I did my first briskett yesterday on my 18". I started with every intention of taking pictures along the whole process to give a review on that. However, I had some non-cooking weird issues pop up that allowed me to cook but not document along the way. The flat got a little dry in a couple places, but I was overall pleased with the outcome. So since I couldn't get pics of the meat, I thought I'd review the Jealous Devil charcoal I used.
I used a whole 10 lbs bag in the coal chamber in anticipation of a half day smoke. I used the doughnut style Minion Method, digging a pit in the middle and piling the outside up to the top of the coal ring. I used 12 briqs in a chimney with 2 of the Royal Oak Tumbleweeds as the starter. They lived up to the company claims of no sparks or popping. The chimney did not look like a jet engine like Kingsford does. It did take longer to gray up in order to dump into the fire box. And then once the started coals were poured into the doughnut pit, it took longer than Kingsford to get to temp. In hindsight, and for future reference, I should/will probably spread the lit coals over the top of a flat coal bed
It crawled up longer than I expected. But once it hit 212, it did come to temp quickly from there, these coals were very easy to maintain in temp. Just a couple of coal stirs were needed throughout. The smoke was a little whiter and thicker than Kingsford. This worried me a little at first, but it was not an issue in adding any bad taste. The scent is also pleasant, if faint.
I dumped the lit coals on the pile right at 5:45 am and shut down the vents a little after 3:15 pm. I probably had 8-12 completely untouched briqs left. There was no added charcoal once the initial light was made. Some partial briqs maintained structure enough to put into the relaimed bucket I use. Some partial briqs that looked still to be almost completely black crumble to dust with very little pressure applied. The ashpile was a litte smaller than Kingsford I have used on shorter cooks. It also had a lot more black and dark gray compared to the near completely white and light gray ash in Kingsford cooks.
I was very happy with Jealous Devil. It lived up to company claims for the most part. The price is definitely something to keep in mind. There's no getting around that. I like it better than the Kingsford I have used, but I don't dislike Kingsford. I don't think I will go all JD all the time due to that extra cost and limited access. But I still have that 2nd bag of the Amazon purchased 2 pack that I will save for another cook when I am trying to impress.
I used a whole 10 lbs bag in the coal chamber in anticipation of a half day smoke. I used the doughnut style Minion Method, digging a pit in the middle and piling the outside up to the top of the coal ring. I used 12 briqs in a chimney with 2 of the Royal Oak Tumbleweeds as the starter. They lived up to the company claims of no sparks or popping. The chimney did not look like a jet engine like Kingsford does. It did take longer to gray up in order to dump into the fire box. And then once the started coals were poured into the doughnut pit, it took longer than Kingsford to get to temp. In hindsight, and for future reference, I should/will probably spread the lit coals over the top of a flat coal bed
It crawled up longer than I expected. But once it hit 212, it did come to temp quickly from there, these coals were very easy to maintain in temp. Just a couple of coal stirs were needed throughout. The smoke was a little whiter and thicker than Kingsford. This worried me a little at first, but it was not an issue in adding any bad taste. The scent is also pleasant, if faint.
I dumped the lit coals on the pile right at 5:45 am and shut down the vents a little after 3:15 pm. I probably had 8-12 completely untouched briqs left. There was no added charcoal once the initial light was made. Some partial briqs maintained structure enough to put into the relaimed bucket I use. Some partial briqs that looked still to be almost completely black crumble to dust with very little pressure applied. The ashpile was a litte smaller than Kingsford I have used on shorter cooks. It also had a lot more black and dark gray compared to the near completely white and light gray ash in Kingsford cooks.
I was very happy with Jealous Devil. It lived up to company claims for the most part. The price is definitely something to keep in mind. There's no getting around that. I like it better than the Kingsford I have used, but I don't dislike Kingsford. I don't think I will go all JD all the time due to that extra cost and limited access. But I still have that 2nd bag of the Amazon purchased 2 pack that I will save for another cook when I am trying to impress.
