There are a lot of threads about these builds so I won't go into too much detail. But here's how my mini build went.
First thing I did was make the charcoal basket. Two 3 inch strips of expanded steel, secured to the Joe charcoal rack with stainless steel wire.
I used 1/4" x 3/4" stainless steel bolts with nuts, washers, and acorn nuts for the grill rack support, spaced 14.5 inches apart (top). Below this I installed two 1/4" grommets for the temp probes.
I used a Smokey Joe gold with a 3/4" adapter for the BBQ guru (right). The other Joe holes, I plugged up with black iron 3/4 inch plugs. (left)
I used the 32 qt Vasconia tamale steamer for the pot. It fit perfectly inside the Smokey Joe. I only used the steamer insert for a diffuser. (Ketih's and Case's suggestion) After coating the inside of the pot with a little oil, I fired it up to season.
The BBQ guru did occasionally overshoot the temp, but not by much. This was especially true right at the beginning when it was stoking the fire a lot to come up to temp. Once it leveled out it held temp VERY well.
After a three hour season, I threw on a chunk of cherry wood and smoked a small tri tip. (rubbed with Scarbelly's java rub) Learning from my earlier experience, I set the Guru down to 215 degrees so if it overshot the temp again, it would level out sooner.
After reaching 120 degrees internal (I like my steak rare!), I removed the steamer pot, and did a reverse sear.
It came out great!
It was soooo easy, with the Guru. But what really blew me away was the small amount of charcoal I used. The mini burned for about 4 hours total. Here is the amount of charcoal I started with.
Here's what was left after 4 hours.
The fire snuffed really quickly after I closed the smoker back up, so I'm very confident that the build is tight. The black iron plugs really do a nice job of closing all the Joe holes.
Thanks for looking!!!
First thing I did was make the charcoal basket. Two 3 inch strips of expanded steel, secured to the Joe charcoal rack with stainless steel wire.
I used 1/4" x 3/4" stainless steel bolts with nuts, washers, and acorn nuts for the grill rack support, spaced 14.5 inches apart (top). Below this I installed two 1/4" grommets for the temp probes.
I used a Smokey Joe gold with a 3/4" adapter for the BBQ guru (right). The other Joe holes, I plugged up with black iron 3/4 inch plugs. (left)
I used the 32 qt Vasconia tamale steamer for the pot. It fit perfectly inside the Smokey Joe. I only used the steamer insert for a diffuser. (Ketih's and Case's suggestion) After coating the inside of the pot with a little oil, I fired it up to season.
The BBQ guru did occasionally overshoot the temp, but not by much. This was especially true right at the beginning when it was stoking the fire a lot to come up to temp. Once it leveled out it held temp VERY well.
After a three hour season, I threw on a chunk of cherry wood and smoked a small tri tip. (rubbed with Scarbelly's java rub) Learning from my earlier experience, I set the Guru down to 215 degrees so if it overshot the temp again, it would level out sooner.
After reaching 120 degrees internal (I like my steak rare!), I removed the steamer pot, and did a reverse sear.
It came out great!
It was soooo easy, with the Guru. But what really blew me away was the small amount of charcoal I used. The mini burned for about 4 hours total. Here is the amount of charcoal I started with.
Here's what was left after 4 hours.
The fire snuffed really quickly after I closed the smoker back up, so I'm very confident that the build is tight. The black iron plugs really do a nice job of closing all the Joe holes.
Thanks for looking!!!
