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Wrap around or just place a flat piece underneath as a heat shield?

I'm doing two slabs of bacon, both about 3-4 inches wide and about 10 inches long. No matter how I position them, the outside 2-3 inches get more heat coming up along the outsides of the WSM. I was monitoring the temp in the thickest part towards the outside edge. When it got to 145, I...

Pulled beef is excellent, as is pot roast made with smoked chuck. If you do a search for chuck, you will see many suggestions here.

I've smoked in temps below freezing and have not had a problem maintaining temps at 275 or having a drop off after three-four hours. The main thing is it takes about double the lit to get going with a minion start. I just dump the lit on top and have never had a problem with that approach, but...

I agree, it could be done over open fire, but would take a lot of attention and would open the door to things like sand getting on the food, which would not be good no matter how you slice it. I don't think you need to worry about critters since they seem to have a universal fear of fire/heat.

Lance, Stay safe over there, and kudos to you for making Q in that situation. I'll echo what others have said. Start with no more than 10 lit coals, put the meat on cold with cold water in the pan, and catch the temp on the way up. Shut down the vents a little sooner than you normally do...

Many good comments above which I agree with, but I would like to add one more. Generally speaking, I don't think it makes sense to buy spices that are salt plus something else, such as garlic salt or celery salt. Salt is very cheap and that is something they do just to jack up the profit...

Dave, I believe it would depend on the salt content and whether or not you use curing salt. I'm sure someone can give you a more specific answer, but I think you can get a couple of weeks with curing salt, maybe about a week without. It freezes well, so if you have a lot I would go that route.

Keith, You can make a brine by dissolving the salt, tenderquick and any other flavoring ingredients in water, chilling to 40 degrees, then add the sliced beef and let it be in the frig for about 24 hours. Or you can do a dry cure and just mix the sliced beef with the dry ingredients and give...

Larry, if it is true that retailers can whilly nilly put any sell-by date they want on the package, then how could it mean anything regarding quality and safety? I've seen several retailers in my area selling grayish meat for price reduced with two sell-by stickers on top of the initial...

A lot of the suggested mods would add to the cost and thus the price, along with markup. I don't think I'd want the higher price that would go along with any of the suggestions. What it boils down to is this: the kind of folks who buy smokers love to tinker and mod their equipment, no matter...

I like the smoked paprika from Penzey's for dishes like Paella, but for BBQ I prefer non-smoked peppers better like Ancho. Paprika doesn't hold up as well to long cooking, and you are going to get all the smoke you need from your own smoker, so you don't really gain much from having smoke...

You should be fine with the meat that your wife kindly purchased for you. In my experience, the really thick chuck roasts work better than a steak-like cut. When making a pot roast, I like to start them out just like I would if making shredded beef. Apply salt, let sit for a few minutes...

I wouldn't expect everyone to get it. Different strokes for different folks. Obviously the ones who don't get it aren't likely to get an invitation or a sample the next time around.

I like to have smoked hocks in the freezer to throw into a pot of beans. That way you get the smoked flavor when doing them inside. Basically any time you have some extra space on the cooker, just rub the hocks with your pork rub and smoke them for 3-4 hours. Stash them in the freezer and...

I don't think you need a soup can. Depending on the type of metal, or remnants of the glue or label on the can, you may get things in there that you don't want. It is possible to make a fire with just a couple of lit pieces with a chunk balanced on top. You can just do that right on the fire...

Order some pink salt and Dextrose from butcherpacker.com and get a copy of Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn from your local library or book store. Once you get hooked on curing meat and making sausage, you'll have dozens if not hundreds of options at hand.

I think you could improve on the canned biscuits by making your own. This recipe makes about 12 dumplings. I usually do one addition or another to make them more interesting. Some possibilities: Course ground black pepper or white pepper, 1 teaspoon of chopped chives, sage or thyme. 1 cup...

I agree with Phil that you have too much sugar relative to your other ingredients. Regarding the use of brown sugar, although I agree with that you that it is a common component in bbq rubs, I prefer turbinado sugar. Since it is dry it works much better in rubs as is; brown sugar needs to be...

I do have a food dehydrator, if that makes it easier.