Y'all...I'm all messed up.
I went out yesterday and pulled my Weber up onto the deck so it would be right out the back door. It was MUCH BETTER than walking out to the back yard every time I wanted to check the grill. Now I'm thinkin' I'd like to LEAVE it on the patio, but its legs are wobbly and it's hard to move it around out there without one of 'em slippin' out.
But here's what we did together yesterday...I had a 3 1/2 lb chuck roast to smoke and pull (gettin' to be a favorite cook). I set up the Smokenator using hickory chunks...had a water pan underneath. When it got to 250* I put chuckie in. The Smokenator was flawless, holding the temp at 250* - 260* for over 6 hours. I went out every hour or so and knocked the dust off the ashes and added a few briquettes and it kept on chuggin'. When chuckie reached 180*, I sliced a couple of onions into 3 thick slices each and placed them in a foil pan ( I saw this on YouTube somewhere) and placed chuckie on top of them. Then I poured a dark beer in and covered the pan tightly with foil (I had a thermometer in the meat). I let the temp rise a bit and it took about another couple of hours for the temps to reach 210*. After that, I let it coast for about 45 minutes more. I'm not sure of the final temp, but when we took it out, the meat pulled very easily and tasted great.
Overall, it was a very good cook that took very little attention even though it was pretty much all day long.
Pics will follow this:
I have been thinking about a ceramic cooker (what a wide range) for a while. Now, I am thinking that this Weber is really hitting the mark. Do I need an egg-type? What would I actually cook therein that I can't cook in the kettle? I was at Lowes today and saw the Akorn for less than $300 (it is $299) and thought, "this MIGHT work...but what will I cook?"
When at look at the Performer, with the rolling table, self-starter, and charcoal bin, I'm thinkin' "this would look nice enough to leave on the patio."
I have been saving some money for one or the other - cannot justify both.
I know LA likes the Akorn (I like the PRICE) and some of y'all have other ceramics. Is it a "specialty" grill or something we could use a lot?
I would really like to have the Primo Oval with indirect cooking system.
Now, for the pics: note the "cloche" bread thanks to y'all...
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