Recent content by Mike Smith DFW

At 250 a 12-14 lb brisket should take 7-9 hours. And need about 3 hours rest. So figure 12 hours total. Definitely braise that thing in foil after about 5-6 hours in smoke

The kettle is a versatile machine. Ive even griddled on it using a cut down drum lid.

Yes! I haven't used a wsm but I can imagine it turns out excellent q (Harry Soo as an example) I see some kettle advantages: Lower cost Can grill and smoke Smaller and easier to transport Easier to clean But the wsm has advantages too: Can cook a lot more food. Probably easier to manage the fire

Hey thanks much. The kettle might be the ultimate smoker for small cooks. Why do I say that? The fire is close to the meat so less air turnover and more humidity. The chamber is pretty small so less moisture is needed to maintain relative humidity. It cooks FAST I did a pork shoulder...

I cant describe how much better this brisket is than any ive ever made, and Ive made some really good ones. my wife says ( and I agree ) that this is the juiciest, most tender brisket she has ever had. I had a feeling it was going to be good because when I cooked chicken direct in the kettle it...

I dont know if its related but this is the fastest I have ever cooked a brisket. grate temp wasnt hot either. for the most part 250 degrees or less. In 4 hours I normally hit 145 degrees. this one was at 158° after 4 hours. I usually hit 203 degrees in 7-8 hours. this one got there in 5.5 hours!!!

Ok i created an imgur account so I can post images blocked factory vents because my one touch wheel was old and rust the "charcoal basket" . Brisket in the rain today. this was after four hours of smoke and I flipped it after 2 hours Chicken I did a couple of days ago at 250 this is only...

I also printed a macro damper but have never used it . It is HUGE. what is the area of the outlet and inlet of the rotodamper?

I was a little worried to but I knew it would work. I used a full chimney if lump dumped on the bottom of the bowl and lit a few. The grate is raised to the top of the kettle by stacking it on another grate. I covered the factory vent holes and drilled two new holes to attach my heater meter...

that's the beauty and simplicity of it. It maintained 250 at the grate without any additions.

The problem I had at first was getting enough heat at the grate level. I have had three drums. They are awesome . But i started with the coals at 32" distance, then to 20,then to 15 and finally to 12". That got me thinking at 12" I'm not too far away from kettle territory. Raise the cooking...

Does the rotodamper allow more air than the micro damper?

I found out in the past, that for me the flavor I get cooking direct over the coals is unmatched. For me fat dripping on coals is a big component of the flavor. I also believe it creates a humid environment and leads to more juicy meat. I wanted to try it on a kettle because if I could do that...

if you haven't ordered the fan, I would suggest using TWO dampers(and no fan) instead. I have a uds and for about the last three months Ive been using two dampers on my rig. It will hold 180°(I did a brisket at 180 for 30 hours), and wide open it will hit around 380-385 degrees. There is no...

has anyone used one of these? how did you attach it to your pits?