Official CCS Grillmasters thread

[brett05]

I did a dry rub on mine and put it in a roasting pan, but the pan fills up with rendered fat.... I suppose I would need to remove it and put it in a dry pan at the end.

or have a rack at the bottom of the pan so the juices render off perhaps?

 

[brett05]

Gift made by my brother-in law

 

[dennehy]

I did a dry rub on mine and put it in a roasting pan, but the pan fills up with rendered fat.... I suppose I would need to remove it and put it in a dry pan at the end.

You can also get a pan with a rack that attaches to it, to keep the meat out of the rendered fat. Even doing that it's tough to get bark on the bottom of the butt, but the top should be fine.

 

[Hawkeye OG]

What do you guys recommend for a Beginner Smoker? Not looking to break the bank. I've always wanted to get into it, but never had the space until now.

 

[Ares]

What do you guys recommend for a Beginner Smoker? Not looking to break the bank. I've always wanted to get into it, but never had the space until now.

I personally would look for a decent sized offset smoker.... my current smoker is a component of my grill.... my grill is 3 parts.... gas grill on the right side with a side burner (which I use to light my chimney)... then a charcoal grill on the left side where you can put coal right under the grates.... but that chamber is also connected to a firebox which makes it work as an offset smoker as well.

My main gripe is that the cooking chamber is not very big.... I can just squeeze in a brisket length-wise.... so at most I could possibly do 2 briskets, 4 pork butts, or 3 racks of ribs.

Now I am not often trying to do a ton of meat.... but the confined cooking chamber makes it difficult to handle larger cuts of meat or do more than 1 cut at the same time as another.

So in closing I would get an offset smoker with a decent sized cooking chamber that is not a component of a 3-in-1 or 2-in-1.

I would also look for a firebox big enough to hold one of those snaking coal baskets which can allow you to pile in a ton of coal and run a consistent low/slow temp for long periods of time without need to be running out there every hour or so to adjust things or add more coal.

My firebox can hold lots of coal, but how much you can get to burn at a given time is a challenge because when you pack coal into a confined space, airflow becomes an issue, especially as more and more ash builds up.... and I have never been able to get it to minion-burn where I start part of it and it burns out while lighting the next coal so that the fuel doesn't all burn at once.

My next smoker will probably be a 400-500$ offset smoker.... I could not possibly fit it on my patio with my current grill, so it will wait until I eventually move.

EDIT: Just to clarify... as I was a beginner on my hybrid-offset smoker... I do think they are easy enough to use for a beginner... but if you want something cheap to just try the concept of low/slow smoking you could get one of those Weber kettle grills... there is a method of smoking the meat low/slow by sitting the meat away from the side of the kettle where the coal is burning.... I would not want to do one of those personally, but they can be a cheap way of trying it out.

 

[dennehy]

Agree. Offset box smoker is the way to go. The bigger and better insulated, the more expensive. But it's rare you're going to cook more than 2 briskets at once, unless you regularly cook for 30 people. Green eggs are easy and fool proof but the process is too standardized for my taste if that makes sense.

It also depends on where you live. You're not going to have much luck with a smaller wood/charcoal smoker in the winter in Chicago, for example.

There are plenty of brands out there. I had a New Braunfels back in the day, got it for about $200. Worked great year round in Central Texas, although with something like a brisket I usually finished it the over rather than smoking for 15+ hours.

 

[Ares]

Agree. Offset box smoker is the way to go. The bigger and better insulated, the more expensive. But it's rare you're going to cook more than 2 briskets at once, unless you regularly cook for 30 people. Green eggs are easy and fool proof but the process is too standardized for my taste if that makes sense.

It also depends on where you live. You're not going to have much luck with a smaller wood/charcoal smoker in the winter in Chicago, for example.

There are plenty of brands out there. I had a New Braunfels back in the day, got it for about $200. Worked great year round in Central Texas, although with something like a brisket I usually finished it the over rather than smoking for 15+ hours.

Yeah I hope I was clear... me wanting a bigger firebox and bigger cooking chamber is much more about the ease of working or moving things inside the cooking chamber.... not so much that I need to be able to do alot more volume... though I wouldn't mind being able to do 4 racks of ribs.

 

[Guess Who]

What do you guys recommend for a Beginner Smoker? Not looking to break the bank. I've always wanted to get into it, but never had the space until now.

