Charcoal...

The last cook was done with regular charcoal and it produced a lot of ash to be contended with. The next cook will be done with lump charcoal.



I've read the reviews and this can be purchased here locally with no problem, so I'll give it a try. I can't find Rancher lump around here and I would like to try the Weekend Warrior lump, but I don't think it would be worth the price of shipping it from New England to Tennessee.

So I'll just try the Nature-Glo and see what happens.



Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

Fire in the hole...

I fired up the pit and I was pleased by how she acted.

The only thing I didn't like was... I'm exposed to Mother Nature's misfortune and temperament and she showed me her butt by raining on my parade.

That... put me behind by at least 2 hours on cooking. That will not cut it in a competition.

The pit will be good for bulk cooks in decent weather, but if it rains...I'm screwed.




Some major work will have to be done to the trailer to cover this cooker up, or I might have to go a different route altogether for competition.

Everything turned out great...but by competition standards, I would not have made the turn in times...

And that...is not good.

Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy

Test Cook...

The weather has been the holdup for getting the jacks welded on the trailer and also, the hold up for me, on beginning any kind of test cook.



I'm really wanting to get started on that part of the game. Until I find out how this pit is going to cook and the time involved in cooking, I'm just dead in the water right now.

It's said, a good pit master can cook on anything. That I can do, but I don't want to go into any competition with out knowing my pit or without any game plan.

So... I may just run test cooks this year and bring Hillbilly Rib Runners into full competition mode next year. Right now I have my sauce and rub recipes ready.

I'm getting there, slowly but surely.



Cooking is like therapy, it keeps me from doing dishes...
Big Daddy