Smokin' diary

[col klink]

Glad to hear it was a such a huge sucess! And very happy that I could help. Hopefully this will inspire legions of home smokers lighting up brisket!

How smoky was it? I know the Girl thought the brisket was better than she had in Texas, do you? How did it differ?

After I started smoking my own brisket, I thought back on the 'que I used to get in Texas and realized that I can do better. Sure there's the pride of doing it yourself (e.g. My kid is the best looking kid out there), but someone at home can dedicate attention than a 'que joint. You can make sure to mop it, turn it, sauce it and not have to worry about customers or smoking 60 lbs at a time.

Anyway, I liked the fact you use bricks between the fire and the meat, if the fire acts up, they'll provide a nice buffer. I've found that when I fill up the entire grill meats on the fire side tend to get a little singed, bricks should help that immensely.

I'm with Cathy in that any flavoring added to the water pan will not affect the flavor of anything you smoke. However I still do insist that the water pan does aide in helping the meat keep moist. It's not that the water pan adds moisture, it basically helps prevent moisture from leaving the meat. For instance, lets say you put one brisket in a sauna and another brisket into a steam bath. Which is going to come out moister?

Dave, there's a couple of tricks you can use if your temp spikes by adding warm or cold water. Usually I put a whole kettle of water on the stove when I start to smoke so I can start the smoker faster. However, if the temp gets too high, you can put cold tap water in the pan to absorb the heat. That way you can keep the lid down and continue smoking without interuption.

Sorry I couldn't post sooner, I've been a little busy this weekend and on Friday I was doing some smoking of my own. An 8lb cured but raw ham (it looked like a four inch steak for a split pea soup), a 6lb shoulder and small fresh venison roast. All turned out well except for the venison. My marinade had too much vinager and venison just doesn't do well on the smoker, it's too lean and you have to get temp too high to kill off the trich. The shoulder had that great pulled-pork consistency and was really smoky, it made damn good sandwichs.

Dave, pork ass can be one of the most beautiful things to come out of a smoker. Brine it first of course, and the mop is optional (with a mop, it won't get as smoky). My 6lb'er smoked at 200 to 225 for around 8 hours and reached a temp of 208 before I pulled it off. Don't forget to let it rest! With the really fatty meats, I've found that mustard and vinegar sauces work out the best to cut through the fat and the smoke. Damn I'm getting hungry, luckily for me I have some of that pork in the fridge!

[Dana]

Pork Butt DOES rule, as does a smallish, brined turkey. Glad you had such great success. Please keep up your diary for the next Smokin' Adventure!!!!

It was quite entertaining.

[CathyL]

Dave, the Big Windup was worth the wait - wonderful story! And brisket good enough to eat sauceless is a major accomplishment.

Pork butt is a breeze, by comparison.

[Dave the Cook]

I glad everybody enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun doing it. Since live radio died, the internet is the only way to do something like this. TV leaves nothing to the imagination, and it's only interested in BIG stories, anyway. For a while, I kind of felt like the kid trapped down in the well waiting to be rescued--what was the Woody Allen movie with that subplot? Radio Days? I remember real news stories like that from when I was a kid (showing my age, now), and despite the horror, apprehension, and trepidation that accompanies such stories, thinking about them makes me a little nostalgic. I tried to capture some of the tension and excitement that I remember.

I wanted to keep it more timely, but the kids needed the computer for homework, of all things. I swear, our next PC goes in the kitchen.

I agree that the water will not flavor the meat. But I do think it provides a temperature buffer, and the moisture it provides can't hurt, so why not? Unless it actually carries away surface moisture, like it does when baking a baguette. Is there a way to test this?

I have another question. I thought pork butt and shoulder were synonymous--the analogue of beef chuck. Is this incorrect? And I am right (based on examination of the bone shapes) that "country style" pork ribs are actually sliced from the shoulder?

Colonel, it's interesting you bring up game--to wit, venison. When doing a little research on trichinosis, I came across a report that said the last case of the Evil Worm reported was the result of undercooked cougar jerky, in the late 80s or early 90s. Anybody know of anything more recent?

