Anybody here use Brinkmann's smokers?

[brianc]

Weeks, after reading through this again, I’d have to say that using less of the briquets and more hardwood lump charcoal (and lumps of apple, or other fruit-bearing woods) is the answer.

[The_Weekenders]

@brianc

Weeks, after reading through this again, I’d have to say that using less of the briquets and more hardwood lump charcoal (and lumps of apple, or other fruit-bearing woods) is the answer.

Well, I’m with ya on the lump charcoal, but it’s my understanding that you can oversmoke with too much of the smoking wood. I have a whole garbage can filled with apple-wood from this winter’s prunings, but the instructions caution against using too much… I overdid the first time out on some beef and it was pretty strong.

Anyway, I am going to buy some of that hardwood lump charcoal and give it another go… Now, if only I can get it at a discount…Costco only sells Kingsford briquets…

[I.D.10-t]

@The Weekenders

Anyway, I am going to buy some of that hardwood lump charcoal and give it another go… Now, if only I can get it at a discount…Costco only sells Kingsford briquets…

After talking to one of the historians around here, I have always wanted to see the traditional method of making charcoal. If you have some spare wood…

[brianc]

@The Weekenders

@brianc

Weeks, after reading through this again, I’d have to say that using less of the briquets and more hardwood lump charcoal (and lumps of apple, or other fruit-bearing woods) is the answer.

Well, I’m with ya on the lump charcoal, but it’s my understanding that you can oversmoke with too much of the smoking wood. I have a whole garbage can filled with apple-wood from this winter’s prunings, but the instructions caution against using too much… I overdid the first time out on some beef and it was pretty strong.

Anyway, I am going to buy some of that hardwood lump charcoal and give it another go… Now, if only I can get it at a discount…Costco only sells Kingsford briquets…

Oh, sure enough, the woods are to be used as you would spice… too much of a good thing, and all that. In fact, my last purchase for the grill/smoker was the applewood chips and a small bag of hickory clumps. I do use a small amount of briquets, but only to get the smoker going (and those are first fired up in the chimney starter)… after that, it’s hardwood lump charcoal.

I’ve found the charcoal at Safeway… and also at a local butcher shop.

Good luck,

[Cynth]

@The Weekenders

@brianc

Weeks, after reading through this again, I’d have to say that using less of the briquets and more hardwood lump charcoal (and lumps of apple, or other fruit-bearing woods) is the answer.

Well, I’m with ya on the lump charcoal, but it’s my understanding that you can oversmoke with too much of the smoking wood. I have a whole garbage can filled with apple-wood from this winter’s prunings, but the instructions caution against using too much… I overdid the first time out on some beef and it was pretty strong.

Anyway, I am going to buy some of that hardwood lump charcoal and give it another go… Now, if only I can get it at a discount…Costco only sells Kingsford briquets…

@Matt Treiber

Charcoal and charcoal accessories

This course assumes that if you’re using charcoal, you are using the chimney starter from Weber (#87886). It is larger than most other brands so adjust accordingly. The Weber website says their chimney starter “holds enough briquettes for a 22-1/2” Weber kettle.” I’m not sure exactly how many briquettes that is, but it’s not too terribly important and once you’ve smoked a couple of times, you’ll get a good idea of how many you need for whatever you’re smoking.

This course also assumes that you’re using standard Kingsford type charcoal and not lump. You’ll see a lot of people swear by lump charcoal, but they’re mostly grillers. Lump charcoal burns hotter than standard and is more temperamental to smoke with. Until you’ve figured out how to smoke with regular charcoal, save the lump for the grill.

Charcoal chimneys are a must have if you ever cook with charcoal. Not only are they efficient at starting coals, but also they allow you to start more coals while you’re already cooking so that a fire that’s dying has an immediate boost. Yes, lighter fluid is very popular in parts of the country, but a) it tastes horrible, b) it smells horrible, c) it’s bad for the environment, d) it’s dangerous and e) it costs money. Yes, it’s fun to play with Boy Scout water but if you haven’t switched to the chimney, you should. This also applies to the folks who use the electric element starters as well (like my Grandfather, may he rest in peace). Why pay for electricity when you usually have paper around that you can burn for free and which does a better job?

