Basic smokers for Us Noobs?

JoeV said:
For $69.97 at Home Depot you can get this one...

Brinkman.jpg


1500 Watts, water pan and two grates. For this cheap you can assemble it in 40 minutes, put the food on then go fishing and don't worry about it. I don't think you can build one this cheap.
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Joe, Is this smoker you pictured yours? If so how do you like it?

I've it on amazon for the same price.
 
with some looking around you can build a uds for less than $50 - i have less than $10 into mine right now... will have less than $30 when i am done..and thats canadian dollars..lol

JoeV said:
For $69.97 at Home Depot you can get this one...

Brinkman.jpg


1500 Watts, water pan and two grates. For this cheap you can assemble it in 40 minutes, put the food on then go fishing and don't worry about it. I don't think you can build one this cheap.
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I've looked at the Brinkman smokers and they are very reasonably priced unlike the WSM which I think is overpriced. Are the WSM's so much better in quality and construction?
I don't mind spending the money on these units but since I'm a tinkerer by nature I get some pleasure out of building things myself regardless of cost.
My other alternative to the trash can smoker is the terra cotta smoker.
I've also heard claims of galvanized metal and their toxins but I would argue that smoking temps are so low that this should really not be a concern.
 
FooD said:
I've looked at the Brinkman smokers and they are very reasonably priced unlike the WSM which I think is overpriced. Are the WSM's so much better in quality and construction?
I don't mind spending the money on these units but since I'm a tinkerer by nature I get some pleasure out of building things myself regardless of cost.
My other alternative to the trash can smoker is the terra cotta smoker.
I've also heard claims of galvanized metal and their toxins but I would argue that smoking temps are so low that this should really not be a concern.
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weber is worht the money .. but .. the smokey takes a bit of time to learn .
 
i agree Food about the galvanized but why take a risk..lol

you were saying you want a dedicated charcoal smoker, the UDS will give great burn times... most guys can Q a pork butt with less than 10lbs charcoal and still have left over for the next cook. meats cook in less time as well because of the convection oven effect that takes place

uds bible

the UDS is a tinkerers dream... i am the same way..lol

IMHO WSM's are way over priced. yes alot of people like them but to me, i can build 5 or 6 smokers for the price of a WSM.
 
The WSM looks nice but I get the feeling that I can be just as effective buying a smoker for less than half the price of the 22.5 inch model....Just gotta decide what I want to do. That Electric job doesn't look too bad. How much meat can you do on it?
 
FooD said:
I've looked at the Brinkman smokers and they are very reasonably priced unlike the WSM which I think is overpriced. Are the WSM's so much better in quality and construction?
I don't mind spending the money on these units but since I'm a tinkerer by nature I get some pleasure out of building things myself regardless of cost.
My other alternative to the trash can smoker is the terra cotta smoker.
I've also heard claims of galvanized metal and their toxins but I would argue that smoking temps are so low that this should really not be a concern.
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I don't know that there is actually any additional value to the WSM. They both will do the job, and both require some maintenance to keep them in good shape. It may be perceived value in the mind of the owner. If someone BELIEVES there is more value, then that's all that's important to them. you' re not going to change their minds. That's why there are so many different manufacturers of smokers, and they all somehow stay in business. At 225F they will both take the exact same time to get 3# of pork to 170F. Why pay more for the same? I tend to be very practical, and if $69 will do the same job as the $199 unit, I'm taking the extra money to the bank or going on a fishing trip. A Chevy and a Caddy will both get you from point A to point B at the same time (legal speed limit), but you'll have more expensive toys to play with in the Caddy than you will in the Chevy. Percieved value...
 
I'm going to take a closer look at the Brinkman Gourmet Smokers, both the electric and the charcoal models at Home Depot. Any reason why one would choose one over the other?
I read that the current WSM's have larger access doors than their earlier versions which makes replenishing of fuel and wood ships much easier in addition to better access to the lower cooking grate.
I hope they have all these units on hand so I can compare.
 
I chose the electric because that's all that Home Depot carries in the store. :) You can remove the lava rock and heating element, and turn the electric into a charcoal smoker at no additional cost. You must buy the element and lava rock to convert from charcoal to electric. It can be used on a camping trip as well as the back yard.
 
JoeV said:
I chose the electric because that's all that Home Depot carries in the store. :) You can remove the lava rock and heating element, and turn the electric into a charcoal smoker at no additional cost. You must buy the element and lava rock to convert from charcoal to electric. It can be used on a camping trip as well as the back yard.
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I may look into this. How much food can you smoke on that thing? Can you do a brisket and say 4 slabs of ribs?
 
JoeV said:
I chose the electric because that's all that Home Depot carries in the store. :) You can remove the lava rock and heating element, and turn the electric into a charcoal smoker at no additional cost.
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If I can convert it to charcoal use, that'll be neat. I don't mind making some modifications on it as well. I looked at a couple of sites showing how to improve these smokers when using charcoal. These mods definitely make a lot of sense.
 
