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Tri-tip is great! I've done loads of them. I usually cook Tri-Tip with a mix of grilling and roasting as opposed to straight up smoking. Slow roast it (275 to 300) to give the smoke time to penetrate it and break down the collagen (while it's a sirloin cut it has some connective tissue running through it). Finish it with a good sear on the outside. If you have a Kettle grill it is a good idea to get that screaming hot for the sear at the end. Cook it to medium-rare or medium (135-145 internal). Enough so that you break down the connective tissue, but not so much that it dries out. You can do it with the traditional Santa Maria style rub, but they're also great grilled with just S+P and then topped with chimichurri.

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- Chris

agree with Atrill...thats how I do them..I take them to about 125 or so then let them rest..then slice..

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First Place BBQ Sauce - 2010 NBBQA ( Natl BBQ Assoc) Awards of Excellence

To be honest, I prefer my ribs (well, actually, all barbecue) cooked a bit on the hotter side. I like to do the ribs without the waterpan, but with a different, lighter, coal set-up, at temps closer to 300-310 range, with the fat dripping directly into the fire. It makes for a different flavor that tastes like a cross between grilling and smoking, which I love. Chicago aquarium smoker barbecue tends to have this sort of flavor. But 250-275 will make perfectly fine barbecue. You don't have to be anal about your temperatures. Just use your senses to determine doneness. It takes a bit of practice, and you will get better at it with experience (I'm always learning.) I may be crazy, but I swear the 250-275 range makes for moister and more flavorful barbecue than the ones I've done at 225 or so, but that might just be confirmation bias.

I should have been clearer about temp. I'm never too worried or anal about temp and don't mind the fluctuations. What I was most annoyed with was that for 2 hours the temp hovered around 200 or so and then shot up to 250-275 (on the lid thermometer). It took me by surprise and my ribs were a bit more charred and drier than I would have liked. It also moved my dinner time up about an hour earlier than I had planned.

I think I figured it out though. A combination of different charcoal and having more lit coals before "closing" the smoker up for the cook has worked much better. I found Royal Oak natural lump at Menards up here and let the "fire" burn a bit longer before putting the middle/top back on the smoker.

So - thanks you guys. This forum is like BBQ technical support!

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"It's not that I'm on commission, it's just I've sifted through a lot of stuff and it's not worth filling up on the bland when the extraordinary is within equidistant tasting distance." - David Lebovitz

This is for Tyrus-
once your chimney is lit, and you dump your lit charcoal on top of the unlit stuff, let it go without the body for a good 15-20 min at least,
so it has plenty of oxygen. I also put a few hardwood lumps under the lit charcoal too-
Also when you do put the body on, you can take the door "hatch " off for the first 15-30 min untill it gets to the temp you want it to be.
I always have the opposite problem, of my WSM running too hot! LOL

Another thing I think helps- I bought a second grate the size (or close to) of the bottom grate (under the charcoal ring)
and I criss cross it under the ring, so the lit coals dont fall thru untill they are ash.
I think it helps maintain the fire longer.

Good luck- getting ready for a rib-stravaganza over the 4th by special request for my son..LOL
been a while for me.

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"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home."
~James Michener

I finally took the plunge and picked up a WSM last weekend. Grabbed a chimney starter to go with it.

I smoked a pork shoulder on Saturday with hickory chunks and applewood chips. My wife said it's the best one I've made yet. It was damn good. I still have a few sandwiches worth left in the freezer.

On Sunday I did rib tips using the 3-2-1 method. These were tasty but a bit overdone. I think next time I'll go 2-2-1 or something closer to that. Still a nice treat, better than I'd get at most places around me.

I'm going to a friends "big-ass bbq" this Saturday and plan to smoke beef short ribs or turkey legs...or leg of lamb. I have to see what Blue Ribbon has on hand tomorrow afternoon and go from there. Sunday I plan to smoke some catfish for my wife as she's been bugging me to do it.

My wife ordered Low and Slow for me this morning so I look forward to getting my hands on that and refining my technique with some pro advice.

Beef short ribs I did on Saturday came out great. This pic is only 2 hours in at which point I foiled them for 2 hours. Then they went another hour unfoiled. Forgot to keep getting pics as I went along but everybody at the BBQ was raving on these and my smoked wasabi mashed potatoes.

I'm loving the WSM. It's so easy to maintain the temp where I want it.

Yesterday I did 4 big catfish filets over oak and applewood (my go to combination.) I thought they'd only take about 2 hours but they went just over 3 at about 230. I was very happy with the end result. I took pics on my wife's camera so I'll try to get pics up tonight or tomorrow.

