Sorry for the lack of updates, been busy. I did a pork butt for the break-in on an overnight cook, I monitored it using my igrill 2. Had a little problem keeping temps down, temps crept up to a little over 350F but came down as soon as shut valves down just a bit.
Here are the results from the first cook. It turned out really good, the bark was a just a little different than what I normally get on my
WSM, but I think this may be due to the fat dripping directly into charcoal basket versus into water pan or heat diffuser.
So after that, I was excited for round 2 with my drum smoker. This past Saturday I decided to try beef spare ribs as we have some in the freezer. The last time I tried spare ribs they were a disaster. I did a day smoke, took about 8 hours and I was a little better prepared to control temps, they ranged from a low of 219F to a high of around 260F and I did not use much charcoal at all. I smoked with Pecan wood chunks and it turned out really good, awesome compared to my last disappointing try with spare ribs on my
WSM.
So far I have been really impressed with the fuel (charcoal) efficiency of the drum smoker, I would call my 22.5"
WSM a hog when it comes to that. I am still getting the hang of getting consistent temperatures. I have done a lot of smokes on my
WSM and I can dial it in and it just stays there and really does not go above 275F. I am sure a lot of this has to do with the seasoning and getting used to cooking on either smoker. I remember starting on the WSM and having problems with keeping a consistent temp but went away over time.
I am really enjoying smoking on this drum smoker, this weekend's forecast is rain so I am not sure if I will get a chance to do something this weekend or not yet.
Again apologies for not updating sooner, Thanks for everyone's input on the board it is an excellent resource.