Brinkman smoke n grill
 

Anyone ever use one of these for smoking ? I just want something cheap to practice with.

How much is it? I was looking at a cheap one to mess around with as I can afford a nice one just yet.

Only 39.00 bucks man. I let you know how it goes.

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Gr...1#BVRRWidgetID

Haha no ****ing way. That was the exact one I was looking at yesterday! It probably won't keep a consistent temp so most of the pros on here will tell you not to buy it. But I need something cheap at this point and am curious how this one would work.

For $20 more you can get this and it's much better than the Brinkman. It's only available at Tractor Supply.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/redston...smoker-1028251

I have one. I haven't done much with it other than turkeys at Thanksgiving and a pork butt or beef brisket once in a while.
I'm not a pro though, and only do anything with it a few times a year though, so I don't need anything fancy. It works for me.

This is all I'm looking for "something that works" It doesn't have to be fancy.

I had the Brinkman in FLA, but think Stewie is right!!!

Are the tall smokers better? I prefer to have the pit on the side but I could be wrong, one like this:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_aadpxuCT7n...l+At+Bid66.jpg

I've heard condescending remarks about those types, but I thought they were pretty standard, so I'd like an opinion on this as well. I assume the side-box smokers are better at keeping a low heat. Wheres Alton Brown when you need him?

The big green egg is extremely popular and has this same shape, but I'd bet my 401k that the materials to make it are head and shoulders above the cheap one.

They do the job for cheap.

I went out to Tractor Supply, my wife bought me one of these for Fathers Day!
Thanks dear!

Let me know how that works for you, I'm very tempted to go snag one of those for myself.

It was "on sale" for $65. I've got to assemble it, probably use it next weekend to smoke some chicken and ribs. Low and slow, baby...low and slow.

I started on something like that. You have to babysit it quite a bit but they do good Q and you'll figure out if it's something you want to pursue more seriously for $40. That's a cheap way to learn and if you can produce good Q with something that doesn't hold temp well, you can definitely do well on a better rig.

I have one and have had good luck with it. Google some mods for it though, you definitely need to vent the charcoal bowl if you do nothing else.

They definitely aren't great, but for that purpose it should do the job.

I had one like that... I found it hard to keep the temp low. Always said I was smoking/grilling the ribs. For some things, that isn't bad though.

I just bought a side fire box smoker (Chargriller) which I smoked up some baby back ribs yesterday with some Apple/Cherry/Hickory wood. Mmmm.. good.

I have a 18" weber smokey mountain I'll sell for $100. It's a little on the dirty side, but I'll clean it up for ya if you want to buy it.

Where do you live?

Chillicothe

WSM is the best on the market. Holds 225 to 250 for a solid 8 or 9 hours. I'd jump on that deal but I already have the 22inch model

I love it, but I use my 22" more now. I have to thin the heard of smokers and grills. i currently have 6 (just gave away my Chargriller with offset firebox). I use the 22" smokey mountain, 22" regular weber grill, and my green mountain pellet smoker so all the others gotta go.

Yeah, Ive read that you need to in order for the ash to fall out. What i'm worried about though is that the charcoal will burn that much faster and hotter. I'm having trouble keeping the temp down already.

I used the Red Stone Smoker from Tractor Supply today for the first time on some ribs and a pot of beans.

I started with a charcoal stacker full of Kingsford, then added Royal Lump Charcoal and some damp chunks of hickory. Let the coals get hot for about an hour before filling the water bowl (50-50 mix water and apple juice).

The smoker did a pretty nice job. I drilled some holes in the charcoal bowl in the bottom to help with air flow. Let the ribs smoke for three hours, then wrapped them up in foil and put them in the oven for another two hours at 265. Smoked beans were outstanding.

Heat in the smoker was around 225 to 250. The door does not seal too well, and the body leaks a little smoke, but not too bad. For $65, it did a damn fine job, and cleanup wasn't bad.

Here's the rig in my back yard by my tin roof rusted garden shack in the back yard. It was nice and cool late morning, ribs were done before it got hot in the afternoon. Worked out perfect. Going to try pork chops and chicken next time.

http://i46.tinypic.com/2zy9c95.jpg

Just curious, why did you start with the Kingsford instead of going straight to the lump charcoal?

My pal Mr. Doggity (the BBQ guy) said Kingsford makes the best base, because it lights in a charcoal stacker quicker than lump, and burns more evenly. He does a stacker (or two, depending on the size grill he's using) as the base, then puts in the lump charcoal and smoker chips second. Gets the fire started quicker. Plus lump charcoal is usually a bit more expensive than Kingsford, so doing this method conserves on the more expensive charcoal.

