Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill

[lemonD]

Matalan are doing these for 40 quid at the moment.
http://www.matalan.co.uk/mailer/04-07/ebook.asp Page 31.

Lemon.

[BBQer]

Wouldn't recommend it for BBQing or smoking, myself. To difficult to control temps because the bottom is completely open not allowing control over the air flow to the briquets.

These look promising.


Or the good ol' standby.

[jerrykr]

I have one and if you load the bottom with charcoal you can get a brisket or a turkey done before it needs more fuel.

but I agree, you have NO control of airflow, thus heat.

Also, I tried a turkey on a very cold day. the sheet metal is so thin, I could not get the temp up enough to cook. Had to finish the bird off in the indoor oven.

[Richierich]

Perhaps I should have read this before purchasing one!! Maybe see how I get on with it before I pass judgement.

[Richierich]

So, I tried it on the weekend, not a resounding success, but if you take the end product on its own, it tasted great. The drawbacks seem to be that the coals take an age to get going and then almost seem to die down to nothing once you close it up, periodic stirring of them helps but kicks up a lot of dust. I think I will light the coals external to the unit and get them hot before adding, also, I might drill a few small holes around the side of the charcoal pan to allow some air in, not too many to start with, if I suddenly feel they are not needed I can always fill them with something.

I also had the water pan in, the instructions said hot water, I used boiling, I think all that happened was that the water took the heat.

Having said all of this, I did not use the amount of charcoal as suggested by the instructions, I think I was treating it too much like a barbecue an dkeeping the charcoal to a minimum.

[saucisson]

Have a read of this, especially the last paragraph where they mention keeping the temperature at around 200F.
http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuehelp/f/f060604a.htm
The water is designed as an energy dump to keep the temperature in the water smoker aound/below boiling point for long slow moist cooking. Under these conditions chicken pieces can take 2 to 3 hours to cook and a joint of meat all day. The beauty of the method is you are very unlikely to charcoal the food and once cooked timing is not critical, you can have the food ready and just leave it in there taking it out as required over the course of an evening.

Before drilling any holes can you find a small round cake tray or a trivet to place in the bottom of the pan? This may give you the ventilation you need.

HTH

Dave

edit : more explaination here:

http://www.barbecuen.com/water.htm

[Richierich]

Dave,

Thanks for the message, I was thinking further into the issue last night, and had figured a cooling rack or something would be worth a try before I permanently modify the unit. The 2 links make for interesting reading, especially the remark to increase cooking times by up to 400%, I had looked around and seen only references to 200%, so waiting 1 1/2 hours for a few chicken breasts to be finished on Sunday doesn't seem to bad.

It is also interesting to see the reference again to what seems to be huge quantities of charcoal (in comparison to a barbecue) 6 - 10 pounds (3 - 5kg) would keep me BBQ'ing for a week or so. I think its time to invest in a charcoal chimney, the hardest bit seems to be getting the wood/charcoal in to the bottom once everything is going, maybe I will modify the smoker to allow me to lift it clear of the charcoal pan and refill it.

If we get a dry day over the weekend I may have a play.

[jerrykr]

to cook a full turkey, I fill the charcoal pan completely with brickettes, and start them with an electric loop lighter.

That will usually last most of the day, and cook the turkey. I fill the water pan with tap water. it catches the drippings and keeps things moist.

Hope this helps.

[Richierich]

Thanks for that Jerry, I think I need to go and buy shares in a charcoal company, and make sure I get plenty on there, I guess too much heat is better than to little, I can always open the door or lift the lid to regulate heat, but you can't get heat if it just ain't there!

[saucisson]

I have a New Braunfels version of the Brinkman Smoke n' pit smoke king which is essentially a bigger version of yours with a solid top and a full length door and yes, it does get through charcoal. The manual states:

Place 8-10 pounds of charcoal in charcoal pan. Depending on
the weather a full pan of charcoal will burn for 5-6 hours.

And it suggests 3-4 lbs if grilling. The full length door does make for easier replenishing of water and charcoal though, although it still requires a lot of fiddling with to maintain a constant temperature.

Dave

[Bad Flynch]

I have use a similar BBQ for years with excellent success. On this side of the pond, we sometimes call them "water smokers." The real secrets to using them are 1) to light and add charcoal using a separate charcoal lighter chimney and 2) controlling the temp of the burn using the included damper on the top of the machine and learning how much charcoal (one chimney full) to add at the correct intervals.

I keep mine at 225� F and that works great. I add charcoal by monitoring the temperature. I drilled a hole in the top of the thing and stuck in a digital thermometer probe. That allows me to watch the temperature swings and get an average 225� F. I add charcoal when the temp decreases to around 200�. The charcoal can be prepared at convenient intervals by using a starter chimney and all I have to do is add it to the big cooker at the correct time. In time, one learns how long it takes to start the charcoal so that it gets ready when the cooker is ready to take it.

One can add water to the pan, which is recommended. One can also add wine, fruits, onions, etc., to the water pan to spice up the flavor.

A full rack of ribs takes about 4 hours, a small (3.5 Lb) chicken will take about 4 hours, and a beef brisket or pork shoulder takes much longer. When cooking the bigger pieces of meat another digital thermometer is useful for the meat to see that it gets to around 195� F. Sometimes a big brisket may take 11 hours.

I live in the country and have my own Hickory, so I can cut a tree when needed. The larger chunks, when wetted, last long enough that adding a few pieces when the charcoal is added is all that is needed. The beginning load is 3 or 4 chunks and you can tell then more is needed. At least 4 hours of smoke is needed for a good, dark flavor. Apple is great for pork, and other woods like Pecan for selected application. Smoked Duck is great!

[Richierich]

Just done some Herring with some Oak chips, absolutely fantastic, better than anything I have ever bought from a shop, subtle yet smokey.

Maybe its not such a bad piece of kit after all!

[saucisson]

If I missed it where did you get the chips Rich?

Dave

[Richierich]

Asda, theres a range that is endorsed by John Burton Race. Oak, Maple, Alder, Plum, Cherry, Pear & Apple chips, all in 450g bags for around �1.90. They also do Maple grilling planks for around the same price.

Got mine from an Asda-Walmart Hyper thingy, whether they have them at all stores I do not know. Cheap enough to experiment with.

On the subject of Oak I hope to confirm a source in the coming days for sawdust. But I might just bite the bullet and by on-line or over the phone, although one place I found on line has taken over a week so far to tell me how much the postage costs would be, no reply yet.

Rich