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The clever folks at Team Unknown got tired of looking for a place to put their hot lid, so they built a stainless steel hinge.
Of course everybody who saw it wanted one so now the sell them. It has a clever little latch so when you open the lid it stays open and won’t slam on your head when you stick it in there to smell your meat, and a pin that you can remove so you can take the lid off all the way. The pin has a bearing that prevents it from coming out accidentally. Mounting it took 15 minutes. The only problem? I needed to buy a new cover because the old one won’t fit over the hinge.
While you’re putting on a hinge, why not get better control over airflow? You can buy a Nomex gasket kit that seals the lid, the base, and the side door. Nomex is rated to handle temps up to 572°F, and it is held in place by RTV silicone rated up to 650°F.
Here’s a kit with the hinge and the gaskets that will fit all sizes of WSM. I have both and they work. There is a minor problem. The hinge sticks out so far that you cannot fit the standard rain cover over the WSM without cutting a slit up the side. It is not a problem on the Kettle because the lid hangs over the bottom half, but on the WSM the lid fits into a lip on the bottom half and if you don’t use a cover water will get in. Hence the silver medal.
Published On: 5/17/2018 Last Modified: 4/29/2021
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When you make rubs at home we recommend you add salt first then the herbs and spices because salt penetrates deep and the other stuff remains on the surface. So thick cuts need more salt. We put salt in these bottled rubs because all commercial rubs have salt and consumers expect it. You can still use these as a dry brine, just sprinkle the rub on well in advance to give the salt time to penetrate. For very thick cuts of meat, we recommend adding a bit more salt. Salt appears first in the ingredients list because the law says the order is by weight, not volume, and salt is a heavy rock.
Sprinkle on one tablespoon per pound of meat two hours or more before cooking if you can. Called “dry brining,” the salt gets wet, ionizes, becomes a brine, and slowly penetrates deep, enhancing flavor and juiciness while building a nice crusty “bark” on the surface. Sprinkle some on at the table too!
Are they hot? No! You can always add hot pepper flakes or Chipotle powder (my fave) in advance or at the table. But we left them mild so you can serve them to kids and Aunt Matilda
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