)

For a fun experiment last night, and to not to let anything go to waste. I placed some pork belly skins on the lower rack of my WSM while smoking my tri-tip.

This is turned out as an easy version of an unfried chicarrone. I smoked the skins for a little over 6 hours, rendering the fat and waiting for the skin to puff and crisp. Once done and cooled, I sprinkled with a little chili powder and a squeeze of lime for a nice, crispy snack.













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## sfprankster (Jun 8, 2015)

Round 8 of my WSM (mis)adventure involved oysters, butter, lemon, fresh grated garlic, fresh ground black pepper, chipotle and paprika smoked over applewood for 10-12 minutes... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 













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These were short lived and gone in minutes...

Up next... 

Maple bourbon pork belly banh mi sammies...


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## gary s (Jun 8, 2015)

Nice !!!   I love Oysters 

Gary


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## Bearcarver (Jun 8, 2015)

Awesome!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Those Oysters would have had short lives here too!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Love Them!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## sfprankster (Jun 8, 2015)

Round 9 of my (mis)adventures continues today. I intended to smoke a pair of pork belly sections into bacon At some point today, one of the sections changed its destiny to become some banh mi(vietnamese sammie). Mostly because I had some farm fresh daikon, carrots and cilantro in the fridge, this became an opportunity to create a fun and unique sammie.

More details of my WSM (mis)adventure with maple bourbon banh mi can be found >>HERE<<













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.


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## sfprankster (Jun 8, 2015)

gary s said:


> Nice !!!   I love Oysters
> 
> Gary


Thanx!!

I know the people that run Hog Island Oysters in Tomales Bay, CA. Whenever i get the chance to get up there, I grab a few hundred and throw a bbq party for my friends and neighbors. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  


Bearcarver said:


> Awesome!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanx!!

Fortunately, they're quick and easy to prepare.


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## gary s (Jun 8, 2015)

Nice looking Sammie's and corn

Gary


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## sfprankster (Jun 8, 2015)

gary s said:


> Nice looking Sammie's and corn
> 
> Gary


Thanx!!

I have to work most weekends, so Mondays are a time to have a little bit of fun. Luckily enough, I own a business in the food industry and can mix business and pleasure to get a little creative in my cooking.


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## Bearcarver (Jun 9, 2015)

Looks Great from my house!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	









BTW: I like your sign on the Dog in your Avatar!!

Reminds me of My Nephews' sense of humor. The Twin Boys (about 40 yrs old) Babysat for their younger brother's new baby. So they Dressed him up & put him in the front yard, by the sidewalk. Then they put a sign out next to him "Baby For Sale CHEAP". Then they took a picture & texted it to their Brother (Baby's Father).

Bear


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## sfprankster (Jun 9, 2015)

Thanx!!

The avatar image was from a random image search to send to a fiend with pugs. His pugs run his life, for better or worse...


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## sfprankster (Jun 13, 2015)

Today's (mis)adventure, round 10, begins with a wild caught King Salmon with fresh lemon slices and green onions from my garden.













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I never had the chance to get any images of the finished salmon. My friends arrived and were ready to eat as soon as I pulled the salmon from my WSM.


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## sfprankster (Jun 14, 2015)

My WSM (mis)adventures continues into round 11 with brats... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I didn't make the brats myself, they were purchased at a local market with an exceptional meat selection. I am only responsible for the smoking.

Since i had some extra room in my WSM when I smoked some wild caught salmon fillets earlier today. I tossed on a pair of bratwurst sausages to give them a try in my WSM.













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Just the basics for a brat sammie...













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A few squirts of horseradish mustard...

...a sliced brat ...

...couple of fork fulls of sauerkraut...

...onto a lightly toasted sourdough bread...













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...and it's time to eat. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	

















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Tasted so much better cooked in the smoker than either in my kettle or on the stove top.


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## sfprankster (Jun 22, 2015)

Another (mis)adventure on a Day Late and a Dollar Short Father's Day Smoke can be found >>HERE<<

A couple of variations of pork belly smokes. 

*Char siu pork belly*













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*Maple bourbon pork belly*













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## sfprankster (Jun 22, 2015)

And introducing my featured smoke of the day... 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





A mini rack of beef short ribs, dry rubbed overnight and smoked using the 3-2-1 method over hickory at 225. Sauced for the last hour with a tomato/honey/chili based bbq sauce. 













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More information on my beef short rib smoke can be found >>HERE<<

Now I truly know how Fred Flintstone felt at the drive in...


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