I have this same grill, purchsed it the other day. Did you do any mods to this grill to help regulate temperature and reduce air leaks? Have yet to use the grill but noted while seasoning it that temp control was an issue. If you have done some could you enlighten me on what you did. I am an novice at this grilling/smoking thing. Thanks.

Pictured is a Master Forge Charcoal grill. The charcoal grate can be raised and lowered which is the basic way one regulates temperature. If you notice in the picture I made a lump charcoal fire on one side of the charcoal grate and put the meat, spare ribs in this case, on the opposite side. This allowed me to, with the addition of wood chunks, to low and slow smoke the ribs.

Master Forge 800 is a solidly constructed charcoal grill, a good value for the price. I've had mine two years and have not made any modifications. Its been my experience, with a few exceptions, that practice with the smoker or grill obviates the need for modifications.

I should note my Master Forge 800 Grill was provided by Master Forge. If you feel this in any way affects my perception of the product feel free to factor that into my response

Regards,
Gary

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Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Just bought this grill and ready to get started. did you do any modifications to the grill to limit the air leaks? If so what did you do and do you have pics.... thanks.

On Saturday, I smoked a 4 lb top round over hickory to an internal 125F, and sliced it thin on my deli slicer:



Served lightly sauced with some onion and rooster spur pepper. This is the first time I've tried medium-rare beef on the WSM and, I have to say, I may like this more than brisket. Delicious. I also stuffed 18 links of Debriceni sausages (pork, garlic, Hungarian paparika, salt, pepper) and smoked them to 160 to be used as boiling sausages.

That looks amazing!

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The cake is a lie

I've been smoking Tri Tips from Costco and I may have to agree with you. It may not be low and slow but it certainly is a hit with dinner guests. The Tri Tip only takes 1.5 - 2 hours total and my wife prefers it over brisket. Like some others upthread, I smoke it to about 125-140 or so and then take the middle part of my WSM off and move the grate to the top of the fire ring to sear the outside. It's awesome and my new "fast" bbq item.

Thanks for sharing.

Actually, I should edit that statement. This is the first I've done smoked rare beef on the WSM. I've done Baltimore style pit beef in the WSM before, but I do that direct over coals, sans water pan (which these days is just permanently loaded with sand, instead) and without smoking wood. Why it never occurred to me to smoke it, I don't know. It was only after tasting the smoked Italian beef at Cigars & Stripes in Berwyn on Thursday that I had my "oh, duh" moment. Stuff was fantastic, but I wanted to take it the barbecue beef rather than Italian beef route.

My 4-pound top round took about 3-4 hours. I have no idea what the temp inside was, but I put on only a shallow layer of charcoal, and a single chimney starter full of lit coals over it. Two of the three vents were completely shut. I got plenty of smokiness in the final product. The only thing I might do different for next time is to let the meat rest, and then run it directly over the coals for about 6-8 minutes total to blacken up the outside, but it was fine as is. I don't know whether a deli slicer is an absolute requirement if you have great knife/carving skills, but I don't think I would have been able to get the same results without it.

(Also, it should read "debreceni," not "debriceni" for my sausages.)

I'm interested in this thought in particular. I'm constantly trying to figure out the best way to clean my WSM (18" ) after a smoke. I'm wondering what other do with the grease/water combo that's left over? If you fill it with sand, do you still use a water pan on the lower rack or let the drippings go into the sand?

Currently, I let the coals burn off as much water as possible and then pour it into a bucket and dump the ash over it, making a real mess but at least it's solid enough to throw in a garbage bag.

It's just always a mess and I'm thinking that sand could be less messy.

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"It's not that I'm on commission, it's just I've sifted through a lot of stuff and it's not worth filling up on the bland when the extraordinary is within equidistant tasting distance." - David Lebovitz

I cover the sand-filled pan with foil, then dump the foil when I remember to. Easy peasy cleanup.

Same here, and I also cover the water pan with foil before filling it, which helps in the clean up effort.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

Thanks for the info. So, wrap the water pan in foil, fill with sand, and then put a piece of foil over the sand to catch the drippings? Sounds easy enough.

The sand acts like the water in the water pan - helping keep the temps steady? Do you feel that there is anything lost NOT using water but just the sand instead? This seems so much "cleaner" to me since I don't have to worry about where to dump the water/grease mixture. Thanks again.

-Russ

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"It's not that I'm on commission, it's just I've sifted through a lot of stuff and it's not worth filling up on the bland when the extraordinary is within equidistant tasting distance." - David Lebovitz

If you use sand in the standard issue water pan, the WSM will run hotter than if you used water in the pan. I have a water pan from a Brinkman smoker that I use in the winter, when I switech over to sand instead of water.

