Yesterday I decided to fire up the new cooker from Ole Hickory, not knowing that I would put it to the ultimate test: the weather.
The cooker took about an hour to get up to temp, which was 225. During that time I prepped two slabs of ribs and two chicken halves, since they both take about the same time to cook.
Once they were on for about an hour maybe, here comes a thunderstorm. 9 times out of 10 most BBQ competitors run around like chickens with their heads cut-off trying to prepare for what's coming: temps on the cooker drop like a rock because of wind and rain. But not so with this cooker. I was amazed. It never wavered one degree even with a brief, but heavy downpour fell directly on the cooker.
Another tidbit from my first run on this cooker is the way it's built. The only place smoke comes out of these things is the exhaust pipes on top so there is no wind getting into the cooking chamber and that makes a big difference.
The result? This photo was taken about 2 hours into the cook and you can see how things were turning out, but the finished product was amazing. For the first time in a long time, the ribs came off the cooker with a beautiful dark red color and the chickens were a dark-light brown color with crispy skin.
Next on the docket is a brisket and pork butt. But seriously, this Ole Hickory Pit is the best I've ever cooked on and I am looking forward to our first cook-off in Laurie, MO.
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