Somewhere on the forum I posted a picture of a whole packer brisket AND 9 racks of ribs cooking in my 23....
I believe it was close to 50 pounds of meat.
Notwithstanding, I still want a 32 or a 48
LIke Ceramic Chef noted, he drilled too many holes in his. You only need 3 or 4. Read the whole the thread as there is lot of good info there and links to cheap cast iron pots.
I use nothing else on my long cooks (>2 hours). Works great!