So yeah, I finally got around to testing Dan Brown’s open smoking method after seeing it hyped everywhere. Grabbed my cheap offset smoker from the garage – that rusty thing I got off Craigslist years ago. Didn’t bother with fancy wood either, just some hickory chunks from the backyard pile.
First Attempt Disaster
Piled way too much charcoal upfront like I always do, dumped meat on the grate, and walked away. Came back two hours later finding the fire choked out completely. Had that nasty gray smoke pouring out like a tire fire. Meat looked like charcoal briquettes – total garbage. Almost threw the whole rig into the alley right then.
Figuring Out The Airflow Thing
Took a break, watched Brown’s clip again where he keeps harping on “airflow is king”. Next morning I:
1) Scraped all the ash out properly with a putty knife
2) Used way less charcoal – just one chimney’s worth
3) Cracked both dampers wide open before lighting
4) Propped the firebox lid with a beer bottle cap (seriously)
Fired it up around 7AM with pork shoulder. That thin blue smoke started curling out beautiful-like within 20 minutes. Didn’t touch the vents or add fuel at all until lunchtime. Couldn’t believe how steady the temp held at 225F just by letting air move freely.
The Magic Happened
When I finally pulled the meat off at dusk? Absolute witchcraft. That bark had this crazy mahogany shine I’d never achieved before. Normally I’m constantly fighting temperature spikes, but this method just… worked. Wrapped leftovers in butchers paper feeling like a damn pitmaster.
What changed for me:
Learned to trust the airflow over constant tinkering
Stopped obsessively checking every 30 minutes
Actually let the smoker breathe instead of suffocating it
Honestly mad I didn’t try this sooner. That rusty smoker’s getting a proper cleaning tomorrow – might even name it Dan.
