Hot and Fast BBQ on Your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker: Master the Quickest Method to Smoking Mouthwatering Meats

By Bill Gillespie

Award-Winning Recipes in Half the Time

Bestselling author Bill Gillespie is the undisputed champion of all things barbecue, and he’s back to help you master the art of hot and fast grilling on your Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. He will teach you how to shave off hours of grilling time without sacrificing any of the flavor.

This book is full of Bill’s best hot and fast recipes. You’ll love how quickly you can make timeless barbecue favorites, such as Monster Beef Short Ribs, Maple-Chipotle Glazed Pork Tenderloin and Beef Tenderloin with Fresh Horseradish. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, try his grill-seared twists on familiar recipes, such as his Chicken Cordon Bleu Wrapped in Bacon or Crab-Stuffed Haddock. And be sure to check out his “Hotter and Faster Competition Dishes” chapter for meals that will win over anyone—whether it’s your friends and family or a panel of judges.

After reading this, you’ll have everything you need to make your fastest, smokiest and tastiest barbecue yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: May 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781645672838

Book preview

HOT and FAST BBQ

ON YOUR

WEBER SMOKEY

MOUNTAIN COOKER

MASTER the QUICKEST METHOD TO

SMOKING MOUTHWATERING MEATS

BILL GILLESPIE

BESTSELLING AUTHOR and AWARD-WINNING PITMASTER

WITH TIM O’KEEFE

Begin Reading

Table of Contents

About the Author

Copyright Page

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I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED ME FROM THE BEGINNING

FOREWORD

Ever since the dawn of time when man first began cooking meat over an open fire, we’ve been constantly trying to improve on this concept.

Next to chili, barbecue is the most proprietary food on planet Earth. Everyone has at least one secret ingredient from generations gone by that supposedly gives that extra edge.

You know the drill.

How can we all take essentially the same spice ingredients in preparing a rub, apply it to the protein of choice, labor over the fire and have some turn out so badly you’re ashamed of it and some turn out so incredibly slap-your-mama-on-Christmas-Day-Sunday-melt-in-your-mouth delicious?

Ask Bill Gillespie.

Bill is the award-winning pitmaster of Smokin’ Hoggz BBQ, and he’s been doing it low and slow for well over 25 years.

When I say, He’s been doing it well, I mean he’s been doing it extremely well.

As a Master of Ceremonies, I’ve personally handed Bill over $25,000 in first-place prize winnings at The Jack, plus thousands upon thousands of dollars in lower place winnings and ancillary prizes.

Seriously, his truck and wallet are always heavier when leaving Lynchburg, Tennessee, not to mention other locations where Bill and his team are firing up their grills.

Bill and his Smokin’ Hoggz team have competed in more than 200 contests covering 20 states and Canada.

Since forming the Smokin’ Hoggz team in 2008, he’s cooked his way into a whopping 35 Grand Championships and 22 Reserve Grand Championships, not to mention more than 140 overall top-ten finishes. Plus, well over 400 individual category wins in chicken, ribs, pork and brisket.

Oh yeah, he’s also won numerous dessert awards, including a first place, perfect-perfect score of 180!

I could go on to tell you Bill and Smokin’ Hoggz have been named team of the year multiple times by the Northeast BBQ Society.

I could also tell you they’ve repeatedly been honored by the Kansas City Barbecue Society as a top-ten Team of the Year, or they’ve cooked a number of times at the American Royal Invitational World Series of Barbecue in Kansas City, Missouri. The list of accolades goes on, but you get the picture.

Bill and his team have an impressive barbecue résumé, no doubt. But to me, one of the truly striking things about Bill Gillespie is this: His love and knowledge of barbecue is so wide-ranging, he’s forgotten more about this art form than most of us will ever know, and he is willing and able to share it with future and current generations. In fact, he knows sharing that knowledge is one of the fundamental keys to furthering this food form we all love.

And make no mistake, creating great barbecue is a combination of hard work, science, art and love.

Bill Gillespie works a crowd the same way he works a pit—with total ease and confidence—and he does it simultaneously.

He’s always happy to dispense cooking tips to friends and competitors alike, and his words of advice are highly treasured among those less skilled and gifted. Bill knows—instinctively knows—that cooking with a live fire is a craft unto itself, built on tradition and truly mastered by few.

For many folks, barbecue is anything cooked over a flame of any sort, or even worse, the actual piece of equipment used to cook on.

Think back to the movie Crocodile Dundee, where actor Paul Hogan says, I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you.

Please.

That obviously isn’t barbecue. Not even close.

