Mini is finished, testing it now


 
M

Mickey M

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I think my mini is finished. I was going to smoke a chicken but i figured at around. 225 - 250 deg, at about an hour a pound with a 5 lb bird it would be too late tonight.

So i removed the pot and grilled some burgers just using the Smokey Joe.

I cooked the burgers over exactly 25 coals. After we ate, I reassembled it as a smoker to see what kind of temps I can get by adjusting the vents,

Remember this is with 25 Kingsford coals that were burning in the Smokey Joe for 15 - 20 minutes before it occurred to me to test the smoker. I am using a pie tin, no water, as a diffuser.

With top and bottom vents wide open the River Country RC-T2 read just above 375

With top and bottom vents halfway closed the temp dropped to right at 350.

With top and bottom vents only open 1/4 of the way the temp settled a hair below 300.

Vents at about 1/8 open register a temp of a bit under 250.

So I closed a bit more to where the vents are open just a sliver hoping it will go down to 225 or a bit less and see how long it will hold the temp.

I think I did this one right. Are my temps and vent adjustments consistent with what you guys have experienced?

I'll post later on how long it will hold a lower temp.

By the way the River Country gauge is great. I tested it in boiling water before I installed it and it was on the money. $13.95 on ebay, free shipping. I ordered it Tuesday night and it got here yesterday, Friday. Pretty damn good shipping for Minnesota to Florida.

How is this possible? Top and bottom vents are open about 3/16 of an inch. The temp is steady at 222 -225. Now we'll see how long it holds.
 
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We don't believe you without pics! Haha

Got a joe off the shelf at lowes last night but put it back... I had smoker ideas....My 7 year old said, "were you afraid mommy would woop your butt?" Of course I said no...
 
Jeff Holmes said:
We don't believe you without pics! Haha

Got a joe off the shelf at lowes last night but put it back... I had smoker ideas....My 7 year old said, "were you afraid mommy would woop your butt?" Of course I said no...
Click to expand...

Jeff had trouble with pics, too dark for a close-up of the temp gauge without using the flash which creates a mirror effect on the guage.

I'll take pics of the smoker and temp gauge tomorrow when I'm smoking that chicken. :)
 
It's good you did that experiment with your residual charcoal. You now have an idea of how great this little cooker is. When you put something on with a lot of mass like five lbs of cold chicken, don't be shocked if your temps are slightly less than your test temp at various vent positions but never-the-less you gained a lot of good knowledge. A 9 lb pork butt will definitely suck up some heat until it comes up to temp.

I recommend the chicken smoke/roast at 325-350*F so you get a nice crisp skin.

I look forward to it! Cheers!
 
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Dwain Pannell said:
I recommend the chicken smoke/roast at 325-350*F so you get a nice crisp skin.
Click to expand...

Dwain, thanks for the tips. And you other folks, please add your opinions.

How long do you think it will take a 5 lb chicken to cook at 325 - 350?

And how many coals should be used? I plan to throw in a few wood chips too.

Lastly, should I use the pie tin diffuser or omit it?

Thamk you.
 
I'm not a coal counter. I fill the charcoal chamber and add a half a small chimney of lit in the 14.5" WSM. (I put a whole large chimney in the 22.5") I adjust vents to whatever is required for my target cooker temp. (In the 22.5" it's all vents wide open)

I've not done a whole chicken in a very long time. I usually cook halves or pieces without a pan installed. The halves I've been cooking lately take about an hour to get to target temp at 350*F cooker temp.

Let me look back and see how long the beer can chicken I did on the 14.5" took.
 
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Mickey M said:
I think my mini is finished. I was going to smoke a chicken but i figured at around. 225 - 250 deg, at about an hour a pound with a 5 lb bird it would be too late tonight.

So i removed the pot and grilled some burgers just using the Smokey Joe.

I cooked the burgers over exactly 25 coals. After we ate, I reassembled it as a smoker to see what kind of temps I can get by adjusting the vents,

Remember this is with 25 Kingsford coals that were burning in the Smokey Joe for 15 - 20 minutes before it occurred to me to test the smoker. I am using a pie tin, no water, as a diffuser.

With top and bottom vents wide open the River Country RC-T2 read just above 375

With top and bottom vents halfway closed the temp dropped to right at 350.

With top and bottom vents only open 1/4 of the way the temp settled a hair below 300.

Vents at about 1/8 open register a temp of a bit under 250.

So I closed a bit more to where the vents are open just a sliver hoping it will go down to 225 or a bit less and see how long it will hold the temp.

I think I did this one right. Are my temps and vent adjustments consistent with what you guys have experienced?

I'll post later on how long it will hold a lower temp.

By the way the River Country gauge is great. I tested it in boiling water before I installed it and it was on the money. $13.95 on ebay, free shipping. I ordered it Tuesday night and it got here yesterday, Friday. Pretty damn good shipping for Minnesota to Florida.

How is this possible? Top and bottom vents are open about 3/16 of an inch. The temp is steady at 222 -225. Now we'll see how long it holds.

Well, so much for that. It turned into a rainy night in Florida. The real test is tomorrow when I try to smoke a chicken.

In case I need to add coals, what's the best way to do it?
Click to expand...
 
Good Job and good test run. Only thing I would do is leave the top vent wide open and only use your lower vents to control your temp.

As mentioned chicken is best smoked at a higher temp so crank that thing up. 350° is a good temp. Id also recommend spatching the bird. It will cook more evenly.

11402857246_378bb94eec_s.jpg


A spatched bird at 350, doesn't take more than a hour usually to hit an IT of 165° in the breast or thigh

11982030384_446a2338c3_s.jpg


This bird I used Kingsford Blue, 50/50 mix of Cherry and Pecan. Simple SPOG rub (Salt Pepper Onion Garlic) and some Chipotle.

Remember to rest the bird under foil for at least 30 minutes prior to carving. I usually figure 2 hours total cook and rest time when doing a spatched bird at 350°. Gives me a buffer And if the bird has to rest longer it's no big deal.
 
If you need to add coals to a mini, remove the pot, set it on something that wont burn, add more coals. Honestly when I use mine I fill my charcoal basket full every time. When I'm done smoking I close all the vents and snuff the fire. Before my next cook I shake the basket to get rid of ash and dump the ash out of the base. I then add more charcoal and smoke wood, fire it up. The only time I use all fresh is when I'm planning on a smoke over 8 hours.
 
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