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Looks great, Mike. I wish we could get some of those thunderstorms here. I'm hoping for one tonight, even though I'm doing an overnight cook.

This has always been one of my pet peeves with gas grills- the tendency to flare up, badly. If my kettle flares, from dripping butter, grease, or whatever, I close the vents for 10 seconds, and the problem is solved. On the gas grills, I think the only thing to do is keep it clean (burn off...

I don't soak chips or chunks anymore. All it seems to do is cool down the fire. One of the advantages of having a charcoal grill or smoker is that you don't have to mess with pellets, foil pouches, or any of that. Just throw the wood on the coals and let 'er burn! The water soaks in barely...

This probably is no mystery at all to many of you, but I've seen some complain here about "rust" forming inside their WSM. It isn't rust, of course, but I think I've figured out what causes it, and how it can actually be useful. I'm talking, of course, about that rusty colored dust and...

Corey, I haven't used Kingsford Blue much the past 5 years, but between Royal Oak lump and briqs, I don't think there is much- if any- flavor difference.

Dwain, I've tried Cowboy a couple times, and if that was the only lump I could get, I'd stick with briqs. It doesn't burn well and sparks like the 4th of July. I use Royal Oak and really like it. I've never tried Wicked Good or Ozark Oak, but they are pretty universally liked among those who...

Jack, I know some people mix lump and briqs. I have to get rid of used or because I was at the end of a bag. Nothing wrong with it. The nice part about using lump for the chimney is that it gets going quicker than briqs. But you don't want very large pieces in there.

Ditto that. Plus, if anything, trimming should make the butt cook a little quicker.

I've found that cutting those "fist sized" chunks into thirds or even quarters generally keeps the smoker from billowing early in the cook. (this was one of many good suggestions from Kevin K)

I bought a box or red oak from smokinlicious. It was very expensive, the wood and box had a very musty odor, and I haven't been too impressed. They burn nicely, but no real advantage flavorwise. If anything, they're a bit too mild. Defintely not worth the price to me.

Years ago. I used briqs exclusively, and then for several years, used lump almost exclusively. Now I use whichever grabs my fancy or seems better suited to what I'm cooking. For instance: Long (over 5 hours) cooks on WSM- bricks Short/Med cooks on WSM- either, usually lump Grilled steaks-...

I agree that brining works wonders for chicken and turkey. When I have the time, energy, and foresight, I brine the poultry. When I don't, it's never quite as good.

John, The pork steak comes from the shoulder aka "Boston Butt" that is used for pulled pork. That means that raw, it is tough, with lots of connective tissue. That takes some time to break down. You definitely want to cook indirect. The only reason to cook direct is for a very limited...

Laura, Ribs fit your window of time, but are very unforgiving for most people. "Country style ribs" taken from the shoulder are the same meat as the Boston butt (for pulled pork) but cut into strips that sort of resemble ribs (hence the name). They will be much more forgiving than actual...

Dave, Welcome! Doneness is a function of time AND temp, not JUST temp. Overdone basicly means dry. The protein wrings the moisture out. That is why boiling a chicken breast (for instance) can make it dry as sand, even though it's submerged in water. "Doneness" (as opposed to simply safe...

I deep fry wings a lot. I use a cheapy fry daddy, which has no temp gauge or control. Raw wings only take 7-8 minutes to cook.

I've always trimmed the fat, but now I trim more aggressively than I used to. I find that the pulling goes much easier and quicker, with much less crap needing removal. I think cutting off the fat cap (and other areas that would be removed later during pulling) before the cook means more bark...

I've started foiling butt and ribs more lately, and am liking the results (especially with the butt). I've been adding "a fair amount" (unmeasured) of apple juice into the foil with the meat. Do you foilers add juice?

Hey, Paul In your opening post you mentioned hickory. If you're using hickory with the chicken, that might explain some of the hit-and-miss. Many people find that hickory is too powerful for chicken, and overpowers it, and easily gives it an oversmoked flavor. Most folks use oak, pecan...

Last year at WalMart, the RO was definitely 10# in the red bag. At Menards, it was 8.8# in a green bag.