OK, I let her season for about 5 hours and then it was time to check the main smoke chamber for evenness and to cook something as I was starving. When I went to Restaurant Depot, I wanted a bunch of cheap biscuits, but they didn't have any. They did have a case of 40 raw Croissants that they were going to throw away because the case had been crushed. They sold them to me for a greatly reduced price, so I took them.
I put five of them on each rack (four corners and one in the middle) and let them roll until they looked done on the outside. I wasn't planning on eating any of them, well, unless they turned out alright. None that I saw did, they were still doughy in the middle, but I was mainly looking for color.
In the following picture, each row top to bottom is a shelf from top to bottom of the cooking chamber. The order of them from each row from left to right is rear left, rear right, center, front left, and front right.
As you can see, the front left croissant on every shelf was more done than any other from that same shelf, so I am hotter in the front left corner than anywhere else. Also, the back left is hotter in the lower section of the smoking chamber.
So, my question is, how do I adjust my tuning plates to balance that out? From the earlier thread, this is a picture of how I have my plates at this time:
By now, I am farking hungry. Did a lot of work today and somehow I missed a meal or three. I had a package of Eckrich 4 Pepper Sausage and and a JD Spicy Sausage and a block of Habanero Jack Cheese. I was too lazy to do a pretty Fatty like Jeanie, so I just cut a slice down the middle, stuffed a couple slices of the cheese inside, and then reshaped it to close it up. Threw a little of my pork rub on it. I threw them all on the third rack from the bottom around the middle area.
This is about the time that my coal bed decided it was done for this cook. I was able to keep her flaming for a while longer, but after an hour or so, I was stumbling long at 200*. By this time, the sausages were done. Tender, juicy, smokey, and spicy.
The Fatty took another hour to get up to temp.
I let it rest for a little bit and then sliced it open. Got a little bit of smoke ring there.
So, that was my dinner last night. Some sausage and a couple slices of Fatty. Fatty sandwich will be my lunch tomorrow while I prep and cook 7 racks of ribs...
I put five of them on each rack (four corners and one in the middle) and let them roll until they looked done on the outside. I wasn't planning on eating any of them, well, unless they turned out alright. None that I saw did, they were still doughy in the middle, but I was mainly looking for color.
In the following picture, each row top to bottom is a shelf from top to bottom of the cooking chamber. The order of them from each row from left to right is rear left, rear right, center, front left, and front right.
As you can see, the front left croissant on every shelf was more done than any other from that same shelf, so I am hotter in the front left corner than anywhere else. Also, the back left is hotter in the lower section of the smoking chamber.
So, my question is, how do I adjust my tuning plates to balance that out? From the earlier thread, this is a picture of how I have my plates at this time:
By now, I am farking hungry. Did a lot of work today and somehow I missed a meal or three. I had a package of Eckrich 4 Pepper Sausage and and a JD Spicy Sausage and a block of Habanero Jack Cheese. I was too lazy to do a pretty Fatty like Jeanie, so I just cut a slice down the middle, stuffed a couple slices of the cheese inside, and then reshaped it to close it up. Threw a little of my pork rub on it. I threw them all on the third rack from the bottom around the middle area.
This is about the time that my coal bed decided it was done for this cook. I was able to keep her flaming for a while longer, but after an hour or so, I was stumbling long at 200*. By this time, the sausages were done. Tender, juicy, smokey, and spicy.
The Fatty took another hour to get up to temp.
I let it rest for a little bit and then sliced it open. Got a little bit of smoke ring there.
So, that was my dinner last night. Some sausage and a couple slices of Fatty. Fatty sandwich will be my lunch tomorrow while I prep and cook 7 racks of ribs...