first cook on the Mini Max

I pulled the trigger and bought a Mini Max.  My first cook was a pork butt.  I filled it with as much lump as I thought I should, I wanted some space between the plate setter and the coals.  It only took 11 minutes for the Mini Max to hit 250 degrees.  I cooked at 250 - 275 for 8 hours, and when the butt was done, I opened up the vents and grilled a hamburger.  I was amazed how much lump I had left!  Usually we cook a butt till it reaches 160 degrees, then wrap in tin-foil with a bit of apple juice till it reaches 185 degrees.  It is faster that way.  But I wanted to find out how long I could cook on the mini-max, so we just let it go until it was done.  The bark was so amazing, It was just as good as bacon!  There was no room for a V-rack, so we just set the butt in a pie pan.  The pulled pork was so good, my wife would not allow me to add any BBQ sauce to it! 

I can not speak to the concern that some have about the lack of space between the coals, since my only direct cook was a hamburger (Which was great),  but I will soon find out.  Tomorrow night we will try salmon cooked direct.  It looks like I will not need to add lump, so there will be a little more space between the fire and the grill, but I am a bit nervous that I will ruin my wife's salmon.   This little egg rocks!