Hello all;

Well this last weekend I got tired of the electric smoker and purchased and
assembled a char-griller with the side fore box. The knock-out panels ain't as
easy as they indicate. Whew!

Probably not the best and probably not the worst.

http://www.chargriller.com/shop/grills/smokin-pro.html

I also picked up a chimney starter and some lump. I'm sitting with a large
bag of red oak from the Santa Maria area. :-) It does make great tri-tip.

I just finished seasoning the grills and parts and intend of using it this
weekend for some tri-tip and maybe some chicken - I'll wait for a hoard of
people before doing a whole brisket.

If anyone has one of these monsters - I would be delighted to get some advice,
suggestions or comments.

Thanks,
Dimitri

"Dimitri" > wrote in message
. ..
" Hello all;"

My chargriller is a lot like that. It has more of a stove door on the fire
box than the drawer your's seems to have. I find the WSM is better for
trouble free brisket, but the minion method works well on the chargriller
too... just not so well as the WSM. That being said, yours is a bang-up
job for ribs and butt is what I'm finding. You can fire the fire box and
the smoke chamber at the same time if you want a liitle more heat. I like
grilling on it better than my gas jobbie by far.

Dimitri wrote:
> Hello all;
>
> Well this last weekend I got tired of the electric smoker and purchased and
> assembled a char-griller with the side fore box. The knock-out panels ain't as
> easy as they indicate. Whew!
>
> Probably not the best and probably not the worst.
>
> http://www.chargriller.com/shop/grills/smokin-pro.html
>
> I also picked up a chimney starter and some lump. I'm sitting with a large
> bag of red oak from the Santa Maria area. :-) It does make great tri-tip.
>
> I just finished seasoning the grills and parts and intend of using it this
> weekend for some tri-tip and maybe some chicken - I'll wait for a hoard of
> people before doing a whole brisket.
>
> If anyone has one of these monsters - I would be delighted to get some advice,
> suggestions or comments.
>
> Thanks,
> Dimitri
>
>
I have one, have done ribs a few times and a couple of butts,and some
chickens. all came out great. I agree about the knock-out
panels,thought they should have came knocked out with a panel to bolt in
place if you wern't going to use the side fire box. I had to drill the
punch out holes for the bolts to keep from distorting the side of the
cooker. make sure you place a can on the rack under the cooker, beneath
the drain hole or "drainings" from the cook will drip out all over the
patio (know from experience).

>
> If anyone has one of these monsters - I would be delighted to get some
> advice, suggestions or comments.
>
> Thanks,
> Dimitri
>

Buy a whole lot of cheap meat and remember the three (3) most important
things in bbq: Practice, Practice, Practice.

Now get out there and smoke,

Spud

"Dimitri" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hello all;
>
> Well this last weekend I got tired of the electric smoker and purchased
> and assembled a char-griller with the side fore box. The knock-out panels
> ain't as easy as they indicate. Whew!
>
> Probably not the best and probably not the worst.
>
> http://www.chargriller.com/shop/grills/smokin-pro.html
>
> I also picked up a chimney starter and some lump. I'm sitting with a
> large bag of red oak from the Santa Maria area. :-) It does make great
> tri-tip.
>
> I just finished seasoning the grills and parts and intend of using it this
> weekend for some tri-tip and maybe some chicken - I'll wait for a hoard of
> people before doing a whole brisket.
>
> If anyone has one of these monsters - I would be delighted to get some
> advice, suggestions or comments.
>
> Thanks,
> Dimitri

Got the same one. Not a bad smoker, considering the price. Had fun with the
knockouts, did ya'? <G>

There's some good advice in the FAQ - http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/ -
that I thought really helped with temp control. I used some rolled up
aluminum flashing to extend the chimney almost down to the cooking surface.
Also, inverted the U-shaped fire grate in the cooking chamber and positioned
it at the highest settings with the adjustable hangers, so that it acts
kinda like a baffle. If you're burning any wood in the side box and it
happens to flame up, the flame has a bad habit of reaching up into the
cooking chamber, and all of a sudden you're grilling.... Right now, I'm
playing with a downward facing baffle between the fire box and the cooking
box, trying to do a better job of deflecting the direct heat. I've also
dropped some bricks in the bottom of the cooking chamber, hopefully for heat
retention and to level out the ups and downs. The jury is still out on that
one.

Oh yeah, the biggest disappointment was the piece of junk thermometer that
came with mine. If they're still shipping the same one, it's useless. I
replaced it with
http://www.teltru.com/cart/detail.as...51K04FBAKLA4AA
Good luck and have fun.

Jerry

Greetings and congrats.

