I decided to work extra hard and smoke for Father's Day. I got the brisket on @ 7AM. It was 9 lbs and rubbed with a Fajita Seasoning and salt. I put the 4 lbs of ribs on @ 10AM with a basic rib rub and brown sugar along with a link of sausage. I put 2 chicken fryers on as an experiment: one had the fajita rub while the other had the rib rub with brown sugar. After two hours I took the sausage and fryers. The brown sugar one was great. Two hours is the perfect length for fryers and sausage. While taking lunch off, I put some flank steak jerky on the top rack and 9 split chicken breasts wrapped in foil on. The jerky marinated overnight in a Teriaki mixture and the chicken only had the fajita rub on it. The plan was to take the jerky and chicken off after 4 hours, but I could get my heat up. I could barely get it to 250, but it wouldn't stay. I normally use one 18 lb bag of charcoal but used two. I'm not sure what my problem was. It was frustrating. Because the heat was low, I didn't want to lose more by removing the jerky and chicken, AND I was nervous that it would not be done. I learned my lesson, the jerky was charred and chicken was on the dry side when I took it off @ 5:30 with the brisket. The brisket was even overdone. I tried branding it but was unsuccessful because of the charred exterior. Next time the
jerky and chicken only stays on for 4 hours. The ribs came off an hour later which were a little over done as well. I'm not sure what went wrong with the heat. Was my
thermometer in the wrong place or reading incorrectly? Why was the meat over cooked yet I didn't have the heat up? I think something has to do with my air flow through my firebox. The brisket was okay along with the chicken and ribs. The chopped bbq was the best I ever made. The smoked chicken salad was excellent the next day as well.
I decided to work extra hard and smoke for Father's Day. I got the brisket on @ 7AM. It was 9 lbs and rubbed with a Fajita Seasoning and salt. I put the 4 lbs of ribs on @ 10AM with a basic rib rub and brown sugar along with a link of sausage. I put 2 chicken fryers on as an experiment: one had the fajita rub while the other had the rib rub with brown sugar. After two hours I took the sausage and fryers. The brown sugar one was great. Two hours is the perfect length for fryers and sausage. While taking lunch off, I put some flank steak jerky on the top rack and 9 split chicken breasts wrapped in foil on. The jerky marinated overnight in a Teriaki mixture and the chicken only had the fajita rub on it. The plan was to take the jerky and chicken off after 4 hours, but I could get my heat up. I could barely get it to 250, but it wouldn't stay. I normally use one 18 lb bag of charcoal but used two. I'm not sure what my problem was. It was frustrating. Because the heat was low, I didn't want to lose more by removing the jerky and chicken, AND I was nervous that it would not be done. I learned my lesson, the jerky was charred and chicken was on the dry side when I took it off @ 5:30 with the brisket. The brisket was even overdone. I tried branding it but was unsuccessful because of the charred exterior. Next time the
jerky and chicken only stays on for 4 hours. The ribs came off an hour later which were a little over done as well. I'm not sure what went wrong with the heat. Was my 
thermometer in the wrong place or reading incorrectly? Why was the meat over cooked yet I didn't have the heat up? I think something has to do with my air flow through my firebox. The brisket was okay along with the chicken and ribs. The chopped bbq was the best I ever made. The smoked chicken salad was excellent the next day as well.
