pork tenderloin a success, now for the chick

EGGOMANIAC

got my egg a couple days ago and tried it the first time - 4.5lb pork tenderloin; simply salted and peppered it, and smoked it at 200 degrees on the v-rack with drip pan for 3 hours with a couple handfuls of hickory chips on the coals; it didn't seem cooked, the way i'm used to tenderloins looking when i oven cooked them in the past, so i cranked the egg up to 450 degrees and "grilled" it directly on the circular rack for 45 minutes, turning it several times; wow, unbelievable flavor - crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside! couple questions though:
1) i had to tend to the temperature while smoking more than i anticipated, and i had to keep the bottom vent and daisy wheel almost totally closed to get the temperature down to 200 degrees, but then it was tough to keep it there; - are there tricks to maintaining constant temperature during smoking?
2) does the 3 hours smoking at this temperature seem reasonable, and was it probably done despite what it looked like? should i have had to grill it to get it fully cooked?
3) now i have some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and am thinking of doing a basic grilling - what's a good temperature and time to do this at?

Nature Boy

eggomaniac,
Damn, its late. Still up workin, but this is good for a break![p]First, about your 200 smoking temps. 250 is much easier to maintain, and your food will actually cook. See below discussions about cooking level vs. dome temps also. Some good info there![p]2) For a pork tenderloin, I like them grilled direct as it is a lean cut, and I like some crusting on it. (you are talking aboout the tenderloins that are about 3 to 4 inches in girth?). Try 300-350 direct, flipping every 15 until you reach 145 internal temp works great. Should take about 25-40 minutes. They can be smoked indirect, to the same internal temp, but try higher cooking temps.[p]3) For the boneless breastisses, I like a good hot fire...450-550. Grill about 10 minutes a side. If you can measure the internal temp, pull off at 165. There is a small window (with those breastisses) between underdone, and overdone and dry. After a couple rounds of measuring the internal temp, you should have it down by look and feel.[p]Hope that helps. Sounds like you are havin' fun!
Black and Tans onya.
NB

EGGOMANIAC

Nature Boy,
thanks for the advice on temps; correct about the girth, and maybe 16 inches long; at 250degrees, how long would you figure on smoking these guys? i figure i'd still do a grilling at high temp to get the crustiness;
on the chickens, i agree about the balancing act between underdone and overdone - i've solved this in the past with the conventional pan or oven cooking via marinating, so i figure the same marinating will give me some margin for error on the egg too, right?
my marinade this first time is 24 hours in a mixture of bullseye spicy hickory bbq sauce, worcestershire sauce, and yellow mustard - sound good?

Nature Boy

eggomaniac,
Not sure how long it takes to smoke a tenderloin, as I grill them.[p]I really don't think any marinade will give you any protection against overcooking. A brine will do that somewhat, but not a marinade. Your marinade sounds interesting, but careful with the sugar in the bbq sauce. It could burn at those high temps. I'd throw a bunch of pepper in that marinade at the very least. Everyone's tastes are diferent tho.[p]just some thoughts on 4 hours' sleep!
Beers
NB

sdbelt

eggomaniac,[p]200 and under temps are very difficult. And if the temp ever climbs above that, it's virtually impossible to get it back down, without putting out the fire.[p]However, as others have noted, it's unusual to want to cook at a dome temp of 200. That's more of a jerky/drying temp (if not a bit high).[p]To cook, most go for 225 at the minimum, where 250 is common. For a pork tenderloin, 300-325 would be fine. You'll get good smoke flavor, and a reasonable cooking time. Higher temps work fine, but for thicker cuts you risk overcooking the outer part, before the inner part is done. Of course, coupling a low cook with a high sear (like you basically did), is also a great way to achieve texture and flavor. You'll see that noted with steak cooking on this forum (very high temp sears followed by flame out dwells). It would simply be easier, if the low temp portion was done at 225-250, instead of trying for 200.[p]For chicken, I almost always grill direct at 325. I see higher temps and lower temps posted here, but that's been what I prefer, to get consistently cooked chicken that isn't overdone. Of course, anything that's thinner can be cooked at a hotter temp, so thickness of the meat is a factor, and boneless chicken can be fairly thin.[p]Enjoy your new BGE![p]--sdb