Monday, September 16, 2013

Weber 721001 Smokey Mountain Cooker 18-1/2-Inch Charcoal Smoker, Black


28 Grand Championships on this smoker and counting
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...
Great improvement of a great product!
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...
Great Smoker- even for Newbies!
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 smoker- this is it! It's great for everyone- experienced or newbie- it'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...
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