Update (with pron)
Thanks for the help guys!
Sorry for not updating. When I opened her up @ 8hrs (the igrill probe was reading 190 already), I realized that I had the probe on the thinner section, and also between the 2 different muscles, so it was reading hot. I checked various spots with a meat thermometer and was getting about 170 in most spots. I sprayed some apple juice, re-positioned the probe and put the cover back on.
At about 11.5 hours in, it got to 190, so I probed for tenderness. It was spot on, and the bone felt like you could pull it out, so I took it off, let it rest for about 15 mins, and then foiled and held for about 1.5 hrs while I added about 20 briquettes and some mesquite chunks and let the smoker come up to about 290-300 for the thighs.
Had the thighs on there for almost 2 hours, then put them on the grill to crisp up the skin, along with the corn and asparagus. Also doctored up some baked beans using Bush's Smokehouse beans, more brown sugar, chopped up bacon, onion flakes, smoked chipotle pepper, and some bbq sauce (holy smokes these were good!)
The pork pulled very easily, was very juicy inside, bark was exactly how the wife and I like it, BUT I think I laid too much of the rub on it and it was a bit overkill. I used the rub from Renowned Mr. Brown recipe, and while I do like pepper, this was a bit over the top. Next time, I will ease up on the rub, or try something with less pepper.
I also need to be a little bit less overzealous on trimming the fat. Being my first time, I think i trimmed off too much, and almost had it fall apart into 2 pcs on me.
The thighs came out great, I brined them for 2 hours in a solution of water, kosher salt, and white sugar, then patted dry, trimmed off excess fat, and generously dusted with a bbq rub from Stubs that I had laying around. At the very end (on the grill), I brushed on some of Sweet Baby Ray's Hone BBQ sauce.
The iGrille worked fine, the range was pretty good, I just need to learn to place the probe in the right spot. For the pit temp probe I did not have a grill clip, so I drilled a hole in a cork (natural not those new synthetic ones) and notched the bottom so that it would attach to the grill. Worked fine. I will definitely be either cutting a slot in the upper rim or doing the grommet mod. I can see these probe wires definitely being a weak point, and I was definitely getting a lot of smoke coming out from under the lid.
As far as the smoke goes, I was hesitant to shut the third vent because i didn't want to disrupt the vertical flow of air. If all bottom vents are shut, where is the oxygen coming from? The door? the lid? Thinking maybe I should do the nomex gasked mod. the body does not seem out of round.
Didn't take too many pics, here they are:
Before trimming:
Rubbed:
Pulled:
Chicken thighs:
Doctored up beans:
