cookers

My 3 cents worth! I've been doing low n slow BBQ for 30 some years now and grilling for longer then that. I've won a few cook-out awards along the way too. But better then winning those is having the family and friends pester me to do some Q again. So I'm doing 1 large shoulder and a slab of ribs right now. I had the BBQ (grill is what I call it) up to speed at 10AM and am planning dinner for between 6 & 7 PM. The grill is right now holding steady at 206 degrees. I'll have to add some more charcoal in about .5 hour.

Steve, In my Not so humble opinion, yes, I'm full of myself today What you need is a Weber style grill. If you want/prefer a circular shape then get a Weber and not a knock-off. If you have the room go for the 22" model. If not get the 18" one. I have owned both sizes over the years and each was great. With Weber you can't beat the quality and there is a large selection of accessories available for these. I went to the 22" size when I had 3 adults and 2 kids in the house and needed more room.

For the past 10 or so years I've used an oval shape grill made by Patio Classic. www.patioclassic.com
I had one for about 8 years before it rusted out, my fault; I left it out year round. I'm on my 2nd year of my second one now. Don't know if I'll ever buy another brand of grill again. This one suits me just fine.

Why? You ask. For grilling of steaks, burgers, chops, hot dogs, sausage and fish you want direct heat. Especially for steaks you want a lot of heat to sear the meat. Most grills will have hot and not so hot spots. With use you will find where these are on your grill.

Not only does it handle all my direct grilling work but it does a great job with indirect cooking too. I do pork, beef and lamb roast using indirect.

Like I said I've got some low n slow BBQ going right now. With this unit I can easily control the air flow. I've been running about 210 degrees for almost 2 hours now. I put 12 briquettes on each side and fire them off. When they are about half ash covered I add 2 large well soaked chunks of hickory to both sides I add a Polder type probe thermometer thru a potato onto the grill for a more accurate gauge of what the temp is at the cooking area.

For a couple years I owned a New Braunfels smoker with the side fire box. I found that this didn’t work as well for me and that I didn’t use it much. It was actually too big for what I needed. I was going to turn it into a planter (oh Gosh, what a horrible thought!) But fortunately I sold it to a co-worker who uses it.

Summation; for general all around cooking get a Weber or Patio Classic or that style grill. You will be able to do the whole range of cooking from direct grilling to indirect cooking of roasts or with practice the low n slow of real wood BBQ.

Don’t expect to do GREAT Q the very first time. It will take a lot of practice and experience to get to know your grill and how it works. Plus, I believe that all BBQs need time to season in.

Just my two cents, but for someone with limited experience, a Weber kettle (I think the 22.5 inch silver is $89.95 on Amazon) is hard to beat. No, you won't get competition level ribs or butts, but it will do a great job doing the occasional slow BBQ with a small fire built to one side and the ribs, butt, or brisket, on the other.

Moving up a step, for smoking I truly think that you can't go wrong with a WSM. The ability to control the temps is much better than with the other bullet-type smokers you see on the market. It really is hard to mess up, and does not require constant tinckering.

Combined, the purchase of these two will cost you under $300. If you hate them, you could probably recover $200+ on ebay. I would really hate to see a beginning griller/BBQer spend TONS of money for an offset that really works, only to discover he doesn't like to tend a fire for 10 hours...

MikeSh, et al: How do you add charcoal and/or wood to the fire on a Weber style when the meat is already on the grate? Can you get under the grate or do you pick up the grate, meat and all, to get at it? Or am I missing something?

Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by tsores

MikeSh, et al: How do you add charcoal and/or wood to the fire on a Weber style when the meat is already on the grate? Can you get under the grate or do you pick up the grate, meat and all, to get at it? Or am I missing something?
Thanks.

My Patio Classic has cut outs on both sides next to the cooking grate handles. I can drop in more wood chunks or briquettes as needed.

MikeS.

Here is some shots of my grill and tonight's dinner.







MikeS.

quote:

Originally posted by tsores

MikeSh, et al: How do you add charcoal and/or wood to the fire on a Weber style when the meat is already on the grate? Can you get under the grate or do you pick up the grate, meat and all, to get at it? Or am I missing something?

Thanks.

You can usually find after-market grates that have flip-up sides for adding charcoal/wood.

Michael: Thanks.

Mike Sh: Can you post shots of the cut outs that you describe?

This is the Weber Grill with hinged sides to add charcoal.

So what did you decide????

MikeS.

Late reply but what the hey.

I have over ten Webers scattered about (two w/ wooden handles still new in the box, Target was closing so I bought all they had left) between my office, pool, patio and shop. If your want to do ONE or TWO shoulders or butts they are fine but for more buy something bigger or do what we Tarheels do and build a pit.

By the way, only one gas Weber, the suitcase one which basically is used to warm beans and vegies on picnics.

MikeSh: I am truly in awe of the PolderSpud idea. That is absolutely the most brilliant solution to the question of where the thermometer should go that I have ever seen, and I'm going to be stealing it immediately.

In my opinion, you can't beat an oil drum BBQ.



This one has a side smoker, but they are big enough that you can buy one without it and you can smoke using indirect heat. The grill is really far away from the coals, so you can make things like BBQ pizza without burning it. You can buy homemade ones for around 100-150 dollars in the right neighborhood.

Make sure you get one with a side-vent, so you can control airflow and add charcoal if needed.

The only drawback is when you want to cook one chicken or 5 burgers, and you have to fire up the behemoth.

I suggest everyone have 3 grills:

1. a Weber kettle for those 5 burgers,
2. The oil drum for smoking, ribs, and get-togethers
3. The Santa Maria style for Tri-tip and BIG parties. It is made for cooking with a wood fire, and it has a crank to raise and lower the grill over the flames. You can get them about 1/3 the size of this one for home use:

I like the bottom rig. How thick is the steel for the fire box? Chain or cable for elevation mechanism(s). Weight? Clean out? Air Flow from bottom or sides?

I see the heat shields for the tires.

quote:

Originally posted by EliseT

In my opinion, you can't beat an oil drum BBQ.



This one has a side smoker, but they are big enough that you can buy one without it and you can smoke using indirect heat. The grill is really far away from the coals, so you can make things like BBQ pizza without burning it. You can buy homemade ones for around 100-150 dollars in the right neighborhood.

Make sure you get one with a side-vent, so you can control airflow and add charcoal if needed.

The only drawback is when you want to cook one chicken or 5 burgers, and you have to fire up the behemoth.

I suggest everyone have 3 grills:

1. a Weber kettle for those 5 burgers,
2. The oil drum for smoking, ribs, and get-togethers
3. The Santa Maria style for Tri-tip and BIG parties. It is made for cooking with a wood fire, and it has a crank to raise and lower the grill over the flames. You can get them about 1/3 the size of this one for home use:

How do you control temps with the oil drum type smoker?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

I have the Weber performer as I prefer charcoal. This particular model is handy as it has a small propane tank that lights your charcoal, a larger cooking surface, a charcoal storage area and nice stainless work top. I’ve turned out some great turkeys using the indirect method. I’ve had mine 7-8 years and am very happy with it.

I just got one yesterday, and threw out my 22 year old Weber. We had a graduation party to attend, so I haven't tried it yet. I will be marinating a london broil for tuesday...I'm stoked!!!

Can't wait to smoke something on it!

There's a fellow in Texas named David Klose who builds pits of all sizes, from backyard grills to commercial rigs that can feed an army. Pricy, but very high quality. Lots of folks on the bbq tour use Klose's pits.

I've had one for years and am about to do my annual barbecue for 150.

www.bbqpits.com

I use the Brinkmann I just saw in the post by Sundancer. Best thing going for the price; easy to use, IMO. I had mine for about 5 years.

Barbecued about 40 pounds of meat for a family gathering a couple weeks ago. I was in heaven.

Also, one type of grill isn't enough, as some mentioned here. I've got

1) The trusty Weber; all around cooking, can't beat it.
2) The Brinkmann, great for ribs, brisket, pulled pork.
3) A small gas grill (heresy!) for those weeknight evenings when I just want to grill a quick chicken breast or salmon/tuna steak without waiting or messing up the kitchen. I has it's purpose, but it's grilling, and not bbq.

First post here, too. bumbled onto this site, and really like it. Hope to contribute in the future....I love roadfood.

quote:

How do you control temps with the oil drum type smoker?

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Fire control and air vents....practice.

Here's another one from the pricey category:
http://www.pittsandspitts.com/section.asp?section=40

I got mine from them. I had it shipped up from Texas ... I couldn't wait for it to arrive ... I got it, set it up and realized that I might have just as well been waiting for delivery of a grand piano -- the smoker was indeed a beautiful instrument, but I had no idea how to play.

Practice, practice, practice.

Meanwhile, whenever I do practice, the neighbors seem to decend on my house for some reason (then again, that's half the fun) so I can never practice on a small scale.

StLouisGuy, Welcome to Roadfood.

I use a Brinkman similiar to the one in the photo that Paul asks about. It is 5 years old now and has seen quite a bit of use .
Paul, The temperature controls are the adjustable air vents on the firebox door and the exit barrier- also adjustable- on the smokestack.
I get a good charcoal fire going then add fist sized chunks of soaked Hickory to the coals. To keep the temp down in the 200 degree range I choke the air vents almost totally closed...and the chimney also. It seems to hold at 200-215 degrees for hours if I do that.
I also position the meat I am cooking as far away from the firebox as I can. If I am doing several Butts I will rotate them during the cooking time to give equal exposure to all to the heat.

Mr. Mayor, thanks for the welcome, and you are exactly right. Control the heat with airvents. I also sometimes rotate the smoker, depending on the prevailing winds, and what temperature I'm trying to achieve.

Yours in bbq heaven,

stlouisguy

For serious BBQing only:

http://bgdailynews.com/pigroast

build your own pit!

quote:

Originally posted by Lucky Bishop

MikeSh: I am truly in awe of the PolderSpud idea. That is absolutely the most brilliant solution to the question of where the thermometer should go that I have ever seen, and I'm going to be stealing it immediately.

Not to worry about stealing the idea, I stole it from someone else a few years ago off of another web site.

I know my grill well enough that I don't always use it. I have another thermometer poked through the top of the lid. It registers higher then meat height but I've learned to adjust. It is a handy trick though.

MikeS.

Hey everyone I am a newbee here. I have been playin around with this smokin stuff for a few years now off and on. I bought a Brinkman Cimaron Deluxe which has been workin great but just nut enough cooking space so I decided to build a larger one out of a 275 gal oil tank.I attached two store bought fireboxes to it one on eigther end in the thought that i would get more even heating over a large area such as the tank. I also put in heat diverters in front of each fire box. I have this up at our camps in the Adirondacks and it works pretty well. I am looking to make my self one for home but would like to try using one or two small box wood stoves vented into the back of the tank as my heat source. Has anyone tried this or any thoughts on this desing would be greatly appriciated!!

CAN'T GO WRONG WITH STARTING WITH A WEBER, BUY THE CHARCOAL RAILS, MAKE'S INDIRECT COOKING MUCH MORE EASY. ALSO HAVE SEEN THE BIG GREEN EGG IN ACTION AND ALL SAY ITS THE BEST AROUND, BUT A LITTLE PRICEY.

BIG JIM

If you're going to go with a Weber, definitely get the 22" model if you can. Also, I would recommend NOT buying the "Silver" model if you can find the "Gold". The main difference is the enclosed ash basket -- I kick myself for not having this on those windy days!

FWIW, there is plenty of room for an 8-10 lb shoulder on the 22", and enough room to add coals near the handles on the grate, even without purchasing the hinged model. No doubt the hinged grate would be more convenient, but it is certainly not necessary.

are their any good gas smokers on the market

"are their any good gas smokers on the market"


What? Gas smokers? ughhh...!

I've seen some..but they just don't look like they would make good Q.


Although...I did see an unbelievable electric smoker that a guy made out of a nurses food card...you know the one's in hospitals that have all the trays and the flaps on the front. They use them to haul patients their food...

This guy made one out of one of those...used a dryer element as the heatsource in the cooking chamber...built a smoke box on the side where he installed a fan and some small ducts to pump the smoke into the cooking chamber... in the smoke box he put a bucket with hickory shavings in it..and placed an electric charcoal starter in the bucket to make the smoke.....

it was a beautiful set up.

Josh.

quote:

Originally posted by ABIGSTEAK

are their any good gas smokers on the market

Anyone who says that you can't make great bbq in a gas smoker doesn't know what they're talking about. Here is a link to a site for users of the Great Outdoors Smokey Mountain smoker.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smokeymountain/

The company has changed hands, but the smokers are still being made and can be purchased at Walmart, Sam's, Loews, and (possibly) other places. You might have to look around a bit. Some buyers have resorted to purchasing online and paying shipping charges to get their hands on on one. I've been using mine for over a year and have turned out ribs, pulled pork, brisket, etc. that has been declared "way better" than any of the Q-chains around here such as Sonny's, Woody's, or Smokey Bones. I'm not saying that it's as good as it gets, but it is damned good. A big plus is that you don't have to tend it like a mother hen as it will hold temps within a few degrees for as long as the propane holds out. jmho, pb

My Webers (twelve at last count) all have wooden handles (pre '99) and have never "rusted" out. Except for the suitcase ones all are kept outside w/o protection. Discolored but I think they'll outlast me.

For Q'ing I use my stone pit lined w/ firebrick.