I ended up using about 1/3rd of a bag of Kingsford to get started, then most of a bag of Royal Oak lump to keep the fire going for 4 hours.

The Red Stone smoker is not nearly as efficient as the Weber Smokey Mountain, but for $65 I thought it did a good job. It certainly wouldn't last long if you used it a lot, like every weekend. But for occasional stuff, should last 3 or 4 years.

Huh, the small broken up pieces in a bag of lump seem to light fairly quickly. I can definitely see an advantage cost-wise though.

And yeah, I just want something to mess around with once in a while. If I want serious Q I'll go to the smokehouse down the street.

I feel the same way. Smoking ribs is an half-day commitment. By the time you buy the meat, the charcoal, the wood chips, the apple juice, and spend time with the cleanup, you can buy a slab or two of ribs from any of the BBQ joints in KC for about the same money and without burning a half day labor. It's about the journey, really. My ribs turned out great, and although they probably won't win any contests, I was very happy with the results.

That's why I do it. I don't need trophys, I just want my friends and family to enjoy my food and have a good time.

I started with one of those, but I never could seem to keep the temp steady. I finally just went with the 2 chambered Brinkman and I've used it over 20 years.

The 22 WSM is what I'm hoping to get by football season. I was going to just get a brinkman etc but figured I'd just buy now what I'd probably buy down the road anyway. I was going to do the 18 but I think the 22 will be more versatile.

Spring for the 22, it's worth it.

Thanks. Yeah I was going with the 18 but after I thought about it, I'm going w the 22

I smoked ribs on this thing yesterday and they turned out great. I just let the charcoal burn down until it was around 220 and then just kept throwing 8-10 pieces of charcoal on at a time, and when it got too hot I put on the soaked chips. It took a little babysitting but the ribs were bad ass. I can tell this is going to be my new hobby.

I am in the market for a cheaper smoker. Wonder what types the good fellows of CP would recommend for a beginner?

I see Brinkman makes the smoke n grill, and the barrel grill and smoker. Wondering if there are any other beginner models under $100 to take a look at?

Well, you could start by reading the thread.

I have the Brinkmann Barrel Smoker and I love it. I am a noob when it comes to smoking meats but I have done 3 boston butts, smoked a couple of salmon and used it for regular grilling. I really like it. I think its a great smoker for a beginner.

http://www.brinkmann.net/images/prod...0-3001-S-l.jpg

Just curious since summer has hit if anyone had any different opinions. And no I don't have a tractor supply store you asshat!

Oh yeah...probably not many tractors in AZ.

Correct. Thinking about just smoking meat on the pavement here though, probably hot enough.

Hurry up & buy a smoker Mr. Grill Master.
Lets get some of this cat fish SMOKED!

I am still looking at smokers and have likely settled on this. Thoughts or anyone that has this model that would like to comment on its use?

To me it reads like it doesn't have vents so I would need to regulate the temp with a water pan instead?

http://bbq.about.com/od/smokerreview...-And-Grill.htm

The Red Stone from Tractor Supply has vents for the same or less money. I've been very happy with mine, used it three times in the last month, no complaints. Too bad there's no store where you are. Maybe they'd ship one. UPS can't cost that much more.

I used one of those Brinkmans for many years, and my little brother still prefers his, to his big offset firebox smoker.

I had really good luck with Turkey's in them, just keep an eye on the water pan or the heat can get away from you.

The one in post 9 is the one I have now, and I really like it. Not the best, but good enough.

Did you have to make any modifications to it or are you using it as is? The description of it on their site is lacking so if you could provide me with any more details, that would be great.

Looked up the shipping to Phoenix and it would only be $15 extra to ship! This could be the winner then.

I was reading today that the offset smokers are not the best to use because the smoke tends to rise, no transfer horizontally. The reason expensive horizontal smokers work better is because of reverse flow. And others say the temp difference between the different sides of the box are much too great for even cooking.

Don't know how much any of that makes sense but a few articles I have read have made those comments.

I'm thinking about smoking a chicken next weekend. Does anyone have any tips or experience to offer?

Get some really big rolling papers....

I drilled about 10 holes in the charcoal pan to let air pass better to the coals. Also put some fire felt around the door seal. Look, it's a $70 smoker, so it's not going to be as nice as a WSM, but it does a fine job. Make sure to use plenty of liquid in the water pan. What I do is fill it with water then chuck in a can of frozen apple juice. You can use frozen cherry juice too if you like. Works great.