Now that I've got my feet wet, I'm anxious to try something else. I want to get my hands on that side firebox, too. How long will a butt take?

Anyway, thanks again for all your help. You, too, Nick; I realize I neglected to mention you in the earlier post.

[col klink]

I agree that the water will not flavor the meat. But I do think it provides a temperature buffer, and the moisture it provides can't hurt, so why not? Unless it actually carries away surface moisture, like it does when baking a baguette. Is there a way to test this?

I've smoked with and without my water pan (sometimes I forget) and the meats I've smoked with the water pan have been moister than those without the water pan. I didn't write my results down like a good little researcher (good little researchers don't drink while they work either), but that's been my experience.

I have another question. I thought pork butt and shoulder were synonymous--the analogue of beef chuck. Is this incorrect? And I am right (based on examination of the bone shapes) that "country style" pork ribs are actually sliced from the shoulder?

Pork shoulde and the butt come from the same limb, but from different places on the arm. The butt is on shoulder side, the shoulder is on the hoof side but both cuts abut each other (heh, heh). Here's a hard to read picture:

And you are right that "country style" ribs are actually cut from the shoulder, sometimes boned, sometimes bone-in.

Now that I've got my feet wet, I'm anxious to try something else. I want to get my hands on that side firebox, too. How long will a butt take?

As for how long a butt takes, it depends on the size and what texture you want. Since the shoulder and butt have lots of marbled fat, you can smoke them for a lot longer than other roast and you don't have to worry about overcooking, just drying out. For pulled pork, which is really the best way to go with a big pork roast, you need to hit an internal temperature of at least 210F and preferably 220F and you want to reach that temp slowly. For a five pound butt, figure on smoking for 7 hours with an extra hour for each additional pound. Once you start getting into whole legs and roasts in the 20 lb range, you go for 18 hours in the smoker. Then it helps to have a partner.

Just to illustrate how beautiful the shoulder and pork roasts are in general, my last big bbq I smoked two whole hog legs (~23lbs a piece), a shoulder (~8 lbs) and a whole trimmed brisket (~7lbs, on my buddy's bullet). The legs were the first to come off at 14 and 16 hours because they started falling apart. Then the brisket came off after 15 hours. I still crack up when a 'que newbie, while watching me slice this beautiful brisket, says "I don't think it's done, it's still pink." After I mentioned that it had been at 225F for 15 hours, "I assure you it is done," he seemed to calm down a little. So, just for shits and giggles, we decided to leave the shoulder on the longest and finally pulled it off at the 18 hour mark. It was still juicy and plump and my favorite meat of all.

[CathyL]

The names for meat cuts aren't very well standardized. In most parts of the country, 'shoulder' comprises the butt (upper part) and picnic (lower part) of the front leg. In Manhattan, even the specialty pork butchers don't always know what I'm asking for. The last time I asked for a pork butt to smoke, the guy said I should buy a LOIN because it was more tender!

Country ribs aren't invariably cut from the shoulder; they may be from the larger end of the loin, in which case they're a bit leaner and quicker cooking than the shoulder variety.

As much as I love brisket, pulled pork is my favorite. Especially the crunchy bark, yum.

I've read that trichinae have been found in bear meat fairly recently.

[maggiethecat]

Dave: Thanks so much. I learned a lot about smoking, and you're a witty kinda guy.

Thing 1 and his triple major...LOL. As a parent, I can assure you that This Too Shall Pass.

[gknl]

Now that I've got my feet wet, I'm anxious to try something else. I want to get my hands on that side firebox, too. How long will a butt take?

http://www.chargriller.com/smokinpro.html

(sorry, couldn't get the image to post for some reason, but there's a photo on that webpage).

Is the small thing on the side the firebox? Is the main advantage that you can continually add coals and stuff without disturbing the main area and also getting more grill space?

And if you're not smoking, can you use it as a straight grill too? Right now, I just use an ancient Weber kettle which I'm sure this would be a huge upgrade from.

