All Encompassing Whatcha Smoking With

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

On 5/31/2019 at 9:50 AM, SuckitKevin said:

random unisex name generator

Subscribed.  I have rough plans drawn up for one of these.  Would love to hear your thoughts and feedbacks.  Biggest variations I am planning are a cable counterweight system over a pulley and a flat top instead of the angled or rounded top.  

[SuckitKevin 920]

2 hours ago, Spaulding Smails said:

Subscribed.  I have rough plans drawn up for one of these.  Would love to hear your thoughts and feedbacks.  Biggest variations I am planning are a cable counterweight system over a pulley and a flat top instead of the angled or rounded top.  

Honestly if this top ever needs to be replaced I’m going to build a flat top myself. Just make sure to keep it covered so rain doesn’t sit on it. The lid is heavy as hell do a counterweight with a pulley should work better than what I have. 

[hornian 5210]

One of y’all needs to go buy this, it’s a Lyfetyme with a vertical chamber. It’s on clearance at the H-E-B Plus at 620 and Anderson Mill in North Austin. The handles look like they could use a replacement, but that’s not a big deal. Getting one of these for under $1,000 is a good price.

[Anastasis 23457]

not a bad price at all.

20" pipe. your mom. 

[Gil Bang 25907]

10 hours ago, hornian said:

One of y’all needs to go buy this, it’s a Lyfetyme with a vertical chamber. It’s on clearance at the H-E-B Plus at 620 and Anderson Mill in North Austin. The handles look like they could use a replacement, but that’s not a big deal. Getting one of these for under $1,000 is a good price.

Forgive my ignorance. 

Give me a hypothetical...what is smoking in the horizontal and what's smoking in the vertical during a hypothetical cook?  What's the difference in heat from one chamber to another?

 

 

[hornian 5210]

16 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Forgive my ignorance. 

Give me a hypothetical...what is smoking in the horizontal and what's smoking in the vertical during a hypothetical cook?  What's the difference in heat from one chamber to another?

 

 

It depends on the width (that’s what she said).

I liked to do sausages in my vertical chamber when I had one. Also really good for pork butts, pork loins, chicken, turkey breasts, etc.  or for keeping already smoked foods warm. Really the only things that wouldn’t fit would be whole briskets and whole racks of ribs.

Temp difference could be as much as 50 degrees cooler on some of vertical chambers.  But heat rises, and if you have the vents open on a well made smoker, it should be less than that, and that’s a well made pit. It won’t be the same as near the fire box, but my Klose is cooler away from the fire as well and I still smoke great with it. Just gotta know your pit. 

[Baboontyme 2809]

Link?

[next2naus 437]

Wings and Ribs yesterday

 

[Gil Bang 25907]

those smoked wings look interesting.   Can you tell me more?  Seasoning?  Temp?  Duration?  etc? 

[next2naus 437]

@Gill

 

the wings are coated in Ranch Dressing powder, pepper and a little Adobo seasoning. Smoked for a little over 2 hours at 200+ degrees. I was also smoking some breasts, and a half dozen other wings that also go some Ancho chili powder, those are darker ones near the top of that photo. 

On a Lang Smoker with Lump Charcoal and Mesquit, some Cherry chips as well. 

 

Edited June 3, 2019 by next2naus

[Gil Bang 25907]

gracias.  

I'll be trying that. 

[Anastasis 23457]

So tried to turn the firebox into a pizza oven. LSG 24x48 with 1/2" box. Started on coals, fed logs rest of the way. 

Setup grill, with pizza stone on top, and 1/4" steel heat shield on top. The heat shield usually sits up under the lid  as a heat deflector.  I read something a while back about pizza steel, and this article that suggested using the pizza stone as a further heat sink.  The heat deflector looks like a pizza steel to me.  https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/10432-the-ultimate-pizza-setup-baking-stone-plus-baking-steel

Bed of coals with some oak on top. After these started up, added 3-4 more splits to bring things up to temp.  Actually had to remove the grill and stone and move them up for better air circulation, before returning them closer to the heat before cooking.

 

Testing temps initially with some pizza rolls. 

 

First pie on was a margherita @ 600 deg surface temp on the steel.  This pie was a little over cooked on the botton and under cooked on the top.  You know what they say about pizza and sex. So we ate that shit and it was good.

 

Second pie was italian sausage, pepperoni, onion, jalapeno and bell pepper.  Surface temp via IR was 550.  This one was better, less burnt on bottom, but still not quite on point on the top side of the crust. Slammed and went hard none the less.

