First Smoke


 
I think using briquettes instead of lump is a good idea. My last overnight smoke i used almost a whole 20 pound bag and was easily able to get 15 hours of heat. When your temps start dropping in the morning open up the door and give the charcoal a gentle stir... It allows the burned fuel (the dusty stuff) to drop through the grate and your temps will come back up.

Give us an update in the morning brother!
 
Brian, hows the progress? Just found this thread, and I would have to agree, the 2 things that worked against you were probably the wind and it being a new smoker. Once you get a few smokes on it, your WSM will seal itself, and only get easier to control. Interested to see how your cook went without any water. That's the only way I smoke now, be it in my MINI WSM or my 18.5.
Good luck and keep us posted.
And remember, the unofficial rule here is; if we don't see any pics, it never happened!
Tim
 
Woke up this morning to find the temp hovering around 215, so I was very pleased it lasted through the night.

There was half a ring of charcoal left so I restocked it and shook the dust off.

Brought it back up to 250 and have it stabilized now.

Looking pretty good as well...

photo14.jpg
 
Glad it went well for you. That lone butt looks lonely all by itself on that big smoker. Just wondering, do you have a lot of smoke coming out of the top of your door (when it is closed)? Also, was there a difference in the weather from your last cook and this cook?
Good looking pork, hope it tasted good also.
Tim
 
Overall it went much better than the first. I was able to maintain the temperature in the 200 - 250 range for about 15 to 16 hours. I only had to restock in the morning and stoke the coals about about the 14 hour mark to bring the heat up since I was putting on some chicken wings at that point.

The wind was quite an issue but once I got it up to temp and had the vents at about 25% open it didn't seem to affect it as much.

I must say though, this is the first time I used kingsford and I didn't like the taste as much as when I used stubbs. It could just be my imagination, but I swore that I could taste a bit of a chemical bitterness in the bark, but not enough for any of my guests to even notice.

I am very pleased with the results, but still learning a lot. I need to learn to not peak at the coals and just trust the vent settings.

Here is what the final product looked like. Nearly forgot to take a photo before I shredded it.

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