Thanks for writing up your experience! I'm glad it went well. I learned a lot and did something I probably wouldn't otherwise have done. And am eager to do it again soon too!

[Shiva]

Gknl, yes, that's the firebox on the right. I own this same grill without the firebox and I cook or smoke large cuts on the left and burn the charcoal on the right half of the grill.

This is a bit of a handicap, because I can't add charcoal without opening the grill. Basically, the side firebox gives you easier temperature control.

Edited to make me sound like I actually speak English.

[Dave the Cook]

Grant:

Is the small thing on the side the firebox?

yes

Is the main advantage that you can continually add coals and stuff without disturbing the main area and also getting more grill space?

yes

And if you're not smoking, can you use it as a straight grill too?

If you mean the main grill, absolutely. It's really what I bought it for--to do 100 burgers and 120 dogs a night at the neighborhood swim meets. If you mean the firebox, I don't know, but it's an interesting idea. If I understood the Colonel correctly, the firebox is just their smallest grill with an attachement flange, but I may have that wrong. I haven't talked to Char-Griller yet. I do know that they occasionally put the grill (alone) on sale. I got mine for $100 at Lowe's, then later noticed that they were selling it through the web site for $165 including shipping. I think this is still a very good value.

Right now, I just use an ancient Weber kettle which I'm sure this would be a huge upgrade from.

I like my Webers, but they're impossible to smoke on, and the idea that you can really do two-level grilling with any appreciable amount of food (e.g., a 14-lb turkey) is wishful thinking, IMHO. Webers are great for steaks, chops, chicken, veggies, but once you have a bigger grill (with cast-iron grates), you probably won't go back. I do think a Weber would last longer.

Shiva, I do the same: food on the left, fire on the right. It is possible to add charcoal through the side vent, though not a lot.

[carla]

Dave, I too must say this was wonderful! Lots of good tips, but the storyline and writing were the best parts. I am inspired. (Pork butt is the best.) Thanks.

[Dave the Cook]

Thanks everybody, for your help, and for your kind words.

As far as I'm concerned, Carla puts it over the top. We need t-shirts!

Either the brutal truth:

pork butt rules

or the mysterious and strangely eloquent:

crunchy butt bark, yum

If we don't use it on clothing, I may have to start a band, just to use the second one.

[gknl]

Gknl, yes, that's the firebox on the right.  I own this same grill without the firebox and I cook or smoke large cuts on the left and burn the charcoal on the right half of the grill.

This is a bit of a handicap, because I can't add charcoal without opening the grill.  Basically, the side firebox gives you easier temperature control.

Do you miss not having the firebox? It seems like it makes life easier, not just in the cooking, but the clean up too, which is what I really dislike about the Webers.

[gknl]

I like my Webers, but they're impossible to smoke on, and the idea that you can really do two-level grilling with any appreciable amount of food (e.g., a 14-lb turkey) is wishful thinking, IMHO. Webers are great for steaks, chops, chicken, veggies, but once you have a bigger grill (with cast-iron grates), you probably won't go back. I do think a Weber would last longer

I think the only reason what I smoked on the Weber the other day worked was that I used pork tenderloins (wrong cut of meat, I know, but it was in the freezer and this was total spur of the moment inspiration) which were small enough to fit on the far side of the grill and cook relatively quickly, close to two hours, I think. But it's made me want more!

I've been thinking about upgrading for a while, but this may be the incentive I needed. I figure the Chargrill can handle the main meat load, while the Webers get relegated to supporting roles. Can't wait for that first three grill party.

What do you mean by last longer though? That's a little disconcerting.

[Huevos del Toro]

I've been thinking about upgrading for a while, but this may be the incentive I needed

Since my living quarters preclude open flame cooking (grilling and smoking for example) I finally bit the bullet and bought an electric smoker and have never regretted it. It's use us a no brainer. Accurate temperature control, a wood box, stainless steel inside and out, 21 pound capacity, fully insulated. I've used apple, hickory, maple, pecan, mesquite, cherry, and alder in it. I even use a couple of Polder probes, inserted in the little "smoke hole" in the top. One for the meat, one to monitor the smoker temperature (although I don't use that one anymore as the temperature control has proven accurate).

