Saturday I did my first smoke on the new 26. I went into this knowing it would be somewhat ambitious, since I'd only done one dry run with the kettle. But I've smoked pork many times on other grills and smokers, so I felt confident I could manage it with the kettle.
I set up a fuse (3x2) and used some bricks to help with heat retention and deflection. The 26 really gives you a lot of room for this.
http://imgur.com/a/e9LTT. Album link
The butt cooked along well, the kettle managed temps very well. I spent more time than I thought I would adjusting vents back and forth, but it maintained 225-250 very easily all day long. I only refueled 2, maybe 3 times at the most. I did not foil, I let it cook its way through the stall, and pulled off the grill at 190, wrapped and rest in a cooler for an hour before pulling. The internal temp was exactly where it should have been (190) when I pulled it. But, the bone did not slide out easily when I pulled it. The meat was a little tougher than I would have liked, too. The bark was excellent and the flavor was there. Looking around at my notes, I finally think I found the culprit: This was a fresh shoulder from a local farm. I bought it from a buddy who slaughtered it earlier this spring. It was vacuum packed after slaughter and processing. No brine or anything added. All I did to the shoulder was the same thing I always do: Dry rub, no injection. I did add apple juice on the outside whenever I refueled. Prior to this, I have always smoked store bought pork, which is usually packed in a brine solution. I think that might have made a big difference in the tenderness. I'll verify this theory with a store bought shoulder sometime soon.
I cooked wings after that. I lit up a 1/2-3/4 chimney of new coals, put them in the baskets, and lined the wings on either side. The "rookie mistake" I made with the grill on this setup, I didn't do a full basket of coals. About 1/2 way through, I started losing temp and my wings were not quite ready. I then compounded my mistake by adding unlit coals to the baskets to get the temp back up. Big mistake, the smoke from the incomplete combustion of the new coals ruined about half of the wings. As much as I have cooked over my lifetime you think I would have known better. But, at least I only ruined half of them, and only the wings.
Overall, a great cook session, I learned a lot about how to control the kettle's temps. Very, very pleased with the decision to get the 26.
Topic: First smoke on the new 26 (Read 2254 times)
