First Impressions - Traditional Smoking

[sparky]

I think you have a handle on it after a few fires.  i'm truly impressed.  I don't know anything about offsets but it is the true test of a good bbq'er in my opinion.  its a lot of work to maintain the fire from what I have seen watching videos and reading.  I take my hat off to ya buddy.  i'm thinking pork butts and some yardbirds cooking on that would look pretty good.   

[veryolddog]

I just got in from cleaning the Cheyenne from yesterday's cook. I think that it is easier to do than the Pellet Smoker. Use the rake, clean out the firebox, paper towels to clean the grill grates and the top of the heat management plate, remove the heat management plate and clean the bottom, clean the bottom of the main grill compartment itself, clean and wash the little grease bucket, and towel off the outside of the grill. Then re-cover the smoker. 30 minutes and a bunch of paper towels.

I think that the suggestion of baby backs is a great idea. However, my goal is to do a brisket one day and I do have a whole packer sitting in my freezer. I think that I will reserve that for my fourth cook in the Cheyenne. You're right, baby steps.

I have mentioned the heat management plate a number of times so I took a few pictures of it with my phone to illustrate what it is. If you look at the picture on the fire box side, you cannot see the 3-4 inch metal plate which is on a 45 degree angle. This angle plate slides up underneath the baffle that is provided with the smoker. Then the heat from the smoker as well as the smoke is distributed along the bottom of this plate. If there were no holes in the plate, then you might consider this a true reverse flow smoker only that the chimney stack would have to be on the firebox side. In this instance, the heat management plate acts as a long baffle with drilled openings for the heat to be released as it moves across the bottom of the smoker.







I hope that this can clear up what I have been trying say.

regards,

Ed