Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Time to get serious about a new smoker.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Originally posted by TripletDaddy View Post
    Yes. pretty much. The chute has the capacity to hold an entire bag of lump for longer cooks. You use an air valve to control flow but I wouldnt mess. I'd skip straight to buying a guru to put on the air valve, making it set it and forget it. The main difference between the cabinet and the egg is the capacity. I would guess that a nice ceramic is still the king for highest overall temp. Also, you can't use a cabinet as a grill, so there is no dual functionality, but I dont care about that. I have a separate grill and I dont want to trade the ability to cook a hamburger on an egg for the ability to cook a ton of meat at once in a cabinet.
    Yeah, the grill space is great. That would be the attraction for me. I wouldn't have to cut briskets in half.
    At least the Big Ten went after a big-time addition in Nebraska; the Pac-10 wanted a game so badly, it added Utah
    -Berry Trammel, 12/3/10

    Comment


    • Originally posted by ERCougar View Post
      Yeah, the grill space is great. That would be the attraction for me. I wouldn't have to cut briskets in half.


      You are a doctor, so you qualify to buy a cabinet!
      Fitter. Happier. More Productive.

      sigpic

      Comment


      • Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
        More evidence that Tapatalk sucks.


        Except for the stupid photo uploader.
        Get confident, stupid
        -landpoke

        Comment


        • First BGE run today

          image.jpg
          Get confident, stupid
          -landpoke

          Comment


          • You must be eggstatic!

            Comment


            • Originally posted by HuskyFreeNorthwest View Post
              First BGE run today

              [ATTACH]4436[/ATTACH]

              That looks so clean!
              "I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's a$$, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it". - Tommy Callahan III

              Comment


              • Originally posted by YOhio View Post
                You must be eggstatic!
                I was so eggcited when I woke up, the. I got eggstremely nervous not wanting to mess up and be a LaUte.
                Get confident, stupid
                -landpoke

                Comment


                • Originally posted by TripletDaddy View Post
                  I hadn't checked out the assassin, that is a pretty good value. Seems like more cubic cook space than the comparable Superior ss1 or the stumps classic, and for less money. How comfortable are you with the assassin brand? I ask only because you said you almost pulled the trigger but didn't, so wondering if you don't mind sharing your thoughts or recs. I like Stumps but man his stuff is overpriced (although they are universally reviewed to be built like tanks), I think in part due to his celebrity on the circuit. Superior makes a nice cabinet, as well. I think this is something I want to do but need a little direction.

                  one thing that concerns me with most of the current cabinet configs: with the stack on the top middle, I have read loads of reviews which state that after awhile, it is not uncommon to get char drip from the stack directly onto whatever meat is right below on the top rack. I know stumps is remodeling some of its cabinets to an offset stack (much like a traditional pellet smoker config). Would be a bummer to lose some of your shoulder or ribs because black goo has dropped down onto it.
                  Nothing wrong with the Assassin. There was a gentleman in Northern Ca who had bought one, then found out his mom was dying, so he decided to sell it so he could take her on a trip and spend more time with her. I wasn't really shopping for a new smoker when this one presented itself. I was on the fence about buying it and while I tried to justify it to myself, he sold it. He had paid close to $3500 for the smokers with the upgrades, and was selling it for $2800.00. I'm sort of kicking myself that I didn't pull the trigger. As to the dripping goo, I had not heard of that, but granted, I haven't really looked into it much either. I wonder if you could fabricate some type of a drip pan with a removable tray to place directly under the stack?

                  Originally posted by ERCougar View Post
                  Yeah, once I saw them, I recognized them. They look pretty cool, but I'm wondering how they work. Is it like an egg where you control heat by air flow?
                  How they work is pretty simple, and ingenious. First, you dump lit charcoal into the chute, so it sits on the bottom, and then the remaining fuel (lump or charcoal) is poured into the chute. There is a grate at the bottom to prevent the fuel from dumping out the bottom. Since all of the doors (cook chamber, ash pan and chute) are closed and sealed to prevent oxygen from entering the smoker, the only oxygen is allowed in through the ball valve in the ash pan door area (this would be below the grate that is holding the fuel).

                  The amount of "fire" is controlled by the amount of oxygen that is allowed in from the ball valve. The chute-full of fuel can't all ignite at one time because there isn't enough oxygen in the chute. So the burning area of fuel is contained in the bottom part of the chute -- where there is a "tube" that allows the heat/smoke to transfer from the chute into the cook chamber.

