olewarthog
Full Fledged Farker
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2010
- Location
- Hazlehur...
A couple weeks ago, I asked a competition cook team if I could take a look at their Assassin 17. It looked to me the right size for my needs as a backyard Q'er & occasional caterer for small family/church groups. He obliges & gave me lots of details about the cooker. He then mentioned this was his last comp for the summer & Assassin was working on new equipment for him & the 17 was for sale. Didn't take long to make a deal.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have cooked chicken twice & butts twice. I did one butt cook at 255 the other at 275. The chicken was cooked at 325. More details later
The cooker is pretty much the standard model that lists for $2200.00 on the website (http://www.assassin-smokers.com/) The specs for this cooker are:
Interior cook chamber is 18" x 24" x 30" tall.
3 cook racks that measure 17” x 23”.
3 rack runners’ 6” apart.
Hold about 9-12 lbs of charcoal. (Will depend on type)
Exterior height totals 58 ½” tall.
Standard features on all Assassin Smokers are:
3" DIAL THERMOMETER
1 WIRE PORTAL
1-1/2" BRASS FULL PORT BALL VALVE WITH ADAPTER FOR ATC.
4-D-RINGS
LOCKING SLAM LATCH (KEYS INCLUDED)
4- TOGGLE LATCHES
5" PERFORMA CASTERS (2 FIXED &2 SWIVEL WITH BRAKE) BOLT ON
STEEL WATER PAN
REMOVABLE GREASE PAN (TAPERED TO REMOVE GREASE FROM COOK CHAMBER) a disposable pan (not included) fits on provided rail under cook chamber to catch grease.
PITMASTER IQ 120
ALUMINUM PROTECTION PLATE, FOR EASY CLEAN UPS.
ALUMINUM GASKET GUARD, ABOVE FIREBOX .
(note) Jeff Conley at C&C Manufacturing (Assassin Smokers) will do a lot of customization at no extra charge on new orders.
I really like the high visibility of the new big door mounted dial thermometer. I can easily see the temp from across my patio deck. The slam latch is also a great standard feature on this cooker. It makes getting in & out of the cooker when you are wrapping butts, etc quick & easy. Once you are done, just be sure to lock down the toggle latches again to keep a good seal on the door.
Mine has the charcoal chute & fire box door on the back. The elbow on the ball valve is a nice touch that keeps the fan adapter from sticking out past the footprint of the cooker itself. All Assassin Smokers come with the Pitmaster IQ 120. (more about the IQ 120 later)
The standard 3 racks are about 6" apart & will hold a full size pan. You can easily cook big meats like butts or brisket or full size pans on all three racks. I have put three 8-9# butts on a rack with room to spare. Below the bottom rack is the grease pan. It is removable & is beveled towards the center so grease drains down a spout & out the bottom of the cooker. There are rails on the bottom of the cooker to slide an aluminum pan on to catch the grease. I line the grease pan with foil to make clean up easier. This is a heavy cooker, but it rolls easily on the casters.
I have a hand held propane torch I use to light the cooker. I have used Stubbs briquettes, Kingsford Competition Briquettes & Forest Lump lump charocal. I did one cook with a mix of lump & Kingsford Comp. All three burned steady with very little ash. There is enough gap between the top of the fire box & the charcoal chute grate stick the nozzle of the torch in. I then let the torch hang there while the charcoal ignites. I normally start in in the middle of the grate, then after a few minutes move it to one side, then a couple minutes later to the other side. I run the torch for 5-7 minutes total. Then I close the chute & firebox doors & turn on the Pitmaster IQ. It has taken about 30-40 minutes to get up to 255-275 temp. About 45 mins or so to get up to 325. When it levels out at my chosen cooking temp, I put 2-4 chunks of wood (I don't like a heavy smoke flavor. I prefer just a light hint of smoke) in the fire box & tap the bottom grate to get a few hot ember to fall on the wood. I close up the fire box & put meat on the racks. In the pic below, I have 2 spatchcocked chickens and about a dozen wings on one rack with plenty of room to spare.
Cooking on this Assassin 17 Smoker is almost boring. You start the fire, set the Pitmaster IQ to whatever temp you want, put on the meat when its up to temp, & then wait. The IQ 120 locks the cooker in at the temp you set & thats where it stays. It is really set it & forget it. I had the charcoal bridge one time on the cook I used the briq/lump mix. I noticed the temp down below 300 on the door therm. I poked the charcoal in the chute to break up up the bridging & it was back up to temp in a few mins.
When I do need to open the door to put in/take out food or pull butts to wrap; the cook chamber temp will drop as expected, but it will be back up to temp is 15 minute or less.
Both times the chicken I cooked was moist & flavorful. One butt cook, I did not wrap or use a water pan. The bark got too dark & hard for my taste. The second butt cook, I did use a water pan with 50-50 mix of apple juice & water. I wrapped the butts when the color was where I like it. I don't think the water pan is really needed for moisture, but did (IMHO) enhance the flavor of the bark much like spritzing would have.
