A chimney starter full of lumpwood into the bottom, a few bits of pork to start with.
..yep that is a re-purposed label from a B&B Smoking Co. Vortex. - Such a cool design.
The first 30mins
Things kicking along nicely. Some positives...
1) Easy to load charcoal and wood chips, just lift the pot and the coals are there.
2) The cooking area is big enough to fit a whole medium sized chicken.
3) Hardly any smoke or heat leaks and the holes at the side are very handy for the inkbird thermometer probes.
After 2 hours
The temp has dropped right off. Down to 125 deg. Some suggestions for the cause.
1) The coals sit inside a dish rather than a grate (as they are in the weber smokey joe). The vents are wide open underneath but I'm not convinced much air is getting to the coals. - perhaps a grate for the coals next time?
2) I'll also experiment with different fuel, not sure if the lumpwood is the right choice?
3 hours
The temp is holding at 125 deg (F). Nowhere near hot enough for Chicken. The pork is coming along but taking much longer than it should.
So I've removed the deflector to see how that effects the temps over the next hour.
4 hours
After removing the deflector, another hour into the cook and as suspected, the coals have almost completely gone out. Heat has completely died away.
The tray/pan that came with the cheap kettle contain about half unburnt coals. There are a few embers but there is no heat.
The verdict.
The first 30mins - 1hr have convinced me that this little bullet smoker could be a handy piece of kit. However it will need a charcoal grate to allow better airflow, and some more cooks to get the hang of it. I suspect it will need less babysitting than my cheap offset smoker (which needs feeding every hour).
All part of the experiment, and I've had a fun afternoon in the fresh air. (Which is why I love this hobby)
For now though it's off to the oven to finish cooking these tasty treats.
Will have another go and post the results very soon.
Comments
Post a Comment