Question about smokers

[grillnputt]

My first message to the board. Just met the Grand poobah at a q this weekend and am excited to be here. Chef, you recommended the charbroil silver smoker. However, I've noticed several concerns about this one. I saw a comparison between this and the chargriller smoker. Is the chargriller better or should I stick with the charbroil? I'm a new backyard griller and learning the basics so take it easy on me. :D

[grillnputt]

Anyone???? Help??? SOS!!! :shock:

[parrothead]

I have no experience with either one. Sorry.

[Kevin]

I use a chargriller. Cast iron grates are nice. The metal is thin which can be a problem keeping temp. on windy days using the offset firebox. Fire brick in the smoke chamber for heat retention and a raised grate in the fire box seem to help a lot. All in all I do like it but would prefer thicker metal. Some use the chargriller without the offset fire box and achieve excellent results. As for use as a grill for direct heat it is wonderful. The height adjustment for the charcoal tray is good. Don't know about the charbroil silver. Hope this helps.

[BBQchef33]

Yup guys.. this guy picked me up hitchhiking at a party this weekend.... He allready has a Performer and want to expand. I think a WSM would do him, but he wants more grilling space.

What concerns did u see about the silver smoker??? Its just a lowcost startup smoker, and one of your requirments was a small footprint, and the ability to use it for a grill(which will limit you to a horizontal offset). I used mine for several years before getting a Bandera. There are heavier pits out there(cimmarons and longhorns), but they seemed a beyond what we were talking about. Give the ladies here your $$$ budget and requirments and we can make so broader recommendations.

[kcquer]

gnp, I think you could expect comparable preformance from either cooker. I would go with the Chargriller for the additional capacity. Outside the parameter of your question, I'd strongly recommend looking for a Bandera or a Brinkmann Smoke King Deluxe. Neither of the units you asked about can come close on capacity. They offer some grilling capacity as well and are in the same price catagory.
Another high quality choice in the same price range would be a Weber Smokey Mountain. This bullet style smoker will practically cook by itself (requires very little tending, unlike any of the aforementioned cookers). This easy to control model will allow you to concentrate your efforts on learning cooking techniques instead of dividing your time between cooking and fire management. Once you have the techniques down you can move on to a stick burner and learn the sometimes tempramental nature of an offset.

[Solidkick]

gnp, I think you could expect comparable preformance from either cooker. I would go with the Chargriller for the additional capacity. Outside the parameter of your question, I'd strongly recommend looking for a Bandera or a Brinkmann Smoke King Deluxe. Neither of the units you asked about can come close on capacity. They offer some grilling capacity as well and are in the same price catagory.
Another high quality choice in the same price range would be a Weber Smokey Mountain. This bullet style smoker will practically cook by itself (requires very little tending, unlike any of the aforementioned cookers). This easy to control model will allow you to concentrate your efforts on learning cooking techniques instead of dividing your time between cooking and fire management. Once you have the techniques down you can move on to a stick burner and learn the sometimes tempramental nature of an offset.
What he said...............

[chad]

I've got a NB Quickset offset cooker that I have used often - minimum modifications (baffle and charcoal basket) - it's usually around $160 from Walmart. Very similar to the Silver Smoker or Hondo.

If you're looking for a queing machine and don't need huge volume - get the Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) - you will not regret it.

[BBQchef33]

His grilling requirments were more than the Bandera or SKD will offer. He wanted something along the lines of a 50gallon drum.

[grillnputt]

Thank you all for the responses. It wasn't concerns about the silver smoker, just that chargriller did a fancy comparison and "appeared" far superior with less "mod's". I will start w the basic ss and smokey mountain until I know what the hell I'm doing. Then move up to the Longhorn which looked really nice. :D

[BBQchef33]

i was just thinkin..(ouch).. HD also has a couple square(non offset) grills, The CB940 and the Santa Fe. They are basically grills, but are larger enough to give you offset capability to some extent. Not perfect, but it seemed your primary use was grill space. You have your kettle that you can do offeset on and if you get a WSM, that can round you out pretty well.

[willkat98]

This might work

[grillnputt]

Actually Phil, I was interested in the smoker more, but the extra grill space was also important because my performer just isn't that big. I plan on smoking a lot of ribs, pulled pork and brisket this summer for starters.
Ron

[jminion]

Take a look at this unit a Hathorn Grill, 50 gal drum style heavier material. Can smoke indirect, the firebox is in the unit (removable) or can use as a grill with fire grate the lenght of the unit.
http://www.barbecue-store.com/hathorngrill.htm
I have cooked on them and they work well with good construction.

[Hoorenga]

I had the Chargriller Pro for a while. It worked best prior to getting the extra add on firebox. Your cooking capacity is reduced but it worked pretty darned good just by setting the coals to one side and the food to the other. Once I added the fire box the thing became much more tempermental on temperature control.

