Eujamfh
02-13-2017, 09:09 PM
First I appreciate all the info here...helped me make my purchase this weekend.
Decided to give the pit its maiden voyage with brisket and sausage.
Slept in which meant brisket would be for leftovers for the week...but having a packer I purchased the week prior in the fridge, it was fair game.
Ambient temp was in the 50s, little windy and a couple shots of light rain throughout the day. When the rain came, I pushed the cooked back onto the garage, just leaving the vent pipe out enough to ensure a draft outside.
It cam with the charcoal basket...I used some Kingsford, regular blue bags after a chimney full of lump. Laid some pieces of oak as fire dams like David recommended. Also tossed a couple small bits on top for good measure.
Took about an hour to get to temp - 220 at the single installed gauge. Top right shelf (where I cooked) was about 240. I haven't "zero'ed" the installed thermometer but will and the 240 degrees was off a cheap oven thermometer which are also super inaccurate so both temps taken with a grain of salt.
Brisket out for an hour to warm from fridge and in she went...
- Nice clean thin and at times near nonexistent smoke for about 2-3 hours using the charcoal basket.
- I fed coals "by hand" for a good 2-3 hours as well as small chunks of oak...nice smoke and temp held well.
- Got caught up in the house and came out to 180 at center...added some coal and a larger split...the larger split was a mistake since I laid it across the charcoal box. It eventually smoked...and smoldered some heavy smoke. Not black, but it was not as clean and hot as I wanted.
- Added sausage about two hours out from supper time...more coal and smaller pieces. Temp didn't recover...it was ~200...top right shelf was around 225 which was actually a plus. Sausage on the left part of grill, upper buy exhaust.
Ended up putting the sausage on the gasser with some salmon on a wood plank for supper and finished the brisket in the oven with a foil wrap. Sausage smoked for two hours, brisket for about 11 hours and then 2 hours in the oven.
TASTE (which is what it is all about). Well...it was great. I kick myself for not having a smoker like this after all these years. I like it much better then the other smokers in the inventory - all which are good, and all which have their place. But, the sausage was the best I ever made (it was a venison sausage). The brisket was great, but the smoke flavor was less pronounced then the sausage. Not sure why but thinking it may be because it was in the hotter part of the pit. Will have to play around with that...it was very good, but I expected a deeper flavor (it was deeper then any of my other smokers).
Sorry no pics of the sausage...to busy eating them and forgot to take pics! Smoke ring was similarly pronounced...just in a perfectly round ring!
Decided to give the pit its maiden voyage with brisket and sausage.
Slept in which meant brisket would be for leftovers for the week...but having a packer I purchased the week prior in the fridge, it was fair game.
Ambient temp was in the 50s, little windy and a couple shots of light rain throughout the day. When the rain came, I pushed the cooked back onto the garage, just leaving the vent pipe out enough to ensure a draft outside.
It cam with the charcoal basket...I used some Kingsford, regular blue bags after a chimney full of lump. Laid some pieces of oak as fire dams like David recommended. Also tossed a couple small bits on top for good measure.
Took about an hour to get to temp - 220 at the single installed gauge. Top right shelf (where I cooked) was about 240. I haven't "zero'ed" the installed thermometer but will and the 240 degrees was off a cheap oven thermometer which are also super inaccurate so both temps taken with a grain of salt.
Brisket out for an hour to warm from fridge and in she went...
- Nice clean thin and at times near nonexistent smoke for about 2-3 hours using the charcoal basket.
- I fed coals "by hand" for a good 2-3 hours as well as small chunks of oak...nice smoke and temp held well.
- Got caught up in the house and came out to 180 at center...added some coal and a larger split...the larger split was a mistake since I laid it across the charcoal box. It eventually smoked...and smoldered some heavy smoke. Not black, but it was not as clean and hot as I wanted.
- Added sausage about two hours out from supper time...more coal and smaller pieces. Temp didn't recover...it was ~200...top right shelf was around 225 which was actually a plus. Sausage on the left part of grill, upper buy exhaust.
Ended up putting the sausage on the gasser with some salmon on a wood plank for supper and finished the brisket in the oven with a foil wrap. Sausage smoked for two hours, brisket for about 11 hours and then 2 hours in the oven.
TASTE (which is what it is all about). Well...it was great. I kick myself for not having a smoker like this after all these years. I like it much better then the other smokers in the inventory - all which are good, and all which have their place. But, the sausage was the best I ever made (it was a venison sausage). The brisket was great, but the smoke flavor was less pronounced then the sausage. Not sure why but thinking it may be because it was in the hotter part of the pit. Will have to play around with that...it was very good, but I expected a deeper flavor (it was deeper then any of my other smokers).
Sorry no pics of the sausage...to busy eating them and forgot to take pics! Smoke ring was similarly pronounced...just in a perfectly round ring!