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Used my DIY vortex last night for the first time on some wings. Going into it I wasn't sure how long they would take, looking around I seemed to find numbers ranging from 40mins to 1hr40mins, both of which seemed too long to me since it would be at high heat. Here's how it went. Set up: Lump...

Great looking pies. I did cooked some pizza on my kettle for the first time earlier this week, I've done them on my Egg a bunch, but the kettle is a little different. Learned a lot on that first trial though, so I think the 2nd cook will be even better. I don't have the insert...hoping I can...

You'll get there before you know it I suspect. Once you get comfortable with your process, and learn about where the vents need to be set (which will not be the exact same every cook, since every fire is different, different weather conditions, etc), you'll be able to dial it in quickly and...

You can also just start firing it up earlier, assuming you have time, and let the fire grow on it's own. I typically start about an hour before I plan to put food on, and let the cooker slowly come up to temp to make sure I don't overshoot. There's lots of ways to skin the cat, none are...

The water pan isn't there to 'get it right', it's there as a crutch for people who have their vents open too much, it helps keep temp down by absorbing excess heat. Kingsford should work just fine. I just prefer lump because it produces less ash and doesn't have that chemical smell as it's...

Try going without water. And then try lump charcoal instead of briquettes, it burns hotter and you don't need a big fire at all to hold 225-250 temps, I keep two of the intakes closed, and open one intake and the exhaust about 1/3rd of the way. I basically use the minion method (adding some...

In my experience (which is very limited with brisket) - brisket can't be predicted. The packer I cooked last year moved right on past the expected stall temps, and finally stalled at 199*F for about 2.5hrs. Brisket is weird, and every piece of meat is different.

Bingo. The coals are getting air from somewhere. If you're opening the lid to check on it, don't do that. If you're not opening the lid, air is getting in somewhere, probably around the door. I just put a gasket on mine to help seal it up better, and the smoker does cool off faster now...

You should add wood at the beginning of the cook, that's when the meat will take on the smoke most readily. After a few hours, once it starts to build up some crust/bark, it doesn't absorb any more smoke. Brisket looks good though! I've only done two myself, a 13lbs packer and a tiny 1.1lbs...

2nd time doing this cook, but didn't overcook it this time, and had the coals off to the side instead of directly under the meat. Coal placement doesn't matter much with this cook I think, the meat is so lean it's not really dripping much, if at all. The single set of prongs, even though...

I cook without a water pan, so I made myself a taller ring to use all that extra space. It's just expanded metal, 10" tall, bent by hand to roughly match the stock ring's diameter, tied together using bicycle spoke trimmings (I build bicycle wheels for a living...so I'm rich in spoke pieces...

But if you set the vents properly the temperature is stable, even without the water. The fire can only get as hot as the oxygen supply allows, so by properly limiting the oxygen supply, you can keep the temps nice and low. Here's where I had my vents set on my rib cook last weekend. One...

This. The 22 I'm sure is a bit less fuel efficient, it's a larger cooker with more surface area dumping heat to the atmosphere (that's fuel you burned that's not cooking your food, aka wasted energy). But putting less charcoal in isn't going to make it more efficient.

I don't use the water bowl in mine either. I want to use my fuel to cook meat, not boil water!

I bought myself an 18" WSM from Home Depot for $180...maybe $170, I can't remember, they were clearing them out. Went back a few weeks later and bought the last one (the display model) for my dad for Father's Day.

The gasket works GREAT and is a whole lot cheaper than the Cajun Bandit door. But, mine fits so tightly that it's hard to open/close, so I'm just leaving it closed. Smoked some ribs Monday, and noticed I need to adjust my 'normal' vent settings a bit, had to open them up more to get the same...

What temp were you trying for, and how were you measuring that temperature? Were you adding more fuel to raise the temperature, or to keep it from dropping as fuel burned out? How long did you give it to let the temp come up? Did you have water in the water pan? How long did you cook the...

^^Agree with all of this. Pork butts (aka shoulders) are pretty consistent in my experience, the sizes I typically cook, and how I cook them, I can plan on 2hrs per pound and it's about right, might cook a bit faster. But I've done enough to learn what works, for me, and how I cook. I plan...

They're not *manufactured* air tight, because doing so would cost a lot more money. But if you can make it more air tight, that's a good thing as far making temperature control easier and making it more fuel efficient. UPDATE: Did a test run last night, got it up to around 260*F for about...

I've never brined a chicken, or anything else for that matter. We're another 'don't add salt to hardly anything' family, so a salty brine doesn't sound good to me. But buttermilk? Well...now I'm intrigued! May try that on the next one. We usually spatchcock our birds, and they come out SUPER...