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Steve Z.
Photographer/Pseudojournalist

"The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook." - Julia Child

I use sand both in summer and winter now. The WSM will run a bit hotter in the summer because of it--maybe around 260-275 instead of the usual 235-250. Personally, I prefer this temperature range. While many people consider lower to be better (like 225 being considered ideal), my personal ideal range is 250-275. For me, barbecue in that temperature range seems to be moister and have better flavor than the more typical low-and-slow temperature ranges. Your mileage may vary.

Hi. Long time lurker

I typically run my WSM with nothing in the water pan. I just foil it, start my fire with the minion method, and use the vents to control my temps. I can cruise that way for 12+ hours at 230-250. I had read about this set up on some other BBQ forums, and was skeptical, but gave it a try one day, and was pleased with the results. Set up is much easier, and cleanup is a snap.

Pork loin, eggs, dragon turds:

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"Good stuff, Maynard." Dobie Gillis

I've done waterless pan as well. The advantage of sand-in-the-pan, so far as I could tell from cooking, is that it evens out the temperature fluctuations (well, because it acts as a giant heat sink, just like when there's water in it. The advantage is that sand doesn't evaporate.) An empty pan will work fine, but takes a little more finesse to keep the temps even, in my opinions. That said, barbecue responds well to temperature fluctuations. Some of the best barbecue I've ever made has been on less-that-ideal set-ups where the temperatures fluctuated from 175-325 over the course of the cook. (My greatest accomplishment being smoking a pork shoulder on a cheap $20 tabletop grill. It's basically 10-12 hours of continuous fire management, but it is possible.)

I run with an empty foiled pan now, too.
I started using water but is was such a pain and I'd read of people going empty so I tried and never looked back.
I think it is a useful technique for beginners but I haven't noticed significant temp swings since I got the temperature control basics down. I've considered sand or a clay saucer but I'm not sure what I'd get from it.

I smoked some skin on mullet on my Brinkman smoker Saturday along with some vegetables and some chicken leg quarters. Mullet is an oily white fish that's easy to find locally. It's pretty bony, but our fishmonger did a good job. I turned the leg quarters into white barbeque from Low and Slow. I can't believe how good that stuff is. Next time, pictures.

Here's my newest rig. I picked it up this past Friday:

Here's my newest rig. I picked it up this past Friday:

http://i.imgur.com/6Sf6k.jpg

Lil Drum Smoker

Practiced with this weekend and did 7 cooks so far. 5 chickens, and about 30 various sausages so far.

I've got it to 5 hours of burn time, between 225F to 250F, with an initial 25 briquettes and about 5 additional coals thrown in throughout the 5 hours.[/url][/img]

Practiced with this weekend and did 7 cooks so far. 5 chickens, and about 30 various sausages so far.

I've got it to 5 hours of burn time, between 225F to 250F, with an initial 25 briquettes and about 5 additional coals thrown in throughout the 5 hours.

Has anyone managed to run a Weber Smoky Mountain at really low temperatures? I'm going to try to smoke some fish starting at around 100 degrees and then move it up a little after a couple of hours. I don't think I've ever gotten it to run below 200 degrees before. I assume that it could be done with some combination like having two bottom vents closed entirely and one open just a third or so, and by using less charcoal, but it'd just be guesswork at this point. Would love tips from anyone who's actually done it.

I've found it virtually impossible but there are ways to rig this smoker so that you can convey the smoke, via dryer duct, into a separate chamber. I've cold-smoked fish many times and I think this is the only way to do it with a WSM.

Check out this thread and this post by lougord99

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban

Your cold smoking post is one of my all-time favorites here but the problem is I'm definitely going for a hot smoke. I want something relatively similar to Calumet Fisheries or the smoked salmon commonly available at Pike's Place Market. If I go hotter, it's not a huge deal - I don't think Calumet goes that low and I've done it before at around 225 with some success. I just want it more moist this time around.

LOL, I'm honored.

Maybe a large coffee can with vent holes cut in its bottom would be a good way to isolate your heat source and minimize its size. Instead of filling up the charcoal pan of the WSM as you normally would, you use the can as your firebox instead. I'm guessing this would bring the temperature inside the cooker to the desired level without allowing it to get out of control. You'd also have the additional flexibility of removing the can or partially covering it, which could be really helpful. I've done this before in a Weber kettle (placing the can all the way over to one side of the bottom chamber) but never in a WSM.

=R=

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I just wanna live until I gotta die. I know I ain't perfect but God knows I try. --Todd Snider

Twitter: ronniesuburban