New guy here and new to BBQing. My father-in-law gave me a 18.5" OTS a few years back. I have grilled plenty of burgers/steaks on it; but just did my first real BBQ on it this past weekend.
I used a pseudo snake method with heat shield bricks. I dumped the lit coals (full circle lump) on the right.
Temperature cruised between 250 - 270 for the first three hours with no babysitting. Opened the lid for the first time at 3 hours to check fuel, water and rotate the meat.
Foiled at 165 and took to 205. Total time for the 3lb butt was 5.5 hrs. Made it on one load of charcoal (~3lbs).
The butt was good as far as texture/moisture goes but was a little too smokey. I think mesquite wasn't the right choice, but it was all I had.
Overall I would say it was a successful first venture. I didn't mess with the vents much; I let the kettle do her thing and she maintained temperatures of 250F +/-20. I also can't believe how fuel efficient the old kettle was.
I'm a rookie and I'm open to critique. I will definitely use a different wood for pork going forward. I'm thinking spare ribs for my next BBQ!
I used a pseudo snake method with heat shield bricks. I dumped the lit coals (full circle lump) on the right.
Temperature cruised between 250 - 270 for the first three hours with no babysitting. Opened the lid for the first time at 3 hours to check fuel, water and rotate the meat.
Foiled at 165 and took to 205. Total time for the 3lb butt was 5.5 hrs. Made it on one load of charcoal (~3lbs).
The butt was good as far as texture/moisture goes but was a little too smokey. I think mesquite wasn't the right choice, but it was all I had.
Overall I would say it was a successful first venture. I didn't mess with the vents much; I let the kettle do her thing and she maintained temperatures of 250F +/-20. I also can't believe how fuel efficient the old kettle was.
I'm a rookie and I'm open to critique. I will definitely use a different wood for pork going forward. I'm thinking spare ribs for my next BBQ!