Putting The Open Range Through The Wringer

[lancep]

Brisket, chicken, sausage, dogs and shrimp! Plus a pan of beans!

Last week I did my first long smoke on the new open range. 6.5lb pork shoulder and it was probably one of the best that I've ever done. I had already planned to do brisket today, but when my wife told me some friends were coming over, I decided to go all out. If everything comes out I will able to say that I am truly satisfied with my purchase.

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

So got the brisket trimmed up and rubbed with salt and pepper (1/1) last night and then fired up the smoker with a pecan split this morning at 5am. Brisket went on at six and I'm blowing thin and blue at about 260.

Here's to good luck and clean smoke. Hope yall have a great Sunday!

Lance

 

[tropics]

I see I have a real good seat for this one

Richie

 

[redheelerdog]

Looking good Lance.

 

[gearjammer]

Lookin' good so far.

Will be waiting to see and hear how it comes out.

   Ed

 

[SmokinAl]

We're all waiting Lance!

Al

 

[jasper7]

                                                                  

 

[b-one]

:popcorn:

 

[lancep]

We're all waiting Lance!

Al

Just a few more hours. I promise! We have friends over so I have to hold the rest of the pics till the end. They're over for the day and I already grilled dogs and coffin shrimp on the firebox. Brisket coming along well. Wrapped it at 174ish and put it on the bottom rack. Beans went in the oven and lunch was cooked. I'll check the brisket here in a few and I'll get pics up after dinner.

Lance

 

[mike5051]

Waiting patiently for the results Lance.   

Mike

 

[lancep]

Here we go, the Q-View!!

Long day for sure! Like an idiot, I didn't prep anything other than soaking beans and trimming the brisket. First thing was getting beans on under the brisket. Then prepping everything else.

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

Brisket cookin along!

Did some doges for the kids and coffin shrimp for the grown ups. No pictures of dogs but here's the shrimp.

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

After lunch came the sausage roll and then chicken.

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

And then the payoff!

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

And plated with beans, potato salad and cole slaw!

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• lancep
• Sep 4, 2016

Happy Sunday

Lance

 

[b-one]

Looks like a winner!

 

[mike5051]

Great job with everything!  

Mike

 

[gr0uch0]

The icing on the cake is the Shiner Bock lurking in the background....

 

[lancep]

Looks like a winner!

Great job with everything!  :points1:

Mike

The icing on the cake is the Shiner Bock lurking in the background....

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. And thank you for the points!!

The verdict?
Everything came out great. Chicken was perfectly bite through. Sausage roll was rich and flavorful with the perfect smokiness. The brisket was fantastic and the point was off the chain. I'm very happy with this smoker. Being able to grill lunch while smoking dinner for ten people, on the same box with one fire, is awesome! And precisely why I chose this model.

Lance

 

[GaryHibbert]

Id say you had a winner there Lance. Everything lookes delish. Nice job

Gary

 

[jasper7]

Good lookin groceries Lance, all your hard work payed off.  Seems like that Open Range is well worth the price of admission.  Good job !

 

[lancep]

Hey thanks Jasper! It was pretty hectic but definitely worth it. And the results were excellent. i do have a few caveats but overall this thing is exactly was I was looking for.

Lance

 

[mike5051]

Hey thanks Jasper! It was pretty hectic but definitely worth it. And the results were excellent. i do have a few caveats but overall this thing is exactly was I was looking for.

Lance

I checked them out and some folks say that they are fuel hogs.  How much charcoal did you burn, did you have to re-fuel during the cook?  This isn't critical, just curious.  Your results look awesome!

Mike

 

[lancep]

It's hard to tell. One of the most comprehensive user reviews I saw spoke specifically about its fuel economy. Now, compared to my WSM, it burns a little more. But that is compared to a 18.5" WSM. However, one of my caveats is that it is not airtight as marketed. Easy fix but for $1200 it's a little irking. It could just be my unit, though, as every other user review that I read spoke to the contrary. All that said, last week when I smoked a pork shoulder, I got a 12 hr burn @275* on a 15 lb bag of charcoal with the last hour at 300+. And there was still coal to burn. During the last cook I used a little less and got about ten hrs. But that was with a lot of grilling on the fire box( lots of lid lifting) Took the opportunity to stick burn the last 1-1/2 hr. Hopefully that gives you a little bit of an idea on economy. All in all, it's still a pretty amazing little smoker.

Lance

 

[mike5051]

Thanks for the info Lance!  I was going to ask if you could stick burn also but you answered that.  I liked the way the heat travels upward evenly vs an offset. It looks like a nice piece of equipment.  My only experience is on a WSM.

Mike