 

Last was a veggie.  Went on around 450 IR at steel. This pizza had the good bottom side and the top was better, but still not totally perfect. I didn't eat this one because I am not a communist and there was meat left.

 

 

Next time I might try just the stone without the steel for a comparison.  Seems to me that the air circulation in the firebox is not as good as a pizza oven, so a lower temp performs better at getting the top and bottom done at the same time. Feels like something in the 450-500 range at the stone is the sweet spot.    

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2019 by Anastasis

[Baboontyme 2809]

nice work. 

Whenever I have tried this I've always thought the pizza was too smokey for my tastes. 

[Anastasis 23457]

Didn’t get any overpowering smokiness at all, but had burnt the first down pretty good. 

[Anastasis 23457]

*fire

[Roofle 272]

I've had a Smoke Hollow gas smoker for a while and just bought an Old Country Brazos. Just sealed it with a gasket kit and added a couple of Tel-Trus at grate-level and the maiden voyage is this weekend. My first stick-burner. Hopefully I don't burn the house down.

[BabaYaga 15286]

On 6/1/2019 at 9:17 PM, Spaulding Smails said:

Subscribed.  I have rough plans drawn up for one of these.  Would love to hear your thoughts and feedbacks.  Biggest variations I am planning are a cable counterweight system over a pulley and a flat top instead of the angled or rounded top.  

Basically what we have @ our place out west.  Cable counterweight and a flat top.  Looks great.  Grills fine.  But for smoking, as it's usually shorter hunting trips, it's seldom used.  Box is bigger (your mom...) that it's harder to regulate temp and it doesn't seal up as well as a stick burner or an egg.  

[Baboontyme 2809]

I bought the "Drive" kit for the Fireboard to use in my Primo. It's supposed to fit pretty easily in the bottom vent with the adapter it comes with. I am banking it may help me get an extra couple of hours of sleep on occasion. Not to mention it might be fun for those 12 hour low temp brisket holds. 

https://www.fireboard.com/shop/20-cfm-blower/

https://www.fireboard.com/shop/fan-cable/

[Lat22 4010]

I have wanted a Klose for years, but now I find myself suddenly obsessed with a Lone Star Grillz 20x36 offset. Anybody have a strong opinion one way or the other?

[utee94 15804]

If you can look at both in person, take a look at the quality of welds and the overall fit and finish of both of them.  Also I don't like pipe, I'd look for something that's all-new cold-rolled steel if you can find it. Not sure anybody makes them that way anymore.

One other thing, I really, REALLY like my 24" diameter smoker, rather than a 20".  That extra 4 inches allows me to get a lot more on the smoker at once, because briskets can typically go in the Y direction rather than the X direction, if you know what I mean?  But I'm typically cooking for a LOT of people, including doing catering gigs for charity, so you might not need that much room.

 

[Lat22 4010]

I think it's the pipe vs square that is influencing me.  I've always liked the traditional look of pipe, but it seems that the top shelf of a square is far superior to that of the pipe. Size wise.

Edited June 28, 2019 by Lat22

[utee94 15804]

Yes, and not all round "pipe" smokers are made from actual pipe, some are made from new steel.  But I haven't been in the industry for 15 years or so, and haven't followed it much either, so not sure what folks are building with anymore.

The "square" smokers definitely don't look as "traditional" and I'm not sure how the angles affect air draw and smoke circulation, but it definitely seems like they should be more practical from a utility standpoint.

 

[kevwun 15759]

1 hour ago, Lat22 said:

I have wanted a Klose for years, but now I find myself suddenly obsessed with a Lone Star Grillz 20x36 offset. Anybody have a strong opinion one way or the other?

You really can't go wrong with either, but I would go with Lonestar.  Their build quality is 2nd to none and they will add just about anything to your pit that you can think of.  There is less wasted space inside the square ones, so I think they would have to be more efficient with how much wood they use.

Edited June 28, 2019 by kevwun

[Anastasis 23457]

1 hour ago, utee94 said:

If you can look at both in person, take a look at the quality of welds and the overall fit and finish of both of them.  Also I don't like pipe, I'd look for something that's all-new cold-rolled steel if you can find it. Not sure anybody makes them that way anymore.

One other thing, I really, REALLY like my 24" diameter smoker, rather than a 20".  That extra 4 inches allows me to get a lot more on the smoker at once, because briskets can typically go in the Y direction rather than the X direction, if you know what I mean?  But I'm typically cooking for a LOT of people, including doing catering gigs for charity, so you might not need that much room.

