Kai Yaker
Knows what a fatty is.
In October 2020, I ordered a 48 by 20 reverse flow from Kat Smokers. I picked it up from Ken at his shop on 2-17-21. At the time of pick up Ken gave me a run down of how this type of smoker operated and how to season it. Very good information.
The attached picture is as I was seasoning the smoker on 2-18-21.
Here is my thoughts on the Kat Smoker after taking a long look at it and the seasoning I did:
1. The materials used is 1/4" all around.
2. This unit appears around 650 lbs.
3. Welds all appear to be very well done.
4. The castors are heavy duty and allow easy rolling on flat surfaces. Off road, probably not.
5. The fire box is 15" in depth, 18" wide and about 17" high. There is an interior plate at the top of the fire box to keep the flame from reaching the top of the box. This makes the interior top 16". I never thought of that but am glad the extra plate is there.
6. The smoker came with two easy slide out cooking shelves.
7. The interior plate running from the fire box to the opposite side is low enough I can use a water pan on it and it will be below the cooking grate.
8. The interior plate is shaped so that the direct center is lower then all the surrounding edges. There is a 1" ball valve for draining under the smoker at this lowest area. This design is awesome! Hopefully I explained it okay.
9. I started my initial fire with some left over lump and my flame thrower. It started up real easy.
10. I used small-ish splits and wanted to bring the temp up slowly and not get past 275 in that the paint was not cured and I did not want it to flake off.
11. The smoker liked to run at the 255-260 temp and that was just fine with me. Ate a split about every 30 minutes until the end when I started using small pieces to get rid of them.
12. I did not put a digital temp probe on the interior but the Tel-Trues mounted on the lid showed about a five degree difference with the higher side being near the fire box.
13. I started drinking beer and watching the Bruins game...no further review cause I drank too much and the Bruins lost. Boo!
Overall my opinion is that this smoker is going to be a great addition and perfect for a family smoke or small get together. It was easy to start up and easy to run. It should be able to handle five briskets; however, the top shelf is tight to the top of the smoker. This will cause over cooking of the meat on the top shelf. My recommendation would be no more than three packers so that they can be moved around as needed. It should be able to handle a butt load of butts, chicken, etc. Like I said a good family unit or for small parties. If you are looking to cater or cook for big groups then a bigger unit will be needed.
If you have any specific questions or requests let me know. Cheers!
Yaker
The attached picture is as I was seasoning the smoker on 2-18-21.
Here is my thoughts on the Kat Smoker after taking a long look at it and the seasoning I did:
1. The materials used is 1/4" all around.
2. This unit appears around 650 lbs.
3. Welds all appear to be very well done.
4. The castors are heavy duty and allow easy rolling on flat surfaces. Off road, probably not.
5. The fire box is 15" in depth, 18" wide and about 17" high. There is an interior plate at the top of the fire box to keep the flame from reaching the top of the box. This makes the interior top 16". I never thought of that but am glad the extra plate is there.
6. The smoker came with two easy slide out cooking shelves.
7. The interior plate running from the fire box to the opposite side is low enough I can use a water pan on it and it will be below the cooking grate.
8. The interior plate is shaped so that the direct center is lower then all the surrounding edges. There is a 1" ball valve for draining under the smoker at this lowest area. This design is awesome! Hopefully I explained it okay.
9. I started my initial fire with some left over lump and my flame thrower. It started up real easy.
10. I used small-ish splits and wanted to bring the temp up slowly and not get past 275 in that the paint was not cured and I did not want it to flake off.
11. The smoker liked to run at the 255-260 temp and that was just fine with me. Ate a split about every 30 minutes until the end when I started using small pieces to get rid of them.
12. I did not put a digital temp probe on the interior but the Tel-Trues mounted on the lid showed about a five degree difference with the higher side being near the fire box.
13. I started drinking beer and watching the Bruins game...no further review cause I drank too much and the Bruins lost. Boo!
Overall my opinion is that this smoker is going to be a great addition and perfect for a family smoke or small get together. It was easy to start up and easy to run. It should be able to handle five briskets; however, the top shelf is tight to the top of the smoker. This will cause over cooking of the meat on the top shelf. My recommendation would be no more than three packers so that they can be moved around as needed. It should be able to handle a butt load of butts, chicken, etc. Like I said a good family unit or for small parties. If you are looking to cater or cook for big groups then a bigger unit will be needed.
If you have any specific questions or requests let me know. Cheers!
Yaker
