Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Toad on August 02, 2004, 03:01:48 PM
-
OK, in my experience:
IF you have the bucks (it takes ~$650 to get into the game with the cheapest Goodone smoker), THIS is the brand I'd get.
Goodone - The Ultimate in Smoking (http://www.smokenfire.com/goodone.php)
IF you do a LOT of smoking for large crowds, it's worth it. They are well made, work amazingly well and have the "water pan" option which I like.
But they are pricey.
(http://www.smokenfire.com/images/go-42.gif)
If you are just cooking for the family and on a budget, you can make AMAZINGLY good BBQ with the famous "El Cheapo Brinkmann". In fact, some folks have won various categories at the Jack Daniel's Nationals using the Brinkmann.
You can get the basic one for $25 and "tune it up" for about another $10 using the ideas on this site:
Brinkmann Smoke & Grill (http://www.randyq.addr.com/ecb/ecb.html)
(http://www.randyq.addr.com/ecb/partsntoys_640.jpg)
Or you can buy the one Brinkmann "updated" after they realized a lot of folks were improving their basic model. This will set you back about $45 and has most of the "good stuff" from the ECB tune-up site already incorporated.
(http://www.comfortchannel.com/prod.itml/icOid/images/852-7080-E_big.jpg)
Me? I use the old $25 Brinkmann with the tune-up. No complaints from many satisfied diners.
-
When are you coming here for a visit and bringing one of them with you?
-
I thought you were only coming to the con so you could pick up a Brinkmann???
-
I might be...but that is September. Come on Toad...pack a bag and come down for a weekend. Ribs will be smoked and beers chilled.
-
Hey Toad, good timing. I was just talking about buying a smoker yesterday, but wasn't sure how much $$ I needed to sink into one to make some decent BBQ. I was looking at the green Brinkman, think I'll go with that.
-
You really can't miss Raub.
I'd still a good temp gauge; I think Brinkmann is still weak on that but you can get by with the one that's on there. Take a look at the Polder models. $35 buys a great one that gives both internal and external temp simultaneously.
-
I used to use the small uprights; they work great. Now I have a little better rig, although this company was just bought by Char-Broil, so I am sure they will quit using 1/4" mild steel. I have 2 temp guages, one on the firebox and one on the smoker itself.
New Braunfels Smoker:
(http://www.lizking.com/newbraunfelssmoker.jpg)
-
Hmm well the Brinkman I have been using is my brother in laws, I bought it for him for Xmas a few years back.
He had never used it tell I convinced him to and we did the mods from that page Toad.
It works well, and for Tri tips you do not have to change the coals.
I am going to have to guy buy my own now, I do not want to have to go to their house everytime I want BBQ! lol.
still, not like they cost that much.
Thanks for the tips Toad! Thanks again for picking up all the rubs for me as well.
-
If you are serious about owning a GOOD bbq pit find a welder and have him build one to your specs. My bro-in-law owns a fabrication shop and builds them regularly for customers. You will be much happier. They last longer and are much cheaper. The last custom smoker he built was trailer mounted. It included a seperate external propane burner for fish fry's, ect. I think it cost the guy about $1200, but he will be able to give it to his grandson in 30 years. I saw a similar smoker built from much lighter metal at Bass Pro Shop priced around $3000.
-
It's not just welding up a couple of boxes with various holes in them.
(http://www.smokenfire.com/images/go-detail.gif)
-
You haven't booked your ticket yet?
-
It isn't. I can control the smoke box temp within 10 degrees using the vents alone over a peroid of hours.
-
Toad
In the pics above, what is the diference between the green brinkman and the el cheapo?
Does the green one allow you to just lift the whole think off the coals for changes?
Is it worth the few extra bucks or is moding the elcheapo still the better way to go?
-
Originally posted by Lizking
I used to use the small uprights; they work great. Now I have a little better rig, although this company was just bought by Char-Broil, so I am sure they will quit using 1/4" mild steel. I have 2 temp guages, one on the firebox and one on the smoker itself.
New Braunfels Smoker:
(http://www.lizking.com/newbraunfelssmoker.jpg)
When I lived in Austin, I owned that smoker:)
The Good One Toad mentioned above is my current one....it really is superior to the side box smokers in design....even heat to the smoke box makes for better cooked goodies.
Still...each smoker, no matter which you choose to buy, can produce great BBQ if you take the time to learn the charms of your own rig and keep good notes regarding temp, etc.
Kinda like a hobby that taste good isn't it?:)
-
Booked a ticket? Nah, don't need to. They throw me in the bag bin if there's room.