                  By controlling the amount of oxygen that is fed in, the amount of "fire" or the temp in the cook chamber is controllable. That's where electronics like a Stoker or Guru come in handy. You use the fan to force oxygen into the ball valve when needed. A flap closes in the fan when the fan shuts off (to prevent extra oxygen from entering the burning area of fuel).

                  Forcing the oxygen in will allow the temp to rise faster (helping to recover the heat in the cook chamber after the door has been opened). But you can always let it recover naturally, just takes a little longer.

                  The heat/smoke move through the cook chamber much slower than on a typical offset stick burner smoker. Therefore the cook chamber doesn't dry out as much either -- this creates a nice moist cooking environment that doesn't tend to cause meat to dry out as fast while it is cooking. Myron Mixon is pushing one that uses a water pan like the backwoods smokers and it has an offset vent to prevent anything dripping onto the meat. The water pan makes a more moist cooking environment and also acts as your drip pan.

                  "I can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull's a$$, but I'd rather take a butcher's word for it". - Tommy Callahan III

                  Comment


                  • Originally posted by ERCougar View Post
                    I'd never heard of these so I did some googling and came across this.

                    Kind of funny. Says EJ picked the perfect smoker for him.
                    Spot on
                    "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

                    Comment


                    • Myron is using that water smoker almost exclusively now. Hard to argue with his results but all accounts indicate the regular sealed cabinets are already plenty moist. If I were cooking as many brisket as he does, the added moisture would probably be handy.

                      $2800 for everything including the upgrades is a nice price.
                      Fitter. Happier. More Productive.

                      sigpic

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by TripletDaddy View Post
                        Myron is using that water smoker almost exclusively now. Hard to argue with his results but all accounts indicate the regular sealed cabinets are already plenty moist. If I were cooking as many brisket as he does, the added moisture would probably be handy.

                        $2800 for everything including the upgrades is a nice price.
                        His cabinet looks pretty nice. Hadn't seen it before.
                        "Nobody listens to Turtle."
                        -Turtle
                        sigpic

                        Comment


                        • Originally posted by Green Monstah View Post
                          Nothing wrong with a maverick. I'd argue it's harder to get to the "feel" phase without going through the wireless thermo phase.

                          Also, I'd say a maverick is essential if you're using an egg or bullet smoker so you have a good idea of the smoker's temp. The guys with traegers don't ha e to worry about spiking temps like you and I.
                          Good ideas. I will learn on the Maverick and go from there.
                          “There is a great deal of difference in believing something still, and believing it again.”
                          ― W.H. Auden


                          "God made the angels to show His splendour - as He made animals for innocence and plants for their simplicity. But men and women He made to serve Him wittily, in the tangle of their minds."
                          -- Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons


                          "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
                          --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by LA Ute View Post
                            Good ideas. I will learn on the Maverick and go from there.
                            The Maverick is good for newbies. It'd probably be better to use a temp probe that measures the grill heat than an internal meat probe. The gauge on all kamado style ovens isn't that accurate and the temp where it measures is different than where the meat is cooking. Things like a diffuser will alter the temp even further.

                            The thermapen though is the way to go. It's especially helpful because you can quickly get temps all over rather than leaving a single probe in the thickest part of your meat.
                            "Nobody listens to Turtle."
                            -Turtle
                            sigpic

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by Surfah View Post
                              The Maverick is good for newbies. It'd probably be better to use a temp probe that measures the grill heat than an internal meat probe. The gauge on all kamado style ovens isn't that accurate and the temp where it measures is different than where the meat is cooking. Things like a diffuser will alter the temp even further.

                              The thermapen though is the way to go. It's especially helpful because you can quickly get temps all over rather than leaving a single probe in the thickest part of your meat.
                              Thanks. A Thermapen is already on my list of items to look at. You're right about the Egg's temp gauge, which is on the dome, where it's about 25 degrees hotter them at grill level. So that takes some getting used to. Also, you can calibrate the gauge (which I haven't done yet).
                              Last edited by LA Ute; 06-23-2014, 11:49 AM.
                              “There is a great deal of difference in believing something still, and believing it again.”
                              ― W.H. Auden


                              "God made the angels to show His splendour - as He made animals for innocence and plants for their simplicity. But men and women He made to serve Him wittily, in the tangle of their minds."
                              -- Robert Bolt, A Man for All Seasons


                              "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
                              --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

                              Comment


                              • For my UDS I installed a spare EGT probe I had lying around. All Type-K thermocouples are pretty much the same.

                                I also have plans to add a glow plug for charcoal starting.
                                "It's true that everything happens for a reason. Just remember that sometimes that reason is that you did something really, really, stupid."

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X