Inaugural cook on the S & S kettle

[halfcocked]

First cook so I'm not out of the game yet.

Initially I drilled a 1/4" hole in the kettle to pass the thermo. probe through. The little hockey puck next to it is a magnet that will seal the hole when not in use. I did not want to crimp my thermo. wire and also cause a leak in the kettle.
I tried a new rub which I should not have done with the initial cook.

The mean temp. was 235 deg. and I pulled after 4 1/2 hrs. because of time constraints. (Not fall off the bone but done.)

I'm amazed about how long a chimney of briquettes lasts. Way past my cook time on this event.

The flavor was not what I wanted. The smoke profile is far stronger than what I get on my offset. (Perhaps the coals also contributed to the somewhat bitter taste, though not intolerable.)

Take away: Next time I'll return to my usual rub and foiling that I also did not do this time. Use less briquettes and fewer (smaller) wood chunks.

Any advice for better result appreciated.

 

[Cookb4]

You’re on the right track by reducing the number and size of the wood chunks. I generally use one or two small chunks.

 

[ShadowDriver]

I generally use one or two small chunks.

This is exactly what I do in my SnS.

Good to see you having fun and making great grub.

 

[rque]

Magnet, now there’s a thought. I have a large hole for a probe port on my kettle but I don’t always want it there so I’ve been looking at hole sealing options.

 

[Smoke on Badger Mountain]

Good looking grub!

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Dang! You could smoke a whole brisket with that much wood. As others have said, dial back on the wood. What kind of wood did you use?

 

[Dweverett]

I tend to use 4-5 pieces but they are considerably smaller than what you have there — probably about a third to a quarter.

 

[halfcocked]

Dang! You could smoke a whole brisket with that much wood. As others have said, dial back on the wood. What kind of wood did you use?

Apple. Being generally mild I figured more was better. Not a fan of the charcoal taste either. I will give it another shot later this month to try and dial it in. Also, I'm thinking that the wood chunks (fewer) should only be at the beginning of the cook instead of throughout.

 

[raynchk]

I trimmed my peach tree last winter and saved the trimmings for smoking. I thought the smoke was a little over powering on the SnS kettle, too. Going to do a tri-tip and pork loin today. Will just use a little less wood and see how it works.

 

[halfcocked]

I am conflicted about the S & S method of low temp. long time cooking/smoking. Everything I thought I knew about grilling/cooking over coals dictates that the coals should be ashed over before you place meat on the grill. Now I'm told by S & S that I need to smolder a large quantity of coals over a long period of time to do the cook. This is counter intuitive to me if you don't want coal smoke and creosote sticking to your meat.
Reading thirdeye's site Playing With Fire And Smoke, and his quote from Car Wash Mike, Mike refers to a "clean burning" fire on the BGE on which to place your wood chunks for smoking ribs. How do you get a clean burning fire with the S&S on a long cook? You simply cannot.
So, Is the S&S really suited for smoking and long term cooking????

 

[sudsandswine]

It’s no different than any other charcoal fueled smoker really…you start off with a small amount of lit in a larger volume of unlit charcoal, which slowly gets consumed throughout the cook. I don’t intend to cook at the lower 225* temps that their instructions indicate, I’ll make adjustments to cook around 275* which is about where I cook on any smoker.

I agree that you used too much wood. It’s also possible you used a lower quality briquette and that added to it. For example, I think Kingsford Blue bag is fine for grilling when ashed over, but I found that I didn’t care for its flavor when I used it in my WSM. You could try using lump charcoal, which I find is generally a cleaner flavor when used in a charcoal smoker compared to briqs. Cooking at a higher temp may help as well.

 

[halfcocked]

It’s no different than any other charcoal fueled smoker really…you start off with a small amount of lit in a larger volume of unlit charcoal, which slowly gets consumed throughout the cook. I don’t intend to cook at the lower 225* temps that their instructions indicate, I’ll make adjustments to cook around 275* which is about where I cook on any smoker.