It amounts to set it and forget it. The results are quite good, although I do miss the constant fire tending and messing with the charcoal grill. I do, occasionally, cheat a little and fire up a small gas grill for the occasional steak. Oh yes, this smoker is for outdoor use ONLY! It sits just outside my patio door.

[Dave the Cook]

I think the only reason what I smoked on the Weber the other day worked was that I used pork tenderloins (wrong cut of meat, I know, but it was in the freezer and this was total spur of the moment inspiration) which were small enough to fit on the far side of the grill and cook relatively quickly, close to two hours, I think.  But it's made me want more!  

I've been thinking about upgrading for a while, but this may be the incentive I needed.  I figure the Chargrill can handle the main meat load, while the Webers get relegated to supporting roles.  Can't wait for that first three grill party.  

What do you mean by last longer though?  That's a little disconcerting.

Grant,

I think you may have hit on one of the few things that could be smoked successfuly on a Weber--and you can't really say it was the wrong cut if you liked the result! You haven't provided many details, but I gather the outcome was good.

There are two problems with a Weber--one is size. I've done pork back ribs, but two slabs is the absolute limit, and even then, there's a good chance you're going to burn rather than smoke.

The other problem is fuel access. Even the larger models that have the hinged grill are difficult. With the Char-Griller, you have four cast-iron grates that comprise the cooking surface. The other day, I just left two of them off. I had complete access the the fire on the right, while the meat sat on the two left grates. As I said before, you can slide in fuel through the side vent, but it's not really practical. This is where the side firebox comes in.

As far as longevity is concerned, I am really just voicing my own apprehension, as I obviously have no long-term experience with the Char-Griller. But here are my impressions:

Weber has a lot going for it in terms of design and construction.

-The porcelain coating means the exterior of the kettle is practically maintenance-free. I have an eight-year-old 18" Weber that, from the outside, looks practically new--same for the four-year-old 22".

- If you look at the rest of the externals, you've got aluminum legs and vents/ash-catcher, chromed steel bottom rack (and ash-catcher lever) and wooden handles. There's not really anything to rust, very little to come loose, and only the handles are likely to weather. Every spring I coat them with mineral oil, and that's it. I see that newer models have plastic handles, so even this is no longer a maintenance issue.

- Inside, the only real concern is the grates. I've replaced the charcoal grates on both grills, and the cooking grate on the older grill. That's it, in twelve grill-years of use. I think that's pretty impressive.

- As you've pointed out, cleaning a Weber is a pain. Which means it doesn't get done very often. Which means you end up getting some off tastes and smells.

The Char-Griller is really a formalized version of a grill made out of an old oil-drum.

- The exterior is painted steel instead of porcelain, and inside it's raw steel. It's obviously a hand-crafted product; flame marks from the welding are not brushed out, and while the welds are strong, not much attention has been paid to cosmetics in the way the welds are done.

- The raw steel charcoal pan will have to be watched for corrosion; wood ashes are quite acidic. Again, the Weber doesn't have this problem.

- It's got hinges, along with lots of nuts and bolts that will come loose from weathering and expansion/contraction due to cooking. The nuts and bolts are steel. I think they're galvanized, but in my experience, galvanizing just makes things rust-resistant, not rustproof.

- On the plus side, the charcoal grate is incredibly easy to take out and hose off, and you can use a hose on the interior as well--it will drain through the vents. Just make sure you do it on a sunny day, or hand dry it, or I'm sure it will rust.

- None of this has any bearing on its capacity for cooking--they put the money where it mattered. To draw an automotive analogy, the Weber is a nicely designed, refined product for the consumer market--say a Toyota or a Honda. The Char-Griller is a street machine that is one, maybe two, steps off the race track; it's got some manners, and you can handle it, but there's no mistaking where it came from, and it needs a little more TLC. Actually, I kind of like it that way.

