Interesting, making stock in the oven.
Printable View
Interesting, making stock in the oven.
Since I have a self-cleaning electric, it's hands-down oven FTW for any long-simmering application. If I had a gas oven I might be a bit hesitant about leaving it on for 1.5 days. At a minimum I'd want CO alarms in every room, and I'd look into whether my particular model was prone to having the flame snuff out spontaneously (thus venting unburned gas into the house and creating an explosion hazard). I know older ovens used to be prone to this but I'm not sure about newer ones.Quote:
Originally Posted by irul&ublo
Electric smoker. You won't regret it. I have this one. Only 18 inches square:Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
http://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker_p/smkmdl1.htm
Sorry if this is a repeat of an earlier discussion, but has anyone actually purchased and used a Char-Grill Kamado grill from Home Depot or Lowes? (Same unit at both with a different model number and stand configuration, $299 at Lowes and $329 with a bigger table at HD.) It's metal not ceramic, but the reviews seem to say that it performs pretty much like a BGE at 1/3 the price once you fix a minor air leaking issue with the lower intake. Seriously considering pulling the trigger on one very soon - $300 is a lot easier to stomach than $1,000, and after spending hours babysitting the temp on my cheapo offset smoker I'm ready for something a little more set-it-and-forget-it for those 12 hour smokefests.
your neighbors are ready for you to have a better smoker system too, so you'll smoke meats more often.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pegleg
I was in the same boat. My family bought me a brinkman smoker a few Christmases ago. It had served it's purpose and I felt that I was deserving of something a little more fancy. Looked at the BGE, drooled, said someday, oh well.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pegleg
After reading this thread and the online reviews I bought myself the Char-grill model for Father's Day from Lowes. Was thinking that it would be cool for the weekend cooks, when I'm not pressed for time. While it is crazy good for smoking (I've done 6 racks of ribs, a 10lb pork butt, 2 roaster chickens in the last 3 weeks) I have not even thought of going to the old gas cooker for the daily meal. It starts up and is ready to go in 10 minutes with the help of those little weber cubes. No flare ups, easy cleaning, no waste of charcoal when you shut it down. Best of all is how much better everything you cook will taste.
Go get it. You deserve it.
Nice. But will it rust over time?
Trigger pulled. Ten days till delivery...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Char-Gril...6520/204151650
I think the outside is coated in some kind of protective surface. From what I've heard, the real BGE is prone to having its hardware rust, so it's not an issue you avoid by going ceramic in any event.Quote:
Originally Posted by Benny Profane
Nice!
I guess some of the screws could rust over time but even they are powdercoated. The inside has been blasted with a heavy dose of smoke, so there is no rusting going on there. Just don't leave it out in the elements with the lid up, clean the ash bin occasionally and there should be no worries.
I ordered the cover with it. It's going to sit on my patio year-round, so I figure having it covered is a good option (it's worked for my Weber for years - still looks like new on the outside).Quote:
Originally Posted by Unkajunebug
The Char-Griller Kamado arrived and I assembled it last night (haven't fired it up yet). First impression: this thing looks very well-built. Assembly was easy, everything lined up properly and all the parts appear to be heavy duty and of good quality (table top is made of plastic, but that's to be expected and I might build a custom wood top to replace it at some point). The grill itself is surprisingly light - it's enameled metal on the outside and inside, with a layer of fiberglass insulation between. Looks like it'll be pretty darn airtight when the vents are closed. Looking forward to breaking it in over the next few days - they recommend a couple of hours at 400 degrees to burn off manufacturing residue and season the cast-iron grate first. The manual is very well-written and gives the impression that it was designed and sold by people who actually care about cooking. So far I'm impressed.
Need moar pics!
