New Assassin Grill 48"

Great looking grill!

I've had issues with my maze jumping. I either got it too hot and/or the draft was really strong and the hot air lit the tips of the coals on the others side of the tubing. I use my 36 as a mini stick burner, 1/2 chimney of hot lump and very small splits every 45min or so to maintain 250-300* A few times I've added some lump after I've wrapped to maintain temps.
 
JS-TX said:
Great looking grill!

I've had issues with my maze jumping. I either got it too hot and/or the draft was really strong and the hot air lit the tips of the coals on the others side of the tubing. I use my 36 as a mini stick burner, 1/2 chimney of hot lump and very small splits every 45min or so to maintain 250-300* A few times I've added some lump after I've wrapped to maintain temps.
Click to expand...

I am thinking about using the angle iron from the shipping crate to help prevent the maze from jumping. I have a couple of ideas I may try out.

I am absolutely planning on using this as a mini stick burner as well. my grates are all cut in half and I was thinking about leaving one side out and feeding the fire with sticks from above and cooking my food indirectly on the grate side. I have to play around with it to see what works though.
 
I was at Assassin today and picked up my new 36 inch grill. These things are beasts and I can't wait to get it fired up and burned in.

I must say that Jeff is one of the nicest guy's to talk with and he welcomes everyone to his shop the same. He is a down to earth man who builds an affordable quality cooker.

We talked about using mazes but I am going to use this grill for my chicken so burn time is not an issue for me, but I am planning on playing around with mazes for future reference!!
 
First off I apologize for bumping an old thread as my first action as a new member but biggest reason I found this site and felt compelled to sign up was the information and reviews on the Assassin 48 which I have just started working with Rachel on customizing. I actually got here through the Baby Back Maniac video on if I could only have one cooker as it is time for me to upgrade from my Weber 22 performer. I had an additional part poured as a grill pad for my patio so I can put whatever I want on there but only room for one big cooker. The Assassin just calls to me at that price point as the only grill/smoker I will ever need. A big thank you to BBQ Freak for the series of videos that truly showed both passion and technique for using this grill. I have been also looking at the Yoder 24x48 and LSG 24x48 for that adjustable charcoal grate but the price point and cooking capacity of the Assassin is too good to pass up on in my eyes.

This thread in particular with the custom SS rod grates was a huge selling point for me. I was hoping to get a review of how those grates held up with a full season of cooking. I was thinking for my personal use to do the same for the main rack but go with the SS expanded for the top rack as that will be used 90% of the time for veggies and sides. Just curious how happy you are with that top grate and if it is recommended to just go with the rods for both.

I also have a question on the V-pan/Water Pan for those who use it. I am not a fan of using water in my cooks but based on pictures it appears I could use the water pan as more of a deflector plate and I could line with foil to catch the drippings for easier cleanup. Is the V-pan really that much better for smoking as I don't see the need for having both I would like to just perfect the one setup.

Last question for now and again apologies for starting out with a full novel here is on the second smoke stack. I will only have the one firebox door and for sure will move the first smoke stack all the way to the right that just fits my cooking style carried over from the kettle. My question is should I put a second one in either the left or middle for those just cooking some burgers or steaks nights and only need direct heat. I am just wondering if that chamber is so large that having a stack closer to the coals will give me a higher temp to sear on. I see in the pictures for this one you have stacks on both ends so curious if that was just for flexibility since you have two fire doors or if there would be an advantage to two even if I will always have the charcoal in the same spot.
 
The water can will warp if used dry.

I have a right side stack on my 36 & don't have any trouble searing burgers or steaks since I don't generally close the door when grilling/searing. I also put the charcoal on the water pan/vpan rails when I want a really good sear.
 
That makes sense on the water pan will not get one. Thank you for the confirmation on just using the smoke stack to the right and it seems for my uses I will only need the one. I do have a follow-up on when you put the charcoal pan in the top slot would you be able to put the V Pan in the third slot. I know there is a storage spot for it on the cart but if everything could be kept in the "firebox" could have more storage before
 
I've had my Assassin 48 for about 4 months. It has taken me a while to figure out how to use it, and enjoy it more now than when I first received it. It is definitely a quality unit.

