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simmygoblue

simmygoblue

Newbie
Original poster
Dec 28, 2012
21
10
Plain City, OH
So, I am curing my smoker this morning. Last night, I tried and had the ECB humming at 500 degrees at 1230am. I put it out and decided I'd try again this morning.

So I got my fire going again and this time I put lit charcoal on top of unlit charcoal. I was doing okay but then I saw an initial spike in temp to 400 degrees. So I removed some charcoal and saw my temps decrease and start holding steady at 200-250. Is this typical?

I assume once I get the fire holding steady, then it's time to put my meat on and let the smoke begin.?
 
Morning , simmy. Can I call you simmy?
Once you get the temp holding steady it is indeed time to get the meat in there. But if you can get the temps to hold still for any length of time, you're a better man than I am.
I had a brinkmann gourmet for years which is a step up from the ECB , and that thing was a bee-atch
To control.... I found that the best approach was to fill it up with briqs , pop in a few lit coals (maybe 15 or so) let the heat get close to 250.. Throw the meat on and just let it cook. Chicken is the best thing the ECB cooks. Pork butt and shoulder are doable too....ribs are ok , but less forgiving.
If you want true smoking happiness , start saving up for a weber smoky mountain.
Good luck , brother..:grilling_smilie:
 
Last edited:
Learning how much charcoal to use to achieve the cooking temps you want is part of learning to BBQ, sounds like you're doing OK.
 
I made the modifications except for the holes in the dome. I don't have a piece of flat sheet metal and a machine screw to use at this moment. I figure i will try without it till I can pick something up.

The other thing I did wrong was using briquettes Kingsford Match Light charcoal and wood chips. Horrible idea.

Now, once I had the smoker going it was holding a good steady 175-200. Not ideal but at least I have a better idea of what's going on and how to build a better more controlled fire. I'm off to go get some lump charcoal and wood chunks.

I've got a chicken in some brine and we are gonna give this thing a whirl this afternoon. I suppose you'll want to see some pictures and I will do my best to remember some pictures.
 
I suppose you'll want to see some pictures  

You got that right !!!!    We love  pics.....     Dave  
 
Simmy , I hope I didn't sound too negative earlier. Not intending to dump on your choice of smokers...
When I had my brinkmann , I had not discovered this forum and I struggled with my cooking. If I had had this forum to learn from , I would prob'ly still be cooking on the brinkmann and doing ok!
One thing on the mods....when I made my top vent , I drilled some 1/4 inch holes in a circle and for the sheet metal I used a tin can lid. I fastened the lid to the dome with a nut and bolt and left it loose enough to swivel to the side so that I could cover as many holes as I wanted.
My chicken always came out good on the brinkmann.
You do sound like you're doing ok with your smoker. Enjoy it and post some pictures! :sausage:
 
Hambone1950 said:
Simmy , I hope I didn't sound too negative earlier. Not intending to dump on your choice of smokers...
When I had my brinkmann , I had not discovered this forum and I struggled with my cooking. If I had had this forum to learn from , I would prob'ly still be cooking on the brinkmann and doing ok!
One thing on the mods....when I made my top vent , I drilled some 1/4 inch holes in a circle and for the sheet metal I used a tin can lid. I fastened the lid to the dome with a nut and bolt and left it loose enough to swivel to the side so that I could cover as many holes as I wanted.
My chicken always came out good on the brinkmann.
You do sound like you're doing ok with your smoker. Enjoy it and post some pictures! :sausage:
Click to expand...

Never took it as negative. You can call me Simmy, that's typically what people call me.

3rd time is a charm right now. I got my fire started and it creeped all the way to 300 degrees and then I took a few pieces of charcoal out and it lowered to 275. I figured when I put the bird on my temperature would drop to the ideal 225-240 range. Once I put the bird on, I checked it 15/30/45 minutes later and it's humming at 240ish.

I'm gonna let it go to 1:30 into the smoke and then flip the birding and feed the fire. I'm pretty pumped about this process right now.

I'm using mesquite wood chunks and cowboy lump charcoal. It's the only lump charcoal they had a Home Depot.

I brined the chicken in water, kosher salt, and some left over Franks red hot buffalo sauce. I then used a chicken rub and put some mustard on it. This should be interesting.
 
simmygoblue said:
Never took it as negative. You can call me Simmy, that's typically what people call me.

Thumbs Up


I brined the chicken in water, kosher salt, and some left over Franks red hot buffalo sauce. I then used a chicken rub and put some mustard on it. This should be interesting.
Click to expand...

That sounds great. I have yet to brine any chicken , but I've read so much about it lately that I'm dying to try it. The more you read about cooking on the brinkmann , the more you'll hear that chicken likes to be cooked at 275-300 and even higher , so the temp spikes that the brinkmann is prone to do no harm. In my experience when you cook chicken low and slow , it comes out good and it takes on a lot of smoke , but the skin can come out rubbery and too smoky for some
( my lovely wife is in that camp).....when you cook it hot and fast the chicken still comes out good , takes on a bit less smoke AND you get nice crispy moist skin (which I love).
Some people refer to the brinkmann upright smokers as "chicken blasters " and wouldn't cook em any other way. One of the other things I made a lot of on my brinkmann was pulled pork and this is another item that is less temp fussy than some so you get good results consistently.
Well , bro , I hope your chicken comes out great and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
 
Stuck the probe in and I am at 158 right now.

Bad part, my temps dropped to 190. Add more charcoal and smoke. She's at 159 now.

Should I pull once it hits 165 or let it go?
 
Simmy , I would let it go til the breast is 165 , but more importantly stick that joint by where the thigh joins the body and you want that to be around 170 even 180 is ok....
You can cook the chicken longer than you think without drying out the breast , but it's easy to undercook that dark meat. You don't want to break that leg off and have it be TOO pink in there. I have Cooked a whole chicken for like 3 1/2 , 4 hours and still had it be nice and moist all over.
Enjoy that chicken
 
image.jpg

image.jpg


It passed the taste test. She had enough for an entire sandwich which is double what she normally eats.

It's been a long day doing a cure and then a chicken. I'm wiped out. The ECB requires a ton of work and monitoring.

I give nine months and I will have a WSM or a BGE.
 
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