The smoker was completed just prior to Thanksgiving!
But we didn't have a chance to use it until we returned from the great white north. Our first firing was December 1st. As I recall it was a very nice day. A great day for a party, but we didn't want to put too much pressure on ourselves, so we kept it low key. We smoked a chicken, a small brisket, and some ribs. The chicken came out the best. Actually it was very good. Very moist and very tasty. The brisket and ribs not so good. The brisket was too small so it cooked too fast. Plus it did not have allot of fat on it as most do. As a result it was very dry. The ribs were more of the same. In a nut shell not so good.
Since in our first attempt the bird fared very well, we decided to try a turkey for the Xmas feast. Here's a picture of Dave with the turkey. Given my favorite part of the feast is the stuffing ... and it really isn't any good unless it's cooked in the bird. We decided to take a chance and stuff it. In addition to the turkey we decided to try another brisket. Since our last attempt was so dismal we did some research on the ways of the brisket. We got all kinds of advice. Some "experts" told us to cook it with the fat up others told us to cook it with the fat down. Some told us the secret was to cook it in a paper bag. Some said cook it straight on the grill. And others said a couple of hours on the grill then move it to foil. The one thing every did agree on is the brisket needs to be big and fatty. I think that's where we failed the first time. So armed with all kinds of advice, we thought we'd give it another try.
I'm happy to report the turkey was excellent. The brisket not so good. Actually it was worse then the first attempt. It was carded beyond recognition. I'm afraid this was a result of my paranoia about under cooking the turkey. We kept the smoker at 300-400 degrees. Come to find out - not ideal for cooking a brisket. .... Turns out the brisket should be cooked at 200-225. Not 400! Oh well ... The turkey was good :) We'll give the brisket another shot in a few weeks.
