Well, we couldn't wait until break to start. Got the holes drilled and the bottom cut out today. I thought about mounting the lid to the bottom as I've seen others do, but I don't think I'm going to do that...at least not yet anyways. I plan on using the steamer insert that came with the pot as the diffuser. Any issues with doing this? Maybe putting a pie plate on it to catch drippings? I use a similar set up on my UDS with a rack above the fire basket that has a perforated pizza pan on it. If I'm loaded down with butts, I put an empty foiled water pan on that rack as well.
We still need to pick up some expanded metal and build a charcoal ring. That's going to have to wait until next weekend though. On another note, how many lit coals are you guys starting out with to hit your desired temp? I like to cook around 275 ish for butts and 350+ for chicken. I have that figured out on my kettles, but not sure on the mini since it's so much smaller. Thoughts?