I watched Franklin's first episode with my dad, for inspiration, covering ( of course) brisket.
http://video.pbs.org/program/bbq-franklin/ and yes I am naturally attracted to anything that is at once simple but potentially elusive.
I initially intended to use the 26"s extra breathing room but my takeaway from Episode 1 was something I already knew, mentioned right up front in the show:
change only 1 thing while learning. Since the majority of my cooks will be on a 22, that's what I used instead.
What we have here is a smaller one, about 5.5lbs, trimmed to about 1/4" except for the tip which was left at about 1/2" by the butcher. Edit: Or maybe I have point and flat parts reversed.
Dad likes Montreal Steak seasoning and so we started with that but ran out after doing only the fat side.
Oops. Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper for the "meat" side. I'm starting it naked and may foil it at some time later. I honestly don't have a full plan here, except that I didn't want to foil it the whole time and have no butcher's paper for "central Texas" style. As you can see, it's not super heavy seasoning so I don't expect a tremendous bark to it; this will likely influence my decision to foil sooner rather than later.
I surrounded a rectangular drip tray with Kingsford Competition, 2x1 rows with hickory chips sprinkled throughout. About 14? or so were lit to begin the fuse. Lid = 250, grate = 225 with top lid open, intakes half open.
I put it on at 9:40, with the point farthest away from the heat and would like to take it off around 5:30 or 6 but at this point am not sure if that'll work. Any insights are appreciated.
As I type this, my dad's checked the lid thermo and he says it now only reports 210, so I'm supposing what's happened is that bigger pile ran out in this first 90 minutes and the snake doesn't have enough to sustain the heat. I forgot his kettle seals better than mine I had him open the intakes fully. I'll check it in a few.