 

Agree, I have an old 20" Tejas pipe smoker that I rehabbed and a LSG 24x48. IIRC, your family was affiliated with Tejas or did I make that up?  It's a very well made pit. But the 20" pipe is too small for anything but a single brisket or a couple birds or a few racks. I think that the utility of the LSG 20" is superior to a 20" pipe just based on the usable second rack. The firebox on the 20" looks a tad small in proportion to me though. If you get the LSG, I'd add the ash pan and the 1/2" fire grate. The 20 is thinner steel in the body @ 3/16 to hit a price point. TBH, I'd try to find an extra grand and get the 24" with 1/2" firebox.  The 20 is a good looking pit and should give many many years of good smoke, but the 24" with a 1/2" box is a generational pit.  

 

 

[utee94 15804]

8 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

Agree, I have an old 20" Tejas pipe smoker that I rehabbed and a LSG 24x48. IIRC, your family was affiliated with Tejas or did I make that up?  It's a very well made pit. But the 20" pipe is too small for anything but a single brisket or a couple birds or a few racks. I think that the utility of the LSG 20" is superior to a 20" pipe just based on the usable second rack. The firebox on the 20" looks a tad small in proportion to me though. If you get the LSG, I'd add the ash pan and the 1/2" fire grate. The 20 is thinner steel in the body @ 3/16 to hit a price point. TBH, I'd try to find an extra grand and get the 24" with 1/2" firebox.  The 20 is a good looking pit and should give many many years of good smoke, but the 24" with a 1/2" box is a generational pit.  

 

 

Excellent points all the way around.  An extra $1,000 sounds like a lot now.  It won't sound like much in 15-20 years when you might be replacing the pit with thinner steel, while never having to worry about the thicker one again.  For reference, 16 years ago I was selling our equivalent of that 24"x40" for around $700-$900.  LSG is asking $2600 list for the round one now  https://lonestargrillz.com/collections/smokers/products/24-x-40-offset-smoker

To answer your question, my FIL was the owner/sole proprietor of Smokemaster, which is sadly gone now.  He ran it as a side business for a couple of decades, put all his kids through college with that money alone, plus paid for our wedding and gifted me my current smoker which I call "The Dowry"--  24x48 offset smoker.   I used to help him make deliveries around the state on weekends and occasionally help him cook for demos at BBQs Galore and Callahan's and places like that, that retailed his pits.  After Al Gore invented the internet, I got him set up online to sell direct, and he made even more money for less work that way. 

He sold it as a going concern in maybe... 2006?  Made a small fortune off it, too, but the buyer just couldn't manage it and it went bankrupt a couple of years later.  There's a lot more competition in the marketplace now, though, so it's harder to make a small operation work.  Of course, prices are 3x-4x what they were back then, too, so maybe it's not THAT hard to generate the same revenue.  Profits on the other hand...

Edited June 28, 2019 by utee94

[luke duke 6412]

I have wanted a Klose for years, but now I find myself suddenly obsessed with a Lone Star Grillz 20x36 offset. Anybody have a strong opinion one way or the other?

Before the summer is over, you will probably be able to find a Klose on CL for $1000.

[Baboontyme 2809]

I cooked some stuff this weekend up beyond the wall with the free folk on the lake in Northern MI. Good stuff. Pics not the best. Alcohol may have been involved. 

Duck titties. Excellent. Salt and pepper rub.

Pork belly. Amazing. Also just s&p. 

6 racks of BBR. S&P, cayenne and some of this apple cherry habanero rib glaze . Awesome. 

 

 

 

[solamente73 1132]

On 6/28/2019 at 8:43 AM, utee94 said:

Also I don't like pipe

 

On 6/28/2019 at 8:56 AM, Lat22 said:

I've always liked the traditional look of pipe

 

On 6/28/2019 at 10:31 AM, Anastasis said:

The 20" pipe is too small for anything

All y'all's moms sure liked the look (and feel) of my traditional 20" pipe last night. 

Edited July 19, 2019 by solamente73
That took 3 weeks? This place really has gone all to Hell

[utee94 15804]

On 7/19/2019 at 4:35 PM, solamente73 said:

 

 

All y'all's moms sure liked the look (and feel) of my traditional 20" pipe last night. 

That's a hell of a reach for a month-ago callback.  But what it lacked in grace, it made up in effort.  Well played, sir.

[thunderlounge 7813]

This morning, on another board I read, ol boy gets on there and adds to a running random discussion that he’s so excited because he’s making barbecue in his...

 

insta pot. 