Before starting charcoal in the chimney, make sure to have a sturdy, heat-resistant material for the chimney to rest on. The chimney gets very hot! If necessary, you can place the chimney on top of the cooking grate of your smoker or grill.

On the other hand:

@Smoking Meat At home

I noted that you relegated lump charcoal to grilling as it tends to burn hotter and faster. I use lump to smoke on my WSM as the intake vents allow control of the burn rate so that this is no longer an issue. When smoking on my WSM I fill the fire ring level with the top, with 4 or 5 wood chunks scattered at different depths and locations (The air vents also prevent the wood from flaring up, so soaking them is not needed). To this I add a chimney full of lump to the top, assemble the unit and fiddle with the vents until arriving at the desired temp (Note: I never mess with the exaust vent). The fact that 3/4ths of the charcoal is unlit to start highlights one of the advantages of lump charcoal, that as it ignites it does not emit any off odors or smoke, something that cannot usually be said of briquettes.

[Tyler]

oh man it’s spring and I’m still without a smoker/grill!!!
I loaned out my hibachi to someone last year and the fracking turdburgler moved out of state!!!
I’ll have to live vicariously though you, my friends, until I can buy another.

BTW, thanks for starting this thread Weeks; I needed a reminder to shop for new toys.

[Tyler]

@brianc

The one I use is this:

Is yours a CharBroil?

[Tyler]

I think I might get one o’ these Brinkmann Deluxe Gormet smokers.
Lowe’s has one for about $45 at the store down the street from me. Cheap enough not to be a total loss if I don’t like it.

[brianc]

@Tyler Morris

@brianc

The one I use is this:

Is yours a CharBroil?

Char-Griller www.chargriller.com

The big part in that picture is the grill, the small part on the right is the fire box, which is an add-on (allows smoking, rather than direct grilling). However, you can always smoke in just the grill part, by placing the charcoal to one side, and the meat to the other, works as well, except you have less BBQ space.

[Tyler]

Ok, yeah, I saw one like it at Lowes when I went to go get my Brinkmann yesterday (which I have yet to try out, but I’ll post when I do) and was wondering if that was the one you were talking about.

(I ordered Peace, Love and Barbecue from Amazon yesterday before leaving the office, by the way)

This gets me thinkin’…I wonder how we could put together an official C&F Cookoff…

[brianc]

@Tyler Morris

Ok, yeah, I saw one like it at Lowes when I went to go get my Brinkmann yesterday (which I have yet to try out, but I’ll post when I do) and was wondering if that was the one you were talking about.

(I ordered Peace, Love and Barbecue from Amazon yesterday before leaving the office, by the way)

This gets me thinkin’…I wonder how we could put together an official C&F Cookoff…

One really neat thing about the Char-Griller with the firebox is that the firebox doubles as a small grill - so if you’ve only got a couple of burgers or a few dogs, the fire box makes for a nice, small Hibachi-sized grill.

As for “Peace, Love and Barbecue”, 17th Street Bar & Grill is # 1 !!! Woo hoo!

[Tyler]

Looks really cool; it’s just on the outside of what I can spend right now. She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed has mandated some improvements to the backyard before I can buy anymore toys (I only got away with buying the Brinkmann because I bought it with birthday money from my mother and father ). I may have to invest in one later on after I expand our backyard patio.

[Tyler]

Update:

Spent the weekend fiddling with the smoker, experienced some of the odd problems Weeks was talking about, but all in all, everything I did turned out okay.
I did two beef roasts and a pork shoulder. The beef came out a little drier than I’d have liked it to, but the shoulder did well.

I’m going to check around some of the barbecue bbs for tips on how to make this thing work a little better, and I definately am going to drill another hole in the dern thing along the side to insert an oven thermometor, because that warm-ideal-hot thing just ain’t cuttin the cheese. I’m willing to bet that if I had a better way of reading the temp near the meat, the beef would have turned out quite a bit better.
Well, I’m not going to let this get me down, tally ho!

BTW, got my copy of Peace, Love and Barbecue from Amazon on Saturday, and I’m about halfway through it. Best damn cooking book I’ve ever read, hands down.

Weeks, you try anything else with your smoker yet?