So I've had my smoker for about 2 months and the cooks are getting better and better, but I keep having one problem.
I usually put a couple bricks in the middle of the fuel tray to create a U shape. I keep the top left open, add coals and wood chunks to the rest of the tray, and when I'm ready to cook I add a lit chimney (or 3/4 of a chimney) to the top left and flatten it out a bit. The unlit coals are usually about 2 deep and I make sure they are touching each other, plus I make sure the lit coals are about 80-90% grey when I add them.
My problem is that the unlit coals haven't been catching well. Several times Ive ended up with the lit coals from the chimney practically burning out and a bunch of unlit coals. During my last cook I kept opening my fuel door and stoking the coals to make sure everything burned but I feel like I'm losing heat every time I do that.
Anybody got some suggestions for setting up my coals so that they light well and burn through.
I'm doing my first big cook (11 pound brisket and 8 pound pork shoulder) in a few weeks and want to straighten this out a bit so I'm not checking the coals every hour...
I usually put a couple bricks in the middle of the fuel tray to create a U shape. I keep the top left open, add coals and wood chunks to the rest of the tray, and when I'm ready to cook I add a lit chimney (or 3/4 of a chimney) to the top left and flatten it out a bit. The unlit coals are usually about 2 deep and I make sure they are touching each other, plus I make sure the lit coals are about 80-90% grey when I add them.
My problem is that the unlit coals haven't been catching well. Several times Ive ended up with the lit coals from the chimney practically burning out and a bunch of unlit coals. During my last cook I kept opening my fuel door and stoking the coals to make sure everything burned but I feel like I'm losing heat every time I do that.
Anybody got some suggestions for setting up my coals so that they light well and burn through.
I'm doing my first big cook (11 pound brisket and 8 pound pork shoulder) in a few weeks and want to straighten this out a bit so I'm not checking the coals every hour...
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