Coming soon... it was dark when I finished putting it together, and now it's supposedly raining for the next couple of days until I leave town to go camping this weekend. First chance to take pics and get it fired up will probably be next week.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruiser
I have had my CharGriller for just over 3 years...many cooks later it is still going strong. I have found that it does cooks around 325-350 and 5-8 hours the best. It will probably do a longer cook a but I never really tried. Also bought a charcoal chimney that really helps to get it going. Also been cooking mostly by temperature on the grill and in the meat. I have been using this thermometer that works really well: http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Range-...at+thermometerQuote:
Originally Posted by Pegleg
Three years later the grill is holding up really well. I use a combination of a cast iron skillet with a cooling rack on top of it do do the in direct cooking for things like a pork shoulder
Attachment 157079
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...486368839dd17f
Great to hear. I've read online that folks are running it 12+ hours at 225-250 after some minor mods to seal air leaks (mostly around the lower intake vent); that's what I'm shooting for. Would love to be able to put a brisket on there at 10pm and come out the next morning to find it 2/3 of the way done, still sitting at 225. I'm told it's possible if you dial everything in. Looking forward to trying.Quote:
Originally Posted by myles long
This forum has a ton of good info on mods and such - I'm going to pick up a Weber charcoal grate for mine this weekend, love the idea of being able to raise up the coals to get a really solid sear on a steak.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pegleg
thats a great forum. I heard about the mods for doing lower temp cooks but just never did them yet. I have been experimenting more with the Turbo method - https://eggheadforum.com/discussion/...-shoulder-help
I have been experimenting with using a combination of kingsford competition briquettes mixed with royal oak lump and getting good results on the flavor.
It's more than possible if you get one of these: http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborderentry/New%20PartyQ . Otherwise you're gonna be up a couple of times during the night doing some vent tweaking in order to compensate for variations in outdoor temp and wind speed/direction. I've done it both ways and, while getting up wasn't anything close to a deal breaker, my wife prefers not to have the temp alarm go off in the middle of the night on the Maverick telling me to get up and go adjust the vents because my temp went outside of the range I'd set.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pegleg
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruiser
that looks awesome..i have seen those specifically for the egg before but not a universal version.
The unit itself is universal (it's basically just a processor, fan, and a temp probe). It's the adapter for the intake that needs to be specific for your smoker. They have a section of different adapters on the website here: http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborder...by%20Component
Was figuring that I'll probably end up with a PartyQ at some point, but I'm going to play around with managing the temp manually first. Feels like cheating to jump right into automatic control.
Honestly, I'm just as excited to have a charcoal grill for high-temp stuff - only had gas for several years now. I'll have to post a TR of my first chickens I'm planning to grill over charcoal this weekend (Vietnamese style).
Been lazy about taking pics, but I have done a couple of rounds of grilling on the Big Fake Egg (Chargriller Akorn), and last weekend finally had time to smoke a pork butt and a brisket.
The verdict: FKNA, this thing is awesome. For grilling it's great, especially if you do a slight mod and buy a charcoal grate for a Weber 22" kettle - it sits perfectly about 3" below the iron cooking grate in the Akorn, so you can raise the fire up right underneath something you want to get a good sear on (like skirt steaks, mmmm). For medium-temp grilling, the regular setup works great - did a couple of chickens and they were perfect with crispy skin and juicy meat. It's super efficient on the lump charcoal - cook for as long as you want, then shut down the vents and it goes out almost immediately. I've been reusing the same charcoal for 2-3 grilling sessions each time.
For smoking, I'm still getting the hang of maintaining temp. First try it hung at 220 for a while then suddenly shot up to 350 when I wasn't paying attention, and in trying to get it back down I put the fire out. I restarted and paid more attention - it seemed like it really wanted to settle around 300 but after some back-and-forth I was able to get it sitting at 240 pretty steadily (bottom vent open 1", top vent closed as far as possible with a thermometer probe cable running through it), and it hung there the rest of the day. Amazingly, there was still charcoal left after the 11-hour smoke. I think my next try I should be able to manage the temp a little better, though a Party Q will likely be in my future at some point. The pork and brisket were easily the best I've done.
My only real complaint is that there isn't a good place to run thermometer probe cables - I ran them out of the top vent, but this means you can't quite close it all the way plus it requires running them a long distance (up, in, down) so it means the transmitter unit is dangling in the air. Anyone got a clever hack to solve that one?
I assume that the gasket is replaceable on that Akorn just like it is on the BGE. If that's the case then buy a Rutland Gasket to replace the cheap stock gasket. The Rutland is thicker and somewhat less dense so you can run your probes right in without compromising the air seal between the lid and the body of the cooker.
How to link: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/rutlandgasket/gasket.htm
My gasket is pretty crusty and burned but I still just run the probes between the body and lid and haven't had any issues with temp fluctuations.
