Today is my inaugural cook on the Longhorn. I'm going to smoke an Akaushi wagyu brisket that I got from Troutman awhile back, plus some pork tenderloins. The tenderloins are dry brining with Meathead 's Pork Rub. They will go on later.
I started at 8:15am with a large fire to get a good coal bed. I'm used to a much bigger offset so there were minor issues.
Learning curve #1: Start smaller. It took 1 1/2 hours for the fire to burn down to a low and slow state. During this time the temperature was around 330o and the smoker would billow white smoke if I tried to dampen it down.
Learning curve #2: Apparently this smoker is going to like small splits like the ones I use in the KBQ. A full 16" split started the white smoke again. That is fine, I have lots of precut small stuff and a saw if I need more.
Takeaway from the start up: This thing NEEDS a baffle from the firebox to the cooking box. When the fire is going strongly, opening the cooker lid results in a rush of hot black smoke to the face. There are aftermarket fixed baffles available but I want a baffle that is hinged with an external lever to swing it into different positions - I'll have to engineer one soon.
EDIT: Watched a video AFTER (of course) I lit the fire. There are three fire grates (one for the firebox and two for the cooking box if you want to do direct grilling) and in the video they use all three in the firebox to make a V rack for the coals - looks like it would be an improvement over just using one rack. I'll try it next time: https://youtu.be/-ga0s9k6Ct0?t=88
The firebox end is heavy, the wheels sunk into the turf a little overnight so the smoker tilts a little. The grease drain is at the front so I placed a pan under the brisket to catch drippings otherwise they would run back towards the firebox and potentially catch fire - been there/done that with another offset.
The brisket was dry brined for 24 hours then seasoned with Tellicherry black pepper (its times like these that I love my Pepper Cannon). It went on at 10am. I'll update this post as things progress. In the photo below you can see the dryer vent I placed into the smoke stack opening so that smoke and heat will exit closer to the grate level. The opening sits about 1" - 1 1/2" above grate level. You can also see where I drilled a hole for the temperature probes in front.
3 1/2 hours in, IT of the brisket is 147o
The fire is not very big but the temp and smoke gets away from me if it is too much bigger. As you can see the side door vent is wide open and the door is cracked about 2 1/2" - this seems to be the magic settings today. The smoke stack vent is open about 3/4" or so. Not a lot of smoke leakage from the lid of the cook box so i may not need to add a gasket to seal it better.
The Stall: 6 hours in, IT is 165o and the brisket is shrinking nicely. Time to add the tenderloins. Note the almost supernatural glow of the pork
Came out of the stall about 40 minutes ago, I let the wood burn down then wrapped. IT - 185o - moved to the oven at 250o to finish and save wood. I probably shouldn't have bothered posting this pic - the reflection off the foil messed up the photo.
End result: tender, juicy, even the tip of the flat, which is usually jerky, was pretty tender. Nice smoke ring. Again, my camera doesn't do reds very well. And the meat is grey, not white as in the photo. Taste is very good, maybe a little too much bad smoke occurred briefly when the wind picked up at 2pm but overall I'd give it an 8 out of 10 which I think is great for the first time using this smoker. Oh, forgot to photograph the pork tenderloins. I almost messed them up - got distracted and forgot them. Pulled at 145o and they probably went higher with carry over but they were almost dripping moisture when I cut into them, however they were slightly tougher than I hoped.
.
I started at 8:15am with a large fire to get a good coal bed. I'm used to a much bigger offset so there were minor issues.
Learning curve #1: Start smaller. It took 1 1/2 hours for the fire to burn down to a low and slow state. During this time the temperature was around 330o and the smoker would billow white smoke if I tried to dampen it down.
Learning curve #2: Apparently this smoker is going to like small splits like the ones I use in the KBQ. A full 16" split started the white smoke again. That is fine, I have lots of precut small stuff and a saw if I need more.
Takeaway from the start up: This thing NEEDS a baffle from the firebox to the cooking box. When the fire is going strongly, opening the cooker lid results in a rush of hot black smoke to the face. There are aftermarket fixed baffles available but I want a baffle that is hinged with an external lever to swing it into different positions - I'll have to engineer one soon.
EDIT: Watched a video AFTER (of course) I lit the fire. There are three fire grates (one for the firebox and two for the cooking box if you want to do direct grilling) and in the video they use all three in the firebox to make a V rack for the coals - looks like it would be an improvement over just using one rack. I'll try it next time: https://youtu.be/-ga0s9k6Ct0?t=88
The firebox end is heavy, the wheels sunk into the turf a little overnight so the smoker tilts a little. The grease drain is at the front so I placed a pan under the brisket to catch drippings otherwise they would run back towards the firebox and potentially catch fire - been there/done that with another offset.
The brisket was dry brined for 24 hours then seasoned with Tellicherry black pepper (its times like these that I love my Pepper Cannon). It went on at 10am. I'll update this post as things progress. In the photo below you can see the dryer vent I placed into the smoke stack opening so that smoke and heat will exit closer to the grate level. The opening sits about 1" - 1 1/2" above grate level. You can also see where I drilled a hole for the temperature probes in front.
3 1/2 hours in, IT of the brisket is 147o
The fire is not very big but the temp and smoke gets away from me if it is too much bigger. As you can see the side door vent is wide open and the door is cracked about 2 1/2" - this seems to be the magic settings today. The smoke stack vent is open about 3/4" or so. Not a lot of smoke leakage from the lid of the cook box so i may not need to add a gasket to seal it better.
The Stall: 6 hours in, IT is 165o and the brisket is shrinking nicely. Time to add the tenderloins. Note the almost supernatural glow of the pork
Came out of the stall about 40 minutes ago, I let the wood burn down then wrapped. IT - 185o - moved to the oven at 250o to finish and save wood. I probably shouldn't have bothered posting this pic - the reflection off the foil messed up the photo.
End result: tender, juicy, even the tip of the flat, which is usually jerky, was pretty tender. Nice smoke ring. Again, my camera doesn't do reds very well. And the meat is grey, not white as in the photo. Taste is very good, maybe a little too much bad smoke occurred briefly when the wind picked up at 2pm but overall I'd give it an 8 out of 10 which I think is great for the first time using this smoker. Oh, forgot to photograph the pork tenderloins. I almost messed them up - got distracted and forgot them. Pulled at 145o and they probably went higher with carry over but they were almost dripping moisture when I cut into them, however they were slightly tougher than I hoped.
.
Comment