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I've done pretty near 50 pounds before. no problem - you just have to light a bit more of the charcoal at the beginning to get it up to temp quickly. Paul - interesting proposition. I've had the same problem with the Williams Sonoma rack - the arch is too high so the ribs fall through...

Brian - A long time ago I was looking at these bags - I'd actually thought they stopped selling them. Obviously I was wrong. A couple of questions for you. 1) How thick are they compared to foodsaver brands? 2) on their site, they include the caveat that other systems may not have as...

ok, this discussion started on the grilling page, because we were originally looking at building this beast primarily for grilling. But... we've changed our minds and want to build a real pit. So... we are in possession of a 250 gallon water tank waiting to be turned into a pig cooker. In...

wow. 2 chunks of apple isn't very much. I guess folks preferences are different. I use 3 fist sized chunks of hickory for my ribs. What kind of charcoal were you using?

Are they frozen together in cryovac, or separate? If together, take them out today and put them in the fridge. If separate, I'd take them out tomorrow night and put them in the fridge. Check on them friday morning. If they still are rock hard, move them to a warmer place in your fridge. If...

keri - you never even TASTED pork butt until 4 years ago? holy cow (or holy pig). so surprising from a q guru like yourself. Someday (SOMEday) I will cook brisket like you. It's currently the weak link in my bbq chain. Still better than I get in 99% of Q joints, but not what I want. I need to...

I'd cut back in time rather than salinity. For half chickens, I only do about two hours in that kind of a brine. But, maybe a more important question is, did you happen to use either an "enhanced" chicken or maybe a kosher chicken, like empire? brining either of those will result in a salty...

gary is right. do pork butt. but don't worry about doing a small size. Get a full butt - 6-8 pounds. they are nearly impossible to mess up. you will be happy with it!

Jeff - I've done quite a few chuck roasts. I like mine in the 3-4 inch range. They turn out really well - you'll really like it. 4-5 inches would be fine too. If you do a search for some of the other posts on chuck roasts, you'll find some good information. In short, I like to cook them to...

boy, I sure am glad that there are people in this world much smarter than I am. Bob, Matt, keep up the work. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. - Adam

Clay - congrats on your first competition. how did it go?

Bob, sorry i can't answer the technical questions for you - I've been interested in this project for a while now. Calling Matt Appler, Mr. Appler, can you please come to the front desk? Hey, how is this project going? Did you finish it? How did it turn out?

I don't have a lot of experience with Royal Oak, but I really think you'll have to refuel at least once if you are going to keep it at 300+ degrees for 9 hours. I find Royal oak needs a refuel at about 11-12 hours for a 225 degree cook. As for how many briquettes to start with - I'd start with...

Hunter - how did things turn out? I've had some pretty nasty temp spikes too. If it occurs in the plateau stage, I've noticed that my cook shortens by hours (because it quickly bumps that sucker out of the plateau). If it happens early on, it doesn't seem to have too much effect. But all of...

Andrew - Costco only sells flats. you can get them whole and untrimmed, but you have to ask the meat guys for the ones in cryovac. Also, they've raised their prices substantially. I can now get brisket - whole ones at that (point and flat) - cheaper at my specialty butcher than I can at Costco...

yeah, I agree with Clay, you could probably let spares go almost 8 hours. but you'd need to be sure it stayed around 225 - not higher. no way you could let baby backs go that long. I personally prefer my ribs cooked at 275. Mine tend to get a little more dry at 225. If you wanted to set it...

not sure if you have a trader joes nearby, but they are the only ones I know of out East who consistently carry tri tip. Definitely not enhanced. That's weird you found enhanced beef. Was it really enhanced or just pre marinated? I've read rumors about how the beef industry is looking at...

Rita - do yours come with netting? Mine don't. I think you are right thought, even with some minimal tying (which I definitely do with costco's butts) I wince every time I take the string off after a cook and bark comes off with it. The netting would probably be hard to get off without ruining...

Matt - Glad they turned out ok, despite being a bit dry. briskets are funny things. Butts for me take forever. Briskets cook fast. Not sure why. Others have the opposite experience. before I figured out how long my briskets usually took me, I started a cook for a 3 p.m. dinner at 8 p.m. the...

I've done it at 175 for about 12+ hours. Did it when I smoked chipotles. I start with a very small minion method (8 or so briquettes) and the vents all closed (my smoker, fully closed, lets in just enough oxygen to allow for a very low fire without snuffing it out). Some people have succesfully...