I have cooked on WSM clone, Chargriller COS & a couple of UDS before the Assassin. I love this Assassin Smoker. It is the perfect size for my needs -- cooking for family & small groups. It is rock solid; holds temps like a charm & is very fuel efficient. I have known Jeff Conley at Assassin Smokers for a couple of years. I also know several competition teams that cook on Assassins. From all that I hear, the customer service at Assassin Smokers is equal to anyone in the business. You will not go wrong with an Assassin Smoker. Now I got to start saving again for one of those sweet Assassin Grills. I'll be glad to try to answer any questions.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have cooked chicken twice & butts twice. I did one butt cook at 255 the other at 275. The chicken was cooked at 325. More details later
The cooker is pretty much the standard model that lists for $2200.00 on the website (http://www.assassin-smokers.com/) The specs for this cooker are:
Interior cook chamber is 18" x 24" x 30" tall.
3 cook racks that measure 17” x 23”.
3 rack runners’ 6” apart.
Hold about 9-12 lbs of charcoal. (Will depend on type)
Exterior height totals 58 ½” tall.
Standard features on all Assassin Smokers are:
3" DIAL THERMOMETER
1 WIRE PORTAL
1-1/2" BRASS FULL PORT BALL VALVE WITH ADAPTER FOR ATC.
4-D-RINGS
LOCKING SLAM LATCH (KEYS INCLUDED)
4- TOGGLE LATCHES
5" PERFORMA CASTERS (2 FIXED &2 SWIVEL WITH BRAKE) BOLT ON
STEEL WATER PAN
REMOVABLE GREASE PAN (TAPERED TO REMOVE GREASE FROM COOK CHAMBER) a disposable pan (not included) fits on provided rail under cook chamber to catch grease.
PITMASTER IQ 120
ALUMINUM PROTECTION PLATE, FOR EASY CLEAN UPS.
ALUMINUM GASKET GUARD, ABOVE FIREBOX .
(note) Jeff Conley at C&C Manufacturing (Assassin Smokers) will do a lot of customization at no extra charge on new orders.
I really like the high visibility of the new big door mounted dial thermometer. I can easily see the temp from across my patio deck. The slam latch is also a great standard feature on this cooker. It makes getting in & out of the cooker when you are wrapping butts, etc quick & easy. Once you are done, just be sure to lock down the toggle latches again to keep a good seal on the door.
Mine has the charcoal chute & fire box door on the back. The elbow on the ball valve is a nice touch that keeps the fan adapter from sticking out past the footprint of the cooker itself. All Assassin Smokers come with the Pitmaster IQ 120. (more about the IQ 120 later)
The standard 3 racks are about 6" apart & will hold a full size pan. You can easily cook big meats like butts or brisket or full size pans on all three racks. I have put three 8-9# butts on a rack with room to spare. Below the bottom rack is the grease pan. It is removable & is beveled towards the center so grease drains down a spout & out the bottom of the cooker. There are rails on the bottom of the cooker to slide an aluminum pan on to catch the grease. I line the grease pan with foil to make clean up easier. This is a heavy cooker, but it rolls easily on the casters.
I have a hand held propane torch I use to light the cooker. I have used Stubbs briquettes, Kingsford Competition Briquettes & Forest Lump lump charocal. I did one cook with a mix of lump & Kingsford Comp. All three burned steady with very little ash. There is enough gap between the top of the fire box & the charcoal chute grate stick the nozzle of the torch in. I then let the torch hang there while the charcoal ignites. I normally start in in the middle of the grate, then after a few minutes move it to one side, then a couple minutes later to the other side. I run the torch for 5-7 minutes total. Then I close the chute & firebox doors & turn on the Pitmaster IQ. It has taken about 30-40 minutes to get up to 255-275 temp. About 45 mins or so to get up to 325. When it levels out at my chosen cooking temp, I put 2-4 chunks of wood (I don't like a heavy smoke flavor. I prefer just a light hint of smoke) in the fire box & tap the bottom grate to get a few hot ember to fall on the wood. I close up the fire box & put meat on the racks. In the pic below, I have 2 spatchcocked chickens and about a dozen wings on one rack with plenty of room to spare.
Cooking on this Assassin 17 Smoker is almost boring. You start the fire, set the Pitmaster IQ to whatever temp you want, put on the meat when its up to temp, & then wait. The IQ 120 locks the cooker in at the temp you set & thats where it stays. It is really set it & forget it. I had the charcoal bridge one time on the cook I used the briq/lump mix. I noticed the temp down below 300 on the door therm. I poked the charcoal in the chute to break up up the bridging & it was back up to temp in a few mins.
When I do need to open the door to put in/take out food or pull butts to wrap; the cook chamber temp will drop as expected, but it will be back up to temp is 15 minute or less.
Both times the chicken I cooked was moist & flavorful. One butt cook, I did not wrap or use a water pan. The bark got too dark & hard for my taste. The second butt cook, I did use a water pan with 50-50 mix of apple juice & water. I wrapped the butts when the color was where I like it. I don't think the water pan is really needed for moisture, but did (IMHO) enhance the flavor of the bark much like spritzing would have.
I have cooked on WSM clone, Chargriller COS & a couple of UDS before the Assassin. I love this Assassin Smoker. It is the perfect size for my needs -- cooking for family & small groups. It is rock solid; holds temps like a charm & is very fuel efficient. I have known Jeff Conley at Assassin Smokers for a couple of years. I also know several competition teams that cook on Assassins. From all that I hear, the customer service at Assassin Smokers is equal to anyone in the business. You will not go wrong with an Assassin Smoker. Now I got to start saving again for one of those sweet Assassin Grills. I'll be glad to try to answer any questions.
