First All Nighter

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funk

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Jun 18, 2006
98
10
I am attempting my first all night smoke on Friday with a nice Butt with the bone. I have been reading about the minion method and I want to try it. I am going to be using chunks of Hickory as well as some Kingsford.

What I read was to fill my pan with unlit charcoal and put around 16 hot charcoal bricks in the pan on top. If I use a few chunks of wood, should I use less hot charcoal? From what I read, the wood will burn hotter than the charcoal. Is soaking the wood prior a good thing or should I put it on dry?

Any advice would be great. By the way I have the Brinkmann (ECB).

Funk
 
It's been a while since I cooked on a ECB but if I remember right your in pretty good shape. Don't soak your wood, just takes it longer to smoke. Do not reduce your charcoal because of the wood. Hope you have bored some holes in the side of your coal pan to allow air in and maybe put some screen or expanded metal in to help keep the ashes from smothering the fire. Other than that just keep a check on the internal temps of the meat and get ready to eat some good BBQ :D
 
Hey, Funk!
Just a little tip you may have already figured out for yourself. I have found on my ECB that you are better off getting your heat up really well before using larger chunks of wood. I can only buy hickory in this area by the bag, In it are all manner of size chunks. Remember it takes heat to get the wood going. So start out with your smaller chunks and as you generate a coal pit go to the larger chunks!

I will also ask... have you done any mods to your ECB?

Here's wishing you luck on your first all nighter!

Cheers!
Monty
 
Rodger,

Thanks for the info. The brinkman I have has a charcoal pan will holes in it and that sits into a pan with a whole in the bottom. I believe the old ECB just had the charcoal pan. I found a round cooking basket that fits perfectly in the charcoal pan. I flipped it over and it gives me a good half inch so the ashes fall right into the pan while the coal stay put. Thanks for the info.

Funk
 
Monty

I also can only by hickory by the bag. Thanks for the info. I will be sure to use smaller chunks first. The only modification that I made was drilling the holes in the lid for the smoke.

The ECB that I have has a charcoal pan that already has several holes in it. The charcoal pan sits into another pan with a hole in the bottom. I thought about drilling some holes in the side of the pan that the charcoal pan sits in. What do you think? Thanks again.
 
Yup, Funk, go ahead a whack a few holes in that pan. I would sugeest about six or seven no larger than 3/8"

Also, as your charcoal burns and the temp varies you may have to go back to the smaller chunks of wood in your balancing act.

And, finally do not depend on the ECB thermometer. Whether you depend on a five dollar analog oven thermometer or a twenty plus dollar digital the extra investment is well worthwhile.

Again, good luck!
Cheers!
Monty
 
Yea you have the deluxe or Gourmet version. It's like the old CookNCajun smoker. Has a charcoal pan inside a base and you lift the barrel off the pan. if your pan will give room to keep the coals from being smothered then you should be good to go. I never had to add any holes in the tops of my ecb's, but every one is a little different. :D That's what makes them fun. I gave mine to my 18 yr old at college. Trying to cook decent BBQ should keep him out of trouble :mrgreen:
 
If I put some holes in the outer pan, should I attach a piece of sheet metal as I did on the lid?
 
Thank you for all the help. I have one more questions. I was planning on getting a 8# however the butcher did not have any that size. He only had two 6.5 packaged together.

How do I calculate the cook time? would it be based on 12# at 2hrs or would I still go by 6.5# for 2hrs even though there are two cuts? Hope this makes sense.

Funk
 
General rule of thump for smoking meat is 1.5 hrs per pound. Of course your time is going to vary based on what temp you are cooking, and a bunch of scientific factors, that I could not begin to explain.

ENJOY that cook, take pics keep up up to date with the way things are working out.
 
I think the question being asked is… is the 1.5 hours/lb based on the total weight of grub in the pit, or is it based on each individual cut. I too am planning my first all-nighter tonight. I have two 6 lb butts and a 12 lb brisket to load up. I assume that I should plan on about 18 hours for the brisket and 9 hours for the butts. Is this correct? Surely it wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take 36 hours to cook the 24 lbs of meat!! I plan to put the brisket on about 8 PM and the butts at 5 AM. Hopefull all will be done around the same time early tomorrow afternoon. Let hear from someone with experience.
 
It will take a little longer to smoke due to the added mass of the meat but it does not keep adding together the more pieces you put in. :D

It is OK to try and schedule your cook by x amount of time per # of meat, but don't think that it is going to work perfectly. Internal temps and the feel and appearance of your meat are more important than the time factor.
 
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