-
Originally posted by Toad
It's not just welding up a couple of boxes with various holes in them.
I agree. A good fabricator can make anything you want. Most commercial smokers are just built too flimsy for my money. You can shoot mine with a .357 and not make a dent. :D
-
Originally posted by Toad
Booked a ticket? Nah, don't need to. They throw me in the bag bin if there's room.
Well based on our tourist figures there is lots of room.
Get your butt down here. You too Rude.
-
Won't touch that one Curv...
Only thing I can think of is to get a smoker to ADD to your gas grill for outdoor eats, and for Raub, Toads reccomendation I'm guessing can't be beat. Smokers just don't replace a good ol' gas grill for normal grilling which you pry will do 95% of the time, but you pry knew that. I didn't. After spending tons on charcoal and cleaning it for normal cooking on a smoker like Lizking has, I realised you really need both.
-
The NB smoker is also a grill. You can use the firebox if grilling a little, or build fires in the smoke chamber for a big area, plus the plate on top of the firebox is a hot plate for beans. That said, I had a gas grill for years, and I did use it more often, just because it was easy.
-
Of course. I was just trying to use it as a daily grill, which it really isn't. You can't start enough coals to cook for 2 to make it economical, or practical. Damn good smoker though, for not alot of cash. And when you just have to have charcoal taste for burgers, it does double duty, so in that aspect it's great. You just need a gas grill as well, bottom line.
-
I always took my gas grill to the NASCAR race at TMS, since it was easy. In 1999, it was cold at night, so we used the gas grill to huddle around and keep warm(we were also keeping snacks cooking). We all passed out around 2:00 AM, and when I woke up in the morning (about 7:00AM), the grill was still going. The cast iron lid was glowing red hot, and the sausages that had been in the grill were small cinders. There was a 1/2" of ice on the bottle, which was just about empty. Needless to say, the iron was cyrsalized, and broke that same day. I left the grill at the track.
-
I allready have a gas grill so every day grilling wont be a problem.
I was eyeballin a charbroil "american gormet" or something like that at wall-mart for only $79.99 (exactly in my price range) any how this one looked like a scalled down version of the 55 gallone drumb w/ a smoke stack, fire box, temp guages, and wooden tables for prep room.
anyhow I have the brinkman upright now and its ok its just sooo hard to cook w/ sometimes.
-
That's it, Gunslinger. Char-Broil bought NB smoker so they could use that design. The difference is only in the thickness of the metal, mine is 1/4 welded plate and that one is pob 18 gauge sheet. That is a good price for, too.
-
Simply the best I have seen and tasted the results i think they are expensive though
http://www.biggreenegg.com/
-
Originally posted by GtoRA2
Toad
In the pics above, what is the diference between the green brinkman and the el cheapo?
Here's what I did to my ECB:
Modification 1 - Improve accessibility to the firepan.
Modification 2 - Improve firepan airflow
Modification 2a: - Improve fireplan airflow even more (charcoal rails).
Modification 2b - Add vent covers
Modification 3 - Improve accessibility to the water pan
Modification 4 - Improve temperature indication
Modification 5 - Improve cooker airflow (top vent & foil).
The New Gourmet Brinkmann has Mod 1; the middle section and up lifts off the base.
It also has Mod 2 and 2A pretty much covered. You can get Brinkmann charcoal rails at Ace Hardware here. I'm not sure if the Gourmet has those but that's Mod 2b and it's only a few $, not work.
Mod 3 is just using a garden water sprinkler to fill the pan through the door. $2 at Wal-Mart.
Mod 4, well Brinkmann put in a better temp gauge, but that isn't saying much considering what they used at first. I spent @ $15 for a good gauge but I wish I had known about the Polder for $30. I would have gone straight to that.
Mod 5 they didn't do, AFAIK. I don't think the Gourmet has a top vent feature. I haven't really noticed that mine helps control the heat all that much but it does help some. I used my ECB for years in "stock" configuration and had great results. So, I'd try the Gourmet without the holes for a while and see. You can drill anytime. ;)
-
on my brother in laws we dids mods one through 3 and it seemed to work real well, I could reproduce those mods on my own in about 20 minutes hehe.
Thanks Toad!
-
The right tools make the job easy:
Smoker:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/tour.html
Gas Grill:
http://www.beefeaterbbq.com/
Charcoal grill:
http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/charcoal/
My Weber Bullet is 7 years old, the Weber Kettle is at least 10 years old. Rude turned me on to the Beefeater 2 years ago.
-
Ok, where do you get a "how to" for the mods on these smokers?