Braunfels/CharBroil BANDERA ..need your inputs

Was going for a pricey ceramic cooker (Kamado) BUT ..... just picked up one of these Banderas at Home Depot and need to find happy and unhappy users to share ideas with. ....like ... 1) what's the hole in the smoker door for ?? .. a temp gauge?? Which one fits best? 2) who's using wood vs charcoal? 3) any good wet smoke ingredient lists (for liquid container)?

Anyone think I made a big mistake and should exchange it for the horizontal grill/firebox style? Return it and get the Kamado? Now's the time to for me to hear the tough news! :?:

I sure hope I can start to contribute here soon once the equip questions are out of the way!

That was quick!

Many thanks, I just needed a jump start and this will hopefully do the job.

T_B

tommy B, Welcome!! You've found a great resource for Q info here no matter what cooker you end up with.

Whether to keep you 'dera or not depends on how, and how much you plan to cook. The Kamado will provide you much more hands off, low input cooking. The trade off however is significantly less capacity than the Bandera.
If you don't mind regular firetending during the cook, the 'dera will allow you to load up more food per cook than the ceramic cooker.

Personally, I would keep the 'dera and if you decide later you want a low-input cooker to compliment the your offset, you can add a WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) to your arsenal. The 'dera and the WSM will probably cost less together than you were going to spend on the ceramic cooker.

Terrific start __ much appreciated! 101 downloaded and printing .... temp probe looks good ..... already looking at wood sources ..... will try experimenting with liquids per comment.

Great Forum! Regards,
T_B

OK, guys, headed for ACE hardware for the 3/4" expanded steel grate, I already have some firebrick, will have to start with the foil temp baffle. Wow, what a quick start! I'm impressed.
T_B

willkat98 said:

Yeah, but the secret ingredient ain't mustard

Click to expand...

It's Mayo, right?

Tommy,

Welcome aboard. First off, if there is a hole in the middle of the door then the temp gauge is missing and you should go back and get a replacement od money back.

Second, Look at the bandera 101 document and immediatly do the firegrate mod and the the baffle mod. The firegrate mod will get your firesource off the bottom and allow oxygen underneath it to keep it alive and also let the ash drop down. The baffle mod will get the heat to evenly distribute in the smoker. Without the baffle, the smoke will go up the one side of the smoker.

Thirdly, ask any and all questions you have and we will answer them.

Fourthly.......HAVE FUN HERE


Steve

This Forum is TOO NICE!! But then Why Not?

Another set of Replies that really feel good and also address my initial Q's.
Ther were 4 or 5 of these Banderas at my local Home Depot and all were assembled. None had themometers, but they have quite a stock inside, same packaging, but some Braunfels and some CharBroil .... all $20. Must be the right ones since threads look right. My wife mentioned comment she saw about dropping an oven (or other) thermometer down the ventstack to get temps at different levels in the smoker. Not as convenient as door-mounted version, but obviously more thorough. Is this the way to go?

I found the extended steel 24" x 24" and various steel strips to use for reinforcement. So frustrating that the large selection of new BBQ food and coal grates do not offer any size that will work with minimal modification.
Thinking about one heavy-duty coal grate 11" x 17" ($12.) and then placing it in the center of the extended steel sheet. Trim and fold over double just inside edges of the grate. Bolt together in the corners. Could drop a loose bolt through the holes in the support brackets to hold securely in place. I know the extended steel will have to support the extra weight of the grate, but I'm thinking the double fold will add enough strength. Costs about $8. more than the one in Banderas 101, but I would not have to cut so much steel. Any thoughts?


Again, many thanks for the warm welcome and great ideas to get me started.

P.S. Already had some Carne Ranchera from local 3 Amigos market so tried the lump instructions seen here .... briquets on bottom to keep lump from falling through, mixture of Mesquite and Royal Oak natural and a sprinking of small Hickory chunks. Way too much stuff, put the Ranchera in a pan and in the smoker side. 30 minutes later, sizzled the Ranchera on the grill and made Fajitas. Wow!! .... refrieds, rice, guacamole, tortillas. My wife promised me a treat! This Ranchera has never had that special smokey flavor and great texture. Went back out and coals were even better! Kathy ran out with two Pasilla peppers to roast and two large Cajun Hot Links. The heat was just perfect! Can't find anything else to grill so closed the dampers for now. What a start!

T_B

A CharBroil Bandera is my first pit. Here are my suggestions which pretty much echo what everyone else has said:

1. Do the fire grate mod first. I used a cheap cut-off disk for metal from HD for my circular saw to cut the expanded
metal and iron bars for support. It was a couple of bucks and I threw it out when I was finished.
2. Make your baffle out of aluminum flashing to get started. I made mine back in late November early December and it
is still working although I will admit it is sagging.
3. Use wood!! I found that the Bandera consumes mass quantities of charcoal. Here in NC, wood is cheap and plus it
smells better and is easier to control the temp.
4. When you use the wood, keep the exhaust damper wide open and try to keep the intake damper wide open as much as
possible. You want to control the temp by adjusting how much wood you use. You want just a light colored "sweet blue"
smoke. Every now and then I close the intake damper a bit to control temp spikes when a new piece is added. Also
don't worry about the clouds of smoke that come out a minute or two when you first add wood, it just does that!!
5. Line the bottom of the pit with Heavy Duty aluminum foil, makes clean up easier.
6. Take some smaller pieces of aluminum foil and cover the rim of the water pan. When you are cooking, grease drips
on and into the pan and the side with the firebox can get pretty hot. The drippings will burn on the pan. Now you
just peel the crusty aluminum foil off and clean up is a piece of cake.

Now a personal preference. I like using apple juice in my water pan. I use it for anything I cook. I buy the frozen cans, use two of them, and mix it according to the directions on the can. I also throw in some onions, fruit, what ever and will sometimes put some of the rub I may be using in as well.

Don't buy the thermometer from HD. I tried both the small and the large "Professional" model and they were both
inaccurate. I just ordered a thermometer from Spicewine. In the mean time if you have a turkey fryer, I have been
using the thermometer from that by using a cork from a wine bottle. Drilled a hole in the cork and stuck it in the
hole in the door. Mine did not come with a thermometer like yours didn't.
Welcome and enjoy. These folks here are great, I have learned a tremendous amount from them.