All of this to say that I expect the Char-Griller to require a little more upkeep. I need to take a wire brush to the bolt holes, where a little rust is starting to show (I haven't been studious about keeping it covered), and I need to dab a little Rustoleum on the nuts and bolts, then go around and tighten up everything. It's got wooden handles, but they're well finished, so I'll probably let them go until spring and see what they look like then. All told, probably two easy hours to bring it back up to spec, where the Weber would need practically no care at all. If I neglected the Char-Griller that way, it would probably need rebuilding in two years. But I won't, because I like the grill too much.

I hope this is reassuring. I think the Colonel has had his longer (maybe Shiva, too). They may have more informed opinions.

HdT, that's a very nice-looking unit. Right now I am very much into the ritual--call it the Church of Q, but I can see a time when I need a set it-forget it solution. Where did you get it? How much?

BTW, Polder probes rule. Have you seen this one?

Grant, a three-griller sounds like a blast. I've come close: last T-giving, we had a turkey grill-roasting on the big Weber, another turkey in a deep fryer, and the little Weber was doing squash, asparagus, sweet potatoes and the last of the Vidalia onions. You've got a lot of fun ahead of you!

[CathyL]

Dave, I have a Remote Check wireless thermometer with two probes. It works...sorta. Every now and then the remote unit loses the signal and flatlines; sometimes it resynchs on its own, sometimes it doesn't. And for reasons unknown, the remote won't work when it sits on the bedside table - which is, of course, where it's most useful. Still, it's worth having if it eliminates even one wee-hours slog outside to see what's going on at the smoker.

There's another product from Nu-Temp that includes a low-temp alarm but apparently this one is even less reliable than the Remote Check.

[Dave the Cook]

Dave, I have a Remote Check wireless thermometer with two probes.  It works...sorta.  Every now and then the remote unit loses the signal and flatlines; sometimes it resynchs on its own, sometimes it doesn't.  And for reasons unknown, the remote won't work when it sits on the bedside table - which is, of course, where it's most useful.  Still, it's worth having if it eliminates even one wee-hours slog outside to see what's going on at the smoker. 

There's another product from Nu-Temp that includes a low-temp alarm but apparently this one is even less reliable than the Remote Check.

You wouldn't think it would be that hard to do--there's no technology less than 15 years old involved.

I haven't seen Nu-Temp. Are they on line?

[Nick]

- The raw steel charcoal pan will have to be watched for corrosion; wood ashes are quite acidic. Again, the Weber doesn't have this problem.

Just had to put in a word here. To the best of my knowledge, wood ashes are not acidic. In fact, they have been used in past years to "sweeten" the soil, especially in growing onions.

The problem with corrosion comes from allowing water (rain?) to mix with the ashes making a caustic mixture. As long as the ashes are kept dry there shouldn't be any problem with corrosion.

Just my .02's worth.

[Dave the Cook]

My bad.

Of course, you're right Nick. Wood ashes are alkaline, not acidic. But as you point out, this doesn't mean they can't be corrosive.

You're also correct that they're more or less inert unless moist. But I live in a high humidity region, and I'm not always good about getting the grill covered. Lesser slobs may find this a minor issue. So far, there is no evidence of rust or other corrosion on the grill, except for the bolt holes.

[CathyL]

I haven't seen Nu-Temp. Are they on line?

Dave, here's a link. This is a generation newer than the one I've heard is unreliable, so maybe they fixed the bugs.

[gknl]

I think you may have hit on one of the few things that could be smoked successfuly on a Weber--and you can't really say it was the wrong cut if you liked the result! You haven't provided many details, but I gather the outcome was good.

Here's what I did, including all the dumb stuff:

Nuked the meat until it was mostly defrosted, still a bit frozen in the middle.

Drizzled the meat with a bit of canola oil and rubbed one tenderloin with Cajun beef seasoning mix (salt, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin) and one with something I mixed up, with salt, pepper, garlic, onion, poultry seasoning, and paprika (I think. I made it a while ago and like an idiot didn't write anything down. Time to get a kitchen notebook!).

