New to the world of BBQ

[burn-it]

Hello! 

I grew up in San Diego (a.k.a. in-sane-diego).  Bar-b-q's at the beach with the family.  Well, grillin' hot dogs and hamburgers on a Hibachi.  My Pop's standard answer to "how do you want it?" is . . . wait for it . . .  wait for it . . . BURN IT!

I lived in Texas for a while and, well, what can I say?  GREAT BBQ!!  Now I am home and want to learn how to make my OWN great BBQ.  On impulse, stupid impulse, I purchased a Char-Broil charcoal grill (Link to grill info on Char-Broil site).  After the fact, I wished I had purchased a smoker.

After adding a proper temperatur gauge and extending the smokestack to grate level, my thought is to add a side fire box and make a few more mods.  I found one online for the Char-Griller.  The cooking chamber of the Char-Griller looks just like the one on the Char-Broil.  I believe it will work. 

I guess my question is, is it worth it or should I just purchase an offset smoker?

Any help or suggestions on posts I should read will be appreciated.

Burn-It

if it aint black it aint dun!
[*]

 

[chefrc]

Welcome to the Family Friend

I bought a Brinkman over 15 years ago and could not find a fire box for it anywhere. Some fireboxes are right hand and some are left hand.I bought a right hand but the Brinkman is supposed to go on the left. At least the one I have did. Luckily I was a Metal Fabricatior fo 22 years and fabicated  the smoker so it would fit. Good Luck with this venture my friend. Looking forward to some Q from you.

 

[deannc]

Welcome aboard!  You've come to the right place for some great information, recipes and very helpful folks. 

 

[meateater]

Welcome to the SMF. Glad to have you here. Lots of good folks, great recipes and knowledge. Looking forward to your first qview.

 

[mballi3011]

First off Welcome Burn it to SMF. you'll like it here for there are alot of really good folks here that would just love to help you with just about anything to do with smoking. Now there are alot of proven recipes for some amazing things here too. So if you need sign up for the E-Course it's free and it will give you the basics of smoking and some good methods to use also. So the next big thing for you to do is go out and get you something to smoke and if you happen to have any questions just post it here and we will be happy to answer them for you.

Welcome To Your New Addiction    

 

[walle]

Welcome aboard, Burn It!

Good to have ya aboard.  No idea on your question - my advise would be to try it and judge it by the results.  I'm sure someone will come along and help ya out soon.

 

[cliffcarter]

Welcome Burn-it, this is a good place to start you BBQ life.

I think that CharBroil makes a side fire box, you'll need to check to see if your cooker is set up to be out fitted with one. Good luck

 

[wngsprnt50]

Welcome!

 

[alelover]

Welcome. You will like it here. Great people with great knowledge. They have increased my BBQ IQ immensely.

 

[lucky13]

Welcome Burn It!  Lots to learn here from a lot of wonderful people.

As far as modify vs. buy...  I think it depends on your skills.  If you are handy with metal (or have a friend that is) and like to tinker then have at it.  If you have trouble with Lego's then you might want to buy.  I am somewhat in the middle, I like to tinker with stuff until I screw it up so bad that I have to buy!

 

[burn-it]

Thanks Everyone!!  Here's a shot of my 3rd attempt late june with no mods to the grill.  I have not attempted any since I made the few tweaks late July.

Indirect heat with apple juice filled drip pans beneath the ribs and over the coals.  The temp gauge that came with the grill read 1/3rd of the way into Ideal.  I have no clue how hot that is.  Hickory wood chips soaked in water over night.  The rub is from a book and was on the ribs over night.  The baste is apple juice with some of the rub.  I don't recall how long they were on the grill.  I just took them off when they looked ready.  They were TASTY.  Not fall off the bone, but little effort to pull the meat cleanly.

My biggest issues were, removing the ribs and water pan from the grill to add more coals - 'cuz there's nothin' like ribs covered in ash!  Hence my interest in adding a side fire box.  Would like to add coals as needed, without having to remove everything from the cooking area.

I'll keep everyone posted! 

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Burnit. You could ,if you want to save a litte $,simply get yourself a half barrel and preburn some wood and then put it in one end of the chamber. Abunch more work, but looks cool to friends of beginners and the temp is easy to control(use the charcaol ash door,or quickly if just the lid.A small garden shovel does good for the transfer.

If you have read some of these guys, you should be all good.Just Southern Ingenuity:)-

Hope this helps and,

 

[jirodriguez]

If your smoker has a knock out panel on the right hand side you could probably jury rig one of the Char-griller firebox's to it (if Charbroil doesn't offer one). Another option is look on Craigslist, I have seen many many great smokers for dirt cheap prices. Then you would have a smoker AND a grill!

 

[tjohnson]

Welcome!!!

It's a BBQ Party!

Todd

 

[cliffcarter]

Looks like you could remove one of the cooking grates and add coals on one side of the charcoal grate without having to remove your ribs. You probably don't need the pan of liquid on the cooking grate either IMHO, the pan under the ribs should be enough.