AND NOW, the rest of the story. Well, everything came out just great. The tenderloin exceeded my expectations. Pulled at 125* and rested in the cooler for about an hour while the rest of the meal came together. Got some more people educated about the temp holding power of the towel/cooler/double wrap foil technique. And maybe a couple more new SMF'ers.
I'd purchased a full beef tenderloin so I had to cut it into 3 sections to fit comfortably in the small block gosm. Used a grill to crisp up the bacon some. The final result, the bacon was not as neat as some I've seen, but you know what, it still disappeared. This is definitely on the repeat list.
Now, to SILs Pork, nice and tender, excellent flavor and just the right amount of moisture. He was, before yesterday, using the Bandera with Kingsford comp briquet's. With some slight encouragement from me, like, Go for it, CONVERT. Now, he can generate more than enough heat, better temp controls. The smile said it all. Welcome to the propane darkside DnvrDv (aka SIL Dave).
Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans were a landslide success (of course!) Highly recommended for a great side dish.
Salmon: Tried to get Dave to take it to the Salmon Candy stage, but, the crowds were clamoring. Maybe next time.
Gotta tell ya, smoking at high altitude in ambient temps that are 20-25 degrees hotter and drier is a real challenge. Tried using the Amazin' smoker but didn't get a handle on how dry the dust was vs. the poof - it was all smoked. More my fault rather than the Amazin' smoker's fault. Ah well, heading back to Washington on Tuesday (gotta beat the Labor Day crowd) and hopefully back to some rain. Next year, maybe a mountain top cookout on the western slopes of Colorado.
Thanks for being here with us. The crowd of 15 or so (had some later drop ins's) left stuffed full to the gills and some "please take some with you, we just don't have enough room in the fridge" packages.
A really big thanks to all the SMF'ers who submit detailed QViews because that alone contributed significantly to our smoking efforts and the success we now enjoy.