 

 

Ain’t gonna lie: It made me ragey. 

[Baboontyme 2809]

That's legit as long as he adds French dressing. 

[Landomatic 3813]

2 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

This morning, on another board I read, ol boy gets on there and adds to a running random discussion that he’s so excited because he’s making barbecue in his...

 

insta pot. 

 

 

Ain’t gonna lie: It made me ragey. 

Did he post after pics?

[thunderlounge 7813]

No pics. Just this nugget of wisdom about getting the same results as a pit. 

 

[luke duke 6412]

This morning, on another board I read, ol boy gets on there and adds to a running random discussion that he’s so excited because he’s making barbecue in his...
 
insta pot. 
 
 
Ain’t gonna lie: It made me ragey. 

Was his name Haggis?

[Gil Bang 25907]

7 hours ago, thunderlounge said:

This morning, on another board I read, ol boy gets on there and adds to a running random discussion that he’s so excited because he’s making barbecue in his...

 

insta pot. 

 

 

Ain’t gonna lie: It made me ragey. 

Stay off the Ohio State boards and you'll be fine.

[thunderlounge 7813]

59 minutes ago, luke duke said:

 

Was his name Haggis?

 

 

It should be. 

 

Hey, you wanna throw some pork in a pot (crock or insta) then fine. Works in a pinch. But it by God ain’t no fuckin barbecue. 

Edited July 28, 2019 by thunderlounge

[kevwun 15759]

There is a large portion of the country where BBQ is any meat with shitty BBQ sauce smeared over it.

[Landomatic 3813]

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

There is a large portion of the country where BBQ is any meat with shitty BBQ sauce smeared over it.

Or anything cooked on a grill.

[Baboontyme 2809]

Yep. To people here, if you say let's BBQ, it means hot dogs or burgers on a propane grill. Trying to effect change one person at a time. 

[thunderlounge 7813]

1 hour ago, kevwun said:

There is a large portion of the country where BBQ is any meat with shitty BBQ sauce smeared over it.

 

We should weed them from the genepool. 

[Landomatic 3813]

20 minutes ago, Baboontyme said:

Yep. To people here, if you say let's BBQ, it means hot dogs or burgers on a propane grill. Trying to effect change one person at a time. 

Good luck.  Sadly, even the experts on the Cooking Chanel and Food Network don't know the difference.  Can't count the number of shows that say they are going to showcase BBQ or have a BBQ competition, then it just turns out to just be grilling.  Drives me fucking crazy.  These are stations with the some of the highest levels of culinary talent in the world and you don't know the fucking difference between BBQ and grilling?

[Anastasis 23457]

I need some sort of outdoor storage box for BBQ and griddle equipment. Spatulas, scrapers, lighters, etc. Must be able to meet wife approval standards, i.e. no plastic sunbeam junk. What do you guys use to organize outdoor cooking equipment?

[Landomatic 3813]

1 hour ago, Anastasis said:

I need some sort of outdoor storage box for BBQ and griddle equipment. Spatulas, scrapers, lighters, etc. Must be able to meet wife approval standards, i.e. no plastic sunbeam junk. What do you guys use to organize outdoor cooking equipment?

https://www.weber.com/US/en/grills/gas-grills/summit-series/292101.html?cgid=221#start=1

[Gil Bang 25907]

2 hours ago, Anastasis said:

I need some sort of outdoor storage box for BBQ and griddle equipment. Spatulas, scrapers, lighters, etc. Must be able to meet wife approval standards, i.e. no plastic sunbeam junk. What do you guys use to organize outdoor cooking equipment?

Sounds like a good opportunity to build something cool. 

[Anastasis 23457]

5 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Sounds like a good opportunity to build something cool. 

After a lot of google searching, I am thinking that this might be required.  I don't need or want to but a grill unit with storage built in.  Just a storage unit that could maybe double as a service station. 

[Gil Bang 25907]

[Gil Bang 25907]

Above is a home depot model made of plastic. Something similar made of redwood or something could be easy enough and could look cool

[Gil Bang 25907]

[After irth 1243]

8 hours ago, Anastasis said:

I need some sort of outdoor storage box for BBQ and griddle equipment. Spatulas, scrapers, lighters, etc. Must be able to meet wife approval standards, i.e. no plastic sunbeam junk. What do you guys use to organize outdoor cooking equipment?

If no one else is gonna say it, I will...

Your mom. 

[Anastasis 23457]

12 minutes ago, After irth said:

 If no one else is gonna say it, I will...

Your mom.