Brand new smoker in my backyard

[capnamerca]

I think I'm in trouble ... :).

Found a New Braunfels Bandera for 50% off the other day. I've been needing a grill for a while, and have always wanted to try the smoking style. So when I came across the deal, I snapped it up. Seasoned in the vegatable oil for a few hours yesterday, did steaks last night, and today I jumped in the deep end. A rack of pork spare ribs and two chicken halves. Chicken went for about 3 hours, and the ribs got 4.5. Used charcoal briquettes, and pecan chips for flavor. All I have to say is - WOW. This is my first crack at this stuff, with no braising and just Tony Chachere's for a rub, and these ribs were better than 90% of anything I've ever had. Of course, as with any adventure, I caused more questions than I answered today :).

Temperature control today was a major issue for me. It felt like, if I kept the dampers open enough to get the temp at 220, I chewed through charcoal like it was candy. I used almost an entire 10-lb bag, and still wasn't successful in keeping the temps high enough with regularity. I'm going to switch to cut wood (bulk from academy, probably) the next time I smoke - will that last longer/burn hotter? Any other suggestions?

The ribs were still a bit chewy - I'm sure that another hour would have done them right. I've already been reading some other recipies, and time seems to be the biggest concern. My research is on-going, but if anyone has a favorite site or "best practice" that they'd like to share with a rookie, it would be much appreciated. I'm especially in the market for recipes that are simple - I'd rather not use sauces or baste or wrap in foil - I realize these things are Good Things, but for now, I'm gunning for simple.

I'll be around - thanks for having me at bbq-bretheren.

[FatDad]

Congrats on the cooker.
Sounds like you have been having a good time.

Please go to the "CATTLE CALL" and introduce yourself to the Brethren.

Welcome Aboard!

[The_Kapn]

From one Kapn to another--welcome.

I do not know how much reading you have done here--but:
From our home page get the Bandera 101 file and read it.
It will answer most of your questions.
Also, within each Forum sub-section (like Q-Talk) is a "Road Map" at the top. Kinda like FAQ's. Check there for some great summaries of common questions.
Finally, the search function works great.

For now, the two major items you need to do are:
#1--get the firegrate off of the floor of the firebox! It does not allow air to the fuel and is probably why you burned so much fuel the first time out. Use bolts, firebricks, or flip the origonal grate over and rotate 90 degrees to get it UP off the floor.
#2--Install a baffle in the smokebox, even a temporary one. See the 101 document and our files section for some ideas.

As was said above--head to Cattle Call in say Hi.
Put your smoker in your signiture so we will remember what you have when you ask questions.

Read, ask questions, and kick back and enjoy :lol:

TIM

[icemn62]

The Kapn said it best. BTW you are not in trouble. By coming here you will stay out of trouble, and the food is going to get better and better.

[Smokin Okole]

welcome from one newbie to another!

i, too, just bought a bandera. i raised the firegrate before my first cook and i hardly used any charcoal. temp stayed up EASILY! in fact, i'm cookin brisket this weekend and have been thinking of how to keep the temperature DOWN, not up!

[capnamerca]

thanks, all. Just put my backstory in Cattle Call - I'm an internet BBS junkie, so board etiquette will not be a problem. For those of you in Texas, check out www.hornfans.com for another tight-knit community with personality and staying power. That is, unless you're from the east-texas maroon part of texas :).

Smoke Okole - how did you raise the firegrate? What an awesome suggestion, but I have to admit, I don't understand some of the mods. It could be because it's late here, but I'm having a hard time visualizing some of these changes - for instance, the heat baffle, well, baffles me :) (sorry for the pun). I get the concept, but the template that's in the files section makes little sense. More pictures would help. I'm sure I'll ask about that soon enough.

[FatDad]

Oh My Two Avatars the same.
Both Texas guys.
I saw the Avatar and thought it was Ty from Wylie ...aka: "thillin"

[bbqinNC]

Welcome capnamerca! I got a good deal on my Bandera last year as well.

The very first thing to do is the fire grate mod. I used expanded metal and flat iron purchased from Home Depot.

The second mod is the baffle. There are templates in the files section.

Third, dump the charcoal and use wood. My first cook I used 20lbs of charcoal and was frustrated to no end. I switched to all wood and now temp control is a piece of cake. I just use one chimney full of charcoal to get the wood going.

Whether using charcoal or wood, you need to make sure that the exhaust damper is fully open at all times. You control the temperature by varying the intake damper when using charcoal. To control the temperature when using wood, you vary the amount of wood and only occasionally adjust the intake damper to help prevent spikes. I try to keep the intake damper as far open as possible. This allows a nice clean burn and a slightly blue smoke coming from the exhaust.

As you found out with the ribs, you can smoke meat at home that is much better than anything you can buy.

Have fun!!!:-D

[Grumpy's Q]

The Bandera is definitely a fuel hog. The Mod's make a big difference. Using fire brick in the fire box and smoking chamber helps too. Be sure to look in the mod section.

[Jorge]

The baffle is fairly simple in concept and construction. The purpose is to even the heat in the smoke chamber rather than having it run straight up the right wall. Looking at a diagram for the baffle, picture the most narrow section in your firebox with the bolts holding it in place. Picture the largest portion coming into the smoke chamber and angling down at approx. 45 degree angle. Heat and smoke are directcted to the bottom of the chamber and more evenly dispersed. If you check out the photo section there should be some pictures that require no description in a mods folder.

And I'm sure you can guess that I'm familiar with hornfans.com. I luvs me some Cactus Cafe.

thanks, all. Just put my backstory in Cattle Call - I'm an internet BBS junkie, so board etiquette will not be a problem. For those of you in Texas, check out www.hornfans.com for another tight-knit community with personality and staying power. That is, unless you're from the east-texas maroon part of texas :).

