It came from above
 

Actually, it came from the UPS guy who got it from Amazon.com somehow:

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/00/79/24...40_500X500.jpg

Once I get it broken in this weekend, I'll let you know how good it is...

*drool*

Do you take it orally or rectally?

oooohh... Slow and smokey. Fall off da bone.

"What do you think I've been doing? Shoving them up my ass?"

Damn, I love that joke.

Re: It came from above
 

Were you actually looking for one of these, or did you open your special gold box and get sucked in?

(When's the cookout at your place?)

Re: Re: It came from above
 

I had been waiting for Wal-Mart's price to come down, but I finally settled on Amazon when I realized that free shipping was better than saving a buck fifty on the base price.

Originally, a friend pointed this out to me when I mentioned being in the market for a quality smoker (and a helluva deal to boot).

If you guys are interested in driving to Austin, let me know. I already told Dave that we'd have a few places to check out.

Get to practicing, now. I'm thinking this coming February, when I'm sick of snow and Austin is just blooming. GTG? Austin always smells like woodsmoke to me anyway. Seriously, you notice it as soon as you get off the plane or drive across the city limits. Iron Works! Ruby's! Sam's! Stubbs! or a spin out to the Salt Lick! Yum. I'm getting misty.

Too bad none of you have mentioned coming anytime soon. Two weeks from now we'll be winding down a helluva music show.

The smoker was a hit! Saturday afternoon, I started it up using the "Minion Method," which consists of using a small number of lit coals to light and burn the rest of the pile. I think I used about 3lbs total, plus 6 decent-sized oak and mesquite chunks.

I bought a whole chicken (about 4-5lbs), and a 5lb beef brisket. The brisket was rubbed down Friday night with a mixture of paprika, cayenne, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. I split the chicken and rubbed it down with pre-made rub (mostly salt and some pepper, I believe).

Once the fire was up and going, I filled the water pan (see the instructions to understand), and put the stack together. The chicken went on the bottom rack, and the brisket was by itself on the top rack. My temperature steadied at about 250F after nearly an hour. I flipped all three pieces of meat (both chicken halves and the beef) after about 2 hours, and spray-basted with a mixture of apple juice and vegetable oil. I repeated the process at the 3-hour mark as well as filling the water pan and adding two more oak chunks. The chicken came off after 4 hours (~180F internal temp), and the brisket was done after just over 5 hours (~165F internal).

Everyone agreed that the chicken was by far better than the beef, but it's also easier to cook. I think I'll try pork next time.

I heard about that festival. Damn! Too much to see in 3 days and not sure I could do 3 whole plastic wristlette days without passing out...but Big Doyle, Wayne the Train, Lucinda, Los Lobos, Steve Winwood and the draw for me would be the Rev Al Green. I love Dwight Yoakam, but when scheduled against each other, I'd hafta go for Al.
Are youse gonna go the whole weekend? (after smoked meats, of course)
back on topic...Did the beef need more time? did it need a searing first? Did it steam more than smoke?

I doubt that I'll make it to ACL fest more than just one day. That many people plus that many bands would make me go a little crazy, too.

The water in the pan is to steady the temperature, not steam the meat. If you like, you are able to adjust the vents (top on fully closed, bottom ones open) to steam. I had my top one fully open, and the bottom 3 each about 1/3 open for maximum smoke.

No searing of the meat. The whole "sealing in the juices" has turned out to be a joke from my latest experiments. Slow cooking is recommended for tough pieces of meat. Searing is for that tasty brown crust on a nice piece of loin, or a strip.

The brisket turned out as good as it could have been, without doing it in the oven, or wrapping it in aluminium foil, as people have been known to do. I guess I'll save you guys a little next time. :D