This was my first ever long cook, so here are some quick notes and observations. Feel free to throw input to help out my learning curve.
The cook was 2 corned rounds on a med bge. Started at 7:30 a.m. at 250 and sweet blue pecan. Stuck a probe in the smaller one at the 2 1/2 hour mark and it was at 131. It crept up to 147 over the next 2 hrs and held. About that time i probed the slightly bigger one and it was at 146. Pit still at 250. They both stayed there for the next couple of hours and i was getting to the point that i thought something was wrong with the probes. Remember this is my first long cook and they were not BUDGING. Panic did'nt set in ,but i was getting impatient. Lets try foiling the little one, i,ve read about that. Sure as hell, it started rising while the big one held.I also had raised the pit to 260-275. So i foiled it, and it started coming up. About then i had to tear the egg down to add more charcoal. Got it back to 275 and finished the cook until both reached about 200.
The meat is a little dry and somewhat "roast beefy" I am guessing they were not that "corned" and did'nt require a pre-soak. The "dry" part may have been from how i cooked them. I noticed that they were not giving up much liquid until i foiled and the plateau broke. Was it the foiling that broke it or would have they eventually broke and lost as much liquid if left alone? Was 200 too hot for a round?
All in all it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience, And... homemade pastrami to share with freinds and family. Sorry to ramble, i tend to do that. Open to any critique.
I'm going fishing now.
Thanks for all the help and camradarie.
Paul