I let them sit while I lit the coals. I over-filled the chimney starter so it took a couple of batches of newspaper and a long time to get going. I tried Alton Brown's trick of putting some oil on the paper, but couldn't tell if it really helped or not. I used Jack Daniel's Briquets and soaked a Cool Whip container (yeah, like I'm the only one who has one of those lying around!) full of Jack Daniel's wood chips (oak).

I put a 9x13 aluminum pan in the grill which took up more than half the space and because the charcoal grate is starting to go, was lopsided and only took a quart of water. I dumped the coals on the other side of it, piling them up and making sure the unlit ones were on top of lit ones. When the flames died down, I put the wood chips on top, replaced the grill and put the meat on over the water pan.

My Webers are older than yours and the bottom vents don't adjust too well, but they're frozen wide open. I put the lid on and closed the top vents about half way. Nice smoking, but I thought it was blowing too close to the house and thought moving it would help. Lifted the handle and heard the water slosh and then the sizzle of water hitting the coals. Oops. The smoke died down, so I took the lid off and stirred the coals a bit which rejuvenated them. I noticed the meat had a smokey exterior even though it had only been 30 minutes or so.

After another 30 minutes, I checked the meat temp which was about 100 (I think). I let it go another 45 minutes and it was up to 150. I checked it again in 5 minutes and one of them actually read cooler. Must not have inserted the thermometer correctly. Dumb move motivated by hunger and time was to move the meat over the coals to try to hasten the last bump up to 160. Of course, thinking about it now, carry over probably would have taken care of it. Oops.

But after letting the meat rest while I finished the side dishes, when I cut them up, they were still moist and had a nice thin red ring under the crust. I think I put on too much rub since the outside was a bit hot and salty. But overall, the flavor was far better than I expected, a nice smokiness permeated through the whole thing, definitely different from grilled meat. I couldn't tell much difference between the two rubs, except one had more pepper than the other.

I served them with cesaer salad and couscous with pistachio nuts, dried apricots, and Moroccan preserved lemons. The sweet apricot-salty-sour-lemon combo is really good.

All in all, I was happy with the results. I don't grill much (both Webers were hand-me-downs from people who switched to gas grills) because of the cleaning hassles, but I think it's going to be more worth the effort now. Thanks again for the instruction and inspiration!

But you had to mention the turkey fryer! Yet another thing on my wish list! Your T-day sounds like fun. Doing something similar this year?

[gknl]

None of this has any bearing on its capacity for cooking--they put the money where it mattered. To draw an automotive analogy, the Weber is a nicely designed, refined product for the consumer market--say a Toyota or a Honda. The Char-Griller is a street machine that is one, maybe two, steps off the race track; it's got some manners, and you can handle it, but there's no mistaking where it came from, and it needs a little more TLC. Actually, I kind of like it that way.

Thanks for the great discussion of Weber v Chargrill! My poor Webers have been severely neglected over the years. But they still work. The Chargrill is very tempting and does seem to offer good performance for the price. Some of the grills I've seen looked really good, but come too expensive for me to think about. I'm not sure about the maintenance though, that's definitely not my strong point. But it's much less humid where I live, and a cover would help during the rainy season, right? Decisions, decisions. . . .

Have you ever been to the Big Green Egg store? Not that I'll shell out a grand for a grill, but they "sound" pretty cool. They seem similar to a tandoor oven, but maybe that's just the shape.

http://www.biggreenegg.com/

[CathyL]

Have you ever been to the Big Green Egg store?  Not that I'll shell out a grand for a grill, but they "sound" pretty cool.  They seem similar to a tandoor oven, but maybe that's just the shape.

http://www.biggreenegg.com/

I like mine very much although I use the large one just for slow-cooking; for grilling I get much better results on the small Egg. (I'm in the minority among Eggers here - most of them rave about steaks etc.) Pizza is the exception; it comes out tasting like the best brick-oven examples. A friend uses his to cook nan.

