First Real Cook On The LSG

[JCBBQ]

That’s exciting! Congrats. What a beaut!

[HawkerXP]

Thanks for sharing Now where could I park one of those........?

[fzxdoc]

There's nothing like a new toy to put a little zippity-doo-dah into the day. Glad it's working so beautifully for you, CaptainMike .

Kathryn

[Troutman]

Very cool Mike. You have so many new toys it's going to be hard to choose which one to use next, lol.

I gave up my stick burner years ago in favor of smaller more manageable cookers. I won't look back on that decision with any regret but must admit at the end of the day the quality of cooks that comes out of one is unsurpassed imho. On fire management my advice is to ditch the Fireboard and fan. I mean you still have to feed it sticks, so learn how to use it the way it was intended to be used. Just enjoy feeding the belly of the beast and it will return great dividends.

[CaptainMike]

Funny you mention that about the Fireboard and fan. My first try with the fan was a little disappointing. The Fireboard is good for indicating that it might be time to add a stick or 2, but with practice and use I can see where that could become unnecessary. We had a mixed plate of all of those meats for dinner last night and they were amazing!

[Huskee]

Wish I could swing by and have a beer with you while I kick its tires. Looks like you had a great cook.

[CaptainMike]

It is definitely not set and forget, this thing keeps you busy. In a very enjoyable way.

[jfmorris]

CaptainMike that sure looks like a great first cook! I'll live vicariously through you with this new cooker for a while, haha!

Knowing how offsets work, and how fan controllers work, I personally think that the only way you can use the Fireboard effectively with an offset is if you are using charcoal as the main fuel source, with wood chunks for smoke. I don't think a fan controller will work well with a pure wood fire, as you need to keep flames going, which may require more airflow than it is capable of. And the fire needs to not get snuffed out when the fan controller thinks it needs to dial things back. If you bought a charcoal basket for cooker, that is the way to go if you want to smoke for a few hours without tending the fire, and using the fan controller.

Even using charcoal, on my small offset (24x36 cooking chamber), I get at most 3-4 hours on a load of charcoal, if setup in a minion method in the firebox. To run butts and brisket on my offset for 14-16 hours using charcoal and wood chunks, I'll average 30 to 40 pounds of charcoal and 5-6 pounds of wood chunks. The airflow and larger cooker volume just mean a LOT more fuel usage than my kettle or kamado.

[CaptainMike]

This thing definitely likes to be fed, I'm thinking of naming it Audrey II. My first go with the fan was an all wood cook and the temps were all over the place. I was thinking of trying the SnS or a charcoal basket just for fun.

[Loren]

Awesome post and great looking food; thank you for sharing!

Keep posting pictures so I can live vicariously through you 😎

How do you like the ash management during and after a cook?

[CaptainMike]

I'm cleaning it today so I'll update you later. However, I'm probably going to fab some kind of ash pan to facilitate easy ash management.