I also had a hard time removing my side cutout, and ended up resorting
to the drill and file method. I agree that they should find a method to
make it easier to remove. Espically since it called for removing a
damper that might have been useful for fire/heat control if it could
have been left in place.

One of the best things I have found to do with the side firebox is
stick smoke. What that means is that I will start a fire in the
firebox, then take a small length of firewood and set it on top of the
grate in the firebox. It will usually slowly char and smoke, lasting
through 3 refills on the charcoal, and give out a slow small wisp of
smoke that flavors the meat perfectly. I espically love doing this with
any fruit wood, mainly apple or peach.

One more thing to remember, season your grates good, and don't let them
get too near the heat if grilling. Doing that will keep them looking
good with minimal work. Mine made it through a very humid summer
without a single speck of rust. Wish I could say the same for my
charcoal chimney.

Just my tuppence,
Jon

"D. Winsor" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Dimitri" > wrote in message
> . ..
> " Hello all;"
>
> My chargriller is a lot like that. It has more of a stove door on the fire
> box than the drawer your's seems to have. I find the WSM is better for
> trouble free brisket, but the minion method works well on the chargriller
> too... just not so well as the WSM. That being said, yours is a bang-up job
> for ribs and butt is what I'm finding. You can fire the fire box and the
> smoke chamber at the same time if you want a liitle more heat. I like
> grilling on it better than my gas jobbie by far.

Cool, Thanks I have been seasoning the grills almost as I would a cast iron pan.
Seems to be OK. I was thinking about smoking a turkey on T day - I'll also do an
oven one as a back-up.

I was thinking about "fire control" as 1 large chimney seems to be OK for about
225 (depending on the outside temp, I was thinking about putting live coals on
the left of the fore chamber and unlit coals on the right near the vents. I'll
have to test and see if I can get a long slow even burn as the fire moves from
left to right.

Dimitri

"Dave" > wrote in message
news:vdvef.3367$Rb.970@trndny01...
> Dimitri wrote:
>> Hello all;
>>
>> Well this last weekend I got tired of the electric smoker and purchased and
>> assembled a char-griller with the side fore box. The knock-out panels ain't
>> as easy as they indicate. Whew!
>>
>> Probably not the best and probably not the worst.
>>
>> http://www.chargriller.com/shop/grills/smokin-pro.html
>>
>> I also picked up a chimney starter and some lump. I'm sitting with a large
>> bag of red oak from the Santa Maria area. :-) It does make great tri-tip.
>>
>> I just finished seasoning the grills and parts and intend of using it this
>> weekend for some tri-tip and maybe some chicken - I'll wait for a hoard of
>> people before doing a whole brisket.
>>
>> If anyone has one of these monsters - I would be delighted to get some
>> advice, suggestions or comments.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dimitri
> I have one, have done ribs a few times and a couple of butts,and some
> chickens. all came out great. I agree about the knock-out panels,thought
> they should have came knocked out with a panel to bolt in place if you wern't
> going to use the side fire box. I had to drill the punch out holes for the
> bolts to keep from distorting the side of the cooker. make sure you place a
> can on the rack under the cooker, beneath the drain hole or "drainings" from
> the cook will drip out all over the patio (know from experience).

Good advice. Thanks

Dimitri

"Spud" > wrote in message
. net...
>
>
>>
>> If anyone has one of these monsters - I would be delighted to get some
>> advice, suggestions or comments.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dimitri
>>
>
> Buy a whole lot of cheap meat and remember the three (3) most important things
> in bbq: Practice, Practice, Practice.
>
> Now get out there and smoke,
>
> Spud

:-)

My sentiments exactly....

They opened a Sam's club in my area last week.

Good price on Boneless Butts,

Dimitri

"Jerry" > wrote in message
...
> "Dimitri" > wrote in message
> . ..
>> Hello all;
>>
>> Well this last weekend I got tired of the electric smoker and purchased
>> and assembled a char-griller with the side fore box. The knock-out panels
>> ain't as easy as they indicate. Whew!
>>
>> Probably not the best and probably not the worst.
>>
>> http://www.chargriller.com/shop/grills/smokin-pro.html
>>
>> I also picked up a chimney starter and some lump. I'm sitting with a
>> large bag of red oak from the Santa Maria area. :-) It does make great
>> tri-tip.
>>
>> I just finished seasoning the grills and parts and intend of using it this
>> weekend for some tri-tip and maybe some chicken - I'll wait for a hoard of
>> people before doing a whole brisket.
>>
>> If anyone has one of these monsters - I would be delighted to get some
>> advice, suggestions or comments.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Dimitri
>
> Got the same one. Not a bad smoker, considering the price. Had fun with the
> knockouts, did ya'? <G>
>
> There's some good advice in the FAQ - http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/ -
> that I thought really helped with temp control. I used some rolled up
> aluminum flashing to extend the chimney almost down to the cooking surface.

