Thanks Jim --- thats the kinda critique and input I was looking for!
The dims for my 'can' are ~8.5" on the bottom and the hole cutout on the top is ~5.5". I guessed that would approximate the taper on the vortex to affect the air flow similarly --- ignoring that there is a step instead of a straight taper..... And I would have guessed that the step would create more of a turbulent flow than the taper actually that would help disperse the high heat.... I still assert that the 'chimney effect' is still the predominant action being that they are only 5" tall --- look at the charcoal starters -- straight walled and they rage just as hard as the vortex --- getting a coal bed stacked and deep and containing it around the side is going to make it hot no matter what the wall shape/angle. I was hypothesizing that the reason for the steep taper on the vortex was more driven for added coal volume while also not taking away too much (indirect) cooking area on the grate myself.....
So I ran it again last night with some more thighs.
I tucked a nice big chunk of plum in the middle of my can and filled it up with coal. I was 'hoping' that by the time the coal was ready to cook that the wood would also be burning cleanly.....
I used the gas assist for ~ 5 minutes to start it up...... smoked like hell for ~15-20 minutes as the coal and wood caught..... and then all of a sudden - POOF - the clouds of white smoke were gone leaving just the wisps of white smoke from the wood. Strange that there were still some coals that weren't greyed, but at least all the 'coal smoke' was gone.
Ran it with the vents wide open - put the lid on to heat everything up.... it got RAGING ---- I actually left the thermometer in to see what it would read.... Yes --- it went all the way around burying 550....
Not sure what the actual temp was --- but I'm guessing it was 700-750 by best estimate. I let the chicken rock with the temp needle between 6 and 7 oclock (I didn't feel good about torturing my thermometer like this, but I was curious).
I left the chicken alone -- added a couple of smaller chunks of plum here and there.... let it go for ~50-55 minutes - temp held above/past 6 oclock the whole time. The skin was definitely rendering, but still not crisp.
The two smaller thighs were looking like they were drying out and figuring that almost an hour at ~700 was pushing my luck..... so I sauced them to set the glaze and called it good. At that point the temp had started to drop to just above 550.
I think they turned out pretty well.....
While not 'oven crisp skin' --- it was definitely a big improvement and gave a pretty decent bite. Flavor was great --- although I didn't notice alot of smoke last night - I was pretty smoke blind (and drunk) by that point after letting them rest for ~45 minutes.
So what I concluded ----
- The 'can' does work when run wide open (YES!)
- My main mistake on the last cook was throttling it back to 550..... I'm still new to this HOT cooking stuff.
- As Jim mentioned - it is a little small for what its trying to do --- it did get the high heat, but it did start to die off at the end of the cook. more coal 'may' have gotten higher temps - but it would have held the temp longer for sure. It could be that omitting the chunk of wood for more coal would have been all it would've taken. But the sizing and capacity are damn close for what is needed for a thigh cook - probably perfect for a drumstick cook.
- It sucks not having a heat guard on the lid handle!!!!!
I'll definitely be looking for a stainless bowl to fashion up a better version --- I actually did try to find one some time ago but came up empty or too over priced --- thats why I ended up with this redneck version to try out to see if it was worth it. Now I know what I need to look for size wise. Hopefully I'll be able to find one at the thrift store or a garage sale for cheap so that I can put money towards a master grate.
Next round I'll put just coal in the can and place the chunk on the grate to get more heat (maybe) and a longer cook. I'm still kind of baffled why the skin isn't crisping more with such high heat...?...? Thighs have always been harder to crisp - even on the gasser - without some direct heat and some collateral burning and flare ups. I'm definitely going to give some drumsticks a try soon too! I think they will be much easier.
I did so some searching on amazon and ran across these that look promising and fairly cheap....
I'm not sure what dimensions to believe..... looks like I need to stay below 5" height for the standard grill - but could go higher if I commit to getting the master grill with the removeable center. Has anyone used a SS bowl? Wondering how hard they are to cut.... I remember it was hard as hell to just drill holes in some smaller stainless bowls that I had modded long ago for the gasser.... Saw or grinder?
