Search results

It could make quite a bit of difference in the taste. The Minion works well because the layer of coals on top start the coals below them. The freshly started coals give up smoke that has not burning clean until it goes through the hot zone on top. If you start from the bottom and have some wood...

Jonny, If I remember correctly, the brisket cook was on two bullets at the same time. I'll do the ribs tomorrow the same way. I believe you slow down the evaporation of moisture during a cook by mopping or spraying. I think it's a good idea to use oil in the mop to slow the loss. Sounds like...

John, I was scheduled to work one Saturday and wanted to smoke a brisket on the wsm while I was gone. I set it up with a full water pan and when I got back from work I had a burnt brisket and an empty water pan. I wanted a way to remedy this problem so I filled the water pan about half full of...

After reading your post I went over to Ray Basso's forum and found an old experiment I did a few years ago. It might be of intrest to you. "I did an experiment last month... Five brisket flats, each cut in half and trimmed to weigh the same. The 10 chunks were then mixed to even out any...

Brad, I agree. A charcoal fire will begin to add a bitter taste on the meat if the temp is too low. This can be accomplished with no pan, water, sand, foil layers, etc. I notice a bitter taste creeping in if I let the cooker drop below around 210. If I want to cook at a low temp, I use a fire...

Stu, Next time you cook, check the cal on your thermometer. As the pit is coming up to temp, lay your hand on the lid. See what 200, 225 and 250 deg "feels like". If you can hold your hand on the lid for 5 seconds, you need more heat. For me, 3 seconds is a good cooking temp. I rarely use a...

Phil, I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a cheese. You missed this one.

Jim, Things are going well. Heading to Cabala's in KC with two bullets Friday. Probably use a top-down burn method. I should think of a catchy name for it some day.

Jim, I'm not sure I follow your logic on the pit temps. My top grate is always around 25 deg hotter than my bottom grate because the heat rises up the walls of the cooker to the top due to the water pan deflecting the air flow outward. Just above the water in the pan is the coolest spot in the...

I once cooked a brisket without the water pan. I found that the flavor of the fat dripping in the fire was overpowering. If I were to do it again, I would go a few hours without the pan at the beginning of the cook and see how it tastes.

dbrewer@kcp.com

Mathew, i would love to see the schematic.

I think the plateau temp depends on how hot you cook. If you were cooking at 250 or so, the plateau would be up in the 160's. I wonder what your grid temp is?

Rick, You are getting robbed. You can buy loin chops for 2 bucks a pound. That is loin meat the butcher is leaving on top of the ribs and probably charging you 6 bucks a pound for it because it's attached to the babybacks.

I like to smoke sausages at around 190 deg. This will allow them to take on smoke for 3 or four hours and it takes that long to get them to come up to 152 deg. If they are fresh sausages (no cure) i like to grill them.

I solved this problem many years ago. Buy a decent thermometer! I bought a Fluke digital thermometer for about 120 bucks. Been using it for 7 or 8 years with no problems. I'd wager that a lot of bbqers have spent much more than that on cheap thermometers over the long haul.

Tom, I think you can get rid of the bad taste if you don't let the temp get down to 200 deg. Make 225 your minimum temp and then your fire will be hot enough to completly burn the yucky gases.

Hey! You guys were gone for a while. I just found the site again. Tom, What temp were you cooking at?