Yes, they're expensive (more so now than when I bought mine 5 years ago) but durable, fuel-efficient and easy to control. The heavy ceramic retains heat well, which makes this cooker less sensitive to outdoor temps than metal cookers. It also delivers a great range of cooking temps, from 200 to 1000. The firebox is prone to cracking - mine is actually in two pieces - but that hasn't affected its cooking performance.

People have found them for sale on eBay, by the way.

[col klink]

When I visit my folks in the summer, all I have is their old pos weber. The only thing wrong with it is the wood handles on the side are BOLTED to the drum which means there a NUTS and SCREWS on the inside which prevent easy removal of the grate. It is such a pain in the ass when you want to add chips to the coals and you can't lift the grate so you kind of slide it out, but you have three chickens on the far side and they start falling down so you use your wrist to lever the grate back up and it's still hot and you have burn scars for the rest of your life that some people think you tried to commit suicide but I say I was just commiting gallocide and then I have to explain that's killing chickens (or it could be interpreted as killing the French but I think that's gallicide). That may be one of my longer sentences. Except for that design anomaly, webers can be fantastic, especially with cuts of meat that have a lot of fat and tend to flare up in gas grills; all you have to do is put the lid back down and you're back in business.

People here have been mentioning that you can't smoke large amounts of meat on a weber, but I've smoked up 6 whole chickens at a time before. Granted I didn't have a water pan, but the results were great, that was the second year in a row my family has told me "that's the best chicken I've ever had." It's now a yearly ritual, "Klink, make your brined chicken!!!!" For the weber, put the coals in the center along with your chips and put the chickens along the perimeter radially out from the center breast side up and rotate every half-hour or so, and for the last 10 or 15 minutes, put the breast side down for perfect skin. Pull them off at around 170F and they'll heat up the rest of the way, but they will be done enough, no pink and clear juices. The smoking temp should be around 250, but gauge more by the sound, if there's a lot of sizzling, time to rotate and close the vents more at the bottom. Total cooking time should be 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Occasionally there will be flare-ups from all of the fat, but like I said above, just put the lid on. So to surmise, you can put more meat on (but not two whole length of ribs, just one) but you might have to get rid of the water pan.

When I'm at home, I rarely use the weber since I have my smoker and everything tastes better when it's been smoked. For the most part the chargriller pro that I have (pictured above) has been a real trooper and I can see at least another 5 years of heavy use. After about the 6 month period I had to tighten all of the bolts again, but so far it's done well. There has only been one thing that I've had to replace and that was the fire grate in the side firebox. The fire box comes with a small weber style grate (rectangular though, I'm just referring to the diameter of the steel rods) and another grate welded to a false bottom. After about 10 to 15 uses, both grates were just mangled and pretty much useless. Of course they were pretty useless to begin with. I had my buddy take off the small diameter grate and build a new one out of rebar in about 1" to 1.5" spacing. You can see it below:

That fire grate has been a real champ, now I can get my smoker to above 400F without any problems. I don't have a cover for my smoker, but I part of my porch is covered so I just roll it back under when I'm done or it's raining outside. The paint on the firebox is not for high temps and it comes off pretty quickly so if you don't repaint it with special high temp paint, you need to spray it with oil after each use to retard oxidation. That may sound like a pain, but you really should have spray bottle of veggie oil by your grill or smoker anyway for spraying the grate before you put your meat on. I will grant that I don't spray down my cast iron grates because they're pretty well seasoned and if they're not, they soon will be with the all of the pork ass I smoke (snicker, snicker).

As for clean up, I only recently started doing some heavy cleaning. I noticed that my smoker would "leak" black substances. I used a hand trowel to scoop out the smoking debris, which is mostly fat. I just need to figure out how to clean out the false bottom for the barrel section now because that stuff is flammable and I don't need to dirty my deck. The side firebox on the other hand is really easy to clean up with the false bottom fire grate and the fact that hardwood doesn't leave many ashes, and they're soft ashes too, light and feathery.

I have to say that throughout my life I've made many purchases that I've liked and loved, but none of them can compare to how much joy not only I've received but also how many people I've blessed with it. It's just amazing to watch people taste good smoked meat for the first time and see their eyes light up and say "how did you do this?"