GrillinFool said:
Again, how much usable space does the thing have to smoke? Can I do a brisket and 3 slabs of ribs?
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Here's teh link to the specs... http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100606040

The grill can hold 50# of meat between the two racks, which are 16" diameter. There is about 7-8" of clear height from the top grill surface to the inside of the top cap.

From the Brinkmann website FAQ's:

How many slabs of ribs can you put on the rib rack?

Although it depends on the actual size of your smoker, most Brinkmann smokers will accommodate 4-6 slabs on the rib rack.
 
JoeV said:
Here's teh link to the specs... http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100606040

The grill can hold 50# of meat between the two racks, which are 16" diameter. There is about 7-8" of clear height from the top grill surface to the inside of the top cap.

From the Brinkmann website FAQ's:

How many slabs of ribs can you put on the rib rack?

Although it depends on the actual size of your smoker, most Brinkmann smokers will accommodate 4-6 slabs on the rib rack.
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Thanks for the link. Lemme ask you a question. One of the reviews says that it heats up to 300 and is not adjustable. It has two temps, on and off. Does yours do that?
 
GrillinFool said:
Thanks for the link. Lemme ask you a question. One of the reviews says that it heats up to 300 and is not adjustable. It has two temps, on and off. Does yours do that?
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Yep! On & off. I made a small 3# pork butt, and the temp never went above 240F. I put an oven thermometer on the middle shelf and checked it ever couple of hours. It took 6 hours to get to 170F.
 
Ok, here's what I did. I looked at the red Brinkman electric smoker at Home Depot and decided to get it. The price was right. Quality and craftsmanship, fair.
I figured the heating element alone would have cost me at least $20 if I went the DIY route. Plus, it looked pretty in red....:D

After I put it together I coated the inside with veg oil and turned the thing on and left it on for 4 hours. It maintained a dry heat temp of 350 degrees during this seasoning process.
I plan on smoking 2 slabs of spareribs tomorrow. I am already excited. :D
 
congrats on your new obsession..lol

throw in some wood chips as you heat it up as well..forms a nice cure and makes it smell so good..lol
 
BamsBBQ said:
congrats on your new obsession..lol

throw in some wood chips as you heat it up as well..forms a nice cure and makes it smell so good..lol
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Thanks!
I might throw in some wood chips and do a little more seasoning this evening although the instructions called for not adding wood chips during its initial seasoning phase.
 
When you add the chips don't forget to add the water to the bowl either. That should lower the temp somewhat also in actual use.
 
joec said:
When you add the chips don't forget to add the water to the bowl either. That should lower the temp somewhat also in actual use.
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I experience the same results with mine, including the 350F temp. I would recommend that is you have big hunks of wood for smoking, the you get them down to about 2" square or smaller. I had some big chunks, and they barely got scorched in teh foil wrapper. I still got a smokey flavor, but the smaller pieces will give you better smoke. make sure to NOT put the foil wrapped wood directly on the heating element, as this could shorten the life of teh element. I can't remember if that was read online or in the directions.

Have fun and post some pics if you can.

Joe
 
Thanks for the tip on the foil. I have an old, heavy cast iron chip box but I figured that might be a bit heavy to place over the heating element.

I will post pics over the weekend.


:)
 
JoeV said:
I experience the same results with mine, including the 350F temp. I would recommend that is you have big hunks of wood for smoking, the you get them down to about 2" square or smaller. I had some big chunks, and they barely got scorched in teh foil wrapper. I still got a smokey flavor, but the smaller pieces will give you better smoke. make sure to NOT put the foil wrapped wood directly on the heating element, as this could shorten the life of teh element. I can't remember if that was read online or in the directions.

Have fun and post some pics if you can.

Joe
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So there is not tray or pan to put wood into to smoke?
 
GrillinFool said:
So there is not tray or pan to put wood into to smoke?
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No tray/pan for wood chips. Instructions said to place wood chunks directly on the lava rocks. The supplied lava rocks are placed together with the heating element in the heat chamber. I think I'll use the foil pouch method so I don't have to clean the ashes out of the lava rocks.
 
I haven't read through this whole thread (yet), but I see foil pouches being mentioned. If it hasn't been said already, or even if it has (lol), the pouch is supposed to be loose fitting with just a few small slits poked in it. I never read why, but I'll assume it has something to do with igniting the wood, having enough air to keep it smoldering and not enough vents it burns too quickly.
 
chowhound said:
I haven't read through this whole thread (yet), but I see foil pouches being mentioned. If it hasn't been said already, or even if it has (lol), the pouch is supposed to be loose fitting with just a few small slits poked in it. I never read why, but I'll assume it has something to do with igniting the wood, having enough air to keep it smoldering and not enough vents it burns too quickly.
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The holes also allow the smoke to escape. I line my heavy ci wood box with foil for easy cleanup when done.
 
LOL. I got lazy and just put the lump directly on the heat diffusers on my gas grill. Sometimes I use the flames to add char.
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