My new Greasy Hill smoker

[daninnewjersey]

Got a new Greasy Hill reverse flow 2 weeks ago. I knew all about their designs...and what you get/don't get for the price. I researched them a lot and figured some mods would be necessary but I was fine with that. Plus, with the budget I had...higher priced smokers weren't in the cards. We drove down to pick her up (in Section Alabama) and the guys in the shop were really nice. They showed me the ins and outs and even helped us when we had a fuse blow when hooking up the trailer (turns out the previous owners of the truck had the wrong size fuse in there). Anyway, she towed like a dream and we were back home in no time (if you call 13 hours no time :mrgreen:.

Fired her up the next day and she started getting up to temp. However, when she got to about 225 she hit a wall and wouldn't go any higher...no matter how much wood I put in her. I posted about this last week and you guys came up with some very good ideas....higher firebox grate as well as slide open vents under the grate. I also had an additional exhaust added just because. Fortunately I have a friend that's very good at welding so two thrity packs of Miller Lite and a promise of some food got him to work his magic.

Finally had a chance to try out all the mods last night and man....what a difference. She got to 250 within 40 minutes...and there was only a 10 degree difference between left and right thermometers. She peaked at 275 only because I had run out of time to test her and closed up all the vents.

So....my experience seems to be like a lot of others I've spoken to...their smokers work...but you should be prepared to make some mods to get the smoker to do what you want. I'm more than happy with the purchase (will work VERY well this summer at my farmer's market) and would recommend them for sure.

 

[BBQ_MAFIA]

Congrats and good luck with your new cooker!

 

[va_connoisseur]

Good luck and congrats.

Smart choice going with the three racks. That will really bump up capacity.

 

[sliding_billy]

That is a beautiful smoker. Congrats.

 

[SmittyJonz]

Cool - so adding an additional intake lower / sliding and raising grate and adding exhaust was all it took ?

 

[ButtBurner]

looks great

still mystifies me how he cant get them right from the git go.

 

[Hardlife2]

I got my Greasy Hill TOS-01 3 weeks ago. On the seasoning run I was able to get it to 310 in about 35 minutes. On my first cook I had her running at 275 - 300...no real smoke flavor in the ribs. My nest run a week alter was 3 slabs of ribs, and a shoulder roast, using one probe in the roast and the other dual probe thermometer on the bottom rack...rack temp ran at 225 - 250 using oak and pecan....great results. I would still like to get more intense smoke flavor though.

 

[phelpsfamilybbq]

No Mods for me

I bought a greasy hill smoker 2 days ago. I talked to the guy before he made it and he gave me a 1/4 inch large fire box (30 by 24) and the grate has been lowered in the fire box. Today I did a first run to get her ready for cooking using hickory. I was able to get her to 350 no problem and recovered quickly after steaming. I was able to hold 250 and 275 at will. This smoker is pretty darn good. I almost did not buy the smoker based on some older reviews. But so far I think I have got a heck of a deal. I am going to cook some ribs tomorrow and then I will have my final verdict, but as of now this reverse flow smoker appears to be a winner. I dont see the need for any modifications at least not on the Br 01 model that i purchased.

 

[SmittyJonz]

I bought a greasy hill smoker 2 days ago. I talked to the guy before he made it and he gave me a 1/4 inch large fire box (30 by 24) and the grate has been lowered in the fire box. Today I did a first run to get her ready for cooking using hickory. I was able to get her to 350 no problem and recovered quickly after steaming. I was able to hold 250 and 275 at will. This smoker is pretty darn good. I almost did not buy the smoker based on some older reviews. But so far I think I have got a heck of a deal. I am going to cook some ribs tomorrow and then I will have my final verdict, but as of now this reverse flow smoker appears to be a winner. I dont see the need for any modifications at least not on the Br 01 model that i purchased.

Post a cpl pics of yours.

 

[tsimm15]

Congrats! Good looking smoker.

 

[loco_engr]

Might want to calibrate the thermometer just to be sure.

 

[daninnewjersey]

Thanks guys. Did my first real smoke in it yesterday...60lb pig. Was my first whole hog to boot. I got rave reviews and a couple catering job offers. I'll post pics later....but the Greasy Hill passed with flying colors....

 

[thunter]

Beautiful! :-D

 

[Tugcapt]

very nice that looks like a good machine. Ive been cooking whole hogs for years I try not to let on how simple it is

 

[Tugcapt]

Hi just wondering with your 4 VUDS have you ever cooked a suckling pig? ive been thinking about hanging one in mine maybe 20-30 lbs

 

[aawa]

Great looking pit. Now you can up your capacity for your Farmers Market Sales!

 

[bluetang]

Mighty fine lookin rig! Congrats

 

[daninnewjersey]

First whole hog

Well, the new smoker got her first trial run and what better way to christen her than with a whole hog (my first). I read a ton of tips/tricks on this site and then just kinda went for it. Got a 61lb beauty from a local producer, dried off the skin and put a nice coat of olive oil on the skin. Did not use any rub/injections/mop. Got the smoker up to 250 and in went the pig.

I kept the temp between 250-275 for the first few hours. I didn't have my meat thermometer so I was pretty much going by feel and looks. realizing it started to look good (and the skin was getting really hard) I lowered the temps to 215-225 in the hopes of not drying it out.

I then trailered my little bundle of goodness to the party. After all the pictures were taken, kids poking at it :mrgreen: etc, it was show time. The meat was super juicy but wasn't 100% pullable. My buddy and I pulled what we could and sliced the rest (and then shredded that by hand). Into a big aluminum pan went the meat which was half sauced and half unsauced. To my surprise the unsauced went first.

Overall everyone was super happy and I got a couple orders out of the deal (and a $50 gift card to the local super liquor store). Being the neurotic perfectionist about my food I thought it tasted pretty good but should have cooked just a bit more to be 100% pullable. Thanks for all the tips/suggestions...I really appreciate it.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

Congrats and enjoy

 

[dano]

Nice! Congratulations.