one chimney or two?


 
D

DavidRickert

New member
Smoking an 8 lb bone in turkey breast tomorrow. Looking at a high of 39 degrees tomorrow (no rain). Should I do one chimney of lit coals or two? I'm concerned I won't be able to get to 325 with one lit chimney and an unlit chimney.
 
I'm wondering the same thing. It's going to be a little colder here but not much. I did a trial run last week. One Chimney. It was about 40 outside. Empty water pan, no sand, water, saucer etc. After a half hour with all vents fully open it was 297 and falling so I started another half chimney. At about hour 1 it went it and raised the running temp to about 315. Here's the catch, I had a full pan of stuff following meatheads gravy recipe, which I wasn't a fan of but the girls like it so I'm probably going to do that tomorrow. I'm planning on starting two tomorrow, as of right now and hoping I can keep it near 325 with the vents closed. The temp did start rising just before I pulled it at a little over 2 hours for my 10lb bird.
 
What size WSM? On my 22.5, I go 1/2 charcoal ring of unlit followed by 1 full chimney of lit on top. Assemble unit and wait for the thick white smoke to clear before adding the turkey. No problem hitting & maintaining temps. When I did the same set-up on my 18.5, I completely over-shot those temps by close to a hunnert degrees. Yes, I was 400+ according to my Maverick thermometer probe and turned the lower vents down.
 
When i do chicken or turkey in my 18.5 i always use 2 lit chimneys and leave the vents wide open. I also mix KBB and lump to get higher heat and decent burn time. I also pour a layer of unlit in before i pour the hot coals in to get a full ring. I have no issues getting to 350 with that method with my 2nd lid vent.

It does run hotter initially but settles in after adding the meat.
 
good luck - I also have a 7.5# bone-in breast - however, it will be 87* in San Diego tomorrow.

I think I will go with 1/2 unlit and then pour the full chimney over it with 1 chunk of Apple, 1 chunky of Cherry and maybe a 1/2 chunk of hickory.
 
I have the 18.5. I think what I'll do is do a chimney and a half of lit coals with another half of unlit. From what people said above, that seems like it will be the best option based on my previous cooking experiences.
 
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