I've used mine about three or four times in the last month. Did ribs twice, and chicken. All came out great. You can also get one of those small steel pots, and put a pot of BBQ beans in there and smoke the beans. Really makes the beans great. Don't forget to get some hickory, pecan or apple wood chips for the fire.

Check out this thread:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=130883

Thanks Gblowfish, much appreciated. I will probably go with this Red Stone one as the Brinkmann doesn't have any vents for some odd reason.

Chief fans are professional meat smokers

I can put some air holes in it for you

My cheap ass brinkman actually holds a nice low temp pretty well. I mess with it about every 45 minutes I guess, but that doesn't seem too bad to me.

Mix 1c apple juice, 1/4c apple cider vinegar, 1tbs honey and some dry rub. Inject the bird, coat in dry rub then let it rest for 2-4 hours in the fridge. I cook mine upright on one of those wire stands.

What the guy was saying about a marinade is good, you don't necessarily have to inject the chicken, but letting it marinade for about 4 hours in the fridge will help the tenderness.

I like a dry rub from these guys. I use it on ribs, but it's also fine on chicken:
http://blueshog.com/website/about.html

Hmm, that is interesting. The reason the smoke stack is at the opposite end, is to bring it across the meat from the source.

I do know that right next to the heat entrance, it is going to be hot as hell, so I don't use that part of the grill.

I bought a couple pretty good thermometers on Ebay, drilled holes in the cabinet and mounted them above the areas that I use. The far end and middle.

I don't pay any attention to that generic one that came with it, that says cool, ideal and hot.

Also, at the recommendation of this board on another one of these threads, my daughters bought me a remote thermometer that is the shiznit. You don't have to open the hood, and can watch the temp progress of the meat from the comfort of the indoors.

those are pretty easy to modify where you wont have to do that so much. Just make little grill vents on the bottom and one on the top and you can shut the heat down and let out some of the ash for a longer burn. a couple of holes at each location, and a semicircle of metal with a bolt through the middle by the flat side of the semicircle, and you can open and close airflow. Just put one on each side of the grill and one on top

My Brinkmann Gourmet smoker came in today! I used my credit card reward points to get this so I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...5/DSCN0374.jpg

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...5/DSCN0373.jpg

I wanna use my smoker for the first time. What cut of meat is the most forgiving for a first timer to try?

Pork butt. It's almost impossible to screw it up.

Sounds good. Length of time on a 7lb'er?

12-14 hours if you're doing low and slow (225).

Don't cook by time, cook by temp.

You want an internal temp of 190-200. The temp will stall around 170 for 1-2 hours but once it gets past that stall, you get the difference between pork that can be pulled, and pork that needs to be sliced.

It takes a very long time - at least 1.5 hrs/lb. But there's no set time. You want to get the internal temp up around 200 if you're pulling it. It's going to stall at 165-170 for at least an hour.

Sounds good, thanks for the help. If it takes that long I may have to wait until another day to do it, have some stuff to do in the morning.

Just start it on the smoker for 5 or 6 hours then finish it at 225 in the oven. You're not in a competition. Cheating is fine, especially if it means the difference between having Q or not having Q.

190-200 internal temp on a 7 lb. pork butt is overcooked.

The weight has nothing to do with it. And no, it isn't.

I live in Phoenix and it is 110 outside, I wanna do as much of it outside right now as possible! lol

But that could work if I don't want to have to tend to the smoker all damn day. Thanks.

Is it? At what point can it be pulled then?

No..no it is not unless you intend on slicing it. For pulled pork, 190-200 is perfect

Who knew that an internal temp of a 6 lb. butt vs. a 9 lb. butt made no difference? Tell me more.

If you're short on time, just foil it around 160 and leave it on the smoker, it will push it through the stall.

Thanks for the tips guys. Came out pretty good for my first smoke! Didn't get it hot enough as it wasn't as pull apart as I would have liked and I might not have applied the rub liberally enough. But still tasted awesome. I used Mesquite wood with pineapple juice in the water bowl. Smoked for 8 hours.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/g...5/DSCN0377.jpg

Nice go of it, boss. You'd be better off mixing that pineapple juice with some rum for your lady though. It ain't doing shit for you in your water bowl.

I thought someone on here said putting about 1 cup of juice in the water bowl was a decent idea? Or I read somewhere that it was to add some sweetness. :shrug:

You could add some flavor by injecting it, spritzing it, or possibly marinating it, but you can't infuse flavor from your water bowl. The water bowls primary function is to help regulate the temp, offset the heat.

And maintain moisture...

yep, I smoked some pork loin and butt today. Put the wood chips in water and the meat was very tender and juicy.