Done With Gassers

[bakerman]

Well I got back from my golf outing and my wife gifted me a ThermoPro dual probe. Should be enough to get things rocking.

 

[bakerman]

I finally got around to smoking this past weekend. It was quite an adventure. I apologize for no pictures.
I started off Saturday with my first lump charcoal smoke, hickory chunks for smoke no water in the pan. Temp took off pretty quick, got it locked in at 250-270 with TBS. Put my 2 bacon weaved meatloaves on about 11:00, temps soared up to 300 and climbing. So I put some water in the waterpan. Kinda settled it down again, then the temp plummeted to 190. Adjusted the vents and after about 30 minutes it was under control at 250. Took about 4 hours to get to 160 internal temp. Took them off and let them rest.
Result: Best meatloaf I ever had hands down. Juicy, held together, amazing flavors, even the bacon weave was mostly crispy. Next time I will use better quality bacon. Harris Teeter store brand was pretty lame stuff. Still the meal turned out fantastic. Family all agreed, best thing I had ever smoked.

So feeling pretty good about my skills I got the chicken wings ready for Sunday. Left them uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry them out. Sunday morning set up for lump charcoal again, no water in the pan, cherry chunks for smoke. Within 10 minutes I was closing on 300 degrees, choked off the vents, left one halfway open, temps settled in at 310 with TBS. Coated the chicken wings with Old Bay and some cornstarch. Put them on and the temp went down to 190!. Opened up the vents back up and within 10 minutes I was back up to 290-300. After about an hour I flipped the wings and brushed them with melted butter. They were done but I let them stay for another 15 minutes to crisp up. Opened all the vents and the WSM hit 350 and climbing. Took the wings off when the got crispy. About 2.5 hours to done.
Result: Best chicken wings I have ever made. Crunchy skin, juicy meat, Old Bay was a good choice for rub, and the little hit of butter just perfect. No leftovers.

So my thanks to all for the recommendation on the WSM. Glad I got the 22.5, plenty of space for meat. Once I got the temp to settle down I was basically just watching the clock. No constant futzing with water, gas , meat position. Mostly a Ron Popiel type cooker. I think the best part of this was the lump charcoal, that was pretty neat the way it took off. Also having the dual probe thermometer ( Thermo Works TP10 ), was wonderful. I really had a handle on what was happening inside the cooker. I was pleasantly surprised I lost very little smoke around the lid and door once the cook was under way. Even more surprised as to how easy it was to adjust for the temps and how forgiving this cooker is. But the best part was the flavor. Charcoal gives the meat a much better flavor than my old gasser. Not that the gasser imparted anything bad, just I liked the charcoal taste much more.

Really happy I switched. Now to source some fruit wood and set some kinda line up. Ribs this coming 4th weekend I think. Eventually a brisket, and I have 2 TriTips in the freezer waiting for their turn.