Howdy howdy

[BedouinBob]

Mike, welcome from Colorado. You will love the #2! Did a little calculation: 1500# chips x 16 oz/# / 6 oz/smoke = 4,000 smokes in a SI! I think you are set for wood for a while! 

[TejasMike]

It's here it's here!!!

Arrived this morning and have her seasoning now!

Hopefully fajitas for dinner and a brisket starts at midnight!

[swthorpe]

Happy Smok'in Day Mike!

[TejasMike]

[TejasMike]

First impressions:

1.   It's small!   It's about the size of the woodbox on my wood smoker.  Which will be nice since it's gonna be stored in the garage.

2.  My wife was worried about not getting that smoke flavor until she walked outside after it had been on for an hour and exclaimed "now that smells good!"

3.  I've never smoked a brisket this small before so we'll see how it goes! 

[DivotMaker]

Congrats, Mike!  Let us know how it goes!

[elkins20]

Hey Mike, that brisket looks good, I know you are going to love it.

[TejasMike]

Ended up smoking the brisket today.

Turned out so-so.   I didn't get to put it on last night so the salt rub I put on really penetrated.   Using the smoker was great!   Super easy.   Just a little learning curve from the bigger ones.

I've got some St. Louis ribs I put a sweet rub on tonight I'll put on in the morning with a little hickory and well giver her another go!

[elkins20]

Hey Mike the ribs should be finished around 4.5 hour mark. I normally smoke them at 235 with a bread pan of water next to the fire box. Also an easy way to check if they are done is to insert a toothpick between the bones. If it goes in like a knife in warm butter. And you can pull the meat back and forth without it breaking they are done. Also at the 4.5 hour mark I will add sauce and then return to the smoker for 30 min. Good luck

[TejasMike]

That's basically my plan.

I put a little Apple juice in a bread pan on a Rack right above the fire box.  Smoked for two and just wrapped em.   I'll probably pull em in 2 more and put a little juice/sauce combo on top until done.

[elkins20]

That's basically my plan.

I put a little Apple juice in a bread pan on a Rack right above the fire box.  Smoked for two and just wrapped em.   I'll probably pull em in 2 more and put a little juice/sauce combo on top until done.

Hey Mike try putting the bread pan next to the fire box rather than on top of the fire box. I have read post where this will interfere with the cooking process. Are you going to smoke them for 2 hrs. Then wrap them in foil and continue cooking?

[SconnieQ]

Mike, most people here put the water pan on the bottom of the smoker, right up against the side of the smoke box, rather than on a rack above. The water pan benefits from the extra heat from the smoke box/element. Plus it's best not to put a pan or anything beneath your meat, as it can disrupt even heat and smoke flow. Depending on the space you have next to your smoke box, you might need to use the mini loaf pans (I have a #1 and they fit perfectly).

(Sorry for the duplication of info. I see Bill beat me to it)

[TejasMike]

Yup.   Smoked two, wrapped two, than back naked.

I'll have to find a smaller bread pan.   The only one I could find was to big to fit near the fire box.

I am seeing some pretty big temp swings.   It's at 199 now and went up to 262 earlier.    Controller is set at 230

[SconnieQ]

You can find disposable aluminum "mini" or "half" loaf pans at most grocery stores. It's normal for the temps to swing above and below your set temp if using the built-in controller. It's not an issue for most things, the temps will average out and your food will cook fine. When my #1 was new, I had larger temp swings like yours. Now that it is well seasoned, seems like the temp swings are smaller. I don't even bother to measure the box temp anymore for things like brisket, butt, ribs, chicken etc. After several smokes, the box temp was pretty predictable to what I set it at. Now I only monitor box temp in cold smokes.

[NDKoze]

For spares, I am guessing that you are going to need to go more like 6-7 hours verses the 4.5 previously mentioned.

Baby Backs can get done within 4.5 hours (usually 5-6), but full spares and St Louis cut usually take at least an hour longer.

This is all subjective though. For BBs I would start checking them at 4.5 and every 30 minutes until they are done to your liking. But, with spares/St Louis cuts I would start checking at the 5.5 hour mark.