After a week or so of making mods to the smoker, I finally got a chance to season it Friday evening and put it to work with some meat on the grill Saturday. I have to say I am very satisfied with with the results. While seasoning it Friday night I also used the time to learn a little about temperature/smoke management on the smoker. After seeing the temps on the FB side of CC staying consistently 25 degrees hotter than the exhaust side, I decided to add a water pan Saturday directly on top of the diverter that I made to choke the opening between the FB and CC. Man, that made a huge difference! While smoking the ribs and eventually the fatties, the temps stayed within 2 or 3 degrees of each other on the grate level gauges installed in opposite ends of the CC. Once I got temp to where I wanted it with charcoal, 225 degrees, I was able to keep it there by adding a couple of small to medium sized splits of cherry every 45 minutes to an hour. It was a great day of smoking meat and having a few beers! Thanks to everyone on this forum for all of the suggested mods for my OK Joe Longhorn, it made all the difference in making my first smoke a success! Here are a few pictures of the smoker before seasoning, after seasoning, and with the meat on.
Before seasoning
After seasoning Friday
Ready for Meat Saturday!
A fattie ready for the smoker (I forgot to get a picture of the ribs before, newbie mistake!)
After removing the foil from the ribs, about an hour before time to eat! :)
Side note: I put the fatties on when I put the ribs back on with the foil on and they hit 165 degrees internal temp about 5 minutes before it was time to pull the ribs, great timing.
Last pictures before family and friends made the food disappear!
As suggested by some members, I may try to crisp the bacon on the fatties in the oven after they are done smoking next time, but they turned out delicious for my first try!
Thanks for reading, I can't wait to use the smoker again and share it all with everyone! Keep the smoke roll'n!
Kenny
Before seasoning
After seasoning Friday
Ready for Meat Saturday!
A fattie ready for the smoker (I forgot to get a picture of the ribs before, newbie mistake!)
After removing the foil from the ribs, about an hour before time to eat! :)
Side note: I put the fatties on when I put the ribs back on with the foil on and they hit 165 degrees internal temp about 5 minutes before it was time to pull the ribs, great timing.
Last pictures before family and friends made the food disappear!
As suggested by some members, I may try to crisp the bacon on the fatties in the oven after they are done smoking next time, but they turned out delicious for my first try!
Thanks for reading, I can't wait to use the smoker again and share it all with everyone! Keep the smoke roll'n!
Kenny