Last night I started with only 2 chimneys of charcoal and no wood. It never really did warm up decent, but it did warm up some beef ribs that I had...they're in the crock pot now so they don't get completely wasted. The second set of digits is the meat temps. I really really like the iGrill thermometer set-up.
6:00. Start coals - 2 scoops
6:15. 105-103-120 Closed door - dampers 4" open
6:30. 185-168-220
6:50. 225-219-260. Added 1/2 coals - put meat on. 56-58
7:15. 225-229-250 92-92
7:35. 220-222-240. 121-118. Added 1/2 coals
7:55. 195-200-215. 138-135. Added 1 basket
8:15. 195-201-220. 142-143. Smokey - opened draft to 5"
8:35. 215-217-235. 151-154. Added 1/2 basket
8:55. 215-215-233. 156-160. Opened to 5 1/2"
9:15. 220-219-235. 160-163. Added 1/2. Opened to 6" opened cc to check beef ribs.
9:45. 210-208-220. 166-163
10:05. 205-204-215. 170-165. Opened dampers 100% temps just dropped after this.
I think temps were held back by a lack of fuel tonight. Next time I'll try using wood instead of charcoal once it's started and see what happens.
Make sure the CC is level or a bit high on the tongue of the trailer end if the amount of fuel doesn't seem to do the trick, but more wood burning will do much better.
jm2cw
Current Smokers: Backyard RF Offset and Hybrid RF Offset trailer rig with Cowboy cooker and fish fryer, always room for more........
Makes perfect sense if you think about it. I will from now on for sure. I think once during the two trial runs it was pointing up...but that was just so I could reach my welder to weld on the wood basket!
Well...I took 2nd place twice today using Dinks rub and a concoction of maple syrup and sause from Kansas that I traded for maple syrup. The cooker performed superbly - held temps better than I could have imagined and was easy on wood. I fired up at 8:00 and pulled off at 3:40 and only used a bag of charcoal and about 10-12 splits.
This is what it looks like after 5 hours...I think I should have kept the temp closer to 225 than 250. My smoker just became a warming cabinet for a few hours. The ham is 156° and the shoulder is about 145°. I stuffed the rib cage with a couple chickens to protect them some.
Bet it was really good! Was that a domestic pig or wild pig? We have a lot of wild pigs around here and I have been thinking about trying one, maybe a 100 pound or so.
I'm happy with how it turned out - especially considering it was my first attempt. Internal meat temp hit 165 after 5 hours so I coasted for a few hours keeping the cc temp under 200°. Next one I will cook to a higher internal temp because it didn't seem done to me.
The pig was a domestic - one of 4 that I'm raising. We fed 80 people and had plenty of leftover.
Last edited by mp4 on August 18th, 2015, 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.