Please take time to check out the Pit Barrel Cooker. I was like you a few years go. Bought a cheap Charbroil Offset smoker but was never happy with it. Poor heat distribution and used a ton of charcoal. I suppose the more expensive ones do better. Anyway I found out about PBC. You hang most of your meat instead of on a grill. It's small in size but actually holds a lot of meat. It cost $300 but they have a jr version for $229. Check out some videos on you tube and reviews at BBQ sites like Amazingribs. It also was invented by an Iraqi war vet.


https://www.pitbarrelcooker.com/

 

[Guess Who]

I would also like to add I BBQ year round. I can get a 12 hour cook even in the winter. However I rarely have a cook that long. The PBC cooks hot and fast usually.

 

[Guess Who]

[video=youtube_share;hPurm-YEvmc]https://youtu.be/hPurm-YEvmc[/video]

 

[dennehy]

Yeah I hope I was clear... me wanting a bigger firebox and bigger cooking chamber is much more about the ease of working or moving things inside the cooking chamber.... not so much that I need to be able to do alot more volume... though I wouldn't mind being able to do 4 racks of ribs.

You can get a rib rack.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/King-Ko...-PAmSXAjbj4bZq0QacrDjd6s7P_9Q-pxoCicoQAvD_BwE

 

[dennehy]

Please take time to check out the Pit Barrel Cooker. I was like you a few years go. Bought a cheap Charbroil Offset smoker but was never happy with it. Poor heat distribution and used a ton of charcoal. I suppose the more expensive ones do better. Anyway I found out about PBC. You hang most of your meat instead of on a grill. It's small in size but actually holds a lot of meat. It cost $300 but they have a jr version for $229. Check out some videos on you tube and reviews at BBQ sites like Amazingribs. It also was invented by an Iraqi war vet.


https://www.pitbarrelcooker.com/

Uneven heat distribution actually gives you options for how you want to cook. You can have ribs and brisket, for example, and cook them at different temps. But it does require paying lots of attention (IMO always a good thing).

I'm not a big proponent of direct heat devices, but that looks pretty solid for the cost.

 

[Guess Who]

Uneven heat distribution actually gives you options for how you want to cook. You can have ribs and brisket, for example, and cook them at different temps. But it does require paying lots of attention (IMO always a good thing).

I'm not a big proponent of direct heat devices, but that looks pretty solid for the cost.

Thanks. I've been using mine for about 4 years. With this cooker direct heat is not a problem. The oxygen near the bottom is less so it doesn't really burn anything and the oxygen is higher at the top so the there is a constant radiant heat. Sort of like a convection oven. A good offset is great if you are a seasoned pro, but this cooker is more of a set it and forget it that cooks great for the novice. The only mod I did was install a $10 thermostat. If I want a higher temp I just crack the lid a bit till I get the temp I want. Anyway Good smoking. I'm going for a pulled pork soon. I'm going to remove all the surface fat to get more bark. Saw that in a video. They said there is enough fat in the butt to keep it moist.

 

[brett05]

so how does hanging a pork butt or brisket on that thing work? I mean it's gotta rib the roast right off the hook to be truly tender.

 

[brett05]

You can get a rib rack.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/King-Ko...-PAmSXAjbj4bZq0QacrDjd6s7P_9Q-pxoCicoQAvD_BwE

I have two rib racks. Can hold four slabs in each. I would recommend getting the non-stick. So much easier to clean up afterwards.

 

[Guess Who]

so how does hanging a pork butt or brisket on that thing work? I mean it's gotta rib the roast right off the hook to be truly tender.

As it hangs the fat drips onto the coals and steams and smokes the meat. Most people wrap it after it hits 160. Gets plenty moist and tender. Iv'e also brought the roasts to 203 temp and then wrap it and put in a cambro for a hour or two.

 

[Ares]

Once I hit 200 internal on my pork butt it is usually so fall-aparty I can barely get it onto a baking sheet to take it inside for pulling.

I imagine if you hung a pork butt on a hook it would eventually lose structural integrity and fall down into the coals, no?

 

[Guess Who]

so how does hanging a pork butt or brisket on that thing work? I mean it's gotta rib the roast right off the hook to be truly tender.

There have been a couple of times the meat fell into the coals after becoming too tender but that is rare. When the meat is getting close to tender I just put in the grill grate and finish that way.

 

[Burque]

What do you guys recommend for a Beginner Smoker? Not looking to break the bank. I've always wanted to get into it, but never had the space until now.

Probably more than you want to spend, but the Traeger is awesome.

No fighting temps at all, just buy pellets set the temp and away it goes. Certainly easier to get good at smoking when you don't have to manage coals/wood and instead just focus on your rubs sauces and internal temps.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Guess Who]

Once I hit 200 internal on my pork butt it is usually so fall-aparty I can barely get it onto a baking sheet to take it inside for pulling.

I imagine if you hung a pork butt on a hook it would eventually lose structural integrity and fall down into the coals, no?

You wrap, and put on the grate.