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So the Al Pastor cook was definitely a success and enjoyed by everybody. I did one pork shoulder so about 7lbs and we had 8 adults and could have probably fed 16-20 persons easily. This was fun to make and will definitely be in the rotation for parties. One of our amigos brought over this tequila from their last vacation to Mexico and one of the best we’ve ever had and it complimented the meal. Tacos made with Nixtamalized blue corn along with cilantro, onions, radish, pineapple, homemade salsa and Pico de gallo along with Mexican street corn salad and some Spanish rice. All the best,

Here's a cut of beef you generally don't see and in fact I haven't seen here either, unless I missed it. It's what the butcher said was a beef shoulder tenderloin and was cooked indirectly then seared. I must say he was correct, it was tender and he further stated it's best when cooked to a med-rare. Along side were sugared chick peas in cinnamon, apple, carrots, dried cranberry, cracked nutmeg, squeezed lemon with a dash of salt. Orzo with Greek dressing with feta, red pepper and a wee bit of onion and more black olive. I split half a stuffed scallop shell having the seafood works along side fresh garden string beans and just salt/pepper on the beef. This cut would be excellent over a rice pilaf with some sprouts.

Just to close this out. I did use the meat hanger to hang the bacon for cold smoking. I took @jonj's advice and dropped a hot coal in amongst the pellets in the cold smoker unit and it burned for hours on end. The only problem is that I chose the windiest day of the year and it appeared to disrupt the flow of smoke into the KK. I gave up after about 8 hours and only had a slight hint of smoke. You live and you learn. Next time! Here is a shot to prove that it happened.

Speaking of brisket, I'll post more pics tomorrow , i just put these in and am letting Fireboard run with them until done, i will jump in and wrap them when they get to 170. The one on the left was 21 pounds before trimming, the one on the right was 14.

Let it rest for a day or two, you might be surprised at how much smoke that it did pick up.

Petite tender. That looks interesting and, never having heard of it before, I can see that there are lots of references to it on the web. I hope it was tasty @Tyrus!

@DennisLinkletter good point. When I'm smoking I do fill the firebox. When grilling, I haven't had an issue without the splitter, but I will re-visit.

So tomorrow is the big day for my first Al Pastor cook. Made the Marinade about a week or two ago and divided it in half and froze it. Just got the pork marinating in the Pastor tonight so it should be marinating for about 18 hours before the start of cooking. Made the Nixtamal with blue heirloom corn masa today so fresh tortillas will be ready also. I will get some piics of the cook and post them tomorrow or Friday (maybe a few Margaritas deep during the cook tomorrow). I really appreciate the inspiration from @Troble, @tekobo and @Syzygies . Cheers, Paul

A nice sunset from Main St. in Post Tx.. My wife and I stopped in Post as we traveled back home from Ruidoso NM last week.

Not Suggested Air takes the path of least resistance and will most go around your pile of charcoal... The area on the other side of the charcoal splitter has those plates to force ALL the airflow thru your charcoal. This makes it light MUCH faster and gives you total control of your airflow/temperature. With the massive size of the firebox in the 42", I felt it would be wrong not to have it so it's standard, not optional like all the other grills. When you are smoking, and you choose not to use it.. I suggest completely filling the charcoal basket so the airflow is uniform thru the charcoal also. I'm happy to hear you still love your grill.. thanks for the kudos!

I didnt notice those when i was there yesterday, I was looking for a brisket and all the ones in the case were past their sell by date. I'm sure they were fine but I got a chicken there last week that was less than fine, i had to return it, smelled like a skunk 🦨