Mrs Claus likes BBQ but the monitoring of the cooker for long cooks doesn't thrill her so she got me a Pitmaster IQ110 for Christmas.
The Maiden voyage will be New Years Eve pulled pork tomorrow.
Im using on the 22" Kettle using the standard air set up:
For coals:
The IQ Manufacturer suggest setting up using banked unlit coals on the air flow side and lighting one side of the coals with a Weber starter cube to burn sideways and foiling the indirect side of the coal grate to direct air through the coals. Is this the best arrangement or has anyone done anything different that works better? I know that for the guys on this site "manufacturer suggestions" arent always optimal.
I can use firebricks or a foiled charcoal holder to create a "firebox" and to act as a baffle to channel heat up towards the lid and not directly towards the meat. I know that the bricks can stabilize heat but since i have the IQ is this is just a waste of energy since the firebricks act as a heat sink?
Would a snake work with the IQ or is this overkill?
Would using a Charcoal holder to keep coal off the wall of the kettle make a difference? I know banking coals for long cooks against the kettle wall can damage the kettle over time and if i can protect the kettle by using charcoal holder it should I?
Any idea how many unlit briqs to start with? In a perfect world i would love 8 hours @ 250 out of one load of coals. That might be ambitious but doable. any advice let me know.
Thanks