I always enjoy reading about Brethren builds on the forum, so I figured I would (belatedly) contribute my DIY grill-smoker build for all those afflicted souls who have pursued or are considering taking on such a fruitless task!
Meet my beloved but flawed creation - The B.O.B. (“Bucket of Bolts”) Grill-Smoker combo or more commonly known around my house simply as Frankenstein. The BOB name is derived from the 134 bolts that hold this contraption together.
The Flatpack Idea
The original idea was to create a grill-smoker combo that could be shipped flat-packed and then assembled at home using nothing but a socket wrench and a bunch of bolts. It might be a good idea except for the poor bastard making the grill, who has to drill all 208 of the bolt holes in his garage (that would be me).
The project took me all summer. My neighbors could hear me drilling day and night and thought I had lost my marbles (which I most definitely did). A smarter person would have simply bought an Assassin, but I was determined to see through the idea with my trusty power drill and press.
Specs
In spite of the drilling madness, I learned a tremendous amount about grill design because DIY forces you to think through many fundamental questions.
* I went with a square design. The firebox is 22.5” length and width, which is same as Weber kettle, but with more surface area due to square shape.
* Firebox is very deep at 30” with 5 sets of shelf brackets that can be used to vary the distance between the charcoal and the food.
* Split grates (10”x20”) are used for both the charcoal and the food.
* Added over-sized 18”x18” access door to firebox to shovel in live embers when smoking. Pizza stones were used as heat diffuser plate.
* The lid is 8” tall and slightly wider than firebox to create overlap with firebox that helps to block the wind.
* Steel is plain cold-rolled 16 gauge. Very solid and relatively easy to work with.
* The wooden handles were made by Marty Leach (some of you may recognize his name from the forum). He does a really nice job.
* Found guy on eBay to fabricate the stainless steel rod grates (I couldn’t figure out way to bolt them :becky
Lessons Learned
Depth matters - Grilling directly over coals is awesome. Nothing like the fat and juices dripping down onto the hot coals! But you need depth to avoid too much charring - a minimum of 18 inches in my opinion, which is same as Meadow Creek’s Chicken Cooker (interesting that the inventor of Cornell chicken recipe advocated 24”). That type of distance enables high and slow grilling (nod to APL), which puts out fantastic chicken and pit beef. BOB’s maximum depth of 30” was overkill in this department and not needed.
Height adjustable - Ability to vary distance between coals and the food is key, whether through multiple shelves or a Santa Maria-type mechanism. BOB did well in this department with 5 shelf heights to choose from.
Split grates are handy - Split grates for the charcoal and food were necessary in order to fit the grates into the firebox. They ended up being one my favorite features. They are easier to clean and to handle while allowing for multiple setups - e.g., use one split grate high up in cooler zone and then one closer to the fire for creating crust.
Indirect zone still essential - This one surprised me. Sometimes the unrelenting radiant heat from direct grilling is just too much for the food, even with plenty of distance from the coals. I often found myself creating indirect zones for a gentler heat at the beginning of a cook, especially for more delicate items like salmon and thinner cuts like boneless skinless chicken thighs. A combination of the two turned out to be ideal. In the future, I would choose a rectangular design (instead of square) for this reason.
Don’t chase the grill-smoker unicorn! - Trying to combine a grill and a smoker into a single cooker is a fool’s errand that forces too many compromises. Buy (or build) a dedicated one for each task. I added a bunch of smoker-specific features that were ultimately useless for grilling (and vice versa). I would have created a different design had I only focused on grilling.
Block that pesky wind - There is a food grate on BOB that sits several inches below the lip of the firebox. On windy days, I just drop the food into this little sanctuary to take the edge off the gusts. Not essential, but nice to have.
Don’t ignore the lid - Oh sweet mother. This was my biggest design flaw. I overbuilt the lid and had trouble finding a heavy duty hinge that would fit the goofy offset design of my lid and firebox. In the end, I ran out of steam and now I just lift the beastly lid on and off without a hinge (a major PITA when lid is blazing hot).
Praise the Kettle - This entire process made me appreciate the design, efficiency and value of the Weber Kettle. Sure it lacks adjustable height and other bells and whistles, but its nearly impossible to beat for the money.
Time to eat!
