Well, I've had my OC smoker for about four days now. I seasoned it the first two days and practiced temperature control. Boy was I having trouble maintaining a constant temp. After the second day playing with it, I thought I made a mistake buying it.
But, I got on SMF and snooped around until I came across the Stick Burning 101 thread. Then I found Mdavis735 who has another OC model. He told me to start with a half chimney of coals and then throw two sticks on the fire. This was very helpful. I also read in one of the many threads on SMF that another way to achieve a nice even temp on the grate is to fold a big piece of foil in half and deflect the heat upward coming from underneath the baffle. Boy does this help keep the temp where the meat is.
Then I got the fire started in the FB and let the logs burn down into some decent coals and shut the FB door with the intake open halfway.
Once I shut the FB door it took about 20 minutes to bring the cooking chamber to about 225-230 range. By this time I had TBS. Thank God for the aforementioned threads, because I was able to achieve all this in a little under an hour on my fourth day of owning my new toy.
Now it was time to grab my 7lb packer brisket. I rubbed it down the previous day with:
Kosher Salt
Coarse Black Pepper
Ancho Chili Powder
Garlic Granules
Onion Granules
Mustard Powder
Cumin
A Small Amount of White Sugar
This is what it looked like, also It was pretty damn early so I needed coffee
The Brisket went on at 6:37. I have been preheating some post oak and hickory stick on top of the fire box and throw one on when the temp dips to around 225. I like to smoke brisket at 250. This cooker is doing really well in terms of keeping a temp range of 230-260. I have gone outside a few times and had to play with the fire a bit, but so far so good. I will wrap the brisket at IT of 160-170 depending on the color. I will update this thread as I go along.
But, I got on SMF and snooped around until I came across the Stick Burning 101 thread. Then I found Mdavis735 who has another OC model. He told me to start with a half chimney of coals and then throw two sticks on the fire. This was very helpful. I also read in one of the many threads on SMF that another way to achieve a nice even temp on the grate is to fold a big piece of foil in half and deflect the heat upward coming from underneath the baffle. Boy does this help keep the temp where the meat is.
Then I got the fire started in the FB and let the logs burn down into some decent coals and shut the FB door with the intake open halfway.
Once I shut the FB door it took about 20 minutes to bring the cooking chamber to about 225-230 range. By this time I had TBS. Thank God for the aforementioned threads, because I was able to achieve all this in a little under an hour on my fourth day of owning my new toy.
Now it was time to grab my 7lb packer brisket. I rubbed it down the previous day with:
Kosher Salt
Coarse Black Pepper
Ancho Chili Powder
Garlic Granules
Onion Granules
Mustard Powder
Cumin
A Small Amount of White Sugar
This is what it looked like, also It was pretty damn early so I needed coffee
The Brisket went on at 6:37. I have been preheating some post oak and hickory stick on top of the fire box and throw one on when the temp dips to around 225. I like to smoke brisket at 250. This cooker is doing really well in terms of keeping a temp range of 230-260. I have gone outside a few times and had to play with the fire a bit, but so far so good. I will wrap the brisket at IT of 160-170 depending on the color. I will update this thread as I go along.