First smoke on the Brinkmann split door

[arwes]

I picked up the Brinkmann Split Door on clearance last week at Wal-Mart, and did my first smoke with it Saturday (first time I've tried it in years). Unfortunately, I couldn't get the temps over 200 no matter what I tried. I drilled several holes in the charcoal pan (1/8", too small maybe?) and that didn't seem to help. Vents were wide open. Used Frontier lump charcoal and tried the minion method with it. Had to constantly babysit the thing, as it fluctuated between 175 - 200 degrees. Next smoke I'm using briquettes to see if that helps.

I used a 7 lb pork butt, and I seasoned it with the BBQ Magic seasoning like RaceyB has been using. Besides, everyone loves Paul Prudhomme & his nifty scooter! Meat was at room temp when it went on at 2:30 PM (yeah, late start). The woods I used were apple & mesquite chips. I took it off at 11:00 PM when it seemed to stop at 138 degrees (and I was ready for bed). Finished it off in the oven, and forgot to take pics of it before I did the pulling Sunday AM.

As you can see it was served on our finest china, and I went with cole slaw on mine and poured on a little of Danny Gaulden's glaze over the top of that (1/4C yellow mustard, 1/4C Apple Cider Vinegar, 1C brown sugar simmered on medium). That was the best pulled pork sandwich I've had in years! My mom even had to brag about it on Facebook!

I threw on some boudain too. When grilling with friends we usually buy the Zummo's smoked boudain because it's got a great flavor so I thought I'd try the Savoie's regular boudain that we almost never buy (unless they're out of Zummo's). That was some great boudain!

Q-view ahead! Here's the pan full of meat (some big chunks still there, was in a bit of rush to get it pulled):



And here's my sandwich on our finest china!

 

[pepeskitty]

Fine china or not. Looks like a tasty sandwich.

 

[fire it up]

Looks like it turned out great, did you set the oven at 200 and let it finish that way?

not only for your first smoke in a long while but the use of coleslaw, gotta have slaw on my pp!

 

[arwes]

Thanks! Honestly I never had a pulled pork sandwich until someone opened a Corky's here (I don't think I ever bought anything there other than the Pig with a Paddle). We've got a few places that do chopped bbq sandwiches, but it just isn't the same. They closed down last year (sign on the door said "Economy sucked"), and unfortunately the BBQ places that are left all seem to be clones of each other. Deciding where to eat just comes down to who has the better parking. :(

And yep, let it run at 200 in the oven for awhile. Once it got around 180 or so I turned the oven off and left it in there till the next morning.

 

[raceyb]

Thanks for the Qview! I hope ya liked that Magic BBQ Seasoning, I swear by it. Pulled pork is all the rage. Next time, I'm going to glaze mine with brown sugar and mustard as well. Should be a unique bark flavor.

 

[beer-b-q]

Great looking "Q"...

 

[arwes]

Gave the leftovers to my sister & her family. She told my brother in law how I make the sandwiches (meat, coleslaw then the glaze). He said he'd try anything once. I think after the third sandwich he was hooked.

Apparently the whole bunch was pretty impressed lol.

And Raceyb, I read what you said about the Magic BBQ seasoning in another post and I agree...I can make something similar but I just get tired of making a huge mess when I do it. That and dried herbs & seasonings are getting ridiculously expensive at the grocery store.

Edit: OH and I forgot one thing that happened during the cooking. We've got a concrete slab in the back yard that used to be the floor of a metal shed. I've got the smoker on that, and I was getting charcoal ready in the chimney. Went to pick the thing up and BOOOM! Sparks were flying everywhere. And that was an interesting science experiment. Air pockets in concrete + water that's seeped in + high heat = explosion. It blew off about 5 inch circle off the top, just very thin.

 

[smokeon]

Congrats on the new Brinkman. The results look good.

I've been using that same model smoker for the last year. The best tip I can give for getting the temperature up above 200 degrees ---- trash the stock thermometer in the door and get a good digital thermometer to use instead. When I had the same problem, I found that the Brinkman thermometer was reading 70 degrees low. It also seems to get worse the longer the smoke is on... IE on the second or third pan of charcoal. I got a digital thermometer from the supermarket for $20 that has a meat probe on it and threaded the wire through the vent. When I thought the smoker was at 180, it was actually at 250.

You can also get a Charmglow grilling wok at Home Depot. It's stainless steel and makes a great fire pan. However, since you've already drilled holes in the pan, that may be good enough.

I also ordered extra shelves and hangers from Brinkman. Mine now has 4 shelves in it. Works well when I need more capacity.

The drawback to the unit is the cheap constructon and thin guage metal. But it is a decent unit to learn on.

 

[raceyb]

Roger that on the gauge of metal. I have a 1990's Brinkmann SNP and the gauge of it is much thicker then my 2009 Brinkmann Square SNP. I would pay the extra money for the better quality.

 

[billbo]

Nice job! Next time throw in a pic of the smoker in action!

 

[mballi3011]

It looks like you did a fine job on the pork there brian.

for sure on your first smoke in along time and I'm glad it all turned out or you. Now to that heat problem you say that you drilled hole in the chip pan you have plenty of air getting to the fire too. How did you like blowing a hole in the concrete it's weird but it happens alot some people don't think it will and build fires right on concrete and then boom.

 

[arwes]

Today I'm doing a brisket that my folks bought yesterday. The charcoal pan is out and the Charmglow Stainless Steel Wok is in! It's a perfect fit, I just used a pair of pliers to straighten out those rounded handles. Little bit harder to add charcoal during cooking but not much.

Just checked a few minutes ago and we're at 250! Smashed right through the 200 degree barrier I was facing before. I'll make a separate post once that's finished.

 

[smokeon]

Is that on the door thermometer? I really recommend getting a better thermometer to check the door thermometer against.

Good luck with the brisket. I'm planning on doing one tomorrow.