And so it begins (22½ WSM)

[HankB]

This is the inaugural cook on my new-to-me 22½ Smokey Mountain. With a good supply of pulled pork, brisket and spare ribs in the freezer I decided to do some fowl. I got some eight pound chickens for the upper grate and a 20 pound turkey for the bottom.

First to lay the fire with Kingsford Blue, apple, cherry and some hickory.



It was a cold morning,  10° when I awoke but nearing 20 by the beginning of the cook.



Needed a little fire in the hole to melt the ice off the lid so I could open the vents. (We had an ice storm two days ago and cold temperatures in the mean time.)



Finally got that big bird on!



Now for the chickens. This is probably not what most people think of when they hear the phrase "bucket of chicken."  It turns out that (1) a Reynolds turkey size oven bag is a perfect fit to line a 5 gallon pail and (2) four eight pound birds will just fit and (3) two gallons of brine will fill the remaining space to within a half inch of the top.



And on the grate! Can you see what's wrong with this picture?



Yeah. I could only fit three birds on the grate.  This is where the "perfect fit" meme came to an end. I quickly fired up the mini-WSM to take the overflow. It's just right for an eight pound chicken. Back to perfect fit.



The cook is still in progress. More of this story to follow.

[Duke]

Look s like you have a small army to cook for Hank! I can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

[DoppelBock]

Why is there red on the inner lip of the top of your WSM? Is that a seal?

[1buckie]

Lock and Load !!!

I love cooks like this !!!!
great start......

[Jeff]

yeah...tell me more about that gasket you have for the lid to sit on.  Oh...and what time should I be by?  I'll bring beer.

[HankB]

Look s like you have a small army to cook for Hank! I can't wait to hear the rest of the story.

No small army - I just like to load up when I fire up and then I stock the freezer. Smoked meats seem to freeze pretty well and when I seal them in Foodsaver vacuum bag they keep well.

Why is there red on the inner lip of the top of your WSM? Is that a seal?

That's high temperature silicone from the auto parts store. It provides a good seal and seems pretty durable. I did the bottom edge on my 18½  WSM years ago and it's still holding up. I planned to do the bottom edge here. I found the old tube of silicone a little stiff so I did both top and bottom figuring I might not get any more silicone out of the tube. After sufficient use the smoke coating will do the same thing but on a new cooker, the temps can get higher than desired with all bottom vents closed.

yeah...tell me more about that gasket you have for the lid to sit on.  Oh...and what time should I be by?  I'll bring beer.

They're close to done! However, the turkey was reading higher than the chicken. I expected it to take longer. I opened the smoker and set the top rack to the side so I could get a better reading on the turkey. I got lower temperatures in he breast and near the thigh using a hand held (Taylor Weekend Warrior) so I decided it had a bad probe placement for my ET-732. I put things back together and will hope that the turkey will indeed not finish before the chickens. The chicken with the probe is now reading 154º. If the beer is not already cold you'll be late!

[davethepom]

What a beast of a thing!

That looks great.  I'm on my way over...might be a bit late though.   

[1buckie]

WOW!!!

Look at the color on those !!!!

Good Show !!!!

[HankB]

These birds are ready for a rest.





I tasted the one that came from the mini-WSM and it was really good and the white meat juicy.

[1buckie]

Shouda waited to say this:

  WOW!!!

Look at the color on those !!!!

Good Show !!!!

[Jeff]

Nice job Hank...looks perfect.  I think I smell it from my house!

[Golly]

Great colour on those birds
Looks sensational

[Craig]

I agree with Golly, fantastic color on those! Food looks great!

[Duke]

Seriously!    Forget putting them in the fridge. I think you should just feed us!

[Sonny Roach]

I just finished supper, now I'm hungry again. Looks amazing!