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FCL :: Day in the Life :: Wed May 22, 2019 (Donkey Escape & Capture)

I got tired of waiting for the pork roast in the wood pellet smoker to reach an internal temp of 205F, so I just went to bed at about midnight — only to have the thermometer app on my iPhone alarm at 3:30A when the roast was finally done!

Somehow (still an unsolved mystery) … both donkeys escaped from their barn pasture. Historically, that has led to a full day of chaos and frustration, chasing them around the property, and even in a few cases down the road (off property).

I’ve learned NOT to chase them (even though it can be fun doing so on my KTM 990 Adventure dual sport), and instead use “donkey bait” (carrots or peanuts (in the shell)) to coax them into a bridle, or in this case a rope noose.

Ended up deciding to let them stay in the garden pasture for few weeks, so they can graise down some of the weeds.

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FCL :: Day in the Life :: Tues May 21, 2019 (Camp Chef Deluxe Pellet Smoker > Initial Setup)

Another quick Teeter EP-960 Ltd inversion table demo.

Another quick project: Camp Chef Deluxe Pellet Grill and Smoker. Yeah, quick … NOT! 😉

Now is not the time to do a complete review of the new smoker. Need some time in the saddle before I’m ready to pass any judgement. However, that said, I will report the unboxing and assembly were VERY straight-forward. Their packaging is well thought out. Instructions were very clear. Diagrams are a little too small to see finer details, but workable.

As suggested in this video, I bought the pellet smoker on a whim. Not because I needed it, but more so because I have a vested interest in all things biomass fueled. A few months ago I bought an OONI (alt: UUNI) wood pellet fueled pizza oven. LOVE it. Now I have a wood pellet fueled smoker. What’s not to like.

For some time now, I’ve been researching the viability of picking up my own biomass pellet making machine, but haven’t found a unit yet this is cost effective (read: smaller, non-commercial, non-industrial).

Had to laugh (not really) … when it took WAY LONGER than I expected to smoke a 1.75 pound pork loin roast. At 11P I gave up (waiting) and just went to bed with the bluetooth BBQ thermometer app on my iPhone sitting next to my bed. At 3:30A it went off! Internal temp at 205F target. Rolled out of bed, mumbling the whole way downstairs, and yanked the meat off the smoker. Didn’t even LOOK at it really until I got up for good at 6A.

The final results will be featured in tomorrow’s FCL update video. Suffice to say, the “pulled pork” came out great.