Hi all,
I live in an apartment in Los Angeles and have used either my old trusty
Weber kettle or a gas grill out on my balcony for years, but my landlord has
recently banned all barbecues on the premises. Apparently this has to do
with fire regulations and insurance companies not covering landlords whose
tenants use barbecues anywhere other than in a common area well away from
any apartments. Last week someone got caught using one on his balcony and
was served an eviction notice.
Needless to say, I'm not at all pleased with having to put my Weber in
storage, and I'm not particularly pleased about having to use the natural
gas grill in the common area.

Today I was reading about electric smokers and I was wondering if I might be
able to get away with using a small residential electric smoker like a
Cookshack or Smoketex out on my balcony. I prefer smoking to grilling
anyway. For anyone other than a die-hard purist, would something like this
work for pork ribs, chicken, tri-tip and brisket? If so, what's the best
kind to consider and what features should I look for?

I need my barbecue fix. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.

Cheers!
Tom

Tom Lange wrote:

> Hi all,
> I live in an apartment in Los Angeles and have used either my old trusty
> Weber kettle or a gas grill out on my balcony for years, but my landlord has
> recently banned all barbecues on the premises. Apparently this has to do
> with fire regulations and insurance companies not covering landlords whose
> tenants use barbecues anywhere other than in a common area well away from
> any apartments. Last week someone got caught using one on his balcony and
> was served an eviction notice.
> Needless to say, I'm not at all pleased with having to put my Weber in
> storage, and I'm not particularly pleased about having to use the natural
> gas grill in the common area.
>
> Today I was reading about electric smokers and I was wondering if I might be
> able to get away with using a small residential electric smoker like a
> Cookshack or Smoketex out on my balcony. I prefer smoking to grilling
> anyway. For anyone other than a die-hard purist, would something like this
> work for pork ribs, chicken, tri-tip and brisket? If so, what's the best
> kind to consider and what features should I look for?
>
> I need my barbecue fix. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.


The insulated electric oven type cookers are perfect for your
situation. The better models have 1000 degree insulation and are
barely warm when running full on. This means they can be used
safely in confined areas. They also produce relatively
small amounts of smoke, so they don't attract much attention.

Technically they're ovens, so it's likely they don't
violate any regulations.

Of the foods you mentioned, they work well for everything
except tri-tip. Leave that one to grilling.

I've used Bradley, Smokintex and Cookshack. I've settled
on Cookshack. Highest quality, best design, and best
service.

--
Reg

"Reg" > wrote in message
. com...
> Tom Lange wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>> I live in an apartment in Los Angeles and have used either my old trusty
>> Weber kettle or a gas grill out on my balcony for years, but my landlord
>> has recently banned all barbecues on the premises. Apparently this has
>> to do with fire regulations and insurance companies not covering
>> landlords whose tenants use barbecues anywhere other than in a common
>> area well away from any apartments. Last week someone got caught using
>> one on his balcony and was served an eviction notice.
>> Needless to say, I'm not at all pleased with having to put my Weber in
>> storage, and I'm not particularly pleased about having to use the natural
>> gas grill in the common area.
>>
>> Today I was reading about electric smokers and I was wondering if I might
>> be able to get away with using a small residential electric smoker like a
>> Cookshack or Smoketex out on my balcony. I prefer smoking to grilling
>> anyway. For anyone other than a die-hard purist, would something like
>> this work for pork ribs, chicken, tri-tip and brisket? If so, what's the
>> best kind to consider and what features should I look for?
>>
>> I need my barbecue fix. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.
>
>
> The insulated electric oven type cookers are perfect for your
> situation. The better models have 1000 degree insulation and are
> barely warm when running full on. This means they can be used
> safely in confined areas. They also produce relatively
> small amounts of smoke, so they don't attract much attention.
>
> Technically they're ovens, so it's likely they don't
> violate any regulations.
>
> Of the foods you mentioned, they work well for everything
> except tri-tip. Leave that one to grilling.
>
> I've used Bradley, Smokintex and Cookshack. I've settled
> on Cookshack. Highest quality, best design, and best
> service.
>
> --
> Reg
>

Another satisfied Cookshack (008) owner here, when I don't feel like
babysitting my Egg, it's nice to let the CS rip overnight unattended with a
butt/brisket. They don't use but a few ounces of wood chunks for the smoke
flavor. There's an active forum you might want to check out:
http://forum.cookshack.com/groupee for more info. The CS won't put a hard
bark on your meat (it's a moist cooker) or much of a smoke ring but I've
liked the results of whatever I've smoked. YMMV, I'm not a shill for the
company (really...) - just a satisfied customer.
Good luck with your choice.
Brian

Reg wrote:>
>
> The insulated electric oven type cookers are perfect for your
> situation. The better models have 1000 degree insulation and are
> barely warm when running full on. This means they can be used
> safely in confined areas. They also produce relatively
> small amounts of smoke, so they don't attract much attention.
>
> Technically they're ovens, so it's likely they don't
> violate any regulations.
>
> Of the foods you mentioned, they work well for everything
> except tri-tip. Leave that one to grilling.
>
> I've used Bradley, Smokintex and Cookshack. I've settled
> on Cookshack. Highest quality, best design, and best
> service.
>

Thanks for the info, I just ordrerd the 008 from Cookshack with stand
and cover.