In the heart of barbecue country, and especially on the circuit itself, barbecue is not just food; it’s a staple of life. It’s a necessity. It’s a social event and a reason to gather with family and friends—maybe even some friends we haven’t yet met!

Barbecue is a love language all its own, and seeing a personal creation going from the grill to the palate is a pleasure for all. It lifts the spirits and brings a gleam to the eye and a smile to the heart. It is truly food for the soul.

Barbecue as a whole wouldn’t be where it is today without the dreams, visions and accomplishments of Bill Gillespie.

CHIP CHAPMAN

Master of Ceremonies

Jack Daniel’s World Invitational Barbecue

1

INTRO TO HOT, FAST and EASY COOKING ON the WSM

The Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker remains one of the best outdoor cookers on the market today. I’m not endorsed by Weber, but I’ve been active on the competition barbecue circuit for about fifteen years. When I first started competing, I used a WSM, and numerous competition cooks still use them today. The price point and quality of this product makes it accessible to most backyard cooking enthusiasts, and its ability to produce consistent results makes it a worthwhile expense.

The WSM is comprised of three primary sections: the base, the middle and the lid. Each section is porcelain enameled, which means the smoker is easy to clean, highly resistant to corrosion and retains heat fairly well.

The base of the WSM contains a metal ring that houses lit charcoal. The base of each model has three vents, the 14-inch (36-cm) and 18-inch (46-cm) model have three holes per vent, and the 22-inch (56-cm) model has four holes per vent that control airflow. The amount of oxygen that reaches the hot coals directly influences the overall cooking temperature of the smoker. For the hot-and-fast cooking method, you want to keep the bottom vents open about three-quarters of the way during the cooking process.

The middle section contains two cooking grates and a water pan. While the water pan can help create a moist cooking environment, its main purpose is to act as a heat sink that helps stabilize and maintain the smoker’s internal cooking temperature. For the hot-and-fast cooking method, you cook with a dry and more direct heat. Do not fill the water pan with water. It’s also a good idea to cook on the top cooking grate because the top grate runs about 15 to 20°F (8 to 12°C) hotter than the lower cooking grate, when using the empty water pan.

The lid contains one air vent. This vent usually remains fully open and is crucial for sustaining the hot charcoal and channeling smoke through the cooker. As smoke flows through the cooker, it imparts flavor to food.

SIDE NOTE: Seasoning a new WSM is optional, but I recommend it. Before you cook food on your WSM, you should burn a batch of charcoal to help season the smoker. Seasoning helps remove residue left over from the manufacturing process, such as trace amounts of dust, powder or oil. Seasoning also helps cure the paint, remove chemical odors and promote rust prevention. To season properly, apply a light coat of cooking spray to all interior surfaces, including the cooking grates, the interior walls, the water pan and the interior of the lid.

Then, burn two chimneys of charcoal at 350 to 400°F (177 to 204°C) for at least 2 to 3 hours, or until the charcoal burns out. You should also clean the smoker every three or four times you cook on it. Clean the interior of the lid after every cook—otherwise, particles of soot can build up, flake off and fall into your food.

PRODUCT OVERVIEW

The WSM is available in three different sizes. All of the recipes in this book were created using the mid-sized model. Slight adjustments to the amount of charcoal or cook time length may be necessary if you cook on a product of a different size. The mid-sized option is my recommendation as the best entry-level smoker for new backyard cooks—it’s the perfect size when you’re cooking for friends and family.

HOT ’N’ FAST BASICS

The hot-and-fast cooking method uses a hotter cooking temperature and shorter cooking time than the low-and-slow cooking method associated with traditional barbecue. Essentially, the basic definition of barbecue is using wood or charcoal to cook meat over a low-heat source for a long period of time. The reason for this is related to the history of this unique cuisine. Many of the cuts of meat we associate with barbecue were less than ideal—tough and fatty—but these unwanted proteins were turned into desirable delicacies through creative innovation.

One of the creative innovations is that when you cook at a low temperature, the fat, collagen and connective tissue in the meats melt down, creating layers of flavor in a moist, finished product. However, with a little bit of knowledge and practice, you can achieve very similar results, in roughly half the time, using the hot-and-fast cooking method.

Typically, grilling meat over direct high heat, even at 500 to 600°F (260 to 316°C), can cook the outside of large cuts, but the inside remains undercooked. By using the hot-and-fast cooking method on the WSM, you’re cooking around 350 to 400°F (177 to 204°C). While it’s not the searing intensity of a high-heat grill, cooking on your smoker at this temperature does get the inside of the meat to cook properly.

The