I agree that you used too much wood. It’s also possible you used a lower quality briquette and that added to it. For example, I think Kingsford Blue bag is fine for grilling when ashed over, but I found that I didn’t care for its flavor when I used it in my WSM. You could try using lump charcoal, which I find is generally a cleaner flavor when used in a charcoal smoker compared to briqs. Cooking at a higher temp may help as well.

Yup. Good suggestions.
I used Member's Mark hardwood briquettes from Sam's and I did try smoking at 225-235. Too much wood for sure. Switching to Kingsford next try and fewer and smaller wood chunks. Wish the slab of ribs did not cost $20-plus. My better half suggests washing the bark off this batch for reheat if I don't toss it all-together.

 

[thirdeye]

I bought an SnS kettle earlier this year and have done about 15 cooks on it, and plan on doing a full review. So far I'm very pleased and they put some thought in the features. Mine has a 'probe hole' with sliding cover that can bee seen in this photo. And a 'smoke hole' that is larger and used for low temp control. My charcoal basket is the one with a removable water reservoir.

I think you have too many chunks of wood, and they are too big. I split chunks into smaller pieces. I put a couple of these deep in the charcoal basket, and a couple atop the charcoal. I also don't use a starting chimney, I just light the charcoal on one end of the basket with the bottom vent open and the dome vent open. When I hit 200° I close the bottom vent and open the smoke hole, then adjust the dome vent to settle in around 250°. For hotter cooks I crack the bottom vent.

 

[rque]

Charcoal smoking is different, it’s always going to be a little dirty because the wood is going to smolder instead of burn cleanly. The wood needs too much oxygen and would burn too hot to keep 250 +/-25. That’s why you see people suggest to use only 2-3 wood chunks and only early on the cook.

Long smoking with briquettes is not my favorite. I waffle back and forth between briqs and lump in the SnS and PBJ. I think I’d be happiest if I could reliably source some truly natural briqs (charcoal powder + starch binder only). I’m not a fan of borax and limestone being in there.

 

[halfcocked]

I bought an SnS kettle earlier this year and have done about 15 cooks on it, and plan on doing a full review. So far I'm very pleased and they put some thought in the features. Mine has a 'probe hole' with sliding cover that can bee seen in this photo. And a 'smoke hole' that is larger and used for low temp control. My charcoal basket is the one with a removable water reservoir.

I think you have too many chunks of wood, and they are too big. I split chunks into smaller pieces. I put a couple of these deep in the charcoal basket, and a couple atop the charcoal. I also don't use a starting chimney, I just light the charcoal on one end of the basket with the bottom vent open and the dome vent open. When I hit 200° I close the bottom vent and open the smoke hole, then adjust the dome vent to settle in around 250°. For hotter cooks I crack the bottom vent.

Thanks for that peek at what I will be watching for; your full review.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Looking good to me

 

[1MoreFord]

.................I think I’d be happiest if I could reliably source some truly natural briqs (charcoal powder + starch binder only). I’m not a fan of borax and limestone being in there.

Stubb's charcoal was said to be charcoal and starch so you might be interested in the link below.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272233

 

[raynchk]

Stubb's charcoal was said to be charcoal and starch so you might be interested in the link below.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272233

I have an old bag of Royal Oak briquettes that say they are natural hardwood. I would buy them, but haven't been able to find any.

 

[halfcocked]

I have an old bag of Royal Oak briquettes that say they are natural hardwood. I would buy them, but haven't been able to find any.

The ones I used from Sam's are labeled natural hardwood and even show some small chips of wood in them. If they have hardwood chips in them I certainly overdid the wood for sure. As I mentioned, I will start with the known quantity briquettes (Kingsford) for the next cook and go from there.

 

[rque]

Stubb's charcoal was said to be charcoal and starch so you might be interested in the link below.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272233

Thanks, I’ll do some investigating.