Interesting.


> Also, inverted the U-shaped fire grate in the cooking chamber and positioned
> it at the highest settings with the adjustable hangers, so that it acts
> kinda like a baffle. If you're burning any wood in the side box and it
> happens to flame up, the flame has a bad habit of reaching up into the
> cooking chamber, and all of a sudden you're grilling....

Good suggestion. I'll try it


Right now, I'm
> playing with a downward facing baffle between the fire box and the cooking
> box, trying to do a better job of deflecting the direct heat. I've also
> dropped some bricks in the bottom of the cooking chamber, hopefully for heat
> retention and to level out the ups and downs. The jury is still out on that
> one.
>
> Oh yeah, the biggest disappointment was the piece of junk thermometer that
> came with mine. If they're still shipping the same one, it's useless. I
> replaced it with
> http://www.teltru.com/cart/detail.as...51K04FBAKLA4AA
> Good luck and have fun.
>
> Jerry


Thanks I will - I have successfully used a candy thermometer before. Maybe I'll
clip one to the smoke stack and see how that works. Hell they're only about ten
bucks.

Dimitri

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Greetings and congrats.
>
> I also had a hard time removing my side cutout, and ended up resorting
> to the drill and file method. I agree that they should find a method to
> make it easier to remove. Espically since it called for removing a
> damper that might have been useful for fire/heat control if it could
> have been left in place.
>
> One of the best things I have found to do with the side firebox is
> stick smoke. What that means is that I will start a fire in the
> firebox, then take a small length of firewood and set it on top of the
> grate in the firebox. It will usually slowly char and smoke, lasting
> through 3 refills on the charcoal, and give out a slow small wisp of
> smoke that flavors the meat perfectly. I espically love doing this with
> any fruit wood, mainly apple or peach.

Interesting.

>
> One more thing to remember, season your grates good, and don't let them
> get too near the heat if grilling. Doing that will keep them looking
> good with minimal work. Mine made it through a very humid summer
> without a single speck of rust. Wish I could say the same for my
> charcoal chimney.

The seasoning's been done - thanks


> Just my tuppence,
> Jon

Worth a bit more I think.

Dimitri

"Dimitri" > wrote in message
.. .
>
> "D. Winsor" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Dimitri" > wrote in message
> > . ..
> > " Hello all;"
> >
> > My chargriller is a lot like that. It has more of a stove door on the
fire
> > box than the drawer your's seems to have. I find the WSM is better for
> > trouble free brisket, but the minion method works well on the
chargriller
> > too... just not so well as the WSM. That being said, yours is a
bang-up job
> > for ribs and butt is what I'm finding. You can fire the fire box and
the
> > smoke chamber at the same time if you want a liitle more heat. I like
> > grilling on it better than my gas jobbie by far.
>
> Cool, Thanks I have been seasoning the grills almost as I would a cast
iron pan.
> Seems to be OK. I was thinking about smoking a turkey on T day - I'll also
do an
> oven one as a back-up.
>
> I was thinking about "fire control" as 1 large chimney seems to be OK for
about
> 225 (depending on the outside temp, I was thinking about putting live
coals on
> the left of the fore chamber and unlit coals on the right near the vents.
I'll
> have to test and see if I can get a long slow even burn as the fire moves
from
> left to right.
>
> Dimitri
>
>

Dimitri, were you going to brine or inject your bird prior to smoking on
T-day? What my husband has done in the past and comes out really well is to
inject the bird with butter, garlic and honey. It comes out so juicy that
way! Good luck on the smoking of the bird! I won't ever eat an oven
roasted one again, I don't think. :~)

kili

P.S. And for you turkey stock makers, if you've never tried making broth
out of the smoked carcass, do try it! It adds a light smokey flavor to
soups. I was hesitant at first, but it comes out really well!

"kilikini" > wrote in message
.. .

<snip>

> Dimitri, were you going to brine or inject your bird prior to smoking on
> T-day? What my husband has done in the past and comes out really well is to
> inject the bird with butter, garlic and honey. It comes out so juicy that
> way! Good luck on the smoking of the bird! I won't ever eat an oven
> roasted one again, I don't think. :~)
>
> kili

Usually I apple brine the turkey I roast in the oven.

I did not like the injecting results when I deep fried some turkeys last year.

I am not sure yet about the one I am going to smoke.



> P.S. And for you turkey stock makers, if you've never tried making broth
> out of the smoked carcass, do try it! It adds a light smokey flavor to
> soups. I was hesitant at first, but it comes out really well!

Yes it does - A friend used to send me a Greenberg Smoked Turkey from Texas
every Christmas.

Good suggestion.

Dimitri