My one regret - if you could call it that - is that I wish instead of upgrading both shelves to expanded SS, to simply upgrade the main shelf only to the round bar.
 
You are happy with the SS expanded for the top rack though or would you say round bad there as well if fits in budget?

Was there one or two things you learned in those 4 months that you wish you did from the start or just a process everyone will have to go through to learn the unit?
 
To me, there are two main advantages of round bar grates over expanded metal grates:
1) Round bar is easier to clean than expanded metal.
2) The round bar grates are cut in half which gives you more flexibility for both cooking and cleaning(I can clean the grates in my kitchen sink because they are cut in half).

I like to cook with a wood fire off to one side with a half grate on the other side cooking food indirectly. I can then just slide the grate directly over the fire for a reverse sear and slide it away from the fire if there is a flare up. In this regard, I only do this with the bottom shelf. The top shelf being made from round bar only has the ease of cleaning advantage.
 
Daddio BBQ said:
You are happy with the SS expanded for the top rack though or would you say round bad there as well if fits in budget?

Was there one or two things you learned in those 4 months that you wish you did from the start or just a process everyone will have to go through to learn the unit?
Click to expand...

If you use the top shelf (I rarely do), then expanded SS for the top shelf if fine.

It took me a while to learn how much charcoal, how much to open the vent, how open vs closed fire door affects heat, etc. etc. It is no fault of the grill, simply my learning what ways work best for me and the way I want to cook. For instance, my weber get the meat closer to the fire than the Assassin ever will. That is not necessarily good or bad. It just required me to learn how the grill acted differently than my Weber 26" Kettle.

I also learned that when I cook indirect with the door closed and the meat (sausage in this case) over by the smoke stack side and charcoal over by the door side, I need to rotate and flip the sausage for even cooking. If I don't the side away from the fire is raw. I didn't need to do this on my Kettle. Again - not bad, just different.

And depending on how you cook/use this none of these may be true for you.

But I will say to get a super hot sear takes significantly more charcoal than my 26" weber kettle does and that makes sense - it's a bigger grill with the charcoal further from the grate. It just took me a bit of time to figure all this stuff out.

All in all it's a beautiful unit and a great value.
 
Very good tip on sliding the half shelf back and forth over the coals. I will make sure the bottom rack is in two pieces to do the same. For the top rack it just seems like fish and veggies will be easier to work with on the SS expanded despite being harder to clean.

If the charcoal pan is moved to the vpan rail as described how far will the charcoal be from the bottom grate. I will have the same learning curve from the kettle where mine are only an inch or two away.
 
Daddio BBQ said:
If the charcoal pan is moved to the vpan rail as described how far will the charcoal be from the bottom grate. I will have the same learning curve from the kettle where mine are only an inch or two away.
Click to expand...

Placing the charcoal pan in the vpan rail will get you within 3 inches of the cooking grate. That is exactly how I set it up for grilling.
 
Peter B said:
Placing the charcoal pan in the vpan rail will get you within 3 inches of the cooking grate. That is exactly how I set it up for grilling.
Click to expand...

FYI Assassin told me specifically their grates are not designed to handle the heat from that and will warp them.
 
Daddio BBQ said:
Is that another advantage of the SS round bar grate on the bottom?
Click to expand...

Yes. I am spending extra money to have a custom round bar grate made up for me separate of Assassin.

Anyone local to DFW want a stainless steel Assassin 48" grate at a discounted price?
 
TXNewbie said:
Yes. I am spending extra money to have a custom round bar grate made up for me separate of Assassin.

Anyone local to DFW want a stainless steel Assassin 48" grate at a discounted price?
Click to expand...

You should just sell me your whole 48ā€ assassin. šŸ˜

For guys who do a lot of grilling on it how are steaks and such?
 
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