 Won't burn your ribs |
| Review Date: September 8, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Trend, |
Although, I have to use more charcoal than recommended amd some work is required to assemble, it still deserves 5 stars. It won't cook hot enough without a nearly full basin of charcoal, at the start. I do understand that smokers cook at lower temps, but it's just too slow without a good amount of charcoal. Cheapo charcoal doesn't work so well with this one, unless you are cooking burgers, steaks or hot dogs only. This is especially true if you are cooking a lot of meat and using both racks. I like having the nice size door because it's possible to turn over the meat you are slow smoking (with a very long tong) on the second rack, without having to remove the lid and the top cooking rack, but in doing so, you really need to be careful. If needed, you can use the door to add more charcoal/woodchips. The reason this grill is my all time favorite; the meat gets so tender, and there's no burn char. It browns and gets a delicious color, nice smokey flavor, but no burned areas. No charcoal residue gets on your meat. I don't use a water pan. This is a slow way to cook, but you don't have to constantly watch over your meat. I find when I get a good, even smoke going, only have to turn the meat once. Really, I can go cook my side dishes without running out to check on the meat every 10 minutes. Flare ups are rare. Healthy size slabs of ribs takes about 3 1/2 hours to cook. Best to cook burgers and hot dogs first, as soon as the charcoal is ready, without the lid on...after they are done, I put on the ribs and let them slow smoke.
I don't know where they get that 50 lbs of meat from. Each rack holds approx., 1 large St Louis style ribs with tip attached or 2 baby back slabs or 2 chickens or 5 nice size steaks. It will smoke a 12 to 18 pound turkey and each rack will easily hold 3 lbs of hot dogs or sausage or 10 midsize burgers.
UPDATE: I can attest, this smoker cooks up tender, moist and....evenly cooked meats, without vents. Never a need to place your meat into a low temp oven to finish cooking and tender up. No. The meat is lip smacking good, evenly cooked, beautiful color, and tender moist, right off this smoker. It's delicious. It has an open bottom area for the charcoal pan. The pan covers the bottom of the smoker. The smoke rises up through your meat. It does not escape out of the bottom, unless using whiskey soaked woodchips after coals have ashed over (sometimes I do, those chips create a lot of smoke). Once the charcoal is well ashed over and burned down some, you will not have flareups as long as the lid is properly fitted down into the barrel.
I add about 8 briquettes for every 1 1/2 hours of smoking, for the amount I cook. I start bone down and only, turn my meat once. You don't have to monitor temps. It's not necessary. Once you get a good smoke going, this smoker holds it's temp. With experience, you begin to know how many briquettes to add for the amount of meat you are smoking. Old fashioned, Kingsford's charcoal and water soaked wood chips, works best. Matchlight is convenient, but it burns too fast and you can't use it as "add to" charcoal because of the lighter fluid infused into it.
The only person I would not recommend this smoker for....someone that wants to cook up a lot of meat at one time. It doesn't handle a lot of meat, very well. I wish the cooking grate was 22", but it's closer to 18" It is not as durable as Weber's Smokey Mountain, but it's also about 1/5 the price. I'm just replacing mine. It never developed any inside rust, just a little on the outside after 13 years and I was not nice to my smoker. With care, this Brinkmann's will last a good 15 years. It's constructed of a heavier gauge steel. Over time, the thermometer may fall out, unless you seal it. I never paid attention to the temp readings anyway ( I focus on how my charcoal is burning) and when mine fell out, I plugged the area with aluminum foil. My father was real old school. His, was an open grill was on a tripod; no lid, no hood, no vents, or thermometer. All he had was a spray bottle for flare ups, a big basting brush and some heavy duty foil. He'd sit there and baby that meat for hours and clamp a foil tent over the entire, meat filled, grate. His, were some of the smoked best ribs you'd ever sink your teeth into. |
Not as bad as it seems...