In the end, it was a great learning experience even though I spent most of that summer drilling instead of grilling. I’m definitely buying next time!
Meet my beloved but flawed creation - The B.O.B. (“Bucket of Bolts”) Grill-Smoker combo or more commonly known around my house simply as Frankenstein. The BOB name is derived from the 134 bolts that hold this contraption together.
The Flatpack Idea
The original idea was to create a grill-smoker combo that could be shipped flat-packed and then assembled at home using nothing but a socket wrench and a bunch of bolts. It might be a good idea except for the poor bastard making the grill, who has to drill all 208 of the bolt holes in his garage (that would be me).
The project took me all summer. My neighbors could hear me drilling day and night and thought I had lost my marbles (which I most definitely did). A smarter person would have simply bought an Assassin, but I was determined to see through the idea with my trusty power drill and press.
Specs
In spite of the drilling madness, I learned a tremendous amount about grill design because DIY forces you to think through many fundamental questions.
* I went with a square design. The firebox is 22.5” length and width, which is same as Weber kettle, but with more surface area due to square shape.
* Firebox is very deep at 30” with 5 sets of shelf brackets that can be used to vary the distance between the charcoal and the food.
* Split grates (10”x20”) are used for both the charcoal and the food.
* Added over-sized 18”x18” access door to firebox to shovel in live embers when smoking. Pizza stones were used as heat diffuser plate.
* The lid is 8” tall and slightly wider than firebox to create overlap with firebox that helps to block the wind.
* Steel is plain cold-rolled 16 gauge. Very solid and relatively easy to work with.
* The wooden handles were made by Marty Leach (some of you may recognize his name from the forum). He does a really nice job.
* Found guy on eBay to fabricate the stainless steel rod grates (I couldn’t figure out way to bolt them :becky
Lessons Learned
Depth matters - Grilling directly over coals is awesome. Nothing like the fat and juices dripping down onto the hot coals! But you need depth to avoid too much charring - a minimum of 18 inches in my opinion, which is same as Meadow Creek’s Chicken Cooker (interesting that the inventor of Cornell chicken recipe advocated 24”). That type of distance enables high and slow grilling (nod to APL), which puts out fantastic chicken and pit beef. BOB’s maximum depth of 30” was overkill in this department and not needed.
Height adjustable - Ability to vary distance between coals and the food is key, whether through multiple shelves or a Santa Maria-type mechanism. BOB did well in this department with 5 shelf heights to choose from.
Split grates are handy - Split grates for the charcoal and food were necessary in order to fit the grates into the firebox. They ended up being one my favorite features. They are easier to clean and to handle while allowing for multiple setups - e.g., use one split grate high up in cooler zone and then one closer to the fire for creating crust.
Indirect zone still essential - This one surprised me. Sometimes the unrelenting radiant heat from direct grilling is just too much for the food, even with plenty of distance from the coals. I often found myself creating indirect zones for a gentler heat at the beginning of a cook, especially for more delicate items like salmon and thinner cuts like boneless skinless chicken thighs. A combination of the two turned out to be ideal. In the future, I would choose a rectangular design (instead of square) for this reason.
Don’t chase the grill-smoker unicorn! - Trying to combine a grill and a smoker into a single cooker is a fool’s errand that forces too many compromises. Buy (or build) a dedicated one for each task. I added a bunch of smoker-specific features that were ultimately useless for grilling (and vice versa). I would have created a different design had I only focused on grilling.
Block that pesky wind - There is a food grate on BOB that sits several inches below the lip of the firebox. On windy days, I just drop the food into this little sanctuary to take the edge off the gusts. Not essential, but nice to have.
Don’t ignore the lid - Oh sweet mother. This was my biggest design flaw. I overbuilt the lid and had trouble finding a heavy duty hinge that would fit the goofy offset design of my lid and firebox. In the end, I ran out of steam and now I just lift the beastly lid on and off without a hinge (a major PITA when lid is blazing hot).
Praise the Kettle - This entire process made me appreciate the design, efficiency and value of the Weber Kettle. Sure it lacks adjustable height and other bells and whistles, but its nearly impossible to beat for the money.
Time to eat!
In the end, it was a great learning experience even though I spent most of that summer drilling instead of grilling. I’m definitely buying next time!