Smoke Okole - how did you raise the firegrate? What an awesome suggestion, but I have to admit, I don't understand some of the mods. It could be because it's late here, but I'm having a hard time visualizing some of these changes - for instance, the heat baffle, well, baffles me :) (sorry for the pun). I get the concept, but the template that's in the files section makes little sense. More pictures would help. I'm sure I'll ask about that soon enough.

[ggeilman]

Yesterday was the first time I was able to keep good fire control on the Bandera and the wood consumption down. We moved the divider over one in the firebox which helped. Spicewine's firebox is a godsend!

[thillin]

Oh My Two Avatars the same.
Both Texas guys.
I saw the Avatar and thought it was Ty from Wylie ...aka: "thillin"

I think he's the third. Wishinfishin uses it also. I might be forced to change to avoid confusion.:roll:

OnTopic - Using foil is pretty simple. Don't rule out a valuable BBQ tool.

[capnamerca]

pictures are worth a thousand words! I was reading through Files about the baffle mod, and not quite getting it. Once I discovered the "picture" section, THEN I got it. One of the baffle pictures shows "baffles for sale" - any chance that's still available? (note - I'm sure this question is answered somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I looked, I promise). I'm all for making these mods, but don't have the time to trial-and-error, and would rather pay a bit to get something that's right.

thx.

[Kevin]

pictures are worth a thousand words! I was reading through Files about the baffle mod, and not quite getting it. Once I discovered the "picture" section, THEN I got it. One of the baffle pictures shows "baffles for sale" - any chance that's still available? (note - I'm sure this question is answered somewhere, but I couldn't find it. I looked, I promise). I'm all for making these mods, but don't have the time to trial-and-error, and would rather pay a bit to get something that's right.

thx.


One of the members here made mine. Check this thread:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13946
Works fine. Haven't heard from him in awhile though.

[capnamerca]

I'm official - just installed the baffle in the Bandera. One piece of sheet metal, a pair of tin snips, and a little help from the fiancee, and I'm off and running with well-distributed heat in the smoke box :). Tomorrow night is softball, but wednesday night is probably the making of an enlarged firegrate - bought the extended metal and aluminum strips today, as well.

Question - what do you use once you make the firegrate bigger, to catch the ashes? The stock ash pan will now be too small. Maybe just line the bottom with foil? I've read on the firebricks, too - where can I buy those? Home Depot didn't have any, and neither did BBQ Galore.

[Grumpy's Q]

I'm official - just installed the baffle in the Bandera. One piece of sheet metal, a pair of tin snips, and a little help from the fiancee, and I'm off and running with well-distributed heat in the smoke box :). Tomorrow night is softball, but wednesday night is probably the making of an enlarged firegrate - bought the extended metal and aluminum strips today, as well.

Question - what do you use once you make the firegrate bigger, to catch the ashes? The stock ash pan will now be too small. Maybe just line the bottom with foil? I've read on the firebricks, too - where can I buy those? Home Depot didn't have any, and neither did BBQ Galore.

The Home Depot or Lowes did not carry fire brick. You need to find a masonary / brick supplier. Buy the thin brick, should be around $ 1.00 each.

[kcquer]

capnamerica, Because of the trouble of cleanout, I'd skip the firebricks in the firebox. In central TX, you're not going to do lots of cooks in the 20's or colder, so bricks in the cookchamber to help with recovery times should fix you right up.

As you may have read, when ash becomes damp, it turns to lye which is quite caustic. Removing the firebricks to do a thorough clean-up is a pain.
Don't sweat not having a full sized ashpan, they never catch all the ashes anyway. Use the factory ashpan so you can remove some of the ashes as you go during a cook. You could have a custom sized one built, but you're still going to have to clean out the firebox after each cook anyway.

[capnamerca]

Thanks, KCQuer .... I'll find a few bricks for the cooking chamber, and forget about the firebox. As for cleaning, sounds like I need to install a few drain holes, and just hose the bastard out :).

[Kevin]

Thanks, KCQuer .... I'll find a few bricks for the cooking chamber, and forget about the firebox. As for cleaning, sounds like I need to install a few drain holes, and just hose the bastard out :).

Check the files section here for bandera mods. Look at the drain mod file.
You won't want to drill holes indiscriminately. That'll change the air flow.

[bbqinNC]

Question - what do you use once you make the firegrate bigger, to catch the ashes? The stock ash pan will now be too small. Maybe just line the bottom with foil? I've read on the firebricks, too - where can I buy those? Home Depot didn't have any, and neither did BBQ Galore.

If you use just wood you will find out that there is considerably less ash. I did a 12 hour Brisket cook this past weekend and only had to empty the stock ash pan once, the next day after everything was burned out.

For clean out I just line the bottom of the pit with heavy duty aluminum foil and throw it out at the end of the cook. I also line the rim of the water pan with foil as well. You will find that if you don't crud can burn on the rim of the pan. I tried completely lining the pan, but found out that it isn't necessary.

[Jorge]

Thanks, KCQuer .... I'll find a few bricks for the cooking chamber, and forget about the firebox. As for cleaning, sounds like I need to install a few drain holes, and just hose the bastard out :).

put some foil down there and just fold it up after it has cooled. Makes life much easier.

Edit: any time I take the hose to the cooker I burn a small fire to dry it out good, and reseason if needed.

[capnamerca]

Thanks, all. I'm a fan of the "line it with foil" idea ... working on the raised firegrate tonight, and then looking for an excuse to cook this weekend.

[Kevin]

Thanks, all. I'm a fan of the "line it with foil" idea ... working on the raised firegrate tonight, and then looking for an excuse to cook this weekend.

The sun came up is usualy a good enough excuse for me!