RO Ridge and hot 'n fast whole chicken smoke.
Since switching to RO Ridge from KBB around Memorial Day, I've done 21 smokes using that charcoal. Unfortunately, the longest smoke has only been about 7.5 hours, and most were low 'n slow (jerky, cured pork sirloin, roast beef, tri tip, etc). Today was the first time I loaded a couple of 6.1 lb chickens in the WSM for a hot n' fast smoke. Man oh man, that RO Ridge is making my BBQ Guru obsolete! It holds temps beautifully no matter what my target chamber temp. As I type is cruising along at 340-345F. The Guru is set for 320F for a minimum stoke. The Guru hasn't come on once on this smoke.
With KBB on a hot 'n fast smoke, the Guru would have to work to keep the temps up. I'd have to burp the smoker (remove the lid) occasionally to stoke the fire with air to get it back up to my target. Oh, and it would take a full chimney of KBB on top of cold charcoal to get the temp up in the 325F range. This morning, I only put 2/3rds chimney of the hot RO Ridge on the cold/used charcoal for this smoke. Why didn't I switch sooner?!
Have a GREAT Labor Day weekend!
Ray
Since switching to RO Ridge from KBB around Memorial Day, I've done 21 smokes using that charcoal. Unfortunately, the longest smoke has only been about 7.5 hours, and most were low 'n slow (jerky, cured pork sirloin, roast beef, tri tip, etc). Today was the first time I loaded a couple of 6.1 lb chickens in the WSM for a hot n' fast smoke. Man oh man, that RO Ridge is making my BBQ Guru obsolete! It holds temps beautifully no matter what my target chamber temp. As I type is cruising along at 340-345F. The Guru is set for 320F for a minimum stoke. The Guru hasn't come on once on this smoke.
With KBB on a hot 'n fast smoke, the Guru would have to work to keep the temps up. I'd have to burp the smoker (remove the lid) occasionally to stoke the fire with air to get it back up to my target. Oh, and it would take a full chimney of KBB on top of cold charcoal to get the temp up in the 325F range. This morning, I only put 2/3rds chimney of the hot RO Ridge on the cold/used charcoal for this smoke. Why didn't I switch sooner?!
Have a GREAT Labor Day weekend!
Ray
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