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| Review Date: May 2, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Lt. Aldo Raine, South Florida |
I have been reading these reviews and after seeing all the recommended modifications, I would have changed my mind and I would never buy this smoker thinking that it will never function properly. With that being said, I have actually had this smoker for over a year and cooked right out of the box (No Mods) with excellent results. On the last 4th of July, I had smoked 40 pounds of pork butt all at once for 13 hours. They melted in your mouth!
So let's get real. This is an entry level smoker. I got mine at Home Depot for $[...]. You definitely should use good charcoal and you have to keep the door open and the lid off until the charcoal ashes over. Once it's hot, put in your wood "chunks," then your water pan. Put in the racks and add the meat. Now put the lid on and you're off. If you put enough charcoal in, then you will probably need to add more every hour. Use tongs to push some of the old charcoal back and add more wood/charcoal. You will probably have to add water every 2 to 3 hours pouring carefully through the grating. Remember that you are not looking at a propane or electric smoker where you can set the heat and walk away. Charcoal needs a little finesse. This is what barbecuing is all about!! The thermometer reads warm/ideal/hot. I cook at ideal (duh) and have still had great results. Once the meat looks cooked, check the temp in the meat to see if it's done. If this had a real thermometer, I might get frustrated trying to keep the temp in the same place all day long, but again its charcoal. You won't have prolonged steady heat.
Considering this is an entry level smoker for $[...] I give it 5 stars. I have never regretted buying this smoker. This smoker will only better your smoking skills. Hope this helps!
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Excellent Smoker
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| Review Date: April 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jennifer, MA |
| I purchased this for my brother and his family. He had been wanting a smoker for quite a long time, but didn't know which one to purchase. I decided to help him out and purchase this one for him. He loves it and I couldn't be happier. It smokes very well. He uses sand at the bottom with a bit of wood...Don't really know how that works, but he LOVES this Brinkmann. |
Great smoker for the price
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| Review Date: June 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Laz, CT, USA |
| This is a great little smoker for the price! I don't understand all the people saying they're having trouble getting this up to temperature. It says to use 8-10 pounds of charcoal to get which is roughly half a bag. As long as you use enough would this thing will easily cook hot! I used less than that and had to cool it down. Rust is not a problem with it either if it is properly maintained as the direction described. After each use you have to wipe it down completely with a damp towel and clean the cover. Also I have stored mine in a shed so that it is not exposed to the elements when not in use. The only negative I agree with is that the charcoal sitting in the pan on the legs is difficult to access to remove ashes, but I haven't had much of a need to do so yet. |
perfect for an enthusiatic beginner
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| Review Date: July 15, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Stephen, |
| Just bought one for myself a week ago and we had a backyard party. I had never used a smoker before but had seen it done. I really wanted a smoker for a while and found this model for cheap. Its not perfect the access to the fire pan and water pan is awful. If you are willing to sit around and be attentive you can make excellent meals with this little smoker. The whole point of cooking outside is to have fun! So grab some beer and really focus on the cooking process. |
Work well, with some modifacation
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| Review Date: June 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Ted Bell, Utah |
| It won't get hot enough if you use the charcoal in the pan as directed. I drilled a bunch of holes all over the pan to get some airflow through the charcoal. Works great now. |
Works great with some Modifications
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| Review Date: October 24, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Phillips, Oklahoma, USA |
I have owned two of these and have used both of them until they totally rusted out.. they are not meant to last forever but they do a great job while they live.
I would like to see some much needed design changes performed at the factory but until they do I have outlined how to do those changes at my website at the following address if anyone is interested.
[...]
Basically you need to drill some holes in the charcoal pan to allow more air to the charcoal, add an actual thermometer so you know what temperature you are cooking at, and I recommend moving the legs from the inside of the smoker to the outside to allow for changing the charcoal during a the long cook times involved with cooking briskets, pork butts, etc.
These mods can be performed in about an hour and do wonders for the unit.
Enjoy! |
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