Scott

scott wrote:

> Reg wrote:>
>
>>
>> The insulated electric oven type cookers are perfect for your
>> situation. The better models have 1000 degree insulation and are
>> barely warm when running full on. This means they can be used
>> safely in confined areas. They also produce relatively
>> small amounts of smoke, so they don't attract much attention.
>>
>> Technically they're ovens, so it's likely they don't
>> violate any regulations.
>>
>> Of the foods you mentioned, they work well for everything
>> except tri-tip. Leave that one to grilling.
>>
>> I've used Bradley, Smokintex and Cookshack. I've settled
>> on Cookshack. Highest quality, best design, and best
>> service.
>>
>
> Thanks for the info, I just ordrerd the 008 from Cookshack with stand
> and cover.
>
> Scott
>

Sounds good. Let me know how it works out.

Another good resource is the forum

http://forum.cookshack.com/groupee

--
Reg

Reg wrote:
> scott wrote:
>
>> Reg wrote:>
>>
>>>
>>> The insulated electric oven type cookers are perfect for your
>>> situation. The better models have 1000 degree insulation and are
>>> barely warm when running full on. This means they can be used
>>> safely in confined areas. They also produce relatively
>>> small amounts of smoke, so they don't attract much attention.
>>>
>>> Technically they're ovens, so it's likely they don't
>>> violate any regulations.
>>>
>>> Of the foods you mentioned, they work well for everything
>>> except tri-tip. Leave that one to grilling.
>>>
>>> I've used Bradley, Smokintex and Cookshack. I've settled
>>> on Cookshack. Highest quality, best design, and best
>>> service.
>>>
>>
>> Thanks for the info, I just ordrerd the 008 from Cookshack with stand
>> and cover.
>>
>> Scott
>>
>
> Sounds good. Let me know how it works out.
>
> Another good resource is the forum
>
> http://forum.cookshack.com/groupee
>

I've spent about 10 hours going through the forums, good info.
I ordered straight from Cookshack and hear they have great customer service.

scott wrote:

> Reg wrote:
>
>>
>> Sounds good. Let me know how it works out.
>>
>> Another good resource is the forum
>>
>> http://forum.cookshack.com/groupee
>>
>
> I've spent about 10 hours going through the forums, good info.
> I ordered straight from Cookshack and hear they have great customer
> service.
>

They do. In my last support call a few months ago, the CEO
called me back from a golf course within about 15 minutes.
Solved the heck out of my equipment problem on the spot.
That level of service is typical for CS.

Glad you found the forum helpful. The best info is in the archives.
That's where you'll find the really good stuff.

One the whole, the CS forum is at an all time low right now.
The number of experienced cooks actively posting has been
dropping off for a few years. Just an FYI.

--
Reg

"Tom Lange" > wrote:
> Hi all,
> I live in an apartment in Los Angeles and have used either my old trusty
> Weber kettle or a gas grill out on my balcony for years, but my landlord
> has recently banned all barbecues on the premises. Apparently this has
> to do with fire regulations and insurance companies not covering
> landlords whose tenants use barbecues anywhere other than in a common
> area well away from any apartments. Last week someone got caught using
> one on his balcony and was served an eviction notice.
>[ . . . ]
Some years ago, my late friend, Dave LeMoine, caused a major fire using his
Hibachi on his balcony near La Brea and Franklin.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 04:42:45 GMT, "Tom Lange" >
wrote:

>Hi all,
>I live in an apartment in Los Angeles and have used either my old trusty
>Weber kettle or a gas grill out on my balcony for years, but my landlord has
>recently banned all barbecues on the premises. Apparently this has to do
>with fire regulations and insurance companies not covering landlords whose
>tenants use barbecues anywhere other than in a common area well away from
>any apartments. Last week someone got caught using one on his balcony and
>was served an eviction notice.
>Needless to say, I'm not at all pleased with having to put my Weber in
>storage, and I'm not particularly pleased about having to use the natural
>gas grill in the common area.
>
>Today I was reading about electric smokers and I was wondering if I might be
>able to get away with using a small residential electric smoker like a
>Cookshack or Smoketex out on my balcony. I prefer smoking to grilling
>anyway. For anyone other than a die-hard purist, would something like this
>work for pork ribs, chicken, tri-tip and brisket? If so, what's the best
>kind to consider and what features should I look for?
>
>I need my barbecue fix. Thanks for any helpful suggestions.
>
>Cheers!
>Tom
>
The sentence above says "all" barbecues [except those in a designated
cooking area.

I'd certainly ask for written permission before buying anything.
But, I expect you have two choices - use that designated area or move.
I doubt if you will get any exceptions.


Harry