To be honest, I think its more important to take a few minutes extra and place your lump in by hand, using the bigger pieces on the bottom and getting smaller as you fill it up. If I am doing an overnight smoke, I will empty the bag of lump into a cardboard box and sort it that way. That will ensure better air flow and consistent burn, at least in my experience. I just build a fire, adjust the temp and go from there. I have a remote temp thermometer that I keep on my nightstand when I do an overnight smoke, and it will go off when temps fluctuate to far in one direction or the other. I've also had my best luck with the "nature's own basque hardwood lump". The BGE brand is OK, Cowboy burns too hot too fast, and the rest seem to be junk. YMMV
The egg is great, I love mine, use it three times a week. But man, the amount of accessories they try to rope you into is second only to GoPro...
Bought a party q for my weber kettle which is set up with a smokenator. Used it first time last week. Maintained a steady 225 as set, with no having to deal with temp variations. Closed the bottom and binder clipped the lid down all around. Plenty of fire left after 5.5 hrs, started with 55 coals, plus some wood. Burned through a set of batteries. If you're gonna use a lot, you might want to go rechargeableQuote:
Originally Posted by Pegleg
Nice to be able to let it go for an hour or so without watching it all the time
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
pegleg, I need to see that thing in operation
I put 2 ~9.5# pork shoulders on the egg last night with a mix of apple and cherry wood and then set the controller for 230* and went to sleep. This morning, 11 hours later, the egg is just chugging along at exactly 230* with 0 intervention on my part (yeah, I love the hell out of the Party-Q). Swine is up to 169* internal temp and should be hitting the stall shortly. Right on track for our neighborhood end of summer party this evening after the donkeys at the sea chickens. Gonna be a good day!
Pics to follow...
Cruiser...did your batteries last the whole night?Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruiser
Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums
Yup, usually I can get 40ish hours of low and slow use out of a set of decent brand AA batteries before the low battery indicator pops up. I've found that I can maximize battery life by getting the egg up to cooking temp manually before turning the controller on (which is good practice anyway). But other than the initial heating phase of a pulled pork cook the egg requires very little input from the controller in order to maintain temp. Since I don't open the lid at all during a pulled pork cook the controller only kicks the fan on for about a half second puff of air a couple of times a minute in order to keep it chugging along at 230* or whatever I have it set at.
things of beauty
Hey experienced Egg people - I had a 7lb pork butt smoke go out overnight. Now egg temp is 'zero' and meat temp is ~110-115. Before I went to bed, egg was at 230-240, meat was at 150-160
Question #1: toss it, or re-ignite and bring back up to 200? If the question were "do you want to pay $30 to make sure you're not going to get food poisoning," it would be a clear "yes." I don't want to roll the dice, but all internet arguments for tossing it don't address how grilling it for several more hours is not going to re-kill any new bacteria
Question #2: how do I prevent an overnight from going out in the future? I was cruising at 230-240 easily for 6+ hours before going to bed. Initially had filled with charcoal up to the fire ring, maybe a little below -- should I just expect to need to refill for overnights? Party-Q?
I'd be concerned about the quality of the finished product. Yeah, going to 200 ought to keep you from getting really sick, but I think you're virtually guaranteed to get a poor result if you try to take it back up to temp at this point. Best to chalk this one up to experience and then take the lessons learned from this cook into the next one.
Word. Too bad, I had grand plans for that pork butt...
So... what are the lessons, other than "get a Party-Q and forget about your problems?" Do you find that you need to refill charcoal for a long cook?
I ran out of charcoal about a month ago during a low and slow cook. But I had the maverick thermometer (with the wireless remote) in the egg and as soon as I noticed the temp dropping I knew there was an issue. Got it reloaded and didn't lose much time in the turn around. But it reminded me that it's important to clean out the ash and refill the egg with a good load of lump before doing a longer cook like that. I was lazy and just tossed some fresh charcoal on top of whatever was left from the cook before and that caused the egg to run at less than peak efficiency which ran me out of fuel too quickly. With a full load of good lump charcoal in a nice clean egg there's no reason it shouldn't be able to run for >24hrs at 250*ish.
Pretty much what cruiser says. Clean the egg first, load up on charcoal, and get a maverick to monitor. I go about 16 hours with a pork butt at 200-225 and still have charcoal left.
Supper's gonna be mighty fine at Chez Cruiser tonight!
http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p...psceb5d496.jpg
Wow, that reminds me that I haven't tried pizza on my Big Fake Egg yet. Gotta give that a go soon, looks great.Quote:
Originally Posted by stearnsn
^^^ Oh yeah! Mighty fine lookin'.