[Mark]

His grilling requirments were more than the Bandera or SKD will offer. He wanted something along the lines of a 50gallon drum. A 55-gallon drum and a full-size Weber Kettle are the same diameter. by taking a section or 2 out of a 55-gallon drum, people have made their own WSM on steroids; me included.

David provided a link to a how-to-do-it site once.

[Bigmista]

I use the chargriller super pro with no smoke box and I get great results as some can attest to. I can cook a brisket, 2 pork butts a rack of ribs and 3 or 4 fatties all at the same time. The cast iron grates are really nice. I like this smoker and it works for me. If you decide to get it and need help, just holla!!!

[Neil]

Brinkman makes a grill/smoker specifically for Sam's Club that has large capacity capability for $199.99.

[Kevin]

I agree with Hoo and Bigmista. The chargriller realy is fine without the fire box.

[grillnputt]

Now you guys confused me. How do you smoke ribs brisket etc. without the firebox? Maybe I don't know what a firebox is? Ron :?

[chad]

A bit of terminology:

We BBQ, not smoke!

Some do smoke fish, cheese, peppers, etc. but brisket, pork, ribs, and chicken (and the occasional goat and lamb!) are barbecued/barbequed/bbq.

The key to barbecue is low (this varied from cook to cook but usually under 250 - chicken is a bit more forgiving and most guys cook it a bit hotter) and indirect heat.

With an offset cooker (firebox) you automatically get indirect. Without the firebox you build your fire to one side or in the case of the Weber grill on either side and cook in the middle - away from the direct heat.

With a large barrel type cooker you can easily put a chimney sized fire in one end and cook a bunch of food on the rest of the grill surface - it'll be a bit hotter towards the fire and cooler away!!

I'm sure these guys will chime in with more details.

[Bigmista]

Ron click this link to see how I do it...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=6187&highlight=full+smoker

Mista

[Bigdog]

Now you guys confused me. How do you smoke ribs brisket etc. without the firebox? Maybe I don't know what a firebox is? Ron :?

Maybe this will help you: You can convert a grill to a smoker by moving the heat source away from the food and putting a water pan or some other heat sink or dripping catcher under the food. When grilling, the heat is directly under the food. firebox seperates the fire and smoke chambers, making the grill a BBQ smoker. Bigmista would probably hrave one on his grill, but does not have the room as he is on a small porch/balcony. With the addition of a firebox, then would have more room in his smoking chamber for more food, although he does an amazing job of getting the max. in each cooking session. 8)

[grillnputt]

Thank you all for the great education. Now 2 more ?'s. First, why would I want to smoke w/ as opposed to w/out a firebox? Is this just preference or does it really make a difference? Second, my original ? was is the chargriller superior to the silver smoker? I know Phil, you said get the silver smoker and I am doing that later today. Just wanted to know. Ron

[willkat98]

Can't comment on the original ?, but by moving the firebox to the outside, you are increasing your capacity, since you cannot smoke directly over the fire, you need to offset when in the same chamber.

You said you wanted capacity, so my .02 is to get the firebox on whatever smoker you buy

[cabo]

Yup guys.. this guy picked me up hitchhiking at a party this weekend.... He allready has a Performer and want to expand. I think a WSM would do him, but he wants more grilling space.

What concerns did u see about the silver smoker??? Its just a lowcost startup smoker, and one of your requirments was a small footprint, and the ability to use it for a grill(which will limit you to a horizontal offset). I used mine for several years before getting a Bandera. There are heavier pits out there(cimmarons and longhorns), but they seemed a beyond what we were talking about. Give the ladies here your $$$ budget and requirments and we can make so broader recommendations.



Hey Pooh,
You seem to hitchhike a lot!!!! :roll:
Would you care to split this off to Wood Pile & elaborate??? Inquiring minds want to know!!!!! :twisted: :twisted:

[Hoorenga]

My experience with the Chargriller was such that when I purchased it, it didn't come with a fire box. I had to order it extra. I started out BBQing with just the main chamber. It worked great. Wanting to have the full experience I soon ordered it. With the newly aquired firebox I set about doing another BBQ. I found that maintaing an even and constant temperature was noticably more difficult. What I believe to be the problem is that this being an inexpensive unit, the addition of the firebox creates more areas where the air can leak in and more thin metal surface area where the unit can be cooled down. If you don't need the extra cooking space, I think it is a better smoker without the firebox. I think the firebox is $60 so it is a better deal as well. I went from the Chargriller to a Great Outdoors vertical, charcoal. The Great Outdoors is sort of like a Bandera without the firebox. It was $99 at Wall Mart and worked quite well. I ended up with the Brinkman Stillwater which is similar only in shape to the Chargiller. The Stillwater is 1/4" steel construction and has welded seams rather than bolts holding it together. I have had a lot of fun and good food come off all three of the units but you do get what you pay for. If I only had $100 to spend I would get the Great Outdoors, if I had only $200 to spend I would get the Webber Smokey Mountain. If I had $300 I would get the Bandera. If I had $1000 I would buy an new laptop.