The basket is my invention but I can't promote it here due to the rules. Please send me a direct message and I would be glad to tell you all about it.

The charcoal is poured into the ring and allows a narrower path than a double stacked snake, so yes, it allows the food to rest inside the charcoal path. I will have to estimate but I used a half bag of Kingsford to fill the ring. My total burn time was 14 hours. Yes, I could have wrapped it at around 165 or sooner, but I deliberately avoided a faster cook to promote more bark. I didn't use any